McNulty: From cut, to a cut above for Pennington

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Of all the good fortune to befall the 2008 Miami Dolphins on their way from 1-15 to 11-5, none had a greater impact than this: Brett Favre leaving Green Bay to become a New York Jet.
Because if that doesn't happen, the Jets probably don't cut Chad Pennington.
And if the Jets don't cut Pennington, he never gets to Miami.
And if Pennington doesn't come to Miami, the Dolphins don't have a proven quarterback and, instead, spend the season figuring out whether John Beck or Chad Henne can play in the NFL.
And with Beck or Henne auditioning, the Dolphins don't win six games -- even with Bill Parcells in the front office and Tony Sparano on the sideline, even with one of the softest schedules in league history.
Yes, Pennington has meant that much to the Dolphins.
Really, he has meant everything.
No player had a greater impact on his team this season.
Not Peyton Manning.
Not Adrian Peterson.
Not Matt Ryan, who should be a shoo-in for Rookie of the Year.
The NFL's Most Valuable Player, though, should be Pennington.
It shouldn't matter that eight quarterbacks threw for more yards, or that 11 passed for more touchdowns. Besides, he led the NFL in completion percentage, ranked second in passer rating and fewest interceptions thrown.
The numbers, however, tell only a small part of what Pennington, a nine-year veteran at age 32, brought to these Dolphins.
He brought experience.
He brought poise.
He brought a leadership that the Dolphins' offense has so noticeably lacked since Jimmy Johnson took the ball away from Dan Marino.
Pennington has been the perfect caretaker for this offense. He is exactly the kind of quarterback this team needed. He is the pivotal piece that was missing from the Dolphins' puzzle for far too long.
Remember these names? Fiedler and Lucas and Griese (no, not Bob). Feeley and Frerotte and Rosenfels (yes, Sage).
Culpepper and Harrington.
Green and Lemon.
And then Beck.
All were brought in, at the expense of valuable draft picks and millions of dollars, to get Miami back to the playoffs. All were given a shot. And across the past five years, all failed.
None was good enough.
Either they made just enough mistakes to lose or were unable to make the plays necessary to win, especially in fourth quarter.
Then came Pennington, a gift from the unlikeliest of places.
From New York.
From the rival Jets, who understandably-but-mistakenly believed he was done.
So they jumped at the chance to get Favre, who was no longer wanted by the Packers. And the Dolphins jumped at the chance to get Pennington, who was no longer wanted by the Jets.
Maybe it was Parcells' football genius, his ability to see past the shoulder surgeries that limited Pennington's participation to only three games in 2005 and nine games in 2007. Maybe Parcells rolled the dice, figuring he had little to lose.
Whatever his thinking, Parcells enhanced his already-lofty reputation when Pennington, embracing and mastering Sparano's don't-beat-yourself offensive philosophy and performing better than anyone had a right to expect, began winning games.
Pennington posted quarterback ratings of 99-plus in nine of his 16 starts, including each of his last four, when the Dolphins were chasing a playoff berth. He played nine games without throwing an interception and never was picked off more than once in a game. He fumbled only once.
All the while, he quietly and confidently emerged as a team leader, believing from his arrival at training camp that these Dolphins had a chance to win.
And, perhaps, what has happened across this remarkable South Florida football season really shouldn't surprise anyone.
Last season, the Dolphins lost six games by three points -- and that was with Trent Green, Cleo Lemon and Beck at quarterback.
So they weren't all that far from winning seven games.
Maybe, they were only a smart, efficient and dependable quarterback away from contending.
We'll never know.
Yet, what Pennington has done in Miami this season makes you wonder: Could he have done the same for last season's Dolphins? Better yet: Could he have done the same for this season's Jets? There is no question, though, that what Pennington has done for the Dolphins is every bit as impressive as what Manning has done for the Colts.
Manning should be applauded for the way he fought back from knee surgery to save the Colts' season, leading Indianapolis to nine consecutive victories and an AFC wild card berth. Nobody should question his value to his team.
But isn't that the way Manning is supposed to play? Isn't that what we've come to expect from him? Nobody expected Pennington to play the way he did. No NFL player contributed more to his team's success.
Pennington took the star-less Dolphins from the bottom of the NFL to the top of the AFC East. His performance this season turned 1-15 into 11-5.
And that should be good enough to turn a Jets castoff into an MVP.

(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. Contact him at ray.mcnulty@scripps.com.)

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