From Tim Graham's blog at ESPN. Matthew in New York City writes into the AFC East mailbag with a hot-button question: What's the deal with your seemingly constant disdain and skepticism for Chad Henne? I feel like anytime a report or give an analysis of him that comes out in a positive manner, you're the first to say "HOLD ON" and put everyone's expectations in check. What it is about Henne that causes your consistent negative response? Seriously! There appears to be a perception among readers I'm some sort of Henne hater. I've received notes similar to Matthew's over the past few weeks. But those reactions aren't proper. Never once have I expressed skepticism about Henne's future. In fact, I believe he will be a franchise-caliber quarterback for the Miami Dolphins and hold down the position for many years to come. Henne Sanchez Where I can understand Dolfans disagreeing with my opinion regarding Henne is that I think New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez will have a better second season as his team's starter. That question has been debated on the AFC East blog a few times this spring, including in a podcast last month with Scouts Inc. analyst Matt Williamson and me. Williamson preferred Henne. I preferred Sanchez -- for now because he's already played in three postseason games and has a better supporting cast. I agreed with Williamson that Henne might have the better career. For a third opinion, I spoke with ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer to get the perspective of a 14-year veteran who won a Super Bowl. "I like Chad Henne," Dilfer said. "I think he's good player. I think he's limited athletically. I don't think he's the same type of athlete as Mark Sanchez. He's not the same type of thrower. He's kind of a fastball thrower. He doesn't have the repertoire as a football player that Mark Sanchez has. That doesn't mean he can't develop it, but that's going to take longer. "Sanchez is the unique talent of the last five or six draft classes because he has that Alpha male personality. He has that 'it factor.' Then physically he has the sudden feet, plenty of arm, is highly accurate, was mature beyond his years as a college player. He has a distinct advantage because of his makeup, the total package, and they're supporting him in such a great way. "He's in as good a situation -- because of who he is and what they're doing as an organization -- as you can be in with a young quarterback." http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast
And all this sums up into a QB rating of 63 and almost twice as many INTs as TDs. Dilfer is describing what he thinks Sanchez might become, not what he actually is. He's fantasizing. Dilfer played efficiently that year, especially in the playoffs. His career was lackluster, but that season he was one of the big reasons why that team won the Super Bowl. Don't knock him for having a ring, he helped earn it.
Again, that season, especially in the playoffs, Dilfer played good football. He helped earn that ring.
Dilfer said Sanchez is "highly accurate"? "alpha male" "they are supporting him in such a big way" That last point is funny as the Dolphins have Brown and Williams, and just added Brandon Marshall, and Hartline's numbers as a rookie were even with Braylon Edward's numbers, yet Henne has a weaker supporting cast? Unless subtracting 1,200 yds and 10 td's and replacing it with a declining LT counts as a large upgrade, Dilfer is speaking off the cuff at best.
C'mon Dilfer. What about decision making ability and ball security skills? Two areas where Sanchez was just about the worst in the entire league. Is M.S. more of an athlete, sure he is. But other than that, I think Henne has the upper hand on him right now.
The other way to look at might be Sanchez has a great running game and defense so he has no excuse for turning the ball over 24 times. Its not like he was trying to rally his team from behind b/c the defense was allowing so many points or the running game was being stuffed so he had to pass. All he needed to do was handoff, protect the ball, and make a handful of throws to keep defenses semi-honest, and the Jets could beat just about anyone. Except Miami . IMO Sanchez had one of the easiest QB jobs in the league, much easier than Henne's job was.
