Posted by Will Brinson

Miami, who turned to the 34-year-old Chad Pennington (instead of Chad Henne) at quarterback on Sunday, won a crucial game against the Titans, besting Tennessee 29-15 in Nashville. All the news wasn't good though, as the Dolphins have reportedly lost both Pennington and Henne for the season.

Now, they've contacted JaMarcus Russell for a workout, according to Josina Anderson of Inside the NFL on Showtime.

First of all, provided that both quarterbacks are done for the year, it's a crushing blow to Miami's hopes for the season. It also means that Tyler Thigpen is atop the depth chart for the 'Fins, and that they'll likely run a substantial amount of Wildcat plays; after Henne's injury, Ronnie Brown was taking snaps for a bit.

The Russell news should prompt one or two jokes about Jam-Jam's weight -- last we heard from him, he reportedly weighed 286 pounds, but, as he told Anderson during his Inside the NFL interview, he wasn't yet humbled enough to consider playing anywhere other than the NFL.

Considering the number of quarterbacks who've suffered injuries this season (and the number that have been benched for poor play), it's now kind of hard to blame him for hoping he gets another shot -- it appears he might as early as this week.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Chad Pennington’s reign as Dolphins starting quarterback lasted exactly two plays. And now it looks as if he’ll be out for the rest of the season. Chad Henne might be done as well.

Omar Kelly from the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes that one of his sources has told him Pennington and Henne are “more than likely” out for the year.

That would make Tyler Thigpen – the emergency third QB today who entered the game in the fourth quarter – the starter, and it means Miami would need to sign at least one QB (and probably two) this week.

Henne left the locker room after the game on crutches, and he has an MRI scheduled for tonight, writes Kelly.

Not sure if you remember, but the Dolphins had two quarterbacks knocked out in the same game last year when it was Henne and Pat White.

"Second time this has happened to me," Sparano told reporters. "It's getting a little bit old. These defensive guys are getting too good."

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

As we progress through the fourth quarter of the Miami-Tennessee game, six different players have taken snaps in the contest.

For the Titans, it’s been Kerry Collins and Vince Young, which we told you about here. For the Dolphin, it’s been Chad Pennington, Chad Henne (who hurt his knee toward the end of the third quarter), and RB Ronnie Brown. No. 6 was Miami’s emergency backup QB Tyler Thigpen.

Henne was hurt with less than a minute to play in the third quarter after his leg buckled on a sack, and because Miami would have to play Thigpen the rest of the game if he entered BEFORE the fourth quarter began, Miami ran offensive plays out of the Wildcat formation.

The first, a trick play that gave WR Brandon Marshall a shot down the field, resulted in an incomplete pass, but the other two were runs that gained a combined 36 yards.

As the fourth quarter began, Miami stayed in the Wildcat, but on the third snap of the quarter, Thigpen trotted out to the field. His pass was nearly intercepted, but K Dan Carpenter’s 42-yard field goal gave the Dolphins a 23-17 lead.

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Posted by Will Brinson

The Chad Pennington Era in Miami didn't last long -- named the starter earlier this week, Pennington lasted just two plays before leaving the game with a shoulder injury.

Pennington was injured on the Dolphins first play from scrimmage, an incompletion to Anthony Fasano. He lasted one more play, a completion to Brian Hartline, and left the game.

Chad Henne replaced him and after a very awkward immediate timeout, completed an 11-yard pass to Lousaka Polite that set up a two-yard Ronnie Brown touchdown run.

Pennington's return is listed as "questionable," and perhaps the most interesting thing about what unfolded is that the 34-year-old, as reported by our own Charley Casserly on Inside the NFL Sunday, picked up an extra $200,000 on his annual paycheck just for playing a single snap Sunday.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

It’s that time of the week. Time for more bodog.com prop bets, brought to you during a special Friday night edition of the For the Gambler In You.

One note on the Super Bowl bets: The Ravens were listed as 7/1 favorites along with the Giants and the Steelers. I bet those odds on Baltimore will go up quite a bit after Thursday night's performance.

On to the props:

How many wins will the Dallas Cowboys record under Jason Garrett in the 2010 NFL regular season?

Over/Under 2.5

In looking at the Cowboys schedule, I see three winnable games (the Lions at home; the Redskins at home; and the Cardinals on the road). And quite often, a team responds fairly decently to an interim coach (at least, at first). That said, the Cowboys would have to win all three of those to go over, and I don’t see that happening.

