The Miami Dolphins are underdogs in football odds this week at the Sbg sportsbook as they host the Tennessee Titans and Miami will be trying to win with backup quarterback Chad Pennington. Head coach Tony Sparano announced that starter Chad Henne is going to the bench while Pennington will be the starter. That might sounds bad if you are considering Miami in NFL betting lines but maybe it is not.
Henne has been Inconsistent
The Dolphins are 4-4 and their season is really on the line this week at home against Tennessee. The Dolphins simply have to win to stay in the playoff race. Head coach Tony Sparano is making the change because Henne continues to make mistakes. He has eight TD passes but has thrown ten interceptions this season. Turning the ball over is simply not the way to win football games and Sparano knows it. Henne completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 1,900 yards and eight touchdowns with 10 interceptions this season with a quarterback rating of 78.2. He threw three interceptions last week in the loss to Baltimore and Sparano had seen enough.
Chad Pennington
It is not like the Dolphins are going with an inexperienced quarterback. Pennington is 34-years old and you know exactly what you are getting with him. He is very accurate, doesn’t make mistakes and has limited arm strength. He started two years ago for Miami and led the team to the AFC East title so he knows how to win games.
This is it for Miami
The Dolphins are in almost a must-win situation this week in NFL betting lines and they simply didn’t want to take a chance with Henne throwing another game away. If Pennington does what he has done in the past then Miami can win and cover the football odds. Pennington has won the NFL comeback player of the year award twice in his career. If he leads the Dolphins to the playoffs he might well win the award again even though he would have played just half a season. If the Dolphins can win this game at home against the Titans they would be 5-4 and have a winnable game next week at home against Chicago. They then play Oakland and Cleveland in games they could win before they go to visit the Jets in a game they will likely lose. Then the Dolphins get Buffalo and Detroit at home in games they should win before finishing up at New England. This week sets up the rest of the season for Miami and the Dolphins are placing their faith in Pennington.