Just my opinion of course, but there are at least two things I'm looking to see Henne do before the end of the 2010 season: 1) Notch a 3-touchdown performance. Through 23 games played, he has yet to throw 3 TDs in a single game. It would be great to see him finally do that one or twice (or more) in these last 5 games of the season. It's not the end all be all or anything but elite QBs do that at least once or twice a season if not more. 2) Have an interception-free outing. Henne did not throw an INT in his first two games of the season but has gone on to throw a pick in each of his last 8 games. Granted, he only threw one in 6 of those 8 games, but still.
That is funny to me Hugo G and shows the difference between how each of us watches the game. You look at stats,3 Td's, no Int's. What I want to see is: -More aggression pumping the ball downfield even against cover 2 as in 3 deep throws per game -better touch and timing along the sidelines -throw the ball with Authority into the endzone right now defenders know as long as they keep their men in front of them near the goaline Henne hesitates to pump it in there and when he has been he has kinda poor ball placement. My goals are for Henne to put Gus Frerotte in the rear view mirror, 18 td's 12 int's 52% completions 3k yds. Right now Henne: 11 Td's 10 int's 2,400 yds 63% completions..
And that Pittsburgh game still haunts...it was NOT an interception...as for those other 8 games how many of the 1 interception games were tipped/dropped passes? EDIT: I'll take improvement in his skillset, anything else is a bonus. From the Titans and Raiders game, it's starting to seem he's grasping the game a little better. Cleveland should be another fun outing, however versus the Jets in two weeks will be gut check time IMHO.
to me i'm not looking for any benchmarks per se but rather a general improvement whether its attacking zone or making quicker decisions or improving on his pre snap reads it doesnt really matter to me so long as his improvement continues game to game
Have to do both, otherwise it is practice ya know? Frerotte is my target simply because just Gus, Pennington, and Feidler have had any sort of success since #13 retired and I doubt Henne can top Penny's 08 season, but he can pass Gus's 05 numbers..sometimes you have to take the low hanging fruit...
I thought for sure he'd get that 3rd TD yesterday, but then they pulled him out a few times for Thigpen when I thought he had us going, and we stopped challenging the secondary as much towards the end of the 3rd quarter (and a lot of the 4th). I was a sad panda.
All I want to see is a gameplan for him that takes the handcuffs off and lets him be himself the rest of the way and not try and pidgenhole him into a coordinators comfort zone. Once they allow him to play his game we'll know all we need to know about him.
Honestly, if he plays well in the coordinators comfort zone wouldn't that tell us all we need to know about him too? (since theoretically he'd be succeeding in a challenging set of circumstances)
I'm not sure anyone other than Pennington would really play well in Henning's comfort zone right now, it's a bit constricting.
I want to see all of those things too (like Adam said, I want to see general improvement/progression) but at the end of the day, production matters. Elite QBs have zero interception games and 3+ TD games. I want to see Henne get into that statistical zone more often than not (and at least once or twice before the end of this season).
I know folks won't like me saying this, it should be said: Henne could be a slow learner and what we have seen from him in the last two games is internalizing some lessons he learned earlier, and then applying them, if Henne is to be more than Frerotte, he needs a couple of more epiphanies.
I have five things i want Henne to do from now until the end of the season. 1. Beat the Browns. 2. Beat the Jets. 3. Beat the Bills (again) 4. Beat the Lions. 5. Beat the Pats.
i was thinking the exact same thing yesterday. this is a required performance for top QBs. he needs to have a game where it looks easy for him. i will remain skeptical until then
to be fair that has a lot to do with WRs. That throw to Moore yesterday didn't look very hard (EDIT) cause he made it look easy (EDIT) and it was the longest play we had all season. (also hoping we keep seeing more of this Moore fellow). Look at Santonio Holmes. All sanchez has to do is hit him on a 5 yard slant and it consistently turns into tds every game.
That throw didn't look very hard? A long out in a blitz that is perfectly placed on the break? That is a hard throw and a great route. With Fiedler that would be a pick 6.
I love his throws when he has to rifle the ball in. It is his touch throws that still need more work. Well less work if he can keep up what he did in Oakland and show he can do it against a cover 2.
I can only recall once where Henne winded up to rifle it where it wasn't a good play for us. When he throws it with force, its going to be a good pass. If he threw every pass with the confidence that he throws those missiles, he'd take his game to a new level. those two passes to Cobbs and Bess yesterday were very good touch passes, so lets hope he keeps it going. We know he can physically do it now.
