What Did Everyone Think Of Henne, LAST YEAR?

Another strike against Chad Henne

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...-dolphins-fine-0323,0,5362751.story?track=rss

Should read, "Fins phined because Chad Henne too stupid to keep his mouth shut."

 

I was listening to the press conference on Sirius NFL radio and it sounded pretty bad the way the reporter asked the question. He mentioned Henne's name specifically when giving an example of teams that were ignoring the rules. I'm not looking to toss Henne under the bus for this, but It's definitely not the publicity he needs at this stage.

 

I think he was trying suggest you try to get along with members here a little better instead of being so brash with people as a whole here.

No one is trying to tell you what to do or tell you to follow certain rules. That's just not the case.

 

I will say this. If Henne had John Beck's limited upside and talent (or lack there of), I'd be calling for a replacement. There are plenty of areas of his game that need improving. However, if there weren't issues, then that would make him a top 5 veteran type QB rather than a young, developing one.

IMO there's such a fine line between keeping a young QB and tossing him. Do you ditch him for a rookie who might be no better and will take time to develop, ultimately setting you back temporarily <if not longer>? Do you continue with him and hope for gold b/c of his intriguing potential and unreached ceiling? Or do you go the safe route, a quick fix, a stop gap, with a vet who might not be capable of winning a big game on his own, a guy who ultimately means the entire process will be started anew within a few years <or less>?

This is why I'm not so hasty to jump on the "find a new QB" bandwagon. I'm not sure if everyone truly grasps the potential consequences of this, b/c they're not all rosy. If this were the case, then we would've found our QB years ago with all the quick fixes we've attempted. I just hope people understand that, despite how poor our QB play seemed last season and how disappointed fans were, it will NOT get better with a rookie this year <and possibly next year as well> b/c we'll be starting the developmental process ALL OVER AGAIN.

If so, I hope our disappointed fans are prepared for being even more disappointed and more frustrated than you currently are. When we're ready to compete next year or in 2012, and we then have an even younger <rookie> QB making mistakes and costing us games, what will some of you be saying then? Will it be yet again: "This QB is holding our team back, so we need to draft another one or pick one up in FA?". Or will you be patient and say "Ok, let's allow & support this one's develop so we don't have to repeat this whole process <possibly prematurely>"?

It's ok to be disappointed, but if you're a parent and your kid is learning to ride a bike, do you chastise or berate him when he falls down a few times while getting the hang of it?
Do you expect him to jump right from tricycle to bicycle without any help or training wheels?
Do you ask the stork for a new kid when he's having difficulty even though his bike has a flat tire, broken handle bar, and he's trying to pedal uphill on a gravel road during an earthquake with trees and telephone poles falling down around him while trying to avoid the plethora of chaotic, elderly drivers scurrying from Wednesday bingo?
Now I don't have any kids, but I have kidnapped an Asian one <yes, I know it's wrong of me------ I should've never stereotyped a race as being mathematically inclined to "help" me with my taxes>........... but if he were my kid, I'd be by his side, supporting him, helping him swerve to avoid the gray hairs.

 

Last year I thought Henne would be our future QB. I still believe that, given the right situation. You have to help young QB's that aren't taken first overall to develop. We've done a poor job of that. The entire staff as a whole has been terrible at it, from coaching, to playcalling, to execution. Unfortunately I dont see that changing as I feel we will have very much the same type of staff heading to next season, if there is a season. Henne regressed last year when looking at stats, sure, but alot of that was out of his control too when you dig deeper. regardless of all of that, because we have 300 other threads on this issue, and im not sure why we needed ANOTHER one, but yeah, regardless of all of this stuff surrounding him, this is going to be a make or break year for Henne. Second year slumps are normal for QB's I'd say, especially going into the second year as a first year starter.

 

For making a comment toward the fan base as a whole. If people weren't so damn sensitive and get their feelings hurt over every little comment things might be a little more tolerable. Someone got upset because I called them out in another thread and caught them backpedaling.
Hey I'm a straight shooter. If certain people can't handle it that is their problem not mine.

