Good coaches make the best of what they have. They utilize players according to their strengths and make the team play better than the sum of their parts. Sparano isn't a terrible hc, but he's not going to turn Miami back into contenders either, and that's why I hope Mr Ross is looking elsewhere during the offseason.

 

I think you are putting way too much of the blame on Chad Henne. I think the entire team played like crap at the beginning of the season. Now they are playing like they are possessed and I am not 100% sure why, but I do not believe it is because of Matt Moore. I like some of the qualities that Tony Sparano brings to the table, but also think that it is time for a change.

 

That's all well and good but how about the fan like me. I lost faith in Tony Sparano BECAUSE he stuck with Chad Henne. Seldom do I participate in second guessing playcalls, clock management, and such. My issue is with the decision made while driving the car home. The decision made while sitting on the beach vacationing. The decision that was made without any pressure of time what so ever. That decision was to go into ANOTHER wasted season with Chad Henne as our starting quarterback.

This single decision led to illusion in this fanbase this past offseason. I watched as hope continued into the quarterbacks 4th year as a pro. There has been absolutely nothing to be positive about as it pertains to this offense in Chad Henne's 3 years prior as a starter. Nothing! They lost three of four games in December 2010. They won the one game scoring 10 points with Chad Henne at QB. They lost the last game with Chad Henne sitting on the bench! That was only after a November a .500 November performance with this offense scoring 59 points in 4 games. How in the hell did anyone see anything positive about the play of the quarterback after watching November and December 2010? This offense had an average of 15 points in those 7 games under Chad Henne. How in the hell was this forgotten?

I remember how it was forgotten. I remember that almost to a man EVERYONE placed the blame for the offensive woes at the position of Offensive Coordinator. Nobody wanted to believe that the offensive coordinator (by his choice of offense) was telling you that this quarterback is NOT a winner. Every position on the offensive side of the ball had been addressed in some way prior to LAST year. That is every postion EXCEPT quarterback........and the quarterback still sucked 4 years later.

In year 4 of Chad Henne's career Tony Sparano's success or failure was married to Chad Henne's success or failure through his own choice. Heck, we beat the Raiders LAST YEAR. I will not let allow this group of insignificant wins to distract me from facts. The fact is Tony Sparano made decisions (in the offseason) that led to yet another failed season. He could have had anything he wanted this offseason and that fact was demonstrated when he got a contract extension (cash) and his son employed with the organization (nepotism) in early 2011.

He chose to stick with Chad Henne. He chose to lose. That is the conservative decision making process that would have Matt Moore your opening day starter in 2012 with no QB waiting in the wings. It's not his sideline actions or demeanor that has caused losses. His failure is due to the fact that he would never do what is being done in Washington, in Denver, in Seattle and countless other organizations. And eventually those coaches will answer for their decisions at the same position but at least they are actively seeking a quarterback that can win a championship. Tony Sparano married himself to Chad Henne. Five years later, he can go where ever Chad Henne is going in 2012.

 

weak argument. Chad Henne was only a minor percentage of what was wrong with this team. And if you're going to write out a long explanation defending the coach, please spell his name correctly.

 

It is no coincidence that Lloyd Carr coached his last game with Chad Henne at quarterback. The Michigan fan had the same illusion that it had to be something else.

 

I think most of us will agree that Henne takes a chunk of the blame. but we all know there are other factors: poor play int he secondary, mediocre play from our LBs, coaching not to lose by Sparano and co. and offensive line play that took 7 weeks to come together. those last four factors seem to have been solved for the most part + we're getting better QB play. hence the turnaround

 

Eli, Ben, Tom......... They all overcome that crap and win.

That is all it is. Points win games. The difference between the two quarterbacks in NOT ability. The difference is playing the game knowing that you are not guaranteed another opportunity. I don't think Chad Henne ever realized that fact while he was on the field.

 

Yes, they overcome those factors and win because of they are 3 out of the 5 or 6 elite QBs in this league. And if you have one of the elite QBs, you can overcome a lot of obstacles, much like we used to do with Marino. But if you don't have an elite QB, then you actually need great team play to win a bunch of games. Sparano was coaching not to lose, like he has his whole career. After we went 0-7, he had no shot at the playoffs and he changed everything about his style.

I'm not arguing that Moore isn't a better QB than Henne, but bringing up a comparison with Eli, Ben and Tom is a little silly based on a handful of games. And ignoring the fact that the rest of our team is playing significantly better is also silly. The only thing I'll concede is that Moore does seem to have more ability to make the players around him play at a higher level, but not enough to go from 0-7 to 4-1.

