Chad Pennington

FINS FACT
Many athletes have interesting hobbies and interests off the field and Chad is no different. However, one of his interests involves a sport where some of the competitors can weigh in excess of 1,500 pounds. Chad's #10 Bucking Bulls supplies bulls for the Professional Bull Riders Tour, which tours around North and South America. Currently his Bull "Cat Man Do" is ranked in the Top 50 of the PBR Touring Bulls.

CAREER TRANSACTIONS
Signed by the Dolphins on August 9, 2008 after being released by the N.Y. Jets on August 7 ... Was the third of four first-round draft choices (18th overall) of the Jets in 2000.

PRO
2009 - Was placed on Injured Reserve on September 29, 2009 with a shoulder injury and will be out the rest of the season ... Underwent surgery to his right shoulder by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama, on Oct. 2nd ... At the time of his injury he was 51-74 for 413 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for a 76.0 rating ... At that time he ranked second in the AFC and third in the NFL in completion percentage ... Started all three games this season before he was injured ... For the preseason was 29-45 for 328 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a rating of 101.0 ... Started all four preseason games.

QUARTERBACK RATING: Pennington qualified for a career ranking among Dolphin quarterbacks, and his 94.5 figure for his Dolphin career is the highest of any Dolphin QB. Had a passer rating over 100.0 in no games this year and the Dolphins are 0-0 in those contests.

COMPLETION PERCENTAGE: Pennington's qualified for a career ranking among Dolphin quarterbacks, and his completion percentage of 67.6 is the highest career completion percentage in team history. He has compiled a completion mark of 63.0 or better in each of his six seasons in which he has started more than three games ... His 66.1 career completion percentage is the highest all-time mark in NFL history. Pennington has completed at least 63% of his passes in his last seven regular season games (eight games overall, including playoffs), beginning on Dec. 7, 2008 at Buffalo, and continuing through Sept. 27, 2009 at San Diego (when he was forced from the game permanently in the third quarter with the shoulder injury that ended his season).

300-YARD GAMES: Has no 300-yard game this season and the Dolphins are 0-0 in those contests ... In his career he has seven games of passing for 300 yards or more, and his teams are 5-2 in those contests (4-1 with the New York Jets, 1-1 with the Dolphins).

3,000 YARDS: Pennington threw for 3,653 yards last year ... It marked the third time in his career he has thrown for 3,000 or more yards (once with the Dolphins and twice with the New York Jets) ... Overall it was the 15th 3,000-yard season in Dolphin history and Pennington is just the third Dolphin to reach that figure in a season (Dan Marino – 13 times; Fielder – 1 time; Pennington – 1 time).

FOURTH QUARTER COMEBACKS: In his career Pennington has seven fourth-quarter or overtime comeback victories, with five at home and two on the road ... The first six came as a member of the New York Jets, while one came last year as a member of the Dolphins (on Nov. 16, 2008 vs. Oakland). In Pennington's seven career fourth quarter comebacks, he completed 52 of 70 passes (74.3%) for 582 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in the fourth quarter.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS - AT SAN DIEGO (SEPT. 27): On Sept. 27th at San Diego was 8-12 for 54 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions before being forced from the game permanently with a right shoulder injury in the third quarter ... As a result of that injury he was played on Injured Reserve two days later and will miss the remainder of the season.

VS. INDIANAPOLIS (SEPT. 21): On Sept. 21st vs. Indianapolis he was 22-33 for 183 yards with no touchdowns and one interception, coming on a Hail Mary pass on the last play of the game ... It was the sixth straight regular season game (and seventh overall, including playoffs), where he has completed 63% or more of his passes.

AT ATLANTA (SEPT. 13): On Sept. 13th at Atlanta was 21-29 for 176 yards with one touchdown and one interception ... His touchdown pass came on a nine-yard TD toss to Ricky Williams ... It was the fifth straight regular season game in which Pennington has thrown a TD pass.