 

It is always fun to read people's justification for being a jerk. At least you didn't say you were a hero.

 

Why you sticking your nose in it and personally attacking me when it has nothing to do with you?

 

Sticking my nose in it? You are posting on a public message board. Why so sensitive?

No personal attack intended. I just love reading personal justifications of acting like a jerk. Straight-shooter = jerk.

Right now I am being a straight shooter, aka jerk. I can own my jerkiness.

 

It's not my fault that the majority of this fan base is clueless to what the term "development" actually means.
Also not my fault that the majority of this fan base is head over heels in love with a diva WR who is billed as a top 5 WR but can't make plays.

 

You must not be a real fan since you're bashing Brandon Marshall. A real fan would understand that when a offense struggles, and when a QB struggles, GUESS WHAT???? the WRs will struggle as well. And for Brandon Marshall to put up 1,000 yards in our offense, yeah I'm ok with that.

You'll somehow spin this as you being a true fan and paint some warped picture about how what you're saying about Marshall is so much different than the horrible things us stupid uninformed fans are saying about Henne. But that's ok. It's not your fault you sound like an ***. It's our fault for not understanding what a true fan you really are.

 

You would think as great as everyone thinks Marshall is that he would at least break one big play hell even Marlon Moore was able to accomplish that and he is a scrub. Marshall should be a Pro Bowl player but he is a fraud. The guy thinks he is great but he plays dumb and angry. Drops balls and creates stupid penalties.

You speak as if you have an angry mob of Henne haters ready to burn down the lone Marshall basher's house. You funny man.

 

No I was just referring to myself and the rest of the "majority of the fanbase" you were referring to in your post. And for the record, I can only speak for myself but I don't think anyone in this thread hates Henne. We're all Dolphin fans and I'm sure we all would like to see him succeed. I know I would.

I don't care what you say about Marshall. Again, I'm just being a "straight shooter" and calling you out for being a hypocrite.

 

The difference between you and I is that I take a stand and stick to my guns on that particular issue. You sit on the fence and change your opinion whenever it suits your argument. You've already done so in this thread and been called out on it. Then you immediately backpedaled and lied about it. Same thing you did in the stoppage thread. You need to look in the mirror before you start slinging attacks.
One minute you say Henne won't suceed and then the next minute you wish him well. I know you will say that it isn't the same but I don't think you really know what your opinion is. You get in bed with the haters when convenient then you come off as some sort of friendly non Henne hater. Poop or get of the pot bro. This flip flopping is getting old.

 

Those are two seperate things. I do not think henne will succeed. I do want him too and if he is starting QB of the Dolphins dominate.

We do not live in a black and white world. You do not have to be a Henne LOVER or Henne HATER.

 

So we only differ slightly in opinion I think he can be successful if developed properly unlike last season with those two clowns. Henning's horrid play calling and Lee who has never developed an NFL QB in his life put him in every position to be unsuccessful. Henne does have to step up and take responsibility for his own development and I think we will see that. Last season was a dog and pony show. If it all falls into place I will be happy as hell. I have to see him with a different OC in a system that gives him more chances to succeed before I am willing to dump on him.

 

Where exactly did I flip flop or say Chad Henne won't succeed? Let's start with my first post -

Did I flip flop in post 2?

Nope. Number 3?

I don't think so. Maybe #4 -

That's not it. Maybe 5.

Definitely wasn't that one. Let's check post #6 -

Pretty sure that sounds the same as what I said in the other posts. It must have been #7 I flip flopped on -

Not a flip flop. 8?

I didn't even mention Henne in this post so that's not it. Let's see #9.

Nah. Still lots of pages and posts. The flip flop has to be here somewhere -

Didn't flip flop or say Henne won't succeed there. In fact, I blamed Henning. Maybe post 11 is what you were look at -

Talking about Daboll, not Henne. 12 -

This one is mostly about you. But never said Henne won't succeed there. Lucky #13 -

Never said Henne wouldn't succeed in this one either. Damn. Getting down to the wire here. 14 -

Looks like I'm still "sticking to my guns". 15 -

Boy, this is getting downright monotonous. I keep saying the SAME THING!! Gotta be a flip flop here somewhere. 16 -

I got a little off topic here. Does that count as flip flopping? No? Ok, must be 17 -

Just me calling you a hypocrite again. I'm consistent there too. My most current post in this thread not including this one so this is it. Must be a flip flop here -

Did I miss something?