 

Well, tbh, to early to say either way with Sparano, we are 4-8.

Let me point out the inadequacy of comparing Matt Moore to Eli Manning and Co, and it strikes me that I see this time after time.

MMoore has 20 career starts, 20, Manning, Rodgers and Co have played for yrs and have dozens upon dozens of starts, to expect a young Qb to play as well as an established Vet at all times is bull****, it takes some time for a Qb to learn how to do the small things in this game.

That said,

What do:

Matt Ryan
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Phillip Rivers
Mark Sanchez
Mike Vick

All have in common?

They all are ranked behind Matt Moore:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/p...sort/quarterbackRating/year/2011/seasontype/2

For folks who wanted a top 10 rated Qb, we have one, his name is Matt Moore, if that continues, I'd think long and hard about keeping Sparano and or Daboll, finding a guy like MMoore on the scrap heap and coaching him up to that level, ahead of #1 pick Qb's, in season, is massively difficult to do.

 

valid point Padre. although, comparing Fitzpatrick, Sanchez and Vick doesn't do too much for me. Ryan and Rivers are the real indicators. I like Fitzy, but he was overpaid. Vick and Sanchez "are who we thought they were" to quote D Green.

Based on a short stretch of games, Matt Moore is arguably the best QB we've had since Marino. You can make a case for Chad Pennington, but IMO, if the dolphins finish 2-2, or even 3-1 if we beat Buffalo, and Moore continues his same level of play, the argument is solid.

For me, getting rid of Sparano, or any typical player that games named on this board, always comes down to: if you have someone that is a significant upgrade, then you consider pulling the trigger.
I worry that the 2 or 3 coaches I would consider as an upgrade will have better options than Miami, so what would be the point in replacing Sparano?

I see San Diego getting first choice of coaching candidates over us. They already have a franchise QB in place that needs a good coach.
I still doubt Indy gets rid of Caldwell, but they sure as hell should. If he gets canned, a coaching candidate could inherit P Manning and Andrew Luck...no brainer.

So, if we don't get the big name coach like a Cowher or Gruden, then it boils down to choosing Sparano or one of the coordinators around the league. that's not an easy choice IMO if we finish 7-9.

 

Wait a minute, are you saying that Lloyd Carr retired because of Chad Henne??? Give me a break...

As for Sparano... you didn't convince me one bit. This ENTIRE TEAM looked terrible for the first 3 games or so of this season, to say its solely Chad Henne is a bit absurd. Was Henne a problem last year? Sure, but so was Sparano's decision to keep Dan Henning involved. Sparano himself has made alot of questionable decisions in his time as a head coach, both on the field, and off the field.

 

Well, the thing is Kubiak should have been fired after the Texans went 7-9 in 2010, this after a string of mediocre finishes, only they kept him, are on Qb #3, lost Mario Williams, and just keep winning ball games.

Odd, and very "Sparanolike" to have a their #3 choice at #2 Qb potentially save his job by playing out of his mind when given even the smallest opportunity.

 

It really doesn't matter what you do or don't convince us of. If Tony Sparano takes the team to 7-9 or 8-8, he'll probably keep his job. If he drops 2 or more of the last 4 games he won't. I think we're basically screwed anyway and that this mediocrity will never, ever end unless Ross finds someone who knows something about football and puts them in charge.

 

Okay, Ladies and Gentlemen:

May I direct your attention to the Indianapolis Colts. Please allow the Indianapolis Colts to serve notice to every coach, player, fan, and newborn that will someday participate in the NFL in some form or fashion - quarterback is the most important position in any organization. You get one shot as a head coach. Whoever you choose to marry yourself too - that is it. Staying single isn't a job savior neither. So don't go thinking you get a pass.

As for silly: Silly was thinking all of the offensive woes of 2009 and 2010 seasons lay anywhere but at the quarterback position. Hindsight being 20/20 what was Dave Wannstedt's mistake? What was Nick Saban's mistake? What was Cam Cameron's mistake?

1. Jay Fiedler
2. Daunte Culpepper
3. John Beck

It is by no coincedence that the best quarterback of that group provided the best winning percentage for the respective coach. But in the end they were all run out of town for their decision at the quarterback position. Well....... One was smart enough to know the mistake he made and chose to run out of town himself.