2008 - Started all 16 regular season games in his first season with the Dolphins, the second time in his career that he opened every contest (2006) ... Named as the co-winner (along with LB Joey Porter) of the team's 2008 Dan Marino Most Valuable Player Award as well as the recipient of the 2008 Don Shula Leadership Award ... Completed 321 of 476 passes (67.4%) for 3,653 yards with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions ... Became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 3,500 yards and have seven or fewer interceptions ... Is just the third quarterback in league history to compile at least 3,400 yards passing and have seven or fewer interceptions, joining Kansas City's Steve DeBerg (3,444 yards, 4 INTs in 1990) and San Francisco's Steve Young (3,465 yards, 7 INTs in 1992) ... Completion percentage of 67.4 led the NFL and was the third-highest figure of his career ... The figure set a single-season record by a Dolphin (64.2 by Dan Marino in 1984) as well as in a career (59.4 by Dan Marino from 1983-99) ... Passer rating of 97.4 was second in the NFL, trailing only the 105.5 mark by San Diego's Philip Rivers ... In addition, it shattered the Dolphins previous career mark of 86.4 by Dan Marino, while it stands as the second-highest single-season figure in team history, trailing only the 108.9 rating put forth by Marino in 1984 ... Over the course of the year led the Dolphins on 37 touchdown drives, during which time he completed 84.4 percent of his passes (130 of 154) ... Completed more than 70 percent of his passes eight times on the season while he also had a passer rating of better than 100.0 in eight games ... First touchdown pass as a Dolphin came on a 5-yard strike to Anthony Fasano in opener against N.Y. Jets (9/7) ... Put together an 85.0 percent completion mark on 17 of 20 passing in 38-13 win at New England (9/21), the highest completion percentage of his career and the second-highest figure in Dolphins history, trailing only the 92.3 mark by Bob Griese (12 of 13) on December 18, 1978 against New England ... In the game, Pennington had a streak of 11 consecutive completions in the first half ... Compiled a passer rating of 122.8 at Houston (10/5), the third straight game in which he had a mark of 100.0 or better, the first Dolphin to do that since Marino in the first three games of 1994 ... He threw for 284 yards and two touchdowns in the game, both to running back Patrick Cobbs ... One went for an 80-yard touchdown off a screen pass, the longest completion of his career ... Went over the 15,000-yard mark for his career in contest against Baltimore (10/19), as he surpassed the plateau on an 8-yard completion to Ted Ginn, Jr. in the third quarter ... Was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week in a 25-16 win over Buffalo (10/26), when he completed 22 of 30 (73.3%) for 314 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions ... It was the fifth such honor of his career... Produced the seventh fourth-quarter comeback win of his career in 17-15 victory over Oakland (11/16) ... After the Raiders took a 15-14 lead on a 93-yard punt return by Johnnie Lee Higgins, the offense took over at their own 20 with 4:30 to play ... Pennington proceeded to complete four of five passes for 51 yards as part of a 10-play, 61-yard drive that ended with Dan Carpenter's 38-yard field goal with 38 seconds remaining ... Lone rushing score of the year came on a 7-yard run the following week against New England (11/23) ... Went over the 3,000-yard passing mark for the season in 16-3 win  over Buffalo in Toronto (12/7) ... Had a rating of 104.2 in that Bills game, the first of four in a row to close the season that he reached the 100.0 mark ... Connected on 23 of 29 passes, including each of his last 11, in the Bills contest ... The following week against San Francisco (12/14), was 12 of 19 for 156 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a season-best 124.0 passer rating ... Completed his first six passes of the game, extending his streak of consecutive completions to 17, setting a new Dolphins record, surpassing the previous one of 15, held by Dan Marino (1992) ... Tied a season-high the following week with three touchdown passes in a 38-31 win at Kansas City (12/21) ... All three scores went to tight ends, consisting of two to Fasano and one to David Martin ... The final one to Fasano was a 14-yard strike with 4:08 remaining in the contest to break a 31-31 tie ... In finale at N.Y. Jets (12/28), connected on 22 of 30 (73.3%) for 200 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 113.2 as the Dolphins clinched the AFC East title with a 24-17 victory ... Was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance, his second such honor of the season and the sixth of his career, as he became the first Dolphins quarterback to come away with the award twice in the same season since Dan Marino in 1999 ... Accounted for the 100th touchdown pass of his career on a 27-yard strike to Ted Ginn, Jr. in the second quarter ... He also became the first Dolphin to have a rating of 100.0 or better in four or more consecutive contests since Marino did it in six games in a row (3-8) in 1984 ... In fact, over the final four regular season games of 2008, Pennington completed 83 of 112 passes (74.1%) for 772 yards with 8 TDs, 1 INT and a passer rating of 112.6.

NFL COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR:  For his efforts in 2008, Pennington was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year by the Associated Press ... It was the second such honor of his career as he also came away with the accolade in 2006 with the New York Jets... Since the award was first given out in 1972, Pennington is the first player to earn it more than once ... He also was the fourth Dolphin to win the honor,  joining QB Earl Morrall (1972), FB Larry Csonka (1979) and QB Dan Marino (1994).