Only difference between me and you is a little bit more tact and I've got a funnier clown in my avatar.

 

I think that is the case for most people on the Henne argument. Some people do go overboard.

I also think that Henning's playcalling wasn't completely terrible until Henne was the starting QB. I remember years back that Henning was a little conservative, however in his long career as a NFL playcaller this was the first time it looked god awful. I do not think the offensive staff had confidence in henne and I think that is because Henne didn't do enough to inspire confidence.

There were rumors the entire offseason on how Henne's development was disappointing. I poo poo'd them as rumors, until I saw him play and was disappointed in his development.

 

I dont think Henning's turribleness can ever be overstated (see last drive Buffalo game), but I agree that Henne never earned the confidence of the coaching staff, or the players for that matter. IMO they all wanted Pennington under center and for Chad to wait his turn, but they had their hands forced by Ireland or someone above him.

After the season, Henning was fired, Penny, was let go, Sparano was nearly replaced. Ireland is telling anyone who will listen that he wants more speed and play makers, but that Henne's job isn't safe either. Most likely, Henne was viewed as part of a much larger problem at the end of the season, and there is a debate going on as to how best to move forward. My guess is that Ireland wants to build around Henne and Sparano wants to upgrade him, preferably w/ a veteran. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

 

Couldn't agree more...... unless you're his mom or something. lol. I only dislike players if their character paves way for me to dislike them........ or if they challenge Henne for the starting role.

 

MB after reading through some of the history of your posts on Henne I do realize I made some assumptions about you that probably were unfair. I batched you in as one of the Henne bashers here. It became obvious to me that you really do want the guy to succeed but you don't feel strong enough to believe it will happen. I usually classify that as being on the fence and I still do in this situation. I don't love Chad Henne other than wanting the guy to succeed to avoid repeating the process of finding a QB. Some here have totally written him off and continually bash and say he sucks without giving him a fair shot. He is young and I feel he didn't get a fair shake in his development with the two coaches that were here. Neither had a clue on how to develop a young QB and that was obvious IMO.
As far as Marshall I'm sticking to how I feel about the guy. I understand you don't like my stance but it is my opinion and the expectations I had for this guy were way higher than I would have for a first time full time starting young QB. Marshall should be further along in his focus and should be a leader not a problem.
Anyways apologies for labeling you a hater. I'm not going back on my opinions and still positively believe Henne can be the guy if given the right opportunities.
I just didn't handle things exactly right on your opinions.
Just being honest.

 

Since I feel that you're wrong, I will once again point it out peacefully lol.

Someone says something bad about Henne and they're wrong because he's still developing and that makes us sorry fans. When someone points out that Marshall actually had a pretty good year(you don't have to tell me again about his yac and so on) then our fanbase is clueless and Marshall is a bum. You cannot have it both ways. Both players had no running game, a hurt oline, and both had to deal with Hartline being hurt.

 

All good, Killer. While I disagree with you about Marshall, I respect your opinion. And I think after 10 pages, you and I probably have more thoughts in common on Henne than we originally thought. I think you and others are just a little more optimistic he can succeed. I've always been one to expect the worst and hope for the best.

 

FWIW,

I called into Moving the Chains on Sirius NFL Radio today and asked Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan their thoughts about Chad Henne. They aren't the end all be all on football, but they typically approach things with sound logic and I always respect their opinions.

