I agree; he was confident and made strong, crisp throws despite being put on his *** quite a lot by the O-Line's inability to protect him.
It truly is night and day. He looks like a General out there, just a brigadier maybe, but still commanding nonetheless. I just hope the confidence and fearlessness continues into the real games. As does the playcalling and overall offensive scheme. This is the best offense I have seen in years and years.
I agree, I really liked what I saw from Henne against the Bucs. Honestly it looked like film from him last year......only in fast forward. He was so much more assertive, aggressive and quick with his decisions. I don't know if it was the offense that handcuffed him last year or inexperience but he looks a lot different. And this is coming from someone who liked him a lot coming out of college but has been championing bringing in more talent at the Qb position (I still think we should have more talent but I feel better about Henne). Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
Well, I would like to see Henne handle some hurry up/no huddle stuff that I suspect we are going to run before I get to excited, but I'm really happy with him so far this preseason, love how he has polished off most of his rough edges as a Qb.
Me too; I'd like to see us pick up the pace and really attack on occasion, especially at home before the home-field humidity advantage subsides.
Henne deserves to be praised for that game but damn him if he reverts back to the old Henne I will be leading the charge to chew him out.
This. The thing is with Henne, there WILL be those head scratching WTF throws. HOWEVER, If he goes through his progressions and feels that its the right pass at the time, and wont hesitate to throw it, I won't have a problem with that, because that kind of mentality will also lead to many more touchdowns.
Exactly. Play without fear. Trust the offense, your arm and what you feel is the correct throw. I can live with mistakes of aggressiveness. Sometimes the defense wins.
I think that would also help the Oline pass pro better and negate all of the sub packages opponents run, I'm not sure how he will do in the regular season but here is what I've noticed that henne has improved on: -in pocket quickness -looking off Wr's -when to run to pick up yards and first downs, he looks somewhat instinctive while doing it and that is a surprise -play action fake, he is still a bit to quick with it as the idea is the Qb WANTS the lb's to see the ball longer -Deep passes, I'm just glad he is given more chances to chuck it deep and take his chances -using hand singles and eye contact with Wr's to change plays -avoiding having passes tipped at the LoS There are reasons for optimism, and I have to think Daboll will gain a huge rep in the NFL as he made Colt McCoy a better Qb in a week (!) in 2010, he prepped McCoy in 1 week after being the 3rd Qb and they beat the Patriots and as we can see with Henne, he can effectively work with a Qb./
"Be the ball Henne, there is a force in the universe that makes things happen, get in touch with it..bnnnn..dddduuhh..a danish with a hole is a donut"
There are a few things that he's done so far in preseason that he simply wasn't doing last year. He's Pushing the ball deep. I think they have called those plays more (not a coincidence either). The nicest one to see was Brandon Marshall's on Saturday. The deep balls to Hartline and Gates when they have multiple steps on a player should be easier to read and complete. The throw to Marshall were the ones he wasn't making last year. Although Marshall had a step or two, the DB wasn't beat immensely. Last year, I don't think Chad makes that throw--fear of a negative play, etc. This year he threw it. It was a perfect ball, by the way. But, it won't always have to be because Brandon is so good. The fact he's taking those chances with single coverage is what really matters, IMO. His mobility and willingness to move around is night and day. I feel like he might be taking off a little too much. However, give me the 1-2 yard scrambles over an incompletion, sack, or INT any day. Just continue to stand in there--against Tampa Bay it was nearly impossible. He controls the offense this year. Everything we are reading is about him knowing everything about the offense. Telling everyone where to go, being the leader, audibiling at the LOS, getting them into the right play, etc. It's been a good preseason for Chad and fans of the Dolphins because there is some hope there. However, it should be tempered because it is the preseason. But, there are clear signs of improvement in areas.
As a henne "lover" i defended him. but I am also not unrealistic. I love how he has looked more confident, more poised, more sure of himself. I hope he can maintain this amid tougher adversity. I think he will, he understands now that he can lose games being stupid. But I think the 1st month will be telling. I am hopeful, but still cautious, hence cautiously optimistic.
Yea, I'm cautiously optimistic as well, though much more optimistic than I was before the preseason started.
SO FAR his pocket awareness appears to have increased substantially. But to say he has improved is kinda like watching a hurricane with me. Every game will be like a storm's wobble along its path and I won't know if he's truly taken a step forward until after its over with.
That's the difference a better system and an OC can make. Henne's showing better pocket awareness and better timing on deep passes, but most of the change people see in the QB is the result of the OC change.
Good stuff, Pods. I'm glad you mentioned the play action fake b/c I remember thinking the same thing but completely forgot about it. IMO last year's nonsense still has him classically conditioned in the PA department, and it will take a little bit of time to where it's more deliberate and he's selling it well. It seems like he's developed that perfectionist type mentality (and his mobility & awareness have improved), so if I had to guess, once he settles into the offense and things slow down even more for him, I could easily see the play action becoming a strength of Chad's. There are so many things going through his mind right now that I think the PA is simply getting lost amongst it all. Maybe by week 6 we'll see decent PA, some nice pump fakes, looking off safeties more often. Henne's got more going on between the ears than people credited him with.
You know what I like bro, I like that the rest of the offense is somewhat underperforming while he is performing well, to me it means from a mental standpoint, They will be less inclined to pull the trigger on him if he fu%$s up a few times..He will have earned a few mulligans know what I'am sayin?
Nice points Red. I think the biggest thing for Chad---- is that he's probably having fun out there. I can't begin to imagine how fun-depriving it must've been playing in Henning's constrictive, constantly-changing offense where you can't think for yourself, can't be aggressive, have your opportunities taken away inside FG range, and are subbed out for WC plays. Last year it'd be 2 weeks of "Make no mistakes, play to not lose philosophy" followed by "Ok, now you need to throw it 40 times", followed by a combination of both in the same game. How can a QB develop any consistency or identity in that nonsense? Now Chad finally has an opportunity to display what he can or can't do when his freedom and individuality aren't stripped away. This is the first time we get to see what Henne the QB can do instead of Henne the puppet. IMO we should see much greater consistency now that he's able to play his style of football within his own comfort level & abilities rather than being forced to play how Henning wanted. I'm really excited about watching him attack single coverage as often as he's been doing.
Yup Deej. It annoyed me that fans last year expected him to be able to carry a team when Henning had the shackles on him. IMO if you want your QB to hoist a team on his shoulders, then you need to give him the full freedom to do so or else he's being set up for failure.
Fans annoy me in general. Especially the ones who don't know what the **** they're talkin about.Henne got a raw deal last year and it was painfully obvious. Can't wait till he serves the haters some humble pie this season.
First of all that is hardly the only part of his game that looks better so even if an OC had no effect on that one part it would still be clear that Henne looks better in large part b/c he has a better OC. Second, route construction will help a QB move in the pocket if he knows that a play is designed to have players break open at different times or if his progression naturally moves him.
Easy.... David Lee didn't care about Henne's feet.....Nor did Henning care about developing a QB. The player is developing in a better system with a much more aggressive hands on OC. Seems QB friendly to me DFD. Makes a huge difference.
OC is letting Henne call audibles and throw the football downfield. If that's not untieing someones hands what is. A good coach will see his players best abilities and take advantage of them. Not tie him down.
Aha! It was YOU who got kicked out of college for night putting with the daughter of the Dean! You are Mitch Kumpstein!!!