Four years from now you will look back at the Tony Sparano era and wonder why in hell he banked his head coaching career in Miami on Chad Henne. You will remember hardly anything else. That's the point. He had a reprieve from the owner's mistake in January. What did he do with it? It was like being on death row, getting out of jail, and going back to a life of crime. All of the other **** doesn't matter.

 

But unlike, Wanny, Saban, Cameron, Sparano has been fortunate enough to have been gifted a Top 10 Qb..as an afterthought.

-Wanny/AJ Feeley
-Lil Nicky/Joey Harrington
-Cameron/Cleo Lemon

Uhm,

Sparano/Matt Moore

1 of those 4 Qb's, were pretty good, hint, it wasn't Feeley/Harrington/Lemon...perhaps we have finally gotten lucky?

 

Wait a minute, are you saying that Lloyd Carr wasn't forced into retirement by Michigan Board of Directors??? Give me a break......

You win or lose with your quarterback. To not acknowledge the absolutely horrid performance from the quarterback position in the first four games is absurd. And thanks for admitting the fact that it only followed up a horrid prior season.

Do you see me giving Sparano a pass here? No, I say fire his ***.

 

There is a chance of it Padre but I don't want to leave this to chance. You do remember that in Wannstedt's waning years he finally had doubt about going any further than the first round with Jay Fiedler. So what did we get after Wannstedt was stripped of his personnel duties? We get a half-hearted fix of Cleo Lemon. Saban totally screwed himself with Culpepper and he knew it. Cameron made a half-hearted attempt in his one year. I am tired of it. They have proven that you either know it's the problem or you don't. Tony Sparano proved to me that he didn't know squat when he started Chad Henne in game one.

 

the biggest difference without question is that Daboll took nearly the 1st half of the season to get his scheme and players on the same sheet of music ... period ... Moore is benefitting greatly from that. How good is he -- not sure, but the system is working ... so no one here is going to complain. Whether Henne could or couldn't have the same success right now -- we'll never know, and it doesn't matter; since barring injury and Moore's performance; there is no way at this point that he'll ever be a QB in MIA again.

 

Eh, no Henne had earned the chance to start this yr Zod, he was essentially a young, .500 Qb entering the season.

Now, it is possible that, like Romo in Dallas, these chuckleheads were saved in spite of their best effort to screw it up.

I cannot complain about starting Henne, and he played as well as he ever has for us, the difference between MMoore and Henne though, is night and day, a bad MMoore start looks alot like a good Henne start.

 

There are two reasons Ross will fire Sparano when this season is over. The first reason is that even if the Dolphins finish 8-8 this season, they will have a 22-26 record for the last three seasons with no playoff appearances. This alone should be enough of a reason to fire Sparano. Yet the most apparent reason Ross will fire Sparano is because of the thousands of empty seats in the stadium every time the Dolphins play a home game. Season tickets sales have gone down every year since Sparano became the head coach and this season they are at there lowest level since the mid 1980's.

All Sparano has proved over the last five weeks is that he can get his team to play good football once they have no chance of making the playoffs. It is much easier to go out and play your butts off when you have nothing to lose. The problem with a Sparano coached team is that they are not able to win games in the fourth quarter against the good teams in the NFL. I had four season tickets for 40 years which I did not renew this past season because Ross stuck with Sparano, and Ireland after last season. If Ross fires Sparano, and Ireland after this season, I will gladly purchase four season tickets next year. If one or both of these individuals remain in their positions, I will not purchase season tickets and Ross can just continue to spend his own money on these tickets to ensure there are no blackouts.

 

You are kidding right?

Chad Henne had the playbook in his hands since February. He was relied upon to be THE messenger and lead offensive practice sessions during the lockout. As for who showed up speaks to his leadership ability. Then he had all of August's first team reps - which is the preseason. What did he miss? He missed passing camp just like every other quarterback in the NFL. Just like every SECONDARY in the NFL.

Matt Moore signed on July 28, 2011. From the start he was number 2 and never moved into the number 1 until October 2, 2011. If you have never seen a football practice from HS to the NFL let me tell you. Your repititions TELL you that you are the number 2. The time spent with you by coaches tell you that you are number 2. Number 2 better be a self motivator because nobody is going to coddle you. You are expendable and you know it.

So as for the Henne excuses, give it a rest. I have seen nobody make mention that Matt Moore was sabotaged in his first 2-3 games just by practice regimen alone. In effect, Matt Moore was in Chad Henne's game one boots at the beginning of November. Take a look at THOSE stats.

 

Well **** Padre. You and I made those statements. These are the guys that were suppose to evaluate and KNOW better.

