Live blog plus is Chad P's arm good enough?

Seems I've started something of a controversy on the other side of The Herald website by writing that I want to see more points, more production out of the Dolphins offense this season.

I didn't think anyone would not want that.

And yet there are foofs readers commenting below the column saying really stupid illogical things like, "all I want is no-mistake offense and great defense," or "The Dolphins didn't win the Super Bowl with a great offense," which is patently false because the offense that won back-to-back Super Bowls for Miami included five Hall of Famers.

I think there's also somebody below the column saying, "It's no sin to punt." The guy's name is Dave W., I think. Anyway ...

The fact is the Dolphins do have a tougher schedule this year and must be better on offense to meet that schedule's challenges. How can you not agree with me on that?

I spoke privately with Coach Tony Sparano as part of my legwork for this column. (Yeah, some columnists actually talk to people before they write.) And yes, the subject of the quarterback came up. And yes, the subject of the quarterback's arm strength came up.

And no, I wasn't able to fit the Sparano's thoughts on the subject into the column for space limitations reasons as the column also went in the newspaper. But here on my blog, there is no space crunch, haven't you heard? So let me share with you what Sparano said when I asked if the complaints about Chad Pennington's limited arm strength are legitimate? 

"It don't think it's legitimate. I really don't," Sparano replied. "The throws we need our quarterback to make, Chad Pennington can make every one of them. I mean, he can throw the deep ball. He's done that in ballgames for us. He's done it out here on the practice field. The intermediate stuff, the 18- to 22-yard stuff, he can throw. And he throws the ball up and down the seam as well as any quarterback in this league. And that's where you're finding yards in those areas of the field. I feel like that guy that can throw it the length of the field sometimes, that might be kind of overrated."

So what do you have to say about that? What is your opinion? Post it here.

One more thing: The Dolphins play tonight. The game begins at 7:30 p.m. That means the live game blog also begins at 7:30 p.m. Please come back for the fun.

Comments

[Dishpan]

I'll defer to the opinion of an NFL headcoach

[drsamii]

You seem a little testy this morning Armando. Don't think I have ever heard you call people out in the column. I thought you thought Chad's Arm was weak...or rather..."it is what it is" of late...lol. I love Mr. penington, but remind me when he threw the deep bombconnectingwithGinCamarillorBesshittingtheminstrideforatouchdown? I remember him throwing it up in Denver and Ginn went up to get it and caught in after he slowed down and then got popped. Wait, as I type I think he hit Ginn in stride against...was it Seattle... but was that a bomb...hmmm. I don't know, still like him though. Help me out Mr. Mando. What do u remember?

[Pau; in Winnipeg]

Hey Armando

I don't know if you remember me, but I'm from WInnipeg Canada and I just bought tickets for the December 27 game against Houston. I'm finally making the pilgrimage.

On to more offense and CP's arm. I'd like the same defense as last year and more offense (especially from the running game in the base formation). Chaad may not have a rifle, but I think he can get it done. I agree with Tony Sparano.

See you in December.

[sammo]

pennington's arm is strong enough to get the job done. you guys want to see a REAL noodle arm check out shaun hill.

[aquaandorange]

please, I luv Sparano but he has a blindspot if he thinks CHAD P can
Throw long. Folks he simply can't and teams know this. In my opinion you keep White and move on from the Chads. Saving grace this season is only Henning and his creativity. He is a genius.

[Ace]

Mando,

Good points. This arm strength issue comes up alot regarding Chad P. I love the Chad P's leadership, mental toughness, dedication, and experience as our QB. Would I love to see him have more arm strength you bet. No doubt he can make the throws needed in the game. The issue has to do with the velocity of the throws. The slower throws will give DBs time to react. The slower throws will require pin point precision and placement, which Chad is good at.

[Hayden Fox]

Arm strength is an overrated factor. How many strong armed QB's have failed? Pennington's game is what it is...Pennington was the best thing that happened to the Fins in awhile...now Mando is throwing him under the bus. Perhaps there are other deficient areas on the offense that holds the squad back. Without him the Fins would have had 2 wins last year.

I wonder what would happen with a smash mouth run game that wilts opponents by the 4th quarter. How about that formula?

[Belchos]

Calling people fools or stupid because they agree with Parcells and not you is stupid on your part, and the fool is you, burro

[Omar Kooky and Harvey Fialwhatever]

You're getting "private" chats with the coach? Whys we can'ts get them?

Dang.

[Ace]

"Ginn went up to get it and caught in after he slowed down and then got popped."
posted by Drsamii,

Why do you think Ginn had to slow down??????

