Week 1. 15-10 win over Buffalo. Our long run of the day was 17 yards.

Week 2. 14-10 win over Minn. Our long run of the day was 51 yards (take that run away and Ronnie averaged 2.5 per carry)

Week 3. 23-31 loss to Jets. Our long run of the day was 17 yards.

Week 4. 14-41 loss to NE. Our long run of the day was 16 yards.

Week 6. 23-20 win over GB. Our long run of the day was 12 yards.

Week 7. 22-23 loss* to Pitt. Our long run of the day was 11 yards.

We have one run over 17 yards for the year. One!!! Shouldn't we be getting a couple of those per game?! Overall, we are averaging 3.8 ypc, which puts us near the bottom of the NFL. Simply put - our running game has been bad. Not many QBs can overcome that.

Beyond that, we have no deep threat. Although, our receivers (Marshall and Bess) have been good, no one stretches the field. Defenses must love covering us in a 2 minute drill. They know that we are going to pass, but they also know that no one can get open deep, so they only have to defend a small piece of the field and they can go after the QB.

Henne has made some mistakes this year; but overall his play has been very good - certainly good enough to win. His passer rating is better than 1/2 of the division leading QBs in the league. We need a running game and we need a deep threat. Without those, any QB would struggle against the Steelers - especially in a 2 minute drill when they know that you are going throw but you can't go deep.

Maybe very good is an overstatement. However, he has been better than 4 of the 8 division leading QBs. He has been better than our RBs have been; and he has no deep threat.

I'm sure part of the "problem" relates to coaching and associated personnel. However, Ricky has certainly performed at a higher level than Henne. Which of course is a lot easier at RB than QB. What Ricky is showing at his age for an NFL RB is pretty impressive IMO. And Henne is not impressive.

I don’t think teams are playing 8 and 9 in the box on us because we DO have some weapons on the outside. And Fasano is a solid TE who comes to play. No doubt Henne has suffered from some dropped passes, fumbles and etc. But the accountability is HIS, as the starting QB in the NFL, to score points and in the process – win games.

Is Henne a game winner? Can we bet our franchises future on his ability to execute when the game is on the line? Can he put teams away when the chance is there? Will he find a way to win at a high percentage, or a way to lose? Does the team look “sharp” and “crisp” with him, or sort of “off” in some way?

One thing for sure, he has about the best situation with Pennington mentoring him, so the kid should develop rather quickly.

If I was coaching I’d have him working on his footwork (way too heavy and plodding), scanning the field quickly, and fast decision making. He looked better IMO in these areas last weekend than against NE (which was simply a horrible terrible performance against a mediocre defense).

We’ll see…

I'm wondering when Dolphin fans are going to run out of excuses for Henne. He has the same coaches as last year and people are blaming the coaches. He has the best set of receivers we've had for years and they're blaming the receivers. We have two good quality running backs and they're blaming the running game. The O-line is as solid and deep as we've had for years and they're blaming the O-line. The special team excuse is one they already used up what's the next one?

Two good running backs and a solid O-line should put us in the top eschelon rushing teams, right? Currently we're 16th in rushing yards per game yet 13th in passing yards per game. Why aren't you calling for Brown and Williams to be benched?

Welead, have you made ONE SINGLE POST on this board where you weren't bashing Henne? Just one? I don't think so. You're a broken record. We get it...you don't like Henne. Get over it. He's the QB right now.

I like Ricky and he has looked decent, but nothing special. Ronnie has been the same. No big plays. No big holes. No explosive runs.

What none of us are able to see is what Henne sees when he looks down field. He has weapons, but how many of those guys have caught any deep passes this year? How many of them have been open deep this year? Sometimes I'll watch a NFL game and the cameras will focus on a receiver that the QB missed downfield. Has anyone seen any of those for Miami this year? I haven't seen every minute of every game, but I haven't seen any wide open guys downfield get missed either. I realize that the QB has to make a play, but he can't do it alone.

I really think that our lack of a deep threat hurts Henne in the 2 minute offense, particularly against a great defense like Pittsburgh. The 1st and 10 run seemed like a dumb call, but honestly, that is a situation where we should be able to run for 8 or 10 yards, certainly at least 5 yards. The defense was focused on pass defense and all we could get was a 2 yard run? On the 3rd and 8 play, Henne held onto the ball waiting for someone to get open before dumping it off to Polite, who should not even be on the field in that situation. My question is - what did Henne see? Was anyone open? If he throws a pick in that situation while trying to force the ball into tight coverage the game is over. Being forced to dump the ball to a bruising slowpoke in that situation is not ideal.

