We have been nailed with injuries to our best players on O, and on D, this year. However, did that benefit our team? Grove out- Berger in. He has played well. Smiley/Carey out- Garner in. He has surprised, and has forced a rotation. Ronnie out- Ricky in. Ricky is SMOKIN !!! LOL Cobbs out- Hilliard in. We miss Cobbs. Hilliard has shown something. Martin out- Haynos in. Martin is missed. Haynos has looked good. Penny out- Henne in. Henne is a star in the making. Ferguson out- McDaniel in. Ferg is really missed. McDaniel has surprised. Porter out- Wake in. Thank the Football Gods that Wake got a chance. W Allen out- Davis in. Vonte looks special. Are we better or worse because of the injuries? Would our record be different without them? Thoughts?
I think we miss RB a lot. And Ferg. Not because I dislike the backups at the nose but because I'm not sure how comfy I am with them starting.
Uh oh. Another injuries are a good thing thread. All kidding aside, I will never refer to an injury to any Miami Dolphin as a good thing. But I can acknowledge that some good has came from the situations the injuries have presented. With Henne especially. I still feel awful for Pennington that he worked so hard and to have that happen to him while fighting hard for a win. But Henne has stepped in and proven that he is ready to be the QB of this football team. But I think a lot of it has to do with the attitude and culture put in place by Sparano, Parcells and company. A guy goes down and everyone steps up and pulls their weight. So completely different from the attitude this team had when Cam was in charge. We lost just as many impact players this year as we lost in 2007. The difference is this is a prepared and well-coached team.
Good thing? NO But it has shown one of the things Parcells and Ireland said they wanted to do when they came here, they said we needed to get better and get better depth. We have much better depth than we have had in a long time.
Yeah, these guys are really stepping up. IF we all knew in advance of all the guys being hurt, who whoulda given us a shot?
Injuries?..never a good thing. Never! Since this is a thread for speculating; I believe we've lost at least one game (Buffalo) due to missing personnel. It's nice to see Henne developing. But aside from that one deep pass to Ginn against the Jets, I don't think he's thrown any that Pennington doesn't throw. Ronnie out is NOT a good thing. Nothing beneficial about it. Ricky, as good as he is, always had a tendency to fumble because his hands are kind of small. In addition, the combination of the 2 was keeping them both fresh.
I understand your thinking. However, without the injuries, Henne, Wake, and Davis are all on the bench. I see a silver lining.
IN NO WAY WOULD I EVER HOPE FOR A PLAYER TO BE INJURED, NOT EVEN A JET. NOT to take anything from Penny but, there were MANY passes he could not have made, and others he would have completed. As to Ronnie, his injury severely injured the WC. Good or bad thing?
While I know some will argue that it's a good thing, IMO, right time, right place and it still has it's use - if you have the personnel to run it. We did; now we don't.
IMO, Henning will still find a way to use it. Pat White is not dead, just "resting." Henning is challenged. Not a good thing for opposing teams. Every time you expect vanilla, you get a tuti fruiti banana split with lots of nuts, and a cherry. It's gonna be some fun.
I'm thrilled to see Henne emerge, but in no way am I happy that it took injury to Pennington. Those injuries weakened the team significantly. I think the better players would have played their way onto the field anyway, always hate to see it happen this way.
I noticed that Grove is listed as questionable for tomorrow. I thought that he had a full practice or two and was near 100%? I will be surprised if he doesn't play tomorrow.
Tuff call on Ronnie. Would Henne emerge as much with the WC? Are we a better team without it? Don't know.
football is about injuries & adjustment over the span of a NFL season: 1) obviously, (this season) we'd better be off & a better competitor w/o the injuries. we would be a better team & more competitive on the field had they not happened. 2) the injuries are positive from the stand point of player & team development. an added plus is that we build character through diversity & are still able to compete for a wild-card. ultimately, the injuries have made us a better team. we would have to take the plunge sooner or later
Here are my thoughts on Injury’s and how they affected us this year and for years to come for that matter. First off this year’s injuries should have left us devastated and withering in pain. They didn’t however and for the most part they accelerated our rebuilding process. I think the real question or at the very least the question that peeks my interest the most is how this happened. I mean when you look at who we lost during the course of the year one has to be amazed that we didn’t skip a beat. This part is by design. It’s the mark of a great organization and infrastructure. Last year (the Front offices first) was absolutely amazing. We had something like 29 players turned over last season. It wasn’t just prior to the start of the season this happened throughout the entire season. This front office is absolutely relentless in turning over what they consider the “bottom of the roster”. Prior front offices would keep an eye out for upgrades in their starting lineup. Some of our previous regimes wouldn’t even do that successfully. Parcels and Ireland remain heavily involved throughout the entire year always looking for what they consider “acorns”. They never leave any unturned and unchecked. If you look at a lot of our Free agents they are brought in to simply add depth. They are players built in the Parcels mold and their contracts are cost effective. It does not end there however. This coaching staff unlike the previous ones not only coaches its starters but spends a lot of time getting their backups ready to compete for a starting job. They coach those guys up as if they are going to start. If they at any time feel that they have a player albeit a starter or the third string backup that they feel simply can’t cut it they get replaced. It is said that great teams are built through the draft and I fully agree with this. In today’s age of salary caps teams can’t afford to over pay for over priced free agents. That’s not to say you can’t spend a decent amount on free agents it simply means you can’t afford to over pay. As a fan of this team I am thrilled with the direction we are heading. The last two years respectively we have gotten both younger and more importantly better. It’s a trend that should have each and everyone of us thrilled to witness.