[Willi Chirino]

I love Tony Sparano as much as the next guy, but he's simply not being honest. He cannot be. He has to have seen the weak-armed crap we've all seen.

All I can say is if they think Pennington's arm is just fine why are they thinking of replacing him after the season?

Hmmmmmm.

[FLPD]

I couldn't believe some of the comments from the peanut gallery under your column, either. Crazy.

Look Coach S has to say what he said. He's got to defend his noodle-armed QB. What's he going to do, undress the kid in public?

But I think we all already know the king has on no clothes.

[carlito from golfito]

What is a foof?

How do you know if someone is foofing?

Can't make live blog tonight because I will be at game!

D-Fence!

[Ace]

Hayden Fox, The arm issue is not overrated, it is only a factor in the QBs performance. This works well with Chad P I agree. Precision and timing. Can we wish for more velcocity..Yes

[aquaandorange]

What about this idea Mr Hennning //-- Rotate 3 qb's to keep other teams defenses off balance

[carlito from golfito]

Aquaandorange,

You say qb needs strong arm and then you say get rid of Chads and start Pat White. Pat White is fast but does not has strong arm. Chad Henne has cannon.

You don't make sense for me. Make up you mind.

[carlito from golfito]

Where is NJ to prove my suspicion that aquaandorange know nothing about football?

rotate 3 qbs???

[aquaandorange]

Carlito--said move on eventually -I favor 3 mAn rotation until we can draft or trade for a qb.

[carlito from golfito]

aquaandorange,

Are you relate to Cam Cameron or David Wandstache or Randy Mueller?

They have lots of ideas like this one too. Except Wanstache would rotate the 3 when he can't make decision for starter because they all good guys that go to church.

[sammo]

qb's need to develope a rthym when on the field. rotating qb's knocks that rythem to hell. look how well it worked out when fiedler and feeley were being rotated in and out. Nuff said.

[morphin]

Most of those HOFers were on the Ol because Kuch should be in there. Is anyone else as pissed as me about this travesty ? If this new bunch can run block better than last wk the points will come.

[dolfanSF]

lets get on with the season, already. chad is our guy this year.

[carlito from golfito]

ahhhhhhhhhrgggggggghhhhh!

Fiedler and Feeley! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

sorry I have a small reaction/ flashback to these names in same sentence

[aquaandorange]

Carlito-I don't hear a lot of ideas emanating from your foofing mind. Your good at slinging it though. Hennepin can't throw long_period--we can't get to the next level if we cAn't stretch the defense--especially w our speed at wr.

[sammo]

which proves my point carlito. rotation bad. stability good.

[sammo]

brad johnson did ok not being able to stretch the field. other than ginn our receivers aren't made to get open deep. get pennington to midfield and he will bomb it to ginn just fine.

[aquaandorange]

Marino withdrawal.

[carlito from golfito]

aquaandorange,

You don't hear idea from me about rotating quaterback because I know Pennington gives us best chance to win. He is most accurate qb in nfl history and barely threw int last year. He don't make mistake. Henne has very strong arm and alot of potential to be good qb, but he still raw. I say if Pennington has another great year, give him one year extension and let him and Henne battle for be starter.

[aquaandorange]

Ginn and williams and Armstrong if he they make the team have burners. Ginn of course will.

[CHAMP]

CHAD IS THE MAN AND OUR DEAR LEADER, GOD BLESS HIM .AS LONG THEY FEED HIM OMEGA 3 FOOD BEFORE THE GAME WE WILL WIN THE SUPER BOWL FOR SURE .
GO DOLPHINS
EAT OMEGA 3 FOOD LIKE,
ALMOND
EGGS
BEANS
ANCHOVE
SOWRD FISH
TACO

[sammo]

williams makes team as returner. armstrong i'm not so sure about. YET. starting 3 wr's ginn bess and rillo in the slot. turner will be our redzone threat.

[Gary P]

Mandl
We can say the Offense needs to score more points and control the clock more this season than last because of a tougher schedule. We can also say that the defense needs to improve in their backfield especially and special teams needs a huge improvement.
Pennington is a great QB, end of story.

[FinFanMan13]

Wasn't it that weak-armed Penny that threw the ball about 40-45 yds in the air to Cobbs on the Wildcat play? Yeah, he had to stop to catch it, but what's to say Henne wouldn't have overthrown him? Broken Down Brett can throw the ball the length of the field but do any of us want those type INT numbers?

