Chad Pennington Kindly Asks That You Quit Talking About His Noodle Arm

Former Marshall quarterback, Byron Leftwich, is known for his strong arm and reverse-fast-pitch windup. Another alum, Chad Pennington, drafted three years before Leftwich, is also known for a certain passing-related peculiarity. Namely: his deadly accurate popcorn arm.

Yep, Pennington can knock a bottle off a fence post, just so long as it's no more than 10 yards away. Actually, it's hardly news that the Dolphins' newest quarterback has a weak(er than NFL average) noodle; that scouting report has been following him around for as long as he's played football. But now, entering his ninth NFL season, Pennington has a request: please shut up about it.

''The perception is that way because I never defended myself -- I just let people talk,'' he said in a private moment last week. ''But it's perception -- it's not reality. You get tired of hearing about it.''

But the story has taken on a life of its own. Legend has it that Pennington needs a cut-off man on nine routes, but that's a slight exaggeration.

Jets radio analyst Marty Lyons said Pennington's ball floated at times on out routes in swirling wind, but 'the `noodle arm' thing is unfair.'' ...

His throws ''are not frozen ropes, and the projection looks like it may be floating, but he can throw deep,'' Lyons said. ``His arm strength is average, but his ability to read defenses and make precise throws make it a little above average.''

And when building the perfect quarterback, I think brains are a tad more important than being able to throw a football through a wall. See Gus Frerotte for the most obvious/dumbest example.