25-year old Chad Henne had a rough year for the Dolphins in 2010.  He played in 15 games for the Dolphins last season and he completed 301 of 490 passes (61.4%) for 3,301 yards with 15 TD passes and 19 INTs (75.4 QB Rating).  Henne also carried the ball 35 times for 52 yards (1.5 ypc) last season.  Henne has now played in 32 games in his first three years with the Dolphins and he has completed 582 of 953 passes (61.1%) for 6,246 yards with 27 TD passes and 33 INTs (75.3 QB Rating).  Henne has also carried the ball 51 times for 84 yards (1.6 ypc) with 1 TD run in his three years with the Fins.  Henne has shown no signs of improvement since becoming the starting QB last season and it might be time to replace him.

26-year old Tyler Thigpen is a really solid #3 QB which is the role the Fins should have him fill in 2011.  Thigpen played in 5 games for the Fins last season and he completed 33 of 62 passes (53.2%) for 435 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs (73.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 13 times for 73 yards (5.6 ypc) last season.  Thigpen has now played in 22 games in his NFL career and he has completed 269 of 496 passes (54.2%) for 3,167 yards with 21 TD passes and 17 INTs (73.7 QB Rating).  Thigpen has also carried the ball 77 times for 462 yards (6.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career. 

34-year old Chad Pennington is likely toast after hurting his shoulder again in 2010.  Pennington played in 1 game for the Dolphins last season and he completed 1 of 2 passes (50%) for 19 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (83.3 QB Rating).  Pennington has now played in 89 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,632 of 2,471 passes (66%) for 17,823 yards with 102 TD passes and 64 INTs (90.1 QB Rating).  Pennington has also carried the ball 180 times for 465 yards (2.6 ypc) with 7 TD runs in his career.

VERDICT:  I think the Dolphins should gauge interest in Chad Henne in the trade market to see what they can get for him.  If they find a deal they like they should move him.  Pennington will likely retire but the Fins will cut him if he doesn’t.  Thigpen will likely return as the #2 or #3 QB depending on what the Fins do with Henne.  I think they need to bring in a veteran QB to take over as the starting QB.

The Miami Dolphins got destroyed in Foxboro yesterday by Tom Brady and a bunch of backup players.  Chad Henne was awful once again yesterday as he completed 6 of 16 passes for 71 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  Tyler Thigpen was a little bit better as he completed 10 of 21 passes for 169 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 21 yards (7.0 ypc) in this game.  Ronnie Brown could only muster 14 yards rushing on 6 carries (2.3 ypc) but he did catch 3 passes for 39 yards (13.0 avg).  Ricky Williams only rushed for 5 yards on 6 carries (0.8 ypc) and he lost a fumble.  WRs Brandon Marshall (5 rec, 97 yards) and Davone Bess (3 rec, 35 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Dolphins yesterday.  The Dolphins finished up with 44 yards rushing on 16 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 37 passes for 206 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 23:41.

The defense was pathetic for the Dolphins yesterday.  LB Tim Dobbins (11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), safety Tyrone Culver (7 tackles) and DE Paul Soliai (6 tackles and 1 fumble recovery) led the way for the Fins’ on D in this game.  The Patriots finished up with 181 yards rushing on 45 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 29 passes for 321 yards.  The Dolphins also had a huge blip on special teams as Patriots’ WR Julian Edelman returned a punt 94 yards for a TD yesterday.  The Dolphins finished in 3rd place in the AFC East with a 7-9 record.

The Dolphins have signed 26-year old OT Allen Barbre and they have cut 29-year old center Eric Ghiaciuc who didn’t get in any games for them.  Barbre played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Seahawks earlier this year.  He has now played in 28 games (7 starts) in his first four years in the NFL.  He might get to play some against the Patriots tomorrow afternoon.