Dilfer thinks Sanchez has the "it" factor due to a lot of overreaching media hyperbole. Dilfer's assertion that he has a distinct advantage over Henne due to his makeup is a bunch of crap, and not only short sells the intangibles that practically everyone around Henne speaks very highly of, but also shows a superficial analysis based on a lot of media (and Rex Ryan) hype. Sanchez had a rookie QB's dream- A terrific defense, great run blocking offensive line and a very good offensive coordinator who knew just when to strike. But really, where was this "it" factor on the few occasions they actually had to rely on him to come from behind late or win games himself? Henne was a 4 year starter at Michigan. Sanchez, for all his "It" factor and maturity beyond his years in college, had all of 16 starts at USC and apparently didn't have enough "it" to start over John David Booty. Athletically Sanchez may be more impressive, but let's not get carried away here. Henne need to improve his athleticism, and has taken steps towards doing so. But some of the greatest QB's to ever play this game (Brady, Manning, Marino) will never be confused with being athletically gifted. Furthermore, while Sanchez did show the ability to make some very nice throws from time to time, I'm not sure I'd consider a 54% completion rate to be "highly accurate", especially when he was often put in a very good position to throw. Again, I think it comes from a perception born out of a playoff run where they reigned him in considerably and often had him throw at the most advantageous times. This is not to say that Sanchez won't become a very good QB. But I do think he's being overhyped by a national media that doesn't particularly analyze to any great depth. I want to see that "it" factor carry his team on his back or lead them from behind on a number of occasions before I'm truly buying.
Henne does need to work on his finesse. As far as his supporting cast IMO he is amongst some quality players which if enough of them stay healthy the Dolphins are in for a great season. A sweep of the Jets this year would be nice but it's not going to be ez. I predict a hell of a battle.
Hah! This is like Jagger vs Plant or 50 cent vs Whomever, it's all about the front men no one cares about the back up singers..
Trent Dilfer is projecting so hard because Mark Sanchez is the same kind of player and he feels a kinship.
Meh, Dilfer is entitled to his opinion. For every "analyst" that thinks Sanchez is better there is one that thinks Henne is better. Or going to be better. Bottom line they are both good young QB's and we are going to have to wait for an answer to who is actually better.
In Henne's win over the NYJ in Miami Dilfer was very complimentary of him. Dilfer specifically highlighted touch plays that were supposed to be part of Henne's shortcomings. So the idea that someone who is higher on one player must then hate another is just more overreaction by fans. This seems to be more of a flavor of the pre-season type hype fest than something based on actual production. There is nothing to hate about either of these players based on their performances last year. They both showed promise. They both helped their teams win though Henne was relied upon much more heavily to win at times. We'll settle it on the field, not based on someones pre-season superbowl champion prediction.
I honestly thought that quote was a sales pitch from Jim. Saying the difference between Henne's 60% completion percentage with 19 dropped passes and Sanchez's 53% makes Sanchez highly accurate is like saying the difference between this bank and other banks is that other banks are banks.
"Marino likes Henne's upside, says new weapon will benefit Dolphins' starter" http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...marino-on-henne-0613-20100612,0,6763628.story I'll listen to what this man says before Dilfer. "He gave them a chance to win a lot [in 2009], which for a young quarterback is the most important thing," Marino said Saturday at Levinson Jewelers' Watch Fair. "He's got a strong arm from what I've seen on film. ... Very strong arm. I think he's going to do nothing but get better." Did Sanchez give the JESTs a "chance to win" or just an opportunity to not lose? Since both players are second year starters there is nothing to compare until the end of next season and a lot can happen in 16 games ...to either team/player.
There is no debate that Sanchez has a severely lacking resume. That's the problem with drafting QBs who only start one season in college. Any projection at all, one way or the other, whittles down to nothing more than a guess... which will always be weighed down by bias. Jets fans think Sanchez is the next Tom Brady. Dolphins fans (like me) think they're delusional. Whatever...
And the reality is, based on what they've done and shown, it's not even remotely close. Mark Sanchez doesn't belong in the same conversation as Henne, much less the other successful young quarterbacks as of late.
not you guys in my opinion. Last year was a fluke. Biggest area of concern for me would be the lack of pass rush from the front seven and the need to constantly blitz to be successful in pressuring the qb and doing so at a relatively average success rate. Also the age specifically Ellis and lack of depth on the defensive line would be a concern for me if I was a jet fan.
I guess Dilfer missed the Billl's game where Sanchez threw FIVE picks? Who throws five picks against the Bills?