IMO Henne's weaknesses are the same as they were in week 3 last year, the good news is he's getting better even as defenses become more informed on how to attack those weaknesses. 1. Pocket awareness. This is my biggest issue with Henne. He'll never be a Rodgers or Vick, but its the ability to shuffle a few feet left, right, forward, back to evade pressure and find throwing lanes that I want to see. Henne is fearless, he can stare down the barrel and make throws with the best of them. But I'd like to see him become more evasive to avoid the those hits, extend plays and give his WRs more time to get open (they often need it). The batted balls at the line have been happening less, so there's improvement there, but I think Henne can do better with more game experience. 2. Eye discipline. The Raiders played man all day and made it easy for Henne, but most defenses aren't so accommodating, especially the good ones. I want to see Henne use his eyes not just to scan the field, he's doing better with that, but to manipulate the defense. The true sign of QB development is when he can start moving defenders with his eyes, when he can look off the safety and create a window for his otherwise bracketed receiver. With Henne's arm, if he can learn to dictate coverage he'll take a big step forward. 3. Ride the Beast and take ownership. With Penne out, Henne has no one looking over his shoulder. Time for him to be more assertive, audible out of bad plays, kill those 3rd and 12 play action passes, and establish himself as the alpha male not just in the huddle but in the film/meeting room as well. That won't if Henne's teammates don't have his back, and that starts with Marshall. Feed him. When there's off coverage, throw him smoke routes, when he's jammed at the LOS, back shoulder fade him. All of the top QB-WR combos have this down, a look, a signal, and they both know what time it is. Henne and Marshall need to develop that rapport, these last five games is a perfect chance provided Marshall is healthy enough to play. Henne still needs alot of work, he doesn't quite compare with Flacco or Ryan. Not that those are fair comparisons, Brian Brohm would be a better choice if you want a measuring stick for Chenne's progress. If Henne was viewed as a top flight prospect he'd never have lasted as long as he did, so the fact that he's going to need a few, if not several years to develop shouldn't be much of a surprise. Henne's not going to be a QB who carries the team week in and week out, but if we give him some play makers and a coordinator who can effectively use his skill set, he can be a good QB for a long time.
While that is a possibility, I think we should all keep in mind too that this guy was a second round pick. Usually taking a QB in any round other than the first means you're going to have to take some extra time waiting on him to develop fully. It's obvious Henne has the skillset, and its obvious he's improving upon it, its just a matter of being patient until he puts it all together in his head, and on the field. That being said, I thought yesterday was going to be that 3 TD game for sure. I think with a bit more aggressive playcalling in the redzone, and we shoulda/coulda had it for him. Oh well. I'm more concerned with the steady improvement in his game, than the numbers behind it.
I agree with you all except for the last paragraph. I can see Henne becoming a Rivers type of guy. He honestly reminds me of him, just has to get more experience. I say a year or two from now we are laughing at this thread!
hennes done a good job of learning new things every week. He hasn't completely conquered some of his bad habits, but I see nothing that leads me to believe he's a slow learner.
Well, GM Johnson's list is accurate Lucky, Henne does lead defenders to receivers with his eyes, he has both years so far, that is Qb 101 stuff add in he mostly reads one side of the field and that combination is tough to throw the ball into. But he does, and he also has success doing so, which is a illustration of his talent. but if it is not corrected Henne will slide into Derek Anderson, all of the tools just never quite corrected his weaknesses./
He's only gotta do one thing for me. I demand that he go up to the OC booth and de-crotchenate Dan Henning for having pulled him from the game for a Wildcat play [among other things]
I like Henne, but the one thing that makes me cautious in my optimism is that he did start 4 years at a major university. In some respects it could be argued that perhaps he should be more developed than he is in certain areas, or that he does have some habits that are harder to break because of it.
1. I'd like to see him work on telling Henning to screw off with the 3 & long play-action... 2. I would like to see him learn the pump-fake, that would help with the eye movement as well. 3. Continue to progress with touch and accuracy.
While having an INT-free game is, imvho, paramount to him taking the next step, I think that having a 3 TD game is going to be tough. Not because I don't think Henne can do it, but Sparano is even more conservative than Parcells when it comes to having a lead. As the tv announcers kept saying on Sunday, if we have a 5-10 point lead in the middle of the 3rd qtr, all Sparano wants to do is sit on it and run the clock out....he won't blow out folks offensively unless they happen to give us the ball via turnovers inside the red zone or we have a pick six to make the score look overly lop-sided...they just don't do it. For that reason, it wouldn't shock me if we don't see a "3 TD" game by Henne...
What I, personally, would like to see from Chad is a statement career game along the lines of >= 350 yards passing, 3 TDs, 0 picks. Every single one of Henne's contemporaries that are viewed as "successful" or "answers" to their franchises have put up a game like that at some point in their NFL career. But as far as "before the end of this year", I'd like to see a 300 yard, 2 TD, ZERO interception game. If not that, can we at least get two games in a row where he throws at least one TD each game and no interceptions? Any of the above will make this guy a happy camper for the time being.
Friend CitizenSnips: nicely put, succinct, correct, on the money... I agree completely & all very doable. it's time for the Franchise QB to emerge no time for almost, could of been no more excuses, Henne must step up now if we are to run the table & go to post season