Devout Dolphin

Out of New York, Pennington is back on top in Miami | Mark Bergin

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For eight seasons with the New York Jets, six as the starting quarterback, Chad Pennington proved himself a model citizen and teammate. He and his wife founded a community charity. He bought steaks for every employee of the organization every Christmas. And throughout the rest of the season, he helped the Jets reach the playoffs three times.

There was spiritual modeling, too: Pennington led a weekly Bible study for players in his home.

But a combination of injuries, pressure from New York media, and a dismal 1-7 start to the 2007 season left the light-hearted play caller benched and broken. A year later, now at the helm of the resurgent Miami Dolphins, Pennington looks back on that dark point of his career with new eyes.