FOURTH QUARTER COMEBACK VICTORIES: In his career, Pennington has been at the controls when his team has rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit for a victory on seven occasions, including once with the Dolphins ... He guided two such comebacks in both 2003 and 2004.

AMONG NFL ALL-TIME LEADERS IN COMPLETION PERCENTAGE: Through his first nine NFL seasons, Pennington has posted a composite completion percentage of 66.0 ... This includes a figure of 67.9% over the last two years (500 of 736) ... His overall figure is the top figure in NFL history (min. 1,500 attempts) entering 2009 ... In addition, he has completed 75.0 percent or better of his passes in 18 games during his career in the regular season, and 19 overall including playoffs ... His teams are 11-7 in the regular season when he has attained this mark and 1-0 in the playoffs.

AMONG NFL ALL-TIME LEADERS IN PASSER RATING: In his career, Pennington has produced a passer rating of 90.6 ... Of the six seasons in which he has started more than three games, he has compiled a rating of 90.0 or better on three occasions, including a high of 104.2 in 2002, his first as a starter ... His career mark is the sixth-best mark in NFL history and fourth among active quarterbacks ... In addition, he has produced a rating of 100.0 or better in 29 games during the regular season when he has had 10 or more attempts, and 31 overall including playoffs ... His teams are 22-7 in the regular season when he has attained this mark and 2-0 in the playoffs.

2007 - Opened eight of the nine games in which he appeared ... Connected on 179 of 260 passes (68.8%) for 1,765 yards with 10 TDs and nine INTs ... Completion percentage ranked second in the AFC and in the NFL ...  Amassed a season-high rating of 130.5 in opener vs. New England (9/9) when he was 16 of 21 for 167 yards with two TDs and no INTs ... Had a 2-yard TD run in fourth quarter of 31-28 victory over Miami (9/23) ... Hit on more than 80 percent of his passes on two occasions, including a season-best 82.1% clip at Buffalo (9/30) when he was 32 of 39, consisting of a string of 15 straight completions ... Had a 2-point conversion completion to Leon Washington at Cincinnati (10/21) ... Also posted an 81.3% mark at Tennessee (12/23) when he was 26 of 32 in what would be his final start and game as a Jet.

2006 - Started all 16 games for the first time in his career ... Completed 313 of 485 passes (64.5%) for 3,352 yards with 17 TDs and 16 INTs as he led the Jets to a regular season record of 10-6 and a Wild Card Playoff berth, and was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year ... Completion percentage ranked third in the AFC and fourth in the NFL ... Was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week in the Jets' season-opening 23-16 win at Tennessee (9/10) when he completed 24 of 33 for 319 yards with two TDs, no INTs and a season-best passer rating of 123.2 ... Threw for 306 yards the following week vs. New England, the only time in his career that he has put together consecutive 300-yard passing performances ... Went over the 10,000-yard passing mark for his career vs. Detroit (10/22) on a 23-yard completion to Jerricho Cotchery in the second quarter ... Recorded the fifth fourth-quarter comeback victory of his career on Christmas Night at Miami ... With the Dolphins ahead 10-7 in the fourth quarter, Pennington guided a pair of scoring drives, including one which ended with a 32-yard TD pass to Cotchery ... Then, with the game tied at 10, connected with Leon Washington for a 64-yard catch-and-run to the Dolphins' 16 with just under 2:00 to play, leading to Mike Nugent's game-winning 30-yard field goal with ten seconds to play ... Overall in the fourth quarter of the Dolphins game, completed six of nine for 144 yards and a TD ... Also in the game, rushed for a career-high 26 yards on four attempts.

2005 - Started the first three games of the season before sustaining a shoulder injury at Jacksonville (9/25) which subsequently landed him on injured reserve on October 31 ... Lone win came in 17-7 decision over Miami (9/18) when he completed 19 of 30 for 190 yards with two TDs and an INT.

