He leaves the comfort of the nest with a sudden, unexpected shove. Now we will all watch him fly or fail. Now, at last, we begin to see what we have in Chad Henne.

The Miami Dolphins enjoyed three nearly uninterrupted decades of Hall of Fame quarterbacking from Bob Griese and Dan Marino. We have not been able to know if the latest heir apparent will be the next great one or the next disappointment.

The knowing starts now.

The new era of Dolphins quarterbacking commences this Sunday at home against the Buffalo Bills with the news Monday that veteran starting quarterback Chad Pennington has sustained a shoulder injury that will end his season and likely his NFL career.

I'm usually not big on ``blessings in disguise,'' which mean something bad happened and you're trying to put the bravest smile on it you can. I don't think the Hurricanes ``needed'' to lose Saturday at Virginia Tech in order to ward off overconfidence. And I sure don't believe the Dolphins losing Pennington is good for this season or its fast-fading prospects.

But it is good for Miami in the broader view, beyond this year. It is good because it forces a hesitant franchise to face its future, not put it off.

One feels saddened by fate's treatment of Pennington; this has the feel of the end for the classy veteran who swept in last season and was the hero of Miami's remarkable turnaround year. But there is excitement (well, a cocktail of that and anxiety) over the much-awaited, full unveiling of Henne.

``Chad [Pennington] is our leader. An injury to him is an injury to our offense,'' as receiver Greg Camarillo put it Monday. ``But it's also a big opportunity for Henne to step up.''

I planned to write that the time for Henne was now even as it first appeared Monday that Pennington's injury might not be serious.

I thought it was time to give the rest of this downward-spiraling season to the second-year backup quarterback in order to discover whether the club should give its faith and future to Henne as well.

It was time -- with the team 0-3 and Pennington not performing particularly well -- to give Henne the 13 remaining games and 400 or so passes and countless situations he never would see on a practice field, in a film room or in mop-up duty.

It was time to give Henne the game experience that would allow his physical skills, mental acumen and leadership qualities to be fully, fairly evaluated in a way they have not been yet.

However, me thinking that and the team bosses thinking that were two different things altogether.

Left to their own devices, chances are coach Tony Sparano and his brain trust would have kept the saddle on a healthy Pennington all season, riding the comfort and safety of his experience and leadership even as the playoff possibilities became more remote.

It is in a good coach's DNA to never give up, so Sparano certainly hasn't at 0-3. But the rest of us have a luxury Sparano does not. We get to be realists. We get to say that this season is for all practical purposes done in terms of a playoff shot, considering no 0-3 team since 1998 has made the playoffs and that Miami's remaining schedule should be outlawed as cruel and unusual punishment.

We get to say, out loud, that no greater good will come of the rest of the season than finding out for sure if Henne is the quarterback of the future, or if the search needs to start all over again.

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