Dolphins coach Tony Sparano stood up for his beleaguered quarterback Chad Henne Wednesday, calling Dolphins' fans booing of Henne at Monday night's practice "disappointing."

Sparano was asked by the Sun-Sentinel what he thought when Dolfans booed Henne after incomplete passes and chanted "We want Orton" on Monday.

"Beside the fact that it really makes me sick?" he replied, "That would be it."

Sparano was not finished. Channeling the inner-Napoleon present in every football coach, he said, "I think that when people come to the stadium like that in one of those kinds of events, OK, to support the Miami Dolphins, that what we should be thinking about."

So in Sparano's mind, Dolphins fans should simply be happy to have a team, regardless of the fact it has only produced one playoff appearance in the past nine seasons.

To be fair, Henne probably deserved a little more slack from the fans, considering his only crime was missing on a few passes in the team's fourth practice of the year.

Henne was less critical of the fans, calling the boos part of the game.

"It's tough to be a quarterback," he told the Sentinel.

He did admit the boos can't help but get to him, saying, "Deep down inside it does hurt."

But he appreciated Sparano's defense.

"As a player you appreciate your coaching coming out and standing up for you," Henne said.

Even so, what Sparano and Henne do not seem to understand is that the boos were not just directed at Henne himself, but the entire Dolphins organization for trotting out mediocre quarterback after mediocre quarterback in the decade-plus since Dan Marino retired.

Miami fans have waited too long for an offense they can be proud of, and any slip-up by the current regime only reminds them of the pain they have felt in the team's 11 years in the post-Marino wilderness.