Chad Henne’s three-interception game in the Dolphins’ loss to the Patriots in Week Four led to two weeks of talk from Dolphins fans through Miami’s bye week that it might be time to bench Henne in favor of Chad Pennington.
Dolphins coach Tony Sparano would like the fans in Miami to know that he can pick a starting quarterback without their input, thank you very much.
“This is no disrespect to any fans out there,” Sparano said, per Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post, “but I could care less what they think about the quarterback situation.”
I assume Sparano means that he couldn’t care less, but the point stands: Sparano can’t weigh the fans’ opinions in choosing his starter.
At the same time, Sparano acknowledges that he knows Pennington’s presence will put pressure on Henne.
“He’s the 1,000-pound elephant in the room sometimes,” Sparano said of Pennington. “We knew that, obviously. That’s one of the things you consider when you bring a player like [Pennington] back.”