My question was basically what went wrong with Chad Henne in 2010 as compared to 2009 and does he have a future in Miami. Their thoughts in a nutshell -

Our expectations were too high

Running game was terrible

Opponents, especially division opponents had a lot of time to study tape on him

They also mentioned that he only threw 4 TDs on the road in 2009. That's something I didn't know. The good news or bad news depending on how you look at it, is that they said he will probably be the guy in 2011 considering there won't be any rookies at our pick that could come in and do any better. They also said nobody knows what the future holds for him but it wouldn't surprise them to see him improve in 2011. They even mentioned something about 26 TDs. Wouldn't that be something? We can only hope...

I would have liked to go into a little further with them, but I was just happy to finally get through as they don't tend to take a lot of calls from us Dolphin fans.

 

Thanks for the call.

Henne is a talented passer. People are forgetting that. He can make throws that many guys cant.

26+ TDs is absolutely possible if:

1. ground game is consistent.
2. defense creates more TOs (hence short field opportunities) instead of last in missed INTs & near last in TOs created. (good for 2+ extra TDs)
3. we get a better KR/PR to set up a few short field opportunities like many teams are afforded. (good for 1+ extra TD)
4. the Oline stays somewhat healthy.
5. we get another playmaker or 2 at TE and/or WR who can take an ordinary pass and turn it into a TD. Seriously, when Moore scored on the short pass vs Oakland, I was ecstatic!!...... but then I had to remind myself that other teams around the league do this almost routinely. lol (good for 2+ extra TDs)
6. Daboll properly utilizes Marshall and figures out ways to get him the ball in space. (Good for 3+ extra TDs)
7. we stop taking the ball out of Henne's hands in the redzone, and we stop playing for FGs. (good for 3+ extra TDs)


Henne will throw more TDs and less INTs if Sparano, Ireland, and Daboll allow him to. It's as easy as that.

 

All good points. I dont mind 12-18 INTs if they are spent pushing the ball down the field, challenging the defense, creating opportunity for big plays etc. What I dont like is INTs on 10yd curls or 5 yd outs that serve no purpose. If the D is jumping short routes it likely means that they dont respect your deep passing game and that is a problem. Also, IMO too much attention is paid to not turning the ball over in the +30yd line area. So what if Henne throws a pick? We have a defense who can hold, and 1 TD and 1 INT is better than 2 FGs, at the end of the day. Aggressive offense is the way to go IMO, and Henne is much more successful when he's allowed to be aggressive, i.e. when we are trailing in games. Its when we have a lead that he's struggled. That may be a statistical anamoly, but given the philosophy of Henning and Sparano, I doubt it.

 

At Stanford University they have what's called the 'Electro-Static Tunneling Microscope'. This is the most powerful microscope ever made and it can see atoms, within atoms, of other atoms, the smallest particles of our world. If I was using that microscope right now; I couldn't find my interest in these debates.

 

That's funny, I couldn't find someone who asked you when I looked.

 

interesting. If you were "using that microscope right now (friday night)", then that would mean you need to get out of the house more often........ go do that thing that little chickadees do--------- get laid. lol.

 

Oh brother...................wake me up when they start the draft.

 

Atoms are not made of atoms; they are composed of protons, neutrons and electrons.

Did you expect a different response to that?

 

Not much.

 

Shhhhh. Don't spoil it.

 

Yes. The problem is that if we had all that, my Aunt Tilly could play quarterback for us. We need someone with the talent, athleticism and brains to at least have a chance of overcoming these handicaps and bailing out the team once in a while. Henne ain't it; sorry.

 

Can't speak for everyone, but for me disappointment about sums it up. I was disappointed not only in his play (which you can argue blame all you want), but also how he carried himself. I just don't see any fire in the belly with this guy, and to me that is a concern. I don't know if that makes a lot of sense, or if it makes as much of a difference as I think it does, but I wanna see a guy that gets a little pissed off when he makes a mistake or a play breaks down. Shows me he cares and wants to do better.

That said, I really think this coaching staff has screwed the pooch with his guy in terms of how they're developing him. I think they have him so scared to make any mistakes that he's playing too tight. I also think the Wildcat has been somewhat detrimental this his development, as in when he starts getting into a rhythm, they pull him out to run a Wildcat play or two.

