I think you pretty much answered your own question then. A conservative gameplan is one thing; a conservative gameplan which telegraphs a run play 99%+ of the time is disastrous, because the math says so. It's simple: if the Defense KNOWS you're going to run, then they have the numerical advantage over you, simply by deploying 11 guys to neutralize the 10 guys blocking for the ball carrier...ONE of them is always going to be unabated to the ball carrier. On the other hand, if Henning had just the miniscule forethought required to see that coming and threw a mere 10-15% out of the Wildcat, then teams could not sell out to the run without exposing themselves to a pass play with zero coverage. It really is that simple.
these two things are spot on. the wildcat is just not working the way it used to. i'm not sure killing it entirely is the right thing to do but using it less is something that i think definitely has to be considered now that the results are in. it was a good run. we frustrated the league for two years with that scheme. now lets move on
I still like the WildCat but I just hate it when they use it in spots that make no sense. Henne was hot all night and they took him out multiple times for the WC, even when it wasn't working, and it wound up killing drives. That's what's infuriating. Also, as talked about numerous times, why the hell is Ronnie Brown not getting more touches? Not only is he better than Ricky, but Ricky has been putting the ball on the ground since the end of last season. It just doesn't make any sense. I also don't understand why they don't use Lousaka more near the goalline. The dude is unstoppable in short yardage situations. They should have at least ran it once in that sequence inside the 5 that resulted in the FG. I don't really have a problem with Henning, but he definitely has a knack for outsmarting himself sometimes. Some things that happen out there just make no sense and it's on him.
I love the Wildcat...LOVE it. I think it's one of the smartest innovations and one of the most exciting developments in football in my time. But it needs to evolve; not Darwinistically over generations, but in a small-yet-significant way: you HAVE TO PASS OUT OF IT AT LEAST 10-15% OF THE TIME.
Very well said..... Another thing........ why the hell isn't Ronnie Brown a better passer by now? Not a good passer.... just better, improved? They wasted a lot of time with the distraction that was Pat White.........time that should have been spent continuing to develop Brown as the WC QB. At this point, I think it's too late..... that and we have plenty of play makers in the base offense now. And it's a shame....... like you I loved the Wildcat. It's added some excitement to being a Dolphin fan these past couple of years
You people need to wake up. Henning was the least of our problems. special teams was our biggest problem by far. lack of pass rush was our second biggest issue.
I like Henning, I think a lot of fans think its easy to keep a great defense on its heels and rack up the kind of yards we did last night. If the special teams played above a highschool level and our defense didn't make Sanchez look like Johnny Unitas we would have won that game. Theres a lot of people here who just vent on Henning and really don't know what they are talking about. No offensive coordinator in the league calls a perfect game particularly against a great defense. Give the Jets some credit too, I don't think I saw anyone in this thread acknowledging Sanchez played great and the Jets have a good team. We got down early played horrible on Special teams made a lot of mistakes and wound up not being able to dig it out at the end, it was a good game I thought our team fought like hell and came up short. Not time to panic and start firing coordinators or having the fan base turn on the team.
Its time to fire the ST Coach. Sorry but hes not injecting any sort of consistency. Unless you label consistent as poor tackling, blocked punts and no return game.
Special teams was a major problem Sunday Night no question, I just don't know if its a lack of talent, our returners basically just run into a pile and fall down or the system. There were a lot of mental errors on special teams so maybe we can blame the coach, still not time to panic we are 2-1 after one of the roughest opening schedules of anyone in the league and the division is still ours to lose.
I think the wild cat can be used once in a while (see the jests) but not so much in the red zone and not when the base offense is on a roll.
