Miami Dolphins better hope Chad Henne becomes an elite passer

What, are they going to hope he turns into a mediocre QB or a complete flop?

I know it's not on you 7171, but that's a freaking stupid title of an article.

 

I think Henne will be fine, Elite??? not so sure, but you don't have to be elite to win a Superbowl.

Its hard to tell when you can't open up the offense because the WR's don't get open or drop catchable passes and your O-line is better suited to run block, yet struggles in pass blocking most times.

 

I agree that this is a stupidly obvious title.

All teams either hope that their current non-elite QB becomes elite or that their elite QB stays elite.

It is the most important position on the field.

 

Thank you Herald....

I was hoping for another six years of mediocrity at best at the teams most important position.....THANK GOD, I saw your article...and now I have seen the light. Wow...an elite QB IS THE WAY TO GO. Man..to think I almost made that horrible mistake.

 

thats exactly what i thought when i read it. Under what circumstances would we not give a **** whether he was good or not?

 

Two things about this paragraph bother me

Aren't there 32 starting QB's in the league. So almost half are considered elite? I would assume elite would be a little more exclusive club.

Also the reason we lost to the Colts was not because we lacked an elite passer. It's our defense. We put up plenty of points, we just couldn't stop Manning. So to say we lost because of that to me seems a bit off.

Overall, every team in the league is looking for an elite QB. Even the ones that have one currently are looking for another one to replace them. The idea that teams should look for an elite QB is just so plainly obvious I fail to see how this is article worthy. I think I am going to write up an article titled 'Teams should try an score more points than their oppents' and submit it to the herald for publishing :P

 

U think newspaper reporters check this site for info?...you damn strait they do...theres been some very compelling analysis way before this article came out..

I dont agree with it, but thats besides the point.

We need to make a nickname up for the ones who want to build our future towards offense and the ones who want defense and run game..lol

 

Where does the herald find these writers?

 

Hey, if Trent Dillfer can win a SB, Henne can win MVP

 

I found the Clayton article in question, and while I'm linking it here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=4705986

The relevant section to answer your question is quoted below:

 

They didn't link to the orginal article so I couldn't read it. Thank you for linking it.

 

Who knows what the heck we really have with Henne?? We don't have the freaking WR's to actually see how good Henne could be. I really think he's going the tools to get another year experience under his belt and really become a great QB.

I'm going to say the one flaw I sometimes see in Henne is that he gets rid of the ball to quickly when there isn't any pressure. I'm sure has to be partly because he can't trust his other WR's to come open, but you see guys like Peyton and Brady pass up on those short routes when they think they have something working down field. This to me is something Henne is going to have to learn to become Elite.

 

So we lost to 5 Elite Qb's because of Chad Henne? Not because we started 1 rookie the entire year at CB, and our safeties played terrible the first half of the year. Not to mention we are now starting another rookie at CB.

Yep. Chad Henne is the problem.

 

That is the problem, only the coaches truly know how well Henne is playing. Are the WR's truly that terrible? Or is Henne not seeing the open WR's? You can't tell from the zoomed in camera angles on TV.

 

Yeh...

But just for arguments sake....

What if your coaches dont WANT to pass the ball enough for him to get 220 yards a game....

Look at Henne's Stats in the Buffalo game...

We won 38-10 he had a 92 QB rating...and only threw for 115 yds and 1 TD.

Now...maybe the point is...if you HAVE an Elite QB, most staffs would build around him in the passing game..leading to those types of numbers....

But, are we sure thats what is gonna happen in Miami?

I mean...lets say we run the wildcat 40% of time inside the 5 yards line...Henne's not involved in that.

I dont know...I just am not sold on this whole passing is the only way to win in the NFL now. Id love to have a team that can pass its way to a 14 point lead..then run it down a teams throat...and frustrate the so called ELITE QB's and the rest of the F'n NFL as they sit on the bench and watch us slowly water torture them to death....

 

we go no where in the NFL of today w/o our Franchise QB
have run a thread on the subject
& commented many times on the importance
of Henne making his bones in 2009
much to my chagrin
it is what it is ...

 

a few years?
you would invest five years in this QB before judging his potential to be elite?
best that Henne makes his bones in 2009
the TriFecta aren't big on unwarranted patronage
if Henne does not show serious potential & consistent improvement this season
he will be competing for the starting job in 2010 or not be a Miami Dolphin
five years is unacceptable,
the decision will be made sooner than later

 

so you are saying there is a chance Henne won't be a Dolphin next season
wow that is about as impatient as one can be
Henne has already shown some good things
he ain't going no where next season
he will be the starter
they talk about chunk yardage so look for them to give him a few toys

 

How long did it take Brees to show his potential?

 

See here is my position on Henne.