2004 - Opened all 13 contests in which he played ... Completed 242 of 370 passes (65.45) for 2,673 yards with 16 TDs and nine INTs ... Led Jets to wins in each of the first five games of the season, leading off with a 31-24 decision over Cincinnati (9/12), the initial opening day start of his career ... Put together a passer rating of 123.1 in the contest ... In fact, totaled five touchdown passes with just two interceptions over that five-game span ... The final two victories in that five-game stretch both were fourth-quarter comebacks ... Against Buffalo (10/10), the Jets trailed 14-13 as they commenced a drive at their own 20 with 5:58 remaining ... Pennington went on to complete seven of his eight passes, totaling 51 yards, setting up a Doug Brien 38-yard field goal with 58 seconds to play to lift the Jets to a 16-14 win ... The following week vs. San Francisco (10/17), the Jets trailed the 49ers, 14-9, heading into the fourth quarter when Pennington completed five of six passes for 50 yards in leading the Jets on a pair of touchdown drives and securing a 22-14 victory ... Had a passer rating of 131.4 with a season-high three touchdown passes in a 41-14 win over Miami (11/1) ... Registered a season-best passer rating of 148.1 in 37-14 win over Seattle (12/19) when he also tossed three scores ... In 20-17 overtime win at San Diego (1/8/05) in a Wild Card Playoff game, connected on 23 of 33 passes for 279 yards with two TDs and no INTs ... Completed both of his pass attempts, totaling 29 yards, on the overtime game-winning drive which was capped by a 28-yard field goal by Brien with five seconds to play in the first overtime period.

2003 - Started nine of the 10 games in which he played ... Connected on 189 of 297 passes (63.6%) for 2,139 yards with 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions ... Missed each of the first six games of the season with a wrist injury sustained in the preseason, while starting the final nine ... Equaled a career best with four touchdown passes in first start of the season, vs. N.Y. Giants (11/2) ...  Three of his four scores that day went to Santana Moss ... Led the second fourth-quarter comeback win of his career the week afterwards at Oakland (11/9), as the Jets trailed 21-10 heading into the fourth quarter ... In the fourth quarter and overtime of that game, he hit on seven of eight passes for 66 yards with a TD and no INTs ... Had a 3-yard TD pass to Jerald Sowell and subsequent 2-point pass to Anthony Becht with 1:09 to play, tying the game at 24, before the Jets won the game in overtime on a field goal ... At Indianapolis (11/16), put together a perfect rating of 158.3 as he completed 11 of 14 for 219 yards with three TDs and no INTs ... Recorded another fourth-quarter comeback victory vs. Jacksonville (11/23) ... Trailing 10-6, the Jets got the ball back at their own six with 3:00 remaining ... Pennington proceeded to complete nine of 11 passes for 67 yards, culminating with a 3-yard TD pass to Moss with 26 seconds to play ... Accounted for touchdown runs of 1 and 10 yards vs. New England (12/20), the only time in his career he has scored two rushing touchdowns in the same game.

2002 - In first year as a full-time starter, opened 12 of the 15 regular season games in which he played ... Completed 275 of 399 passes (68.9%) for 3,120 yards with 22 touchdowns, six interceptions and a passer rating of 104.2 ... Led the NFL in both completion percentage and passer rating ... Interception percentage of 1.5% is a club single-season standard as well, while it ranked first in the AFC and second in the NFL in 2002 ... Opened the season as a reserve ... Did not see action in opener, saw action off bench in the three games at that followed ... First NFL start came vs. Kansas City (10/6) when he completed 22 of 29 (75.9%) for 237 yards with two TDs and an INT ... First win as an NFL starter occurred in the Jets' following game, a 20-7 decision over Minnesota (10/20), when he was 24 of 29 for 324 yards with a TD and no INTs ... Completion percentage of 82.8% is the second-highest figure of his career entering 2009 ... Went on to complete 76.9 percent of his passes over his first four starts (93 of 121), the highest figure ever for an NFL quarterback in his first four starts during the Super Bowl era ... Also produced a rating of more than 100.0 in each of those games... First NFL rushing score came on an 8-yard run to commence the scoring in a 44-13 victory at San Diego (11/3) ... Established a career-high with four touchdown passes in a 31-14 victory at Detroit (11/17) ... Had a 2-point conversion completion to Laveranues Coles as well in the Lions game ... Also hit on 80.8 percent of his passes in the game (21 of 26) and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career ... Recorded initial fourth-quarter comeback victory of his career in contest vs. Denver (12/8) as the Jets trailed 13-9 entering the final frame ... In the fourth quarter was 7 of 11 for 95 yards with a TD and no INTs ... Threw a 28-yard TD to Coles 17 seconds into the fourth quarter as the Jets went on for a 19-13 victory ... Was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week each of the final two weeks of the season ... Earned honor in 30-17 Sunday night win at New England (12/22) when he was 23 of 33 for 285 yards with three TDs and no INTs ... Jets held a tenuous 20-17 lead entering the fourth quarter before he led a pair of scoring drives by completing eight of nine passes for 81 yards and a TD ... Matched a career-best with four scoring tosses in season-ending 42-17 win over Green Bay (12/29) which clinched the AFC East title ... Also was 17 of 24 for 196 yards as he captured his second AFC Offensive Player of the Week award in as many weeks ... Started both playoff games following the season ... In first-ever postseason appearance, completed 19 of 25 for 222 yards with three TDs and no INTs in a 41-0 Wild Card victory over Indianapolis (1/4/03) ... The Jets' first offensive series of the game resulted in a 56-yard TD pass from Pennington to Richie Anderson.