It's easy to blame Henne and say that he needs to make plays; but what plays is he missing in the passing game? Now I will say that I would love to see the guy be able to run the ball when no one is open; but a good QB run is also quite often the result of defenses respecting the offenses deep play WRs.

Good points NE. Ricky is the best we’ve got by a substantial margin IMO. Ronnie is LESS THAN he was last year, and way less than pre knee injury. He was at the top of the NFL IMO in 2007 (the one thing Cam seemed to do right).

Anyway, we’re the team that traded Ginn (who I couldn’t stand for his wussy play) and lost our deep threat and kick-off return speedster. Obviously his kind of speed is rare and maybe in hindsight we should have kept him?

As far as the last drive – dumping the ball off was not a realistic option. In that situation the QB has got to take the risk and try to make a play downfield. Or at least go after enough yardage for a first down. Is that what Henne has been coached to do? We don’t know. But we do know the outcome as played looked pretty awful, and tho Pitts has a solid D, it’s not like they’re impossible to pass on.

But all of this is moot if we scored TD’s as opposed to kicking field goals. In a number of games this year we’ve had the chance to really get the upper hand and we just blow it. The responsibility for that is the QB’s.

BigNastyFish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Anyway, we’re the team that traded Ginn (who I
> couldn’t stand for his wussy play) and lost our
> deep threat and kick-off return speedster.
> Obviously his kind of speed is rare and maybe in
> hindsight we should have kept him?
>

I admit that I was one of the people that HATED his wussy play too. I, also, thought it was a good idea to trade him when we did. But, you're right, in hindsight we probably should've kept him.

I am of the mind that a QB (any QB ) generally gets too much credit for wins and too much blame for losses. There are obvious exceptions to this rule; but I always disagree with people who knock Marino because the Dolphins never won a SB while he was there. He did everything that could be done by one man. The rest of the team failed to do their part. Now Henne is no Marino; but I do think that too much of the blame is being focused on him.

Also, keep in mind that we got beat by the Jets, Pats and Steelers. Those might be the 3 best teams in the NFL.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2010 08:11AM by Northeast Fin Fan.

And the refs can be substituted for being beat by the Steelers. Look, Welead admitted that he believes that the Quarterback is responsible for all wins and losses. The way he said is by continually pounding on the fact that it is the "most important" position on the team.

NortheastFinFan I like the way you bring up Marino. Most rational people agree that had Marino had a defense and/or some running game, we would have won about five SuperBowls in a row.

I remember the quote but cannot remember the guy who said it, but after Marino took over for Woodley at the LA Coliseum and was our starter for the rest of the year, at the end of that year, some guy like (but not necessarily was) Al Davis said, "Next year should be declared the year of the hit on Marino. Every team should hit him on every play. Otherwise this kid will be around long enough to destroy us all." I mean they were saying that in his first year.

Yet, this all goes to show that even with a great passer like Marino, he still could not get it done without help.

Now, you ought to stop and pause when you blame Henne for our losses or for even not winning.

Look at those figures listed above. Pay attention.

I don't back off from saying that Henne played good. He did. He played good enough for us to win. Where we lost was our quirky play calling on the part of Henning. Doing stupid things. Wasting time on the Wildcat. Going away from the regular run when the other team seems unable to stop it. Calling timeouts at wierd times. At the close of the game running when we should be passing and when we are leading at the close of the game passing when we should be running.

Moreover, our defensive coordinators have gotten the "Henning fever." That almost touchdown by Ben Rothelisberger was a clear sucker play that we should have known that no way was this guy going to pass on 3rd and goal from the one inch line.

However, we are just not going to convince those Henne should be replaced people. With some years watching pro football, they will learn sophistication in judging why a team wins or loses. While they are young they will blame it all on the quarterback for every loss and say he was responsible for every win.

I think Henne has played "Good." I think one of his best games was the Pittsburgh game. I am amazed at the criticism of him but when I think about the above paragraph I posted, I realize why.

Here are the TDs given up by the Steelers this year.