He is inexperienced and has shown it. But even teh elite have shown some inexp when they first started. They even have bad games now and again, see Brady vs NO last Mon, badly enough the sat him. not because he was benched but there was no reason to risk him. But it happens, the diff is they became elite over time. Brady wasnt elite in 2001, he was called a system qb then. Manning was pedigree, but not elite in 98. Hew was expected to be elite and fulfilled that but wasnt elite. To be elite you have to prove it over time, what has Henne not had enough of to judge? TIME. He has shown potential for greatness, I even think he is on his way. Yes he has to work on things, Brady had to improve his deep ball and presence. Henne isnt Brady and am not predicting he will, just pointing out that comparing a Henne to a the production of a 10 year pro and saying you dont see that yet is ridiculous. Compare Henne to Brady of 2001, then talk about production. Manning threw 5 more ints than tds in 98. Good thing they were given time to develop.

What you look for in an inexp qb is an ability to lead, to learn and the poise of a confident qb. Henne has that, he has shown he can lead, that he can learn (see throwing the ball away) doesnt get rattled. Yes he has to develop and get better in some areas, but even the elite did.

 

elway came to the line and lined up under the guard as a rookie

 

It's a tough call to be honest. I'm doing some research now and I'll edit this post once I do the fact-checking.

 

Man Marino lost the SB, why did we stick with that loser.....

 

lets look at who Henne had as his mentor ... CP doesn't exactly light up the air.

Henne's game is a lot modeled after Pennington ... how can it not be ... that's why he throws it away quickly and is quick to check down ... and it is what is expected under this FO ...

what Henne needs is to spend the spring with Marino - and see the 'other' side of being a QB ... being a passer.

Henne will be fine ... he just needs to continue to learn, gain experience - then work to break the shackles next year.

 

so because Pennington doesnt have a strong arm that means he's a crappy mentor?

 

To us it's a stupid title because we've been talking about the importance of finding a top QB for over a decade.

Too bad the leadership of the team prior to this had no clue what an obvious need it was though. This article comes 10 years too late and should have been sent directly to Phins HQ back then.

 

Because he was the greatest passer in NFL history, starting from his rookie season?

Alright, I checked it out, and this is what I found. As far as the requirements for passing, all but 3 of the elite QBs that Clayton named met the requirements, plus or minus some yardage here or there. The three who certainly didn't based on % were both Mannings and McNabb. Out of the remaining 11, the only two that didn't lead offenses that met the scoring requirement were Brees with a 20.8 and Favre with a 17.2 (but, that was 1992 - the teams that scored that high all had Hall of Fame QBs, RBs, WRs, or some combination of the above. The Dolphins had Marino, Duper, and Clayton and managed 21.2). Still, the Bengals don't meet that requirement this year anyway, so I don't think a super-strict adherence to that works. 203 ypg a dealbreaker? Nah. 10% completion point below? Sure. 0.3 PPG off? Nah. I didn't count the ability to lead a 4th quarter comeback because I don't know how he determined the measurement of that ability.

So, in a quick glance at the stats kind of way, it's not impossible that Henne can develop into an elite QB given Clayton's criteria. But, given that the QBs Clayton named pretty much met the criteria from their "rookie" seasons, I'd say that Henne would be looking a lot better if he did meet those criteria this season. He hasn't thus far. I don't know if I'd agree that Clayton's measurements are the best, but I do know that I'd love to have any of the QBs he mentioned as our QB.

 

???

What is that in response to?
I don't get the argument.

Marino wasn't a ? of the team.
He was a proven talent at the position from day 1.

Chad Henne is still an unknown as to whether he'll be a top QB or not.

I don't believe he's on as short a leash as some have posted.
Henne's got a free pass this year.
They'll be looking for baby steps not a completed product.
Next year will be a big year for Henne and only after next year would he possibly be on the hot seat.

 

Geez...some people I swear. Its either deliver right now or leave.

I think I recall Dan Marino lost his first game.

But heres something else.
Lets say you have the greatest QB ever to live. Ever. Now, have him throw the ball to Ted "wood hands" Ginn. The same guy that drops passes that hit him in both hands and has single handedly cost the Dolphins severly this year.
Is he still the greatest QB?
If BREES was on the LIONS, would he still be so great this year?

 

according to football outsiders metric dvoa, henne is ranked 18th, and 5 of his 9 starts have been against the top 5 pass defenses according to dvoa. the jets twice, buffalo twice, and new orleans and carolina is 7th. think if we had some wrs. N.O. is ranked 1st, the jets are 2nd ,and buffalo is 5th.

 

Yep!

 

I wouldn't say that at all. Drew Brees is at least one of the top 3 passers in the game, if not the best right now. If Calvin Johnson can catch 12 TDs with the likes of Drew Orlovsky and Daunte Culpepper, I'm sure Brees can do better. He's a phenomenal talent that makes marginal players look great.

 

Heres the way I look at it...and I really think should be looked at....

Take 5 of the best Qb's we have seen .....

Average out where they were in relation to the scope and time period of where Henne is right now....

If you were to plot out the play, stats and results of those 5 QB's...again at the point in their career where Henne is right now....

Does Henne fall close to or on the same development path as they do? If so...youd be an idiot to think Henne isnt your future at QB, or at the very least...allow him a full three seasons. Now...you dont ignore the QB position during this time...we have seen what that does...you draft lower round developmental QB's...and build from there.

So....which 5 QB's do we choose to plot this curve and see if Henne falls on..or near it?

My guess is....we already know this answer, even those giving Henne this year to prove he is the "franchise"....