If I'm Henne, as soon as they order me off the field in favor of the Wildcat formation, I'm hauling *** as fast as I can up to the booth to see if I can't get in a few remember-me shots on Henning before the next play. Talk about a rhythm killer. Henne would have had to play a perfect game, because Henning wouldn't let him throw more than 2 passes at a time before putting in the Wildcat or running some ******ed end-around. Is Dan Henning oblivious to the world during games? Dude, your young QB is in a nice rhythm, completing 10+ yard passes, don't take him out just for ****s and giggles. Also, what is up with the stupid play-action on obvious passing situations? Why even bother with the play fake when all that does is waste a half-second in a pocket that is closing in?
In Dan Henning's defense, it was either that or a Goal Line offense, Fake Spike or an end-around to Lydon Murtha.
I just for the life of me can't figure out why in 2nd and goal to go we pass-pass. Punch it in..make a statement. It's like the old fart wants to always trick the other team instead of just out-playing them.
My theory is he's senile and doesn't remember the last play he called, the distance to goal/maker, or what down it is. Hypothetically, this would be the play-call pattern of an Alzheimer's patient.
And we are 3 for 3. 3 weeks and three weeks of Henning threads. I can just stop checking the board the after games because it's the same old discussion. We scored 23 points against a damn good defense, but lets blame the OC. Never mind we gave up 31 points, couldn't get a key stop, and Special Teams continues to give up multiple big plays... but lets get the OC!!!
Feel free to start a Bonamego thread, bro. Did Carpenter kick int out of bounds last week too or was that Buffalo? Kick coverage was awful tonight. Fields might be the sole bright spot on this ST squad. The defense was nothing to write home about. Starting with the front 3 or 4.
Look, I'm as pissed with the wildcat play calling as anyone else, but are we going to have a new fire Dan Henning thread every week win or lose? It's getting old really quick.
We had plenty of problems last night. But this is a recurring issue. And it was a problem last night. I know you see it. We all do. Games are very often won and loss on a handful of plays. Henning was fantastic 95% of the game last night. But better decisions by Henning in some situations could have been the difference.
Do you get the impression that he's constantly trying to trick the opposing team's D? Like saying to himself "they'll never see this coming"... I know that deception is part of every offense, but I feel like he outsmarts/outcutes himself at very bad times. I can't stop beating that drum about the 2nd and goal from the 2.....
This is exactly what I was thinking during the game. I kept waiting for some/any pressure. There was none. The Vontae blitz was nice, but came too late in the game and at that moment. I can't agrue with this at all. We couldn't stop their version of the wildcat. Their wildcat player (Smith, I think) did whatever he wanted all night. Even on ST. We should have punched it in with our big O line. They were built for that. Absolutely no push all night.
I'd start a fire Bonamego thread but it wouldn't do any good after 3 years of horrible special teams it's obvious we're just not interested in that phase of the game. Carpenter is money on FGs, but the guy can't get a touchback to save his life. A combination of bad kicks, bad coverage and good special teams on the Jets part put our defense in a hole every time last night save one. Is Fields any better at kickoffs? The guys got a leg, is he any good at it? We've got to try something different, because kicking the ball to the 2 and then getting 30 yards of return on top of that is not going to help us win games.
All I have to say is.......2nd and goal from the 2, Henning calls two straight passes and we settle for a field goal. That right there tells you everything you need to know. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SETTLE FOR FIELD GOALS AND THE OTHER TEAM SCORES TOUCHDOWNS. MIGHT WANT TO MAKE A MENTAL NOTE HENNING. 2ND AND GOAL FROM THE 2........RUN THE F*CKING BALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO SICK OF THIS
How many teams or coordinators play perfect or call perfect games? 95% is a pretty incredible percentage for a coordinator. Henning put us in a position to win with some great calls, there was some bad execution out there as well. Sure Henning missed some play calls but that happens. If you tell me next week Henning will call good plays 95% of the time I'll take that in a heartbeat. I don't expect perfection from the team, they are going to miss some plays. If the special teams has played worth a crap and the defense had just made a play or two we'd be celebrating. I wish Henning hadn't called a few of those plays but overall he had some great calls and put the team in a position to win, there isn't much more I can ask of the guy. He deserves some credit for Henne as well who I think has really been developed well.