0 TD to Atlanta
1 TD to Tennessee
1 TD to TB
2 TD to Baltimore
1 TD to Cleveland
1 TD to Miami.

Miami scored more points against Pitt (22) than any other opponent this year. Baltimore (17) was the next closest. All of the other 4 opponents scored 11 points or less. They have given up 6 TD in 6 games and a boatload of FGs in 6 games. This is not a D that gives up TDs easily.

22 points against the Steelers. More than anyone else.

True enough. How many times did the O get the ball in scoring position off a turn-over and settle for a FG?

How many TD's for the game?

One.

Is NOT enough production.

Sorry.

What about the 23 points the D gave up to a very mediocre Pittsburgh offense? Who's responsible for that?

We gave up two TD's to the 26th ranked offense by yds/game. Take away the 38-13 route over Tampa Bay and they're even worse.

22 Points against the Steelers D should be enough to win the game. You want to place blame somewhere...let's start talking about the defense.

i dont think the steelers offense is really that bad, in fact i would say they have a pretty good offense, not a great one, but they have plenty of talent with Ward and Roethiswhatever a talented backfield. and an okay line.

"It's been fun to get the reaction of visiting coaches to the color of their locker room. Most don't notice it, but those that do are in trouble. . . . When I talk to an opposing coach before a game and he mentions the pink walls, I know I've got him. I can't recall a coach who has stirred up a fuss about the color and then beat us.” Hayden Fry

26th in total offense
11th in rushing offense
26th in passing offense

That's pretty bad....imagine how bad some of the people here would say if those were our rankings.

the stats look bad but remember they were i believe dead last in passing offense before they got ben back

"It's been fun to get the reaction of visiting coaches to the color of their locker room. Most don't notice it, but those that do are in trouble. . . . When I talk to an opposing coach before a game and he mentions the pink walls, I know I've got him. I can't recall a coach who has stirred up a fuss about the color and then beat us.” Hayden Fry

And thanks to our defensive backfield, they moved right on up the list some more.

Our Offensive production was pretty d@#$ good this week against the number 4 overall defense in the league. The defense didn't hold up yet many want to place blame on ONE PERSON.

Forget about the 50 yd return on the last kickoff, or the 3rd down conversion where clemons missed an open field tackle on the last drive, or a 60 yd td bomb to a wide open receiver. Forget all that! Our QB didn't throw for 600 yds and 9 tds so he must be at fault.

Went toe to toe with one of the best if not the best team in the nfl....And should had won the game.

Im proud of this team today.

BigNastyFish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When you say he played good enough for us to win,
> do you mean the rest of our team (D and ST) is so
> dominant all we need are field goals and not
> TD’s to win?

RESPONSE: When you say that the quarterback plays good or well enough for us to win, it means that if everyone else had been doing their jobs as well as the quarterback Henne did his, WE WOULD HAVE WON.

You guys have a very bizarre test for "good enough to win." Your definition of a quarterback playing "good enough to win" is not the one I have described above, your definition is that "A quarterback can only say he has played good enough to win if he has played good enough to overcome the deficiencies of the rest of the team."

And when you talk about settling field goals instead of TDs, do you consider dropped balls, the anemic pitiful rushing of Ronnie Brown? You really do think that the quarterback should be like the Good Lord in Heaven. He should be able to correct the deficiencies of his team, offense, defense, and even coaching, with his passing for touchdown.

I have one and only one request for Henne and that is that when his receivers are covered and he is running out of the pocket, he should consider just stuffing the ball and running. Hell, he's as big as any linebacker. That's my only complaint but even that applies when his receivers are covered.

Tell me about the receivers he missed. Tell me about the receiver's he underthrew. Tell me about the interceptions. Tell me about the misreads. Don't just say, "hell, he didn't throw for any touchdowns and the one to Devon Bess was all to the credit of Devon Bess's running."

Funny you guys (not saying you did the Bess post) don't want to give him credit for throwing the Bess TD but blame him for not making touchdowns even in drives wherein Henning inserts a run by Ronnie Brown and where his receivers are blanketed and he has to throw the ball away. (Which by the way he did a lot and I was glad to see because earlier in the season he would force the ball into coverage and it would get intercepted).

Are you saying Henne executed the
> final 2minutes “good enough” to win?

RESPONSE: Yes, if the other elements of the game on our side had been clicking.


> Like it or not, he’s the leader of the Offense,
> and he’s the one player MOST ACCOUNTABLE for its
> production.