2001 - Appeared in a pair of contests, both as a reserve ... Connected on 10 of 20 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown ... In reserve role vs. St. Louis (10/21), was 9 of 14 for 68 yards, including a 7-yard scoring toss to Anthony Becht.

2000 - As a rookie, played in two games in a reserve role and completed two of five passes for 67 yards and a TD ... All of his stats came in contest at Oakland (12/10) ... Had a 62-yard completion to FB Jerald Sowell in the game ... First NFL TD pass came on a 5-yard strike to Wayne Chrebet with 24 seconds remaining in the contest.

COLLEGE
Was a four-year letterman (1995, 1997-99) at Marshall, where he completed 1,026 of 1,619 passes (63.4%) for 13,143 yards with 115 touchdowns and 45 interceptions in his career ... Holds school career marks for completions, attempts, yards passing and touchdown passes ... Is second in completion percentage ... Redshirted in 1996 ... Passed for more than 300 yards in 19 games and had at least three touchdown passes in 25 career games ... Was named the top student-athlete in the country by the St. Louis Athletic Club after leading Marshall to a perfect 13-0 record his senior season of 1999 ... Completed 275 of 405 passes (67.9%) for 3,799 yards and 37 touchdowns as a senior ... Also established an NCAA season record for most TD passes (24) from a passer to a single receiver (Randy Moss), breaking the previous mark of 19 (Elvis Grbac-Desmond Howard, Michigan, 1991 and Andre Ware-Manny Hazzard, Houston, 1989) ... An all-MAC first-team and Offensive Player of the Year selection, Cam Henderson Award recipient (Marshall's top student-athlete), as well as a recipient of the Anson Mount Award–given by Playboy Magazine to the nation's top student-athlete ... Also was a finalist for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award and John Unitas Golden Arm Award.

PERSONAL
Married (Robin) with three sons, Cole, Luke and Gage ... Lettered four times in football and three times in basketball at The Webb School of Knoxville ... While with the Jets was the recipient of the 2006 and 2007 Dennis Byrd Award for most inspirational player, as selected by his teammates ... During the 2007 offseason, was given the Achievement in Sports Award by the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of New York City ... Named the Jets 2006 Walter Payton Man of the Year for his positive impact on people's lives ... Received the sixth annual Call to Courage Award from the Western New York chapter of Athletes in Action, given to the NFL player or coach who exemplifies character and leadership on and off the field, at home and in his community ... Selected as the Jets' Ed Block Courage Award winner in 2004 ... Also was chosen as one of nine NFL players featured in the annual United Way commercials ... Established the 1st and 10 Foundation (www.1stand10foundation.com) with his wife, Robin, in 2003, with the mission to build stronger communities by funding programs and institutions that seek to improve the quality of life throughout West Virginia, Tennessee and South Florida ... The foundation has helped Starlight Starbright place Fun Centers (mobile entertainment units for pediatric patients) in hospitals in Knoxville, Tenn., Huntington, W. Va. and New York ... Has initiated a variety of programs within its geographical areas and has granted more than $750,000 to those respective areas ... Joined Jets teammates Laveranues Coles and Ben Graham, and Head Coach Eric Mangini in taping a segment for Sesame Street's "Elmo's World,"  in a segment that first aired, September 2007 ... Was a frequent visitor to area hospitals and schools throughout his career with the Jets ... Has continued that involvement since arriving in South Florida ... He has donated money to the Dolphins Thanksgiving Meal Giveaway, benefiting families serviced through the Daily Bread Food Bank, and has visited with Make a Wish kids after games and made calls to kids with Cancer ... Also in 2008, was a member of the Dolphins "All-Community Team" in which he donated a block of tickets for every home game to various youth groups throughout South Florida ... Annually hosts a football camp with his father in his hometown of Knoxville ... Also holds an annual charity bowling event each April in Huntington, W. Va. ... Full name is James Chadwick Pennington, born June 26, 1976 in Knoxville, Tenn.