I have said on many an occasion that the Henne pick would determine whether or not taking Long over Ryan was the right move. And, right now, it's starting to look like a mistake. Bottom line, I want Henne to be successful, obviously. I want to feel as though we can win on any given Sunday with him as our starting QB. And, I think we're quite aways from that with where he is in his development right now. Moreover, I am really starting to doubt we're gonna get there with him. Could be all he's ever gonna be is back up material in this league.

JMHO...

 

Sparano shows a lot of fire in his belly on FG's. Maybe he realized that we weren't performing and didn't want to look like an *******. If he celebrated the rare offensive touchdown, you guys would tell him to STFU because he doesn't do it enough. If he got mad when something went wrong, everyone would just say he's the main problem so he needs to shut up. If he got on Marshall for dropping passes, everyone would just blame him for the throw. It's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. Try arguing points that actually contribute to a player's success rather than semantics.

 

Right.... b/c QB is such an easy position to play. <sarcasm>

You do realize we're supposed to be a smash mouth running team right? The nerve of me thinking that a team, that's objective is running the ball, should actually be effective at it. You can wish all you want to be a passing team ala Marino days, but that doesn't override what Sparano wants us to be. No, but you're right--- if we snap our fingers and bring in an elite QB, he'll make ALL our team's problems go away (including our inconsistency). <more sarcasm> Then Brady won't stand a chance against us. Who needs to run when our "guy" will be better than Tom, with us easily going toe to toe vs the Pats in an aerial slug fest. <yes, sarcasm>

......... and you do realize, right, that the aspects I mentioned are prerequisites for virtually any team making a super bowl run?.... or that a QB doesn't mean crap if you don't have that stuff? Cmon now.

Lets look at:

A running team......... NEEDS TO RUN THE BALL WELL (not finish near last in the league in every rushing category) if they hope to make a SB appearance.

It doesn't matter how good the QB is, if you ONLY have 3 WRs & 1 TE, then you are probably NOT going to the SB in a passing league, especially if there are injuries to them and you CANT run the ball.

Teams that want to run the ball don't go to SBs when their Oline is injury plagued <using 11 different line combos> and cant run block or pass block without using max protection.

Teams that focus on defense don't go to SBs when their defense is near last in turnovers and dead last in missed turnovers while giving up 9 TD passes of 30+ yards. But you're right, a rookie QB will overcome that.

Teams don't go to SBs that have catastrophic meltdowns on special teams, giving up 28 pts in 1 freakin season (worst in the NFL).

Teams don't go to SBs with an incompetent OC who gets "retired".


But do you know what SB caliber teams DO do?......... they DEVELOP their young QBs and put them in situations where they can SUCCEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They don't force them to try and make up for an entire team's vast array of deficiencies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you think any rookie QB comes in here and "bails this team out", then you're in for a rude awakening. There's no logic to that what so ever.

 

Instead of irrationally trying to find ONE guy to make up for ALL of our deficiencies, here's a novel idea-------- how about we improve our freakin deficiencies, especially if these deficiencies fall in areas that are supposed to be the strengths of our team.

If our team is supposed to be based on a solid ground game combined with a great defense, then how about we actually build a solid ground game and take our defense to the level of "greatness". We cant try and make us into something we're not....... and it makes ZERO sense to put everything on hold until that magical QB falls from the heavens who gives our offense reason to feature an aggressive passing attack that we build a team around.

We are NOT going to beat the Colts & Manning at their own game, and we are NOT going to consistently beat the Steelers if our defense is inferior to theirs.

If we want to make it to the SB with this current team, then we need to be as good defensively as Pitt, while featuring a strong ground game capable of keeping Manning & Brady off the field and out of rhythm as much as possible.

 

Like I said, I don't know if it makes as much of a difference as I think it does, but that was one of several points I made. And hey, don't blame me for it. Blame Dan Marino. After watching him for 17 years, that's what I've come to expect. Dude played the game with more intensity and passion (and ability too I might add) than anyone else to ever play the position, IMO. As a result, I expect to at least see a pulse. At least look like you care. Just sayin'.