OC's Better than Henning?

I think if we see Thigpen get any plays in, it will be out of the Wishbone. Don't see him running much Wildcat, at least successfully.

 

Been calling for that on another site I frequent. Would be awesome to see Thigpen run some Veer.

 

only by fans.

 

Yep. Sad thing is, I think quite a few don't know what it is.

 

IMO Henning is a decent OC, but hasn't been doing a great job or a horrid job for that matter. I am bothered by certain things he has said. One that comes to mind is that he would prefer to run every down. I don't believe that can work in this league. The talent level on the other side is too good and you can't reasonably expect to execute perfectly against that every time. So inevitably, you will have negative plays and you will have penalties. Last year whenever that happened our drives was basically over. Our conversion rate for 3rd and 7+ was one of the worst in the league. IIRC we were in that group with the Rams and Bills. We were almost better off quick kicking on 3rd. That's a bit of an exaggeration but not much more than saying you prefer to run every down. And to make matter worse, our running game hasn't been as effective this year. I think part of the problem is that he hasn't done a good job of being unpredictable in the run game. He's done a better job of it in the pass game, passing on first and so forth. But other than a couple of well timed draws, I don't think he's done a great job there.

The other statement that bothered me, and another big part of what is wrong with our run game, is when he says that RB and RW are about equal. Reality is they aren't. Now to his benefit, even though he said that, last year he did use almost the 2/3 - 1/3 split I've been suggesting. Maybe its just lip service for the fans or opponents? This year, however, the split between them has been about equal. IMO that is a mistake. RW hasn't shown the burst to capitalize on anything. He is now a plodder, who can still read the blocking but doesn't break tackles or make people miss. The other mistake is his insistence on using RW as the third down guy. RW has never been a great receiver. He is a consistent guy who can catch passes within the frame of his body (T-rex arms) and now he rarely makes it past the first tackler. RB, on the other hand, is an outstanding receiver. Gruden once commented that RB had the best hands in his draft class, even better than the WRs. Whether that was truth or just exaggeration is moot. The point is that RB is a very good receiver. And RWs has never been as good of a pass blocker as RB. RW has always been a physical specimen so he has blown people up, but he is also more prone to mental errors than RB. My guess is that RW is still just a better practice player than RB. Some coaches, especially old school guys, can't get past what they see in practice. But it is clear that RB is the better player in the games. I'm sure RW will have a couple of games this year that will remind us of the old RW, but those will be few and far between.

Basically, I just don't think that Henning has done a great job of utilizing the best talents on this team. IMO those are Marshall, Brown and Bess. Their talents are best utilized in combination, in other words, in a balanced offense. My impression is that we've gone into games looking to emphasize either the run or the pass and we've ignored the other component. The result is games like Buffalo or Minny where we look like we run the Navy offense. And games like the Jets game where we abandon the run. I think that's where most people's frustration with Henning comes from. It gets voiced in complaints about the WC or that we run too much or pass too much. But the real issue is that we have been too one-sided. Our team clearly has some some skill players, but their talents haven't been maximized.

 

I agree, especially about using Ronnie more.

 

but would you throw in ronnie to be a workhorse so soon after his injury or would you ease him back? i mean it seems to me we are simply being cautious for now. ricky is taking the pounding now but i bet by week 8 it will be ronnie full bore

 

I would give RB most of the third down touches right now. In a typical game that would probably mean another 10 snaps and another 3-5 touches. I would probably keep the rest of the split the same. The result would be that through 3 games RB would have about 43 carries and 11 receptions compared to RW's 29 carries. Currently, RB has 37 carries and 5 receptions and RW has 35 carries. That would give RB about 65% of the touches and RW about 35%. By the end of the year, I would expect it to increase to about a 70/30 or even 75/25, but right now that's what I would do.

 

there is also the question of whether ronnie's hamstring was acting up.

i agree with your take that ricky williams has hit the old man wall where his burst seems to be gone. it just seems to me that what they are doing is protecting ronnie for now. the season is a marathon after all and not a sprint. my feeling, and i dont know the true medical condition of ronnie, is he will start to get an increase in carries as the season progresses and if we desperately need him he will get it sooner. but i think they are resting him now since they feel they can afford to. bottom line is it seems we have a playoff caliber team. i dont think anyone wants to get to the playoffs without a healthy ronnie. we are one and done if that happens. now the key is balancing the rest with the need for victories so its a juggling act as far as the considerations go. like i said. i think we rest ronnie as much as we can get away with till week 8 then we unleash him and hopefully he stays healthy

i would also add that if injuries are the reason ronnie is being sparingly used that's not hennings call but rather sparanos

 

That unreleased info about an injury possibility does exist. That's why I haven't joined any of those threads saying Henning sucks. I don't think we