[aquaandorange]

Car--don't get me wrong I think Chad p has overall been great for the fins but he needs to show that he can throw deep to open up our offense and make it multidemensional. I know the dolphin org IS working w him on this. Chad has to prove this part of the game -the long ball- for the ravens pats steelers etc to be worried. So strengthen that arm NOW or be rotated in my humble opinion.

[PhinsFanInAtlanta]

Pennington's weak arm is a liability since the other team's defense doesn't have to worry about us throwing the bomb.

[Joker]

Armando,
Guy goes into a bar, there’s a robot bartender.
The robot says,
"What will you have?"
The guy says, "Martini."
The robot brings back the best martini ever and says to the man, "What’s your IQ?"
The guy says, "168".
The robot then proceeds to talk about physics, space exploration and medical technology. The guy leaves, but he is curious, so he goes back into the bar.
The robot bartender says, “What will you have?"
The guy says, "Martini".
Again, the robot makes a great martini, gives it to the man and says, “What’s your IQ?
The guy says, "100."
The robot then starts to talk about NASCAR, Budweiser and John Deere tractors.
The guy leaves, but finds it very interesting, so he thinks he will try it one more time. He goes back into the bar.
The robot says, "What will you have?"
The guy says, "Martini", and the robot brings him another great martini.
The robot then says, "What’s your IQ"
The guy says,
"Uh, about 50."
The robot leans in real close and says,
"So, you people still happy you voted for Obama?"

[greg z.]

chads arm strength is the last of my worries. i worry about the guys (vontae) who make dumb mistakes and laugh it up all while afterwards being excused by the coach (sparano). usually when one makes a mistake he owns it and is humbled. i'll take jason allen or joey thomas anyday over a primadona!

[aquaandorange]

Vontae worries me to but miami will keep him on a short leash for now.

[Joker]

Vontae had 2 mistakes on special teams which he has never played before... do you really think the coaches did not get in his face this week?....com on.

[7teks]

WE NEED MORE OFFENSE! more than anything, we need more offense, whoever disagrees is a pats fan! And Chad p cannot throw the deep ball, I love him, but he underthrows, so it's not just about arm strength, it's about him overestimating his! Obj, and Joker, that was the dumbest joke I have ever heard. Seriously, when are republicans going to learn that it is Now time for them to stfu and let grownups fix their mess..and btw stop talking politics this is a dolphins blog!

[Joker]

I worry about the O line run blocking. I think that will be the key to the season.

[Dino]

First of all Mando, I think the arm strength is important but its not the end all.. Chads a Griese type quarterback, with all the other intangibles you want from that position. As a matter of fact, he may be the best in the league in every other area.. On a scale of 1-10 rating your quarterback. he is an 8 or higher in every area. Brains, leadership, saavy,doesnt beat himself. I mean we broke an NFL record for fewest turnovers. Fewest turnovers. Thats insane. That means the Guy is a genius at not making bone headed mistakes. Would you give take 10 more turnovers for a rocket arm? I wouldn't .. Yeah I would love him to stretch the defense.. But really, Did Montana have a rocket, Did Griese? Thats my argument..

[CHAMP]

THE BEST THING HAPPENED for fins in last 12 years was chad.p .he raised your value from a BASEMENT TEAM to 11-5 team ,let's wait and see who's going to top that you donkeys .

[Dolphins4life]

Armando

The 72' and 73' Dolphins won those superbowls with a great Defense. The 72' team should of won the game 14-0 save for Garo Yepremian. That should have been a shut out. The offense was good but nothing like the bombs away Dan Marino days. It was the no name D that led the way to those Superbowls.

Griese was a good leader and could manage the game. But along with every great D is a good run game and thats where the Dolphins bread and butter was on offense. Give the ball to Csonka, Mercury and Kick. That set up the play action pass to Warfield but lets not mistake that for a great offense. That offense was good at running ball and the clock. Managing the game and having an emphasis on no turnoevers. Shula would cut you back in the seventies for fumbling at the goal line. The same way Sammie Smith fumbled in the playoffs at the damn goal line back in 90. Next season he would have been cut.

But that same offense, the bombs away offense lead by Dan Marino made coach Shula soft and spolied Dolphin fans, including me. But I kept watching teams win superbowls with inferior quarterbacks at least comparred to Dan the man. All with good to great DEFENSES.

So we dont need a prolific offense just a good one that runs the ball, takes time off theclock, and gives our D a breather.
Because make no mistake its the defense that will take us as far as we need to go which is the Super Bowl, maybe this year or next. The majority of playmakers we have are on Defense and yes I truely beleive that our offense is better this year and will score more points than last years team. How much more is the question? But I'm not looking for the Dolphins to score a bunch of points like the Marino days. More like the superbowl days of the seventies. But I am looking for our defense to score more points this year and I think it will come. I'm looking for int's turned into TD's. Sacks that cause a fumble near the goal line, or Jason Taylor taking one to the house. Ok I got a little nostalgic but JT still has it, and i'm looking forward to a very good year from him.

