Sports Buzz - Daboll knocked- Henne praised

I agree with Griese and Marino, I still think Henne can be a very good QB in this league. I believe Henning had no clue how to use Henne. It's almost like they never took the training wheels off to really see what he can do.

As far as Daboll, well, let's wait and see. Just because he may have struggled in Cleveland doesn't mean he's going to struggle here. Here's why, use Gary Stevens. He was great for Marino, but what if he was in Pittsburgh coaching Kordell Stewart?

 

That and Dan Henning seemed unable or unwilling to adapt to the way offense is played in the NFL these days.

 

If he made Henne waste plays by not being able to check out of the play at the LOS then he'd gone mad.

 

I think Henning wasn't as bat**** as we'd like to think. He was 69, didn't give a **** anymore, and was accustomed to a vet QB. I think Sparano never really asked him to do it. I have a crazy theory that Sparano liked that Henning did him a favor by coming back, he didn't want to impose on Henning to revamp his offense in what was to be his last year coaching, so when it just wasn't working with the kid, they decided to go with Pennington who was the vet.

That could explain Pennington saying it wasn't Henne's fault that he got benched and the lack of usage of Marshall considering he was without a guy like him in 2008 and 2009. If you see what Marshall said about he and Thigpen's freelancing, it was clear that the offense was not built for him either. Henne, being young and afraid for his job, or having a lot of respect for his coaches, never took the shots that Marshall, a vet with a big contract wanted. He wanted to do what the coaches wanted to a 'T' even if it failed. Thigpen was already a spread QB in KC and had no fear of just chucking that ball wherever. He just wanted to boost his resume so he went along with Marshall's change of plans.

Just my little theory. It's just a tad bit easier to believe than a defiant third year QB going against his bosses week in and week out and getting the starting nod. Getting rocked by a knee injury and still starting two games later. I just think Sparano needed his own coaching hires without "The Tuna" and his pals calling the shots. I am hopeful for this year.

As to the WR from Cleveland, I doubt there was much diversity in their receivers talents as well. Daboll saw that all he had was a RB and a slasher in Cribbs and turned in an admirable performance with them. You can't do much with Jake Delhomme as your starter and Mohamed Massaquoi/Brian Robiske as your top targets.

 

Bob Griese never had good numbers, so 58/67 vs 192/172, I mean, I guess there was a slight improvement ...

I'm kidding for those who are going to jump on me and tell me the game was different back then yada yada yada

Let's just say I always put 0 stock into what a former player says unless they have proven they are good analysts. Michael Jordan thought Kwame Brown was the best player in 2001. To be fair to Jordan, that was a pretty weak draft.

 

What you don't know is what Griese's BAC was when making these statements.

 

I don't like this at all. This is an apparent implication from Griese to Henne that he'll just naturally get better. Henne damn well better fret over last season. He was atrocious. I hope he had to buy new hard drives to store all the video he needed to study this offseason.

 

Well I semi studied Grieses' career and there are 3 distinct portions to it, the early yrs, the SB yrs, the post SB years.

Poor start, more or less a caretaker during the SB yrs then a highly efficient Pennington like passer with a better arm, he is one of the basis for my theory that a young Qb has to have a powerful running game to develop.

Went back and looked at what was said about John Beck prior to his release, so there is a grain of salt in there for me, and once again, the running game must be improved, there is no other move this offseason that will have as much of a positive impact out on the field

 

The Steelers used the same blueprint for developing Big Ben.

 

new center, new back, new fullback, new speedster, those 4 players are gonna help us a lot..

 

Or maybe Griese was offering some positive words and encouragement to a guy who has been made into a scapegoat by the fans and the media.

 

Don't forget, new Coordinator too .

I'm enthused about the players we drafted, but I'm even more stoked b/c Ireland showed, IMO, that he had a very firm grasp of what our problems were on offense. If we sign a top tier back in FA I'll be even more convinced that we're on the right track.

What I'm most encouraged by though, is the continued development of players who are already on the roster. Look at the improvement we saw last year from guys like Wake, Langford, Soliai, Clemons, Davis, Smith & Henne. IF we continue to see improvement from those guys, and guys like Misi, Odrick, Hartline, Bess, Incognito, Jerry, Edds, Carroll, Jones etc can contribute more that they did last year, then collectively, we may see a big time improvement. Does anyone think that Dansby & Marshall won't have improved production now that they've had a year to integrate themselves into the team?

To be fair, just about every team in the league can make a case for optimism at this time of year, but IMO, the Dolphins have more reasons to expect an increased level of team play than all but a handful of teams in the league.

 

He deserves a good portion of it though. Even Marino said Henne was really bad at times but says he would not give up on him.

 

Exactly, that is why I've been banging the drum about improving the running game.

What is really dark to think about is we could legitimately start the season 0-2 or 0-3, but the manner of those potential losses will go a long way to determining a whole bunch of things.

 

and as far as I can tell, there is only a few that believe they can win 10 games, and their pretty much on this site, basically, this team is being seriously overlooked by almost everyone, I mean seriously...

 

It's a team game, rarely is any player (fairly) singled out for blame or credit. IMO it remains to be seen whether Henne was a handicap or was being handicapped. My only issue is w/ those who seem to have their minds made up after just two seasons.

 

For me, either way I think the team itself will be fine.

I'd like to see Henne "lose" about 5-7 pass attempts per game and the running attack pick up the opportunity.

The players themselves have spent a relaxing summer getting tatoos and whatnot, last yr is like a different planet for them.