I want to clear this up,

First of all, I want Chad Pennington to succeed. Matter of fact, I want him to lead us to a Superbowel win. I hope we win every game he plays in. I want to win the division and make the playoffs.

That being said, I am just not sure it will happen....any of that. His last 3 or 4 games he has played in, he looked very bad. His skills have deminished very fast. Stats have been given *very clearly* and his ratios past 10 yards are below average. Does he have the most experience? Yes. Is he a better leader than Henne? I am most definate of that. But, at some point you can't over look diminished skills. I just dont think he can get the job done anymore.

I wished I had a stat of how many of the INT's Chad Henne has thrown bounced off the hands of a WR. I still feel Henne is the better option. In my opinion, the playcalling has hurt his development. Are rushing attack has sucked this year. In years past, it was our strength. Where has it gone? Henne was 11-10 in hist first 21 game, Peyton Manning was 5-18 in his first 21 games.

But I want to say again, I hope Pennington is awesome. I really do. But now, I think this brings a serious question up about the future of our QB position.

It has now, in my mind, pushed us back 2-3 years. It takes time for a QB to develop. This will probably cost everybody their job. We have serious issues.

But once again, GO PENNINGTON! GO DOLPHINS!!!



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"When you suck long enough, you get a Hickey"

While I'm not privvy to what the mgt is thinking, I believe this switch is very short term (unless Pennington goes on some tremendous stretch like complteing 90% of his passes and getting the offense to score 30+ pts per game). My opinion is that Henne needs to do some more studying, and not having the burden of taking most of the snaps in practice may give him that opportunity. I think Henne will be back in there in about 4 games (again, unless Pennington goes on some tremendous streak).
I think Pennington can give the offense a spark, completing very high percentage passes (and Henne will be seeing this, and hopefully learning which passes work in this system), and hopefully opening up the running game in the process (Pennington is pretty good with play action, so maybe the LBs will stay put a bit longer).
I could be totally wrong, but this is what I think will be happening...

The problem with the move is that its a step back for the organization. Chad Pennington has never played two consecutve healthy seasons. So, he really is not part of our future. And this team still needs to be about the future. We have lots of holes to address. Ronnie and Ricky are both free agents. The interior of the line is still not where it needs to be. Fasano is a free agent. The backup TEs have yet to catch a pass. We have no deep threat at WR. NT still needs depth. Channing Crowder is not a difference maker at ILB. Misi and Wake still need to prove they can cover and defend the run. One starting CB issue may still be an issue. The nickel CB may still be an issue. And FS is still an issue.

That's why this seems like a shortsighted move. Henne is a real talent. I'll admit, I'm a big Michigan fan, so I've followed his whole career. This guy who is afraid to throw the ball downfield is not the guy who aired it out at Michigan. And throwing the ball downfield is what he did best at Michigan. He's really improved a lot on intermediate throws since his college days. And he is super tough. His senior year, he was dealing with a separated shoulder, and getting knocked out of games, only to come back in the 4th quarter and rally the Wolverines to victories while clearly at less than 100%. I firmly believe the coaching staff has handcuffed him by scaring him off any risky throws. He just needs more confidence on when to take those chances. And he could use a couple of faster wideouts, too.

I want Pennington to do well. We just need to be realistic about it. I think the short passing game, the sub 10 yard routes to Marshall and Bess will improve. Pennington will get those out quicker, and give them more room to maneuver. But, the 15-20 yard throws are going to disappear. Henne has had good success throwing those dig routes, the 17 yard deep-ins to Marshall. Pennington can't make that throw. I also expect Pennington to throw more jump balls to Marshall. And that may work out, or it may not. My feeling is that the coaching staff would chastise Henne for throwing a jump ball into double coverage, but that Pennington will be allowed to get away with it.

And the reality is that the second half schedule is easier. If Pennington goes 6-2, what does it really prove? He didn't have games at Baltimore or Green Bay, or home against Pittsburgh. The game against New England was lost by one of the worst special teams performances in league history. The loss against Pittsburgh was aided by the officials. People will point to the two failed red zone attempts after the fumbles. But, on one of those, we didn't even attempt a pass, so how is that on Henne? And it should be noted that Henne posted the highest QB rating against the Steelers defense all season.

This move is potentially devastating to a young QBs confidence. So, then what? Are we still trying to find a franchise QB? Does that mean we draft another one? And then wait 2-3 years for him to develop?

A$O QUOTE...I want to clear this up,
First of all, I want Chad Pennington to succeed.


I dont think there is a single poster here that thought you didnt want pennington to succeed.

Quote:

"This move is potentially devastating to a young QBs confidence. So, then what? Are we still trying to find a franchise QB? Does that mean we draft another one? And then wait 2-3 years for him to develop?"



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That is what I'm afraid of. I believe this move has put us in a position that could seriously put this organization a few years back.

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"When you suck long enough, you get a Hickey"

go penny!!! and if he cant do it, go thigpen!!

A tough decision, try to salvage the season or give Henne more games to show if he can improve

I am still perplexed by not going with Thigpen, but maybe Pennington works better with Marshall who is known for his yards after the catch, not necessarily the deep pass

they went with penny b/c he makes fewer mistakes. thigpen makes plays but also a ton of mistakes. that's why they didn't go with him

Thing that pisses me off is the timing of this. We've lost to literally the 4 best teams in the AFC right now, (easily could of won 2 of those) got a tough but winable game at home this week, then we go into our easy part of the schedule. It would not surprise me if Penny goes 5-3 over the next 8, but it would of been realistic for Henne to go 5-3 also, thus building his confidence going into next year giving us a solid QB for years to come (or he fails over the next 8 and we know for sure he's not the answer)

Someone pointed out V. Young went through a benching then came back better, I hope for all of us true fans thats the case. This franchise is in a tail spin right now because of this move. If we have to take a QB in the 1st rnd next year, we are set back for a couple of years till he develops. As JC said in another thread, this is a desperation move by Sporano/Ireland to save their jobs next year, a coaching change also sets us back a few years, either way we're screwed. I used to be the biggest supporter of the Tri-fecta.......after this week, not so much.

Like A & O said, i'll be rooting for Penny this week and weeks to come (even though I know if he does well, this board will be bombarded with gloating and "I told you so's", but I worry about our long term future.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2010 07:05AM by dolphaholic.

Well Pennington will get hurt again after this year right that's how it goes with him, so Henne will be the starter after what game 4 next year, and will be well seasoned and will tear it up.

Its ok too much doom and gloom, lets go with the motion of the ocean!!

Aqua&Orange Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Quote:
>
> "This move is potentially devastating to a young
> QBs confidence. So, then what? Are we still trying
> to find a franchise QB? Does that mean we draft
> another one? And then wait 2-3 years for him to
> develop?"
>
>
>
> &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
> That is what I'm afraid of. I believe this move
> has put us in a position that could seriously put
> this organization a few years back.

I don't believe that at all. These are men not children. If Henne does not have the confidence to learn from this and come back stronger then he truly does not belong in this league. There have been many many quarterbacks, and other players as well, that take a benching, learn from it and take advantage of their next opportunity.

One thing that no one as thought of.
The running game is not just running the play called from the sidelines.
A QB must be a student of the running game and know when to call an audible at the line. That is something that Henne has not shown. That is something that Penni should be good at.
Maybe that is why our running game has not been there. Maybe checking off at the line, or lack there of, is what contributed to Henne's benching.
That is all about experience.