I applaud Ireland and Sparano for sticking with Henne this year, despite fan and media pressure to go get a higher profile QB. It would have been a mistake to send a high pick to Denver to get Orton. Henne at this stage in his career is better than Orton was at the same stage, and Henne will only continue to get better.

I certainly hope that Henne bashers will have to eat a healthy portion of crow this year.

Assuming that Henne continues maturing as a QB, we will see that the biggest problem this team has is the sub-par o-line. However, that shouldn't really be a surprise, because our sub-par o-line was our biggest problem last year as well. IF (a big IF) our line improves to the point of being average or above average, this will be a very good team. However, if our RB's are getting smacked in the backfield and Henne is getting pounded game after game, then our great defense and improved QB play will be wasted. It seems to me that this team, with the exception of the o-line, is built to win now. That said, I really hope Sparano can push the right buttons and find the right combination of players to open some holes and keep Henne upright - because this team will be very good if that happens.

Back to Henne: for the past year Chad Henne has been among the most maligned players in the NFL, and if you ask me (which you didn't, but that's OK), this has been entirely unjustified. Expecting a young QB to develop behind a swiss cheese o-line is unfair. Criticizing that QB because of problems caused by the o-line and conservative play calling is mind boggling. Henne has been booed by his hometown fans and relegated to the bench by many would-be coaches. He has endured all of this crap, without pointing the fingers at our porous o-line. Now, in year 3 as a starter; with more maturity, better weapons and more latitude to make decisions, Henne will advance beyond the sub-par play in front of him and start to show his real potential.

Then next year he will really.... whoops wait a second, this is the last year of Henne's contract. He makes a whopping $555,000 this year and will be a free agent after the season. So what will happen after the 2011 season? Let's assume his value is on the rise after the 2011 season, will Henne want to stay in Miami? After all he has endured here? That would be surprising. Most players would probably relish the opportunity to take their skills elsewhere. If that scenario plays out it will be devastating for Miami. Imagine taking 4 years to develop a QB and then watching him walk when the team is finally ready to win some games in January. It's a horrible thought. That said, I really believe Henne's contract needs to be addressed now. I don't know the ins and outs of the NFL salary cap, but there has to be a way to structure a contract that will give Henne some additional $$ this year and keep him in the fold next year. Some sort of escalating salary structure in 2012 based on his 2011 performance would work. While Henne's value is likely to be high, using the franchise tag will not be an option (since his value won't be at that level and since Soliai seems to have a lock on that tag).

If Henne breaks out in 2011 and walks after the season, it will be devastating. Ireland and Sparano need to put their thinking caps on and address this situation now.

Ill wait for a couple of regular season games before I slap the franchise tag on him. He still has a lot to prove. Giving him a fat contract after 2 yrs of inconsistency and 2 good preseason games might be putting the cart before the horse.

Henne would be a fool to leave a team and system he thrives in....assuming he does. He will get a fair contract if he shows up this year.

.....................................................................................
“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

Like I said, the franchise tag will not be an option; but if he thrives in 2011 and becomes a FA after the season, there is a good chance he walks.

Ireland needs to be active with contracts this year. Henne and Soliai will need to be signed to long-term deals.

I would wait until at least 5th game for an extension. There is still a very real chance he chokes again.

.....................................................................................
“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

I'm as big a Henne supporter as you will find. But, you need to let the season play out. We still have major questions at RB (what if Bush gets hurt, which is a probability given his history) and on the O-Line. Henne may still not have the supporting cast he needs. But, if he plays great, you worry about the deal then. If he doesn't play great, there's a good chance that Sparano is done, and the new coach will want his own guy in there, and they'll be happy to let Henne walk.

If Henne plays well, I don't think he'll move on, as long as the Miami offer is reasonable. After being stuck under Henning, if he blossoms under Daboll, why would he want to move on? He's seen what it's like to have a coordinator that's not supporting you. And he'll have the years of building a rapport with Bess, Fasano, Hartline, and Marshall. And he's got Jake Long protecting his back, as he has for the last 8 years. If he has a poor year, he'll look for a fresh start somewhere else. But, if he does well, I'm not worried that he'll leave. So, you let it play out.

dolfanmark Wrote:
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> If Henne plays well, I don't think he'll move on,
> as long as the Miami offer is reasonable. After
> being stuck under Henning, if he blossoms under
> Daboll, why would he want to move on?

As MikeO used to say, MONEY!! Our offer may be "reasonable", but he may get a much better offer from someone else. He was born in Pennsylvania. What if the Eagles make him a big offer? Of course, they'd have to get out of their contract with Vick, so it's not likely to happen. I just think it's worth worrying about. Same with Soliai.

I think he would consider leaving for money and because he has been treated like turd by the hometown fans.

He gets paid a lot more then he is worth already. If he wants to walk I can only hope they let him go.

Four years is long enough, get someone that can play the Position.

pls, after 2 decent preseason games people are actually throwing words around like "franchise tag" and "long term deal"? gimme a break

berkeley223 Wrote:
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> pls, after 2 decent preseason games people are
> actually throwing words around like "franchise
> tag" and "long term deal"? gimme a break

This.

In the words of the great Mr Wolf from Pulp Fiction "Let's not start Su*#@$g each others d%#@s just yet gentlemen"

With the emphasis on "decent" and not using the word "great" even.

nice Mr Wolf reference!

IMO it seems several thousand miles beyond “absolute absurdity” to believe Henne is the answer at QB – just because he made a few pedestrian plays in preseason. Bottom line, the kid has a huge mountain to climb in order to prove he’s a viable NFL QB. And I seriously doubt he’s got what it takes – and find it ridiculous to think we need to resign him and essentially reward the kid for a really crappy job SO FAR.