Injuries? Lets say this; since Ronnie Brown's injury the offense is averaging 18.5 points per game. The injuries are having an affect, it is just that some are easier to mask than others. Brown was a player other teams game planned for - that is always missed.
No way glad for any injuries. Henne has playing time now, should be good for the future. If Cobbs and Brown could still help Ricky the wildcat would'nt be stagnant. But this has forced more passing witch will help when these players are healthy. Could you imagine the threat if these guys started healthy right now? I would say its safe betting your $ on us finishing out the playoffs undefeated. EZ. BUT we are not. The back up plan is doing pretty darn good.
every starter is missed however... the opportunity available/afforded to a team in it's second year of re-building is invaluable & character development (diversity) is priceless we are the better for it we are on-becoming a perennial contender in the nfl thank you Bill Parcells
Soliai has seen much more playing time than McDaniel due to Ferg's injuries. I think the best thing about the injuries (and there are bad things too) is that we got a really good look at our 'second-tier' younger players so we can make a fair, accurate assessment of our personnel going forwards.
I disagree LG, Henne makes 5 to 7 throws per game that pennington could'nt make imo..especially with all the perimeter stuff we like to run..were a better offensive football team with henne at the helm imo. Henne is all arm, just like a brady, they both have beautiful arm action where they don't necessarily need to have their mechanics under them to make throws.
Yeah, in the past when players went down we had excuses of no depth and bad drafts. Now, we have reasons to show the depth and great acquisitions which were made. As you said- PRICELESS.
Great point. A couple of months ago, I do not believe anyone had a clue as to whether or not Henne, Davis, Wake, and assorted others, were ever going to be NFL players. Now, I believe we do know, and then some. Santa's list has shrunk.
I'm with ya. I cannot show enough respect and admiration for what Penne has done for our team. It's not just about winning last year. It's about the "altitude of attitude," work ethic, and leadership he brought to the team. Think Henne would be this good without him? Think the WRs would be doing what they have done, with limited talent, without the extra work he instilled in film study? No way. However, Henne has been able to develop and intermediate passing game which Penne could not. It's not just on the perimeter, it's the slants and crossing routes over the middle that open up the run more than before. I hope we re-sign Penne next year. I can think of no one better as a backup to Henne. If not, A JOB WELL DONE!!!
Its amazing how the forums are saying Ronnie Brown is being missed yet in bars, on tv, I hear commentators who actually played in the NFL say we are better off with Ricky. But if anything, with Ronnie going down, we're forced to go conventional, which made Henne/receiving corp grow up real fast. People said the Wildcat hampered Henne's rhythm, but I also felt it hampered our inexperienced receivers rhythm also. "More reps, the better you get".
Your never better off when you lose your Pro bowl starting Running back. Ricky is doing very well but we are still better with Ronnie and Ricky =)
No team can lose a player of Ronnie's ability and not be hurt. However, it has allowed others to step up, as it should be. How it affects the team is more of a concern than just Henne. Would we be better with Ronnie than without him? Without a doubt. Did Ronnie's injury push Henne, and make him a better QB? Yes. I would much prefer to have both about now.
injuries are never a good thing .... however, in the specific case of Henne - it was wait until next year to take over - so he is getting his feet wet and doing well ... which just makes the outlook for next year that much brighter instead of a big question mark. or put it another way .... folks would have been screaming for CP to remain the QB, if he had been able to pull out 9 or 10 wins this year ..... now we don't have to even entertain that debate. now we can add the few, but important pieces that we need to make a serious run next year: ILB, OLB, WR, NT or strong DE that can get some pressure on the QB, and TE.
With all due respect I don't agree with this. You surround your quarterback with the best talent available and give him the best chance to succeed. Removing talent so the team has to rely on him just doesn't make any sense to me, sorry.