However fair, you get judged based on your decisions and they didn't even make the decision to go with Moore. Injury made this decision. I'm not going to credit Sparano for Matt Moore fallling in his lap and forget that he STARTED Henne. Can't do it....... Not after the football I've been watching for the previous years.

 

Here is some food for thought:

-Eagles at home
-Bills in buffalo
-Pats in foxboro
-Jest at home

3 of those Defenses are just..not good, MMoore is set up to finish this yr strong, if he does, and we win 3 of those games, and the Jest game a "W" means keeping them out of the playoffs, the perceptions can easily shift.

 

Of course, it was obvious Zod, hate to say it but alot of the "oh, it's insider stuff" that Coaches and NFL media types spew is not directed at fans who actually pay attention.

However, if you look at Henne's performance it was up across the board, it is the fact that MMoore has proven to be a better Qb, both can play, there we disagree I'm sure, but either Qb can win games in the NFL.

 

Ah the qb experts on this board is absolutely frightening, seriously you all know it all yet arent coaching, sevng as an exec in the NFL why?

seriously Moore has 20 starts so we cant compare him to Manning etc, yet henne has 31 and well that 11 is enuff to compare to manning and brady? seriously


all sparanos ills are on Henne? seriously if all he had to do was switch qb and we are champ cntenders? dont blame henne blame sparano for sticking with him. Seriously

As in life the answers usually a combination of factors and not everything can be quantified. Please try to be objective.

I agree after the last few weeks that Moore just has a better feel for teh game, partly because I think henne had a monkey on his back that he was trying too hard to shake, which by teh way isnt an excuse, it is a knock. A qb has to have a swagger that he is like teflon, henne allowed teh pressure to effect him. Moore has done a good job at staying aggressive and confident and just feels teh game better. But Henne was improving, and its easy to say that he wouldnt be doing well now but it isnt solvable. Moore also hasnt brought us back or controlled teh ball in a clsoe game yet. we have sscored a total of 10 points in teh 4th quarter in the 4 wins, last week we scored 1 td and none in 4 trips inside teh redzone.

So while as a tea we are playing better and Moore is better at what we need him to be, this fallacy that all ur ills were at the feet of henne is a joke

 

Oh ****, no way. Cool story, bro!



...but seriously though, he's gone.

 

Matt Moore is going to start game one 2012 no matter who the coach is barring a significant upgrade via trade at the position. The issue in discussion is Coach and a QB draft pick.

 

Chad Henne in a sentence:

"Chad Henne failed in Miami because he could not convert red zone opportunities into touchdowns consistently"

 

This post is why refrain from posting via smartphone.

QB expert? How so? For recognizing that it was a poor performance? How does THAT make one a QB expert? I was objective for four years. Sorry that it couldn't last longer. All good things must come to an end.

Pissing and moaning, hemming and hawing because you profess a love for someone doesn't make other opinions fallacy. What is fallacy is to not recognize failure and move on.

 

All 139 quarterbacks we have had since Dan Marino can win games in the NFL. That ain't the point.

 

Well, you have to give a young Qb a shot Zod, there is no avoiding that reality, no one just steps into the NFL and becomes a long term success.

For example, Alex Smith, he was Henne's Clone, yr #6, and he's pretty good..after giving very little sign that he would be much more then an avg Qb.

That's why you have to give these young guys a chance to show it one way or another.

 

There is one problem with keeping Sparano right now, and it has nothing to do with how the team is playing right now:

The empty seats

 

yet Matt Moore vs a decent defense in dallas scored 0 tds in red zone. look at the wins and losses and teams played how well vs good teams did he do in red zone?

acting like Moore has all this and ...

oh well i am done lets sign Moore to a manning deal and all is well, and a manner of things all will be well

 

well professing hate and rhetoric dont ake you right either. Gt oof your high horse and I will get off mine

 

Let's not forget that it took three coaching changes and 5000 benchings to get something out of that QB which challenges the Rich Gannon standard of NFL progress.

 

Salient point........

 

Been wrong about the smartphone before. Though that particular person was blowing through a hose to type.

 

2011 49ers. Your argument is invalid.

 

couldn't agree more (no pun intended). To Padre's point, Moore has only shown himself to be a little better in the redzone than Henne. I wonder how much of this is playcalling.
Having said that, Moore's skillset leads me to believe that he can become significantly better than Henne in the redzone. The one thing Henne could not do, despite some of the nice passes he's made,
is throw the fade in the endzone. he just simply could not do it.