FanHouse Chad Pennington

Now that Drew Brees has revealed he would have joined the Miami Dolphins back in 2006 as a free agent had they trusted his throwing shoulder was healed, had they believed in him, here comes Brees for an encore visit on Sunday to Miami.

I think the Dolphins and quarterback Chad Henne know the score.

They know that Henne will enter into a scrap with Brees where Henne had better light it up or be lit up.

Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez's NFL career couldn't have had a better start: New York, eight months removed from the evil clutches of Eric Mangini, began the season 3-0 and for the first time since those heady Chad Pennington days earlier this decade, the team had their franchise quarterback.

Reality abruptly set in last Sunday against the Saints -- Sanchez was just 14 of 27 for 138 yards, no touchdowns, three interceptions and he was sacked four times. He set season lows in just about every statistical category but it was his first pick early in the second quarter that might have been the lowlight of his afternoon.

Whether it's torn, sprained, broken or just needs to be taped, Injuries to Watch will keep you up to date on injuries around the NFL and how they'll affect your fantasy football team.

Quarterback

Chad Pennington, Dolphins - Pennington is done for the season. If he's still on your fantasy roster, well, then you're not paying attention.

Marc Bulger, Rams - Bulger did not practice on Thursday. In fact, he hasn't thrown a pass all week. He's likely not going to play on Sunday.

Jason Campbell, Redskins - Campbell said on Thursday that his ankle was still sore but he would play on Sunday.

As soon as Chad Pennington exited Miami's Week 3 game at San Diego with a shoulder injury, the Dolphins, rather unexpectedly, became Chad Henne's team. The second-year pro had never started an NFL game and seen extensive action in just one game prior to last Sunday, a Week 2 loss to Arizona in 2008.

But with Pennington going under the knife this week -- the third time in his career he's had surgery on his throwing shoulder -- the Dolphins will turn to Henne, both now and for the foreseeable future, even after a trade for Tyler Thigpen.

It's a difficult spot. Henne steps into the starting lineup before anyone thought he would, and he inherits a team that, despite an 0-3 start, had huge hopes coming into 2009. And while Henne may not save Miami this season, don't be surprised if he plays above his years and surprises some people.

After all, he's been in this situation before.

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

When Chad Pennington went down Sunday with a season-ending shoulder injury, an injury that may end his NFL career as well, the Miami Dolphins felt they had to scramble a bit.

Backup quarterback Chad Henne will step up and take the reigns, but the Dolphins felt that Pat White wasn't ready to be the backup just yet. To remedy this issue Miami made a trade for Tyler Thigpen, who will come in and be Henne's backup. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald feels that this move may make Pat White obsolete.

The Dolphins traded an an undisclosed 2010 draft pick to Kansas City for quarterback Tyler Thigpen, filling Chad Pennington's roster spot on the same day they played their injured QB on injured reserve.

The deal throws a little wrench into the perceived plan in Miami to anoint Chad Henne as Pennington's permanent replacement. Henne, in his second year out of Michigan, still figures to make his first NFL start Sunday when the 0-3 Dolphins host Buffalo. But Thigpen performed decently in 11 starts for Kansas City last season, throwing from more than 2,600 yards with an 18-12 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, the injury suffered by Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington in Sunday's game against the Chargers will end his 2009 season. The initial diagnosis on Pennington's shoulder says he has torn a capsule in his right shoulder. He will seek a second opinion from world-renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews this week. Andrews has already performed two surgeries on Pennington's right shoulder. (Update, Sept. 28: The Sun-Sentinel confirmed Mortensen's report.)

If this report turns out to be correct, it's a big blow for the defending AFC East champion Dolphins, who have already dug themselves a hole -- Miami is 0-3 after Sunday's loss in San Diego. Second-year quarterback Chad Henne would be the de facto starter, and he looked less than impressive Sunday against San Diego.

---

---

It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, FanHouse will keep you updated weekly on NFL teams facing potential quarterback controversies.

Things are looking interesting in Philadelphia, although Donovan McNabb can come back and ruin all the fun. Meanwhile, there appears to be no end in sight to the situation in Cleveland, where the Browns have looked generally awful when they have the ball.

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

As popular as Ben Roethlisberger is in Pittsburgh (and the rest of America for that matter), the Steelers are still built on a run-first philosophy. The question moving forward is who's going to be running the ball.

On 27 carries this season, Willie Parker has 66 yards. Instead of running to find your calculator, that's a dismal 2.4 yards per carry average. In his two games he's also been held without a touchdown.

On the other hand, second-year running back Rashard Mendenhall has a 6.4 yards per carry average and had a nice 29-yard carry to set up a Steelers touchdown.

Is there a running back controversy in Pittsburgh?

The last time the Indianapolis Colts played in Miami they were hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy following their Super Bowl XLI victory over the Chicago Bears. The stakes aren't quite as high on Monday night as they close out Week 2 of the NFL season with a throw down against Chad Pennington and the Miami Dolphins.

Join us for the FanHouse live chat as we discuss everything that happens on and off the field. Fun starts at 8:15 PM ET.