If the "it" factor is turning "it" over then Sanchez definitely has the "it" factor...20 ints, 10 fumbles on only 364 attempts...pathetic!
Henne threw three in a game against the Bills last year, the Bills secondary is actually pretty good with the ball in the air. Still, last year is last year and Henne has to be the QB were hoping he can become because it's gong to be a huge setback is he isn't.
I take it that he means the entire team when he says supporting cast and I agree with him that Henne does have a weaker supporting cast. The Jet defense is light years ahead of ours and their OL is among the best in the NFL. Something we can not say about ours.
As I've said several times, I think both players have a great deal of potential, but they clearly have different strengths. I agree with Dilfer that MS is a better athlete and is more accurate. Since I value accuracy very highly, I had MS rated as a better prospect coming out. And I don't care that he had a poor completion percentage and a too many interceptions as a rookie. Saying you can't see "it" in MS based on his rookie year stats is like saying you couldn't see "it" in Peyton Manning based on his rookie year stats. I'm not saying MS will be PM, but if you're using that as a basis then you really don't know what to look for. What has surprised me most about Henne is his incredible mental toughness. He showed some of that at Michigan, but nowhere near what he's showed in Miami. IMO he has that in spades over MS. I don't know how much of that he had in him to begin with and how much was the Pennington influence (some combination of each, I'm sure), but wherever it comes from, it's impressive. In Henne, I see a guy with great composure during games and a guy with an incredible drive to succeed when he's off the field. I'm not saying MS doesn't have that, he does have some of that, but Henne's seems superlative. I don't think Henne has P. Manning's passing skill, but he may be developing a similar mental game. Going forward, I think both guys have enough of every thing else to succeed. How much success they achieve will depend not just on their own development but also how the team around them develops. While the Jets clearly have the better defense right now, I think that the Dolphins have done a better job of positioning themselves to have the more complete team over the next few seasons. A lot will depend on how the player acquisitions from this off-season and future off-seasons develop so who knows what will happen, but I really like how the team around Henne is developing. And if I had to bet on which guy will win more championships, I'd go with Henne, but I recognize that some of that may be my own bias.
Man I hope you are right BUT I just don't see it.. Rex for all his warts is a defensive master mind. We will see how it pans out for them this year. I think they are going to be in trouble next year when all these contracted players come up wanting their big pay checks. THey are not going to be able to keep up their spending and that IMO is going to be their down fall.
I still want to see Hennes TD to INT ratio improve. With Marshall and improvement on OL and another season under Hennes belt regarding reading Defenses i think Henne will show hes the Franchise QB weve been waiting so long for.
I was going to say something similar, but I had already sad a good thing about the Bills secondary and one compliment for a division opponent per month is about all I can scrounge up grudgingly, let alone on purpose
I agree. Rex is one of the biggest reasons (no pun intended) for why that defense is so good. But I do think their talent level will suffer in future years unless they do a very good job in the draft and FA. That's why I think the Nolan acquisition was huge for us. I think he closes the gap between the Jets and us in regards to defensive coaching. I would probably still say Rex is better but it's close enough that the player talent will decide which D is better going forward. I think the Jets will still have the defensive edge in 2010, but that we're better positioned to have the edge after that. I think on offense we'll have an edge at QB for one more year and after that it will depend on their development. I also expect that we'll have the better running game and receivers (I don't think much of a Braylon Edwards). And I think the OLs will be too close to call this year. So overall, I see us having a slightly better team in 2010, but it's close enough that the luck factor may be the difference. And as I said I like our chances to be a much better team after that.
Trent Dilfer is an idiot. Last season he did a top 10 QB of all-time and decided Marino wasn't worthy of one spot on the list. The guy is a joke.
Their oline is on a remarkable streak of consecutive games played as a unti, sooner or later that will run out, and they are going to start Ducasse at G as they cut Fanaca, a small college G is a day 1 starter on their Oline? The only edge I will grant the Jets have over the Dolphins is Dustin Keller and that is due to Fasano blocking more in 09.