Now here’s the dose of REALITY anyone supporting Henne cannot run away from; the kid is absolutely worthless on the trade market right now. Maybe we could swindle some team for a 5th for him? Maybe not. And besides that, the consensus around the country is that Henne simply doesn’t have “it.” As market research reveals, such large samples tend to be highly accurate.

So if you want to have “faith” in Henne and believe his career SO FAR in the NFL is an abnormality based on a litany of excuses like:

It’s the OL.
It’s the play-calling.
It’s the OC.
It’s the WR’s.
It’s the lunar cycle - et cetera.

Go ahead and believe. But don’t flaunt your ignorance by expecting more critical fans to suddenly embrace Henne’s new-found football majesty after a few decent throws in the preseason. That’s just off the charts ridiculous and an obvious sign of putting your favoritism of Henne ahead of the team.

BNF.

dolphaholic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> berkeley223 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > pls, after 2 decent preseason games people are
> > actually throwing words around like "franchise
> > tag" and "long term deal"? gimme a break
>
> This.
>
> In the words of the great Mr Wolf from Pulp
> Fiction "Let's not start Su*#@$g each others d%#@s
> just yet gentlemen"



hahahaha that totally made my day.

Hey BNF, check my posts from late last year to a month ago. You and I were in agreement on Henne at that time. I was sure he was useless, but what he has done since extends far beyond a few pedestrian plays. He's completed passes that few QBs we've had could have made since Marino. He hasn't been intercepted in the last 2 games either. He's made smart plays, and his audible calls have been decent (something we've never seen from him in the past because he wasn't ALLOWED to audible).

The main difference with Henne is his leadership. Rather than being a robot and hiding behind the OC (like he did with Henning), he's been directing the team the way a QB should. This includes what he did during the lockout. Brandon Marshall has said some very good things about him, and Marshall rarely sugar-coats things.

So, while I'm not convinced Henne is our future franchise QB, I'm NOT several thousand miles from that. I think you still have the last 2 seasons on your mind when watching the games. Our offense is completely different now, and it's quite refreshing. In fact, our offense hasn't been this dynamic since JJ took over.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2011 05:24AM by montequi.

Great. But I’m not sold even a little. The real test starts week 1 when the games count and the opposition actually game-plans against Henne. So let’s put it this way – I won’t be one bit surprised when Billygoat exposes Henne right out of the box (probably 2 or 3 INTs).

When the game is on the line I’m betting against Henne – and when things go south I’m betting they will get mighty ugly really quick.

As far as: “He's completed passes that few QBs we've had could have made since Marino.” Are you serious? Do you mean the QB junk we’ve collected around here OR in the entire league? You can’t possibly be comparing Henne to the likes of Manning or Brady or Ryan or Flacco or… Not really, are you?

The lethal blow with Henne is inconsistency – and opposing coordinators know how to make Henne make plays – and he’ll make a few – but he’s going to implode (i.e., CHOKE) more often than not. Part of his choke routine is going brain dead in the pocket if you take away his first read – and part of his choke is just the tendency to make poor throws (inaccurate and/or telegraphed into the teeth of the defense).

I’m sorry but there’s NO WAY this kid is suddenly going to develop legit GAME. It’s not going to happen. It never does…



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2011 06:06AM by BigNastyFish.

JJ had an offense in Miami? News to me. You must have meant when he took over in Dallas.

.....................................................................................
“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

I hope you're proven wrong...and you should hope the same!

If Henne plays great they will offer him a deal. I doubt Henne would leave if Daboll's system brings him success.

I want henne to succeed.

I have little fear that he will be so successful that we won't be able to acquire him if we want him, or to acquire someone with his or better skills.

I personally believe our QB problems were primarily Sparon's fear and control to not let the guy play ball. Nothing worse than a second guess QB, make you tenative and shaky.

- Henne gave up on plays other QBs would have made because he was over-controlled last year

Here's to hjoping he has a coming out and the team learns how to better manage the position.

I'm not sure why everybody is surprised that the kid looks better. We haven't been running max protect on every freakin' pass play. Henning wanted so bad to pound a square peg into a round hole, and the entire team suffered because of it.

Henne has played better no question about that...he has also improved at the position, no question about that either. He's been a better leader, more decisive, better controlled, more composed, had better zip on the ball, and has been more accurate overall, over the last three games...yes, it's only the pre-season and we should be taking things at the moment with a rather large grain of salt. But, the new offensive system is going to be better and we have better talent to boot. Henne will be better than he's been in the past...the questions are, how much, and will it be enough. We'll see soon enough.

If Ireland and Sparano do not believe in Henne then they should have made a move to get another QB prior to this season, but they didn't. They didn't draft a QB this year; they didn't trade for a QB this year; and they didn't sign a high profile FA QB this year. This tells me that Henne is their guy - that they believe in him; which is something that Sparano has said more than once this preseason. That being the case, they need to address the contract situation sooner rather than later.

1 word, Andrew Luck

Another word....San Fran....which is where he is going to end up.

.....................................................................................
“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

dolfan1 Wrote:
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> 1 word, Andrew Luck

That's 2 words

montequi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> dolfan1 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > 1 word, Andrew Luck
>
> That's 2 words

Hey.......Bee...........See.....dee.......E..........F...........gee....H..........EYE...........jay........KAY.........L Low men oh Pee.

Ok 2 words lol Andrew Luck, screw san fran