"Can David Garrard recreate Chad Pennington's magical Dolphins season?"

[NYPhin24]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

"If you listen to the players on the team, Garrard, a nine-year veteran who missed last season because of a back issue, sounds a lot like Pennington.

He's a former Pro Bowler who has started 76 games, and has a career quarterback rating of 85.8, which is 22nd all-time. His career quarterback rating trumps what upper echelon quarterbacks like Eli Manning (82.1), Matt Hasselbeck (82.2) and Jay Cutler (84.5) have produced in a similar time span.

Marino has a 86.4 career quarterback rating, but in fairness to the NFL legend, Garrard is playing in a more passer friendly era of the NFL. But Garrard's body of work as a starter for the Jaguars serves as proof he's not chopped liver, and can get the job done if he stays healthy.

In fact, Garrard was the architect of 11 fourth-quarter comebacks, and 18 game-winning drives during his Jacksonville days, which proves he can do something Henne sparingly did as Miami's starter. Garrard can kill an opponent, pulling out come-from-behind wins, and finishing off close games.

Considering the Dolphins lost four games in that fashion last season that trait should come in handy if Garrard can manage to beat out Moore, and convince Miami's coaches to put first-round pick Ryan Tannehill on ice for at least the first half of the season. The only way to do both is by mimicking Pennington's steadying presence, and produce victories."

 

[BenchFiedler]

Also, he is more mobile which is a big plus.

 

[Perfect23]

If he can go the season with out Shatting his pants.:)

 

[hoops]

we'll get penny alright...the 09 and 2010 versions...

 

[CANDolphan]

So a great player who simply can't stay healthy? That's a very "Glass half full" approach to the whole thing. My issue with that line of thinking is that Garrard is a VERY tough guy. His only major injury concern? His back. And it cost him. Yes it's a large one, but he's not "made of glass" like Chad P was. He had major injury concerns over a series of time, not just one that took him out.

 

[Fins1971]

Unfortunately no matter how well Garrard plays Brady is still going to be the QB for the Patriots.
So it probably won't be enough.

That 2008 season was the perfect storm. P10 having career year and Brady going down.
That is alot to ask.

 

[Casas9425]

I just don't see it. He's 34 and coming off major back surgery and he wasn't that good to begin with.

 

[hoops]

So a great player who simply can't stay healthy? That's a very "Glass half full" approach to the whole thing. My issue with that line of thinking is that Garrard is a VERY tough guy. His only major injury concern? His back. And it cost him. Yes it's a large one, but he's not "made of glass" like Chad P was. He had major injury concerns over a series of time, not just one that took him out.

penny was never great to begin with...even when completely healthy and before he lost a lot of his arm...the similarities b/t the two after 09 are eerie to me...garrard coming off a season missing injury more a care taker than play maker...penny got by as long as he did in the pros cause he had perfect timing and great ball placement...but his arm limited the offense to primarily inside the #'s and underneath...the occasional seam throw with great timing to the te or deep ball that was usually underthrown...heck we went to the wildcat cause penny couldn't make plays in the passing game to try and offset our lack of firepower at qb and wr...

garrards more mobile but he's not the same move athlete he used to be...not by a long shot...not as hard to tackle anymore either...another caretaking qb...

i give garrard to the bye week before i think he goes on ir...if he makes the roster and starts

 

[DolfanISS]

I'm rooting for Moore to start.

 

[Perfect23]

penny was never great to begin with...even when completely healthy and before he lost a lot of his arm...the similarities b/t the two after 09 are eerie to me...garrard coming off a season missing injury more a care taker than play maker...penny got by as long as he did in the pros cause he had perfect timing and great ball placement...but his arm limited the offense to primarily inside the #'s and underneath...the occasional seam throw with great timing to the te or deep ball that was usually underthrown...heck we went to the wildcat cause penny couldn't make plays in the passing game to try and offset our lack of firepower at qb and wr...

garrards more mobile but he's not the same move athlete he used to be...not by a long shot...not as hard to tackle anymore either...another caretaking qb...

i give garrard to the bye week before i think he goes on ir...if he makes the roster and starts

I think minus all the injuries I tink Chad Pennington was one of the ebst qb's in the NFL.

 

[nyjunc]

Chad was a top QB in the league before his shoulder surgeries, unfortunately for him he couldn't stay healthy but when healthy he always led his teams to the playoffs. Garrad has been a nice player but he's not as good as Chad was when he was healthy.

 

[Adam Strange]

You know the franchise is in big trouble when the "magic season," the lone highlight of the past 10+ seasons, ends with Pennington and the rest of the team getting punted by the Ravens in Miami during the first round of the playoffs. That season was great-- for a while. Then the clock struck midnight, sometime after Favre and the Jets were dispatched, and the team that took the field for the wildcard game looked remarkably less magical.

 

[hoops]

I think minus all the injuries I tink Chad Pennington was one of the ebst qb's in the NFL.

more power to you...i don't...too easy for the d to limit what we could do with him under center...limited the offensive playbook also...just cause we made hay with him against bad defenses in 08 and the sched was chalk full of em doesn't mean that we would have playing the legit ones...baltimore took him and us out to the woodshed in the playoff opener...stood up a bunch of guys at or near the los concentrated its personnel primariliy inside the #'s got after the qb with the pass rush and made penny have to make throws outside the #'s against corners sitting on routes and jumping anything wide...

 

[DuderinoN703]

People probably didn't think Pennington would lead the formerly 1-15 Dolphins to do what they did the following year. If any naysayers say the same about Garrard then that right there tells you all you need to know about people.

 

[DuderinoN703]

Chad was a top QB in the league before his shoulder surgeries, unfortunately for him he couldn't stay healthy but when healthy he always led his teams to the playoffs. Garrard has been a nice player but he's not as good as Chad was when he was healthy.

Here comes Stat Boy!

Pennington had a decent career but was never a top QB. His best year was 2002 and his comeback year was 2008. Pennington and Garrard's stats aren't terribly different. The Jags just haven't been that great a team since the Brunell days.