Ok, everyone is going to bash the WR's because they only made 6 catches. Great. While the Dolphins don't have the best WR corps in the NFL, they aren't that bad.
The problem is, Chad Pennington (1) can't make a throw to the outside if it's more than 10 yards deep and (2) only looks toward the middle of the field and the flats.
Re-watch the game if you can .. after making a play fake, Pennington almost always looks to the middle of the field (tight end) or the flats first. He had 20 completions to tight ends and RB's today. It's not because the WR's are never getting open. It's because that's where he focuses. Why does he focus that way? Because he knows his limitations.
The only deep passes he tried to throw were WAY off the mark. On the final pass play in the end zone, the pass took forever to get there. He just doesn't have the arm strength to get it out there and lead a receiver.
While he is pretty accurate (you wouldn't have known that from seeing his first few pass attempts though) .. he will be a detriment in the vertical passing game, including deep outs.
Additionaly, Pennington wasn't getting enough time in the pocket today to allow WR's to get open. In the preseason, he and Ginn had pretty good chemistry. But that was against vanilla defenses with time to throw.
For the Dolphins WR's to have any success, Pennington is going to have to have time to throw (captain obvious). That said, adequate time is more important in Pennington's case because he doesn't have adequate arm strength and he knows it. Without sufficient time, he won't ever survey the field beyond the middle or flats (shorter throws). The pass that Favre threw to Cotchery for the first TD was something our WR's would never see because of the lack of time to allow the route to develop and due to Pennington's inability to get enough on that type of throw.
IMO, the coaching staff is going to have to run more slants, in routes, and drags with our WR's when Penny is in the game. Secondly, they are going to have to get Henne some time so that they can keep the defense honest with some deeper routes.
The problem is, Chad Pennington (1) can't make a throw to the outside if it's more than 10 yards deep and (2) only looks toward the middle of the field and the flats.
Re-watch the game if you can .. after making a play fake, Pennington almost always looks to the middle of the field (tight end) or the flats first. He had 20 completions to tight ends and RB's today. It's not because the WR's are never getting open. It's because that's where he focuses. Why does he focus that way? Because he knows his limitations.
The only deep passes he tried to throw were WAY off the mark. On the final pass play in the end zone, the pass took forever to get there. He just doesn't have the arm strength to get it out there and lead a receiver.
While he is pretty accurate (you wouldn't have known that from seeing his first few pass attempts though) .. he will be a detriment in the vertical passing game, including deep outs.
Additionaly, Pennington wasn't getting enough time in the pocket today to allow WR's to get open. In the preseason, he and Ginn had pretty good chemistry. But that was against vanilla defenses with time to throw.
For the Dolphins WR's to have any success, Pennington is going to have to have time to throw (captain obvious). That said, adequate time is more important in Pennington's case because he doesn't have adequate arm strength and he knows it. Without sufficient time, he won't ever survey the field beyond the middle or flats (shorter throws). The pass that Favre threw to Cotchery for the first TD was something our WR's would never see because of the lack of time to allow the route to develop and due to Pennington's inability to get enough on that type of throw.
IMO, the coaching staff is going to have to run more slants, in routes, and drags with our WR's when Penny is in the game. Secondly, they are going to have to get Henne some time so that they can keep the defense honest with some deeper routes.