My two cents

[carlito from golfito]

that more like 5 dollar than 2 cents

[greg z.]

just to clarify, i'm not worried about vontae making rookie mistakes. i'm worried about him "yukking it up" after he makes a bonehead play. he did this all thru training camp. he's a primadona. it will take another vet to wise him up- maybe.

[jet in lube]

let's call vonte davis a bust until he shows us other wise

[Joker]

jet in lube, lets do the same for Sanchez...
and your rookie coach..

[carlito from golfito]

poor, poor sanchito. He going to have big problem this year.

[jet in lube]

agree, Joker.....they make a lot of money, they should show us why ?

[HAL9000]

No coach is going to make a public statement making a player look bad....ever heard of coachspeak? Do you really think Sparano would come out and say, yeah Pennington's great but there's no velocity and passes tend to float.

What we should be concerned with is Henne. Not impressed so far....expected more improvement this year. Maybe tonight we'll see something to get excited about.

[jet in lube]

if chad.p wasn't here last year , mr coach would be 3-13 at best .
tell the truth people .to get 11 wins in nfl you got to be an elite QB.

[greg z.]

i watched henne for 2 weeks in camp. he's playing without a "feel" for the position; very stiff! sparano has everyone so scared about 3 red zone rules everyone is playing(?) paralyzed inside the 20 yd. line. Instead of playing to win they are playing "not to lose". henne is a perfect example. KEEP IT LOOSE; UNTIE OUR HANDS!!

[KDee]

Mando;

Your thoughts that the Phins need to be better on offense this year to get to elite status are right on....but that also includes the defense.

On offense, the arm strength issue may affect a very small percentage of the throws. What is much more important is YAC for our receivers, and that means real ability to separate for room to maneuver, and that extra effort to make the cut inside or out to steal more yardage before the hit (Wes Welker specialty). We need Ginn, Bess, Camarillo, Fasano, and the rooks to take Pennington's accuracy and translate it to Yards After Catch....

That is what we are missing.....that and still the ability to run with impunity that sets up the pass game. We need big open holes, and Ronnie and Ricky to make the same efforts (yards after hitting the open hole).

When we have Henne in, with his big arm, that will just makes us that much better with more options and forcing the defense to play honest.... IF we do the YAC thing right.

[drsamii]

Uhhhh...that was my POINT, Ace. Hence the I can't remember CP ever being able to complete the deep Pass. That was about as close as I could come to an example. But he is still great so I'll take him.

[Ricky V]

Does anyone know if the game is available online tonight?

[phinfan1975]

mando didnt we score touchdowns on 5 opening drives this year not all was bad actually the best in years withthe improvement on defence well be just fine. p.s isnt about time you write articile about the patroits

[oohlahwhee]

Never have I seen a more ignorant thought than "give the ball to Csonka, Kiick, and Morris; mix in play-action to Warfield...BUT DON'T MISTAKE THAT FOR A GOOD OFFENSE." WTF???

[Tommya]

C'mon Sparano admit it already: Chad can't throw the deep ball, and the only WR threat on the Fins roster is Ted Ginn, a one dimensional WR with straight line speed that can't(unwilling) turn a 5 yard pass into a 50 yard TD.

So the Pennington/Ginn combination sucks because Chad can't throw the ball 50 yards down the field and Ginn is too chicken to take a big hit.

If Ginn doesn't stop laying down/running out of bounds teams are just going to play without worrying about getting beat for a big play out of the passing game. Making this Fins offense very impotent.

[Mad Mardigan the Everliving]

Word up Dino and Champ. I'm a former Jet fan, who became a dol-fan after they traded Chad. Unbelievable to me the crap CP takes. I mean WTF!!! Joins a team w/ one win the year before, late in the pre-season mind you, takes the division and beats the Jets to do it. That's a wet dream right there. You guys are complaining about a QB who was 2nd in MVP votes? How many pro bowlers does he have on offense to support him (and Brown getting in was a joke), and he wins anyway. He got the Jets within a kick of the super bowl, with a torn rotator cuff, a sub par o line, average receivers and a D that couldn't get off the field. Give him a domintant run game, a dynamic YAC receiver and a solid D and he's super bowl MVP.

Mad Mardigan the Everliving