What will happen next for Wade Phillips before August 1, 2011?

Member of an NFL coaching staff 1/2

Member of an NCAA coaching staff 4/1

Member of a CFL coaching staff 20/1

None of the above 3/2

At this point, who’s going to hire Phillips? That’s what the casual fan might say. But Phillips knows defense, and he certainly could find work as an NFL assistant coach somewhere – possibly even as a coordinator. That’s where I’d put my money.

If Donovan McNabb takes over possession with 2 minutes or less in either half Week 10, will the Redskins score?

Yes +135

No -175

This my favorite prop bet of the week. And OF COURSE, he’s going to score. It’d be racist of him NOT to score .

Chad Pennington – Completion percentage Week 10 vs. Tennessee

Over/Under 60 percent

Considering Pennington’s career completion percentage is 66.1 percent, and if he’s thrown at least 100 passes in a season, he’s never been below 60, the bet here is pretty obvious.

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Posted by Will Brinson

I've always had a soft spot for Chad Pennington, since we share the same birthday (and Michael Vick too -- which is easily the weirdest combo ever) and favorite food -- he said in a Monday Night Football introduction that his favorite food was "biscuits n' gravy," and I've been known to sop up some sausage and red-eye in my day.

So it's nice to see him back in a starting role. Even more so if Pennington starting means that he'll be dancing to Eminem every day in practice. Jeff Darlington deserves whatever the YouTube version of a Pulitzer is for capturing this.

Posted by Will Brinson

Rumors swirled Tuesday and early Wednesday (and for much of this season) that Chad Henne could be benched. Those rumors are true, as Tony Sparano named Chad Pennington the starter for the Dolphins game against the Titans on Sunday.

"This is not an indictment on Chad Henne, not an indictment on his future," Sparano said via Omar Kelly at the Sun-Sentinel. "At this particular time this is something I feel I need to do."

Miami's taken plenty of, ummmm, heat for their play this season, particularly at home, and Henne hasn't exactly set the world on fire with his play.

"Henne was disappointed, as I would expect, but a tremendous professional," Sparano said, via Mike Berardino.

Sparano's decision might not be permanent and could actually serve as motivation for the former second-rounder out of Michigan.

But it's a clear indication that the Dolphins are feeling a little pressure to do something to jump-start a mediocre passing offense (230.4 yards per game, eight picks and 11 interceptions on the season).

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

- The owners are getting more optimistic that a new labor deal can be reached before the end of the year. Those are the sentiments of New England’s Robert Kraft and the New York Jets’ Woody Johnson. Wondering why the shift toward positive thinking? Maybe it’s because the owners have learned they could lose as much as a billion dollars if they go ahead with a lockout. Strange how that works, eh?

- Seahawks coach Pete Carroll hasn’t named his starting RB. There’s a pretty good chance, though, it will be Marshawn Lynch.

- Coming off the charge by Denver’s Kyle Orton and coach Josh McDaniels that the Titans play dirty, the Jaguars were asked their thoughts about the issue. Jacksonville S Gerald Alexander said no. "They're one of those teams that play to and through the whistle," Alexander told the Florida Times Union. "So guys can take that as being dirty or being a cheap-shot artist or something like that. They play hard. Some teams may not be able to match that intensity, hence they say they play dirty." He kind of took a shot at Denver there, didn’t he?

- You’ve got to love a coach who will placate his fan base. The Dolphins fans really have to be loving Miami coach Tony Sparano. Oh, wait a minute. He kind of disparaged them, when he said this regarding whether fans think Chad Pennington should be starting at QB instead of Chad Henne, “This is no disrespect to any fans out there," Sparano said, as recorded by the Palm Beach Post, "but I could care less what they think about the quarterback situation." Nope, that doesn’t sound disrespectful at all.

- Rex Ryan said he’s a fan of the New York Giants. As of press time, Ryan was still employed as the head coach of the New York Jets.

- New York fans who want to watch the Giants play on TV – Rex Ryan, for instance – might not get the chance. That’s because the spat between Cablevision and FOX is ongoing. Three million Cablevision subscribers in the NYC area could be affected.

- Drew Brees takes to the airwaves and filmed an anti-bullying public service announcement. See it here at Pro Football Talk.

- Vikings C John Sullivan has had a rough year so far. He’s been injured, but he’s trying to stay positive.

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