RESPONSE: This is your fallacy. You could say that of Bob Griese because he was a field general.

I would say that you couldn't say that of Dan Marino because he was not a field general but you could say that Dan was responsible for the passing game.

But you are going to say that this Kid is "most accountable" for the offense's production more than Henning, more that the running game, and even if he has a great passing day, he is "accountable" because that is all that the Dolphins had besides Carpenter's kicking is Henne's passing.

Wow! you are a tough crowd.

>I am 100% sure Henne would tell you
> that. So forget all this personal juvenile crap

RESPONSE: I think it is juvenile to blame everything on the quarterback and say he is responsible for the entire production of the team. That to me is an indication of someone who is not very sophisticated about the game of football and is little better than the women who say, "Oooh, who's the quarterback. Oh! That team will win because they have the better quarterback. I hear he's great."


> and face the facts as the play on the field (and
> the point production) reveals.
>
> What have we scored so far this year? 15 – 14
> – 23 – 14 – 23 and 22 points.
>
> That’s 18 points a game. NOT ENOUGH to win…

RESPONSE: Yeah, it's good enough to win if you hold your opponents to 17 points a game and it's good enough to win if you would have scored 30 had not so many balls been dropped or the offensive coordinator had called the right plays.

I've been traveling for business the past few days, so I've had plenty of time listening to Sirius NFL radio...the general consensus is that Henne is not playing bad at all...he's 3-3 and the 3 losses are against the best teams in the league.

There is a tendency for some Dolphins fans to be hyper-critical of him because he's young, makes mistakes, and isn't at a point in his career where he can take an entire games worth of mistakes on to his back and drag the team to victory regardless.

There was one guy who called in to rip Henne and the hosts were incredulous and basically said the same thing I've been saying all along,

"WHAT THE &$@* DO YOU WANT HIM TO DO, SCORE EVERY TIME HE TOUCHES THE BALL? HE'S HUMAN!!!"

Ease up...

Better yet, keep it up so he can use it as motivation. You're nuts if you think there aren't people in that organization who read these fan sites.

Here is how profootballfocus.com grades our offensive players through 6 games. Players are given a grade of -2 to +2 on every play. -2 and +2 are both rare grades. Most plays are graded between a -0.5 and +0.5. The grades below are cumulative for the season.

Jake Long +13.4
Chad Henne +11.7
Davone Bess +7.6
Anthony Fasano +7.3 (he gets great grades for his blocking)
Brandon Marshall +6.6 (before anyone screams, his 5 dropped passes lead the league)
Vernon Carey +4.9
Joe Berger +1.9
Ronnie Brown +0.7
Pat McQuistan +0.4
Ricky Williams -1.3
Brian Hartline -3.5
Richie Incognito -3.7
John Jerry -4.1
Lousaka Polite -4.2

Does that look like a great supporting cast?

When we run behind Incognito, our grade is a -1.2. Behind McQuistan/Jerry, it's -1.1. Behind Polite as a lead blocker, it's -5.0. The running game is clearly lacking.

There was an article in the Sun Sentinel about a week ago, where it mentioned that an opposing scout said that without a deep threat, teams are able to cheat up their safeties against us, making it tougher to run, and disrupting the intermediate pass routes.

Nastyfish, you know very well that after a lost at a press conference, no coach is gonna say, "Everybody sucked except so-and-so."

Its the "we win as a team and we lose as a team." Coaches don't single out players for criticism in a loss and they certainly don't single out players for praise in a loss.

BNF - I agree that Henne could and needs to play better. The last drive of the game was pretty ridiculous.

However, the 2 3-outs to start the game are interesting case studies.

On the first drive, they ran Ronnie for 1 yard. Then they set up a pass play where Marshall was the only receiver to run a route. Henne pumped when I think he could have let it fly and hit BM, but he ended up rolling out and throwing it away. Then, Ronnie didn't read the blitz and Henne threw it where Ronnie should have been but RB headed upfield.

On the second drive, RW ran for no gain, 8 yards, no gain.

Those are 6 plays where there was no clear-cut miscue by Henne. I'll grant you that avoiding miscues is hardly an endorsement, but I think it's something bigger and more holistic than Henne that's wrong with our offense. When nothing is working consistently well, it points to overall philosophy and maturity more than anything. I believe Henne will mature, but I'm pretty sure that the philosophy will also need to change for us to see notable improvements on offense.