Or a better throw by Henne to Fasano in the end zone on the last offensive play of the game. Or Jason Allen single handedly giving the Jets points on their final drive due to multiple bad plays. If they don't complete the 3rd and 10 to Edwards the Jets punt the ball and we get the ball back only down a point. Or special teams giving up a punt block and long kick off returns. Defense gave up 31 points, failed to get any TO's despite having mutliple chances.
It's not that he's not perfect and/or making mistakes. It's that he's making the same mistakes, week-in and week-out, for the past two years. And they are killing us. The whole passing series from the 2 yard line was just mind-blowing. THAT coordinator, THIS team. And we call all passes. That wasn't 'business as usual' screw-ups like the Wildcat. That was something new/different altogether. I'm not excusing special teams or the defense. I don't think anybody is. But Henning played his part. The guy is over-complicating things. If the fans....even JET fans....recognize it and he does it, it's a problem.
What really, really kills me from last night (even more than the Cobbs reverse) is that 3rd and two where we empty the backfield. We desperately need points down by one, and we don't even present the threat of a run. Henning will call play action on 3rd and 15, but not on 3rd and two? What the hell?
He's ****ing senile. Ugh. Don't even remind me of that end-around reverse to Cobbs. I swear to God, I thought I shot lasers out of my eyes.
3rd and 2 near the red zone should be a run. 2nd and goal on the 2 should be a run. But Dan "Too Smart For My Own Good" Henning called a "solid" game in a lot of people's minds. It's time to take the blindfold off. Our offensive coordinator is not getting it done.
When Ronnie threw out of the wildcat, I jumped up and put my foot through the closet door literally....I am replacing it anyway....but WHY WHY WHY are they calling that play!!!!!!!!!! It can't get much worse than that right?? nope...DOUBLE END AROUND TO COBBS!???!?!?!!?!?!? Good defenses dont fall for that crap, the Jets ate that sheet for breakfast..... Hats off to the Jets the better football team won last night...
All those things all need to be better. So does Henning in the situations described. Those things aren't getting a pass. Neither should Henning here.
Well maybe you made other posts calling out those aspects and I just haven't seen them. My interpretation of your post was "a handful of plays make the difference and Henning called some bad plays". So maybe I was making a slight leap to say your were blaming Henning for the loss. If so then I am sorry. We scored 24 points and that should have been enough to win the game. Bottom line.
Does Cobbs have blackmail material on our coaches or something? He provides nothing in the KR game...17 yards and a cloud of dust...we can't start drives at the 25 every possesion... As a niche offensive player, we just don't need him. We are better on offense now than in '08. He was the upback on the blocked punt and never even looked to his right..he looked left the whole time...despite being lined up on the right side
yup, we put up 400+ yards...when we were NOT running the wildcat, or some gimmicky reverse, or when Ronnie Brown wasn't throwing the ball, or when Brandon Marshall wasn't RUNNING the ball several times. in other words, when Henning wasn't doing what he loves to do, which is attempt outsmart everyone with his ridiculous plays. so, if anything, the 400+ yards should be WHY the blame needs to be put on Henning, because if not for his drive-stopping playcalls, we would've had over 500 yards.
So we need more than 400+ yards and 24 points against a top defense? Okay. Seems a bit unreasonable to me, but maybe I am wrong.
yeah apparently we do. and it seemed very possible to be able to do that if not for the drive-killing plays.
You need every bit of help you can get in a tight divisional game. Henning did do a great job of attacking the Jets defense (though seriously, making Ryan back off on the blitzes because Marshall is zomgBEASTMODE is more on Marshall than Henning) but he had to call a perfect game in order to squeak out a win on this one. We lost due to the defense and special teams more than anything else, yes, but that handful of cute plays left points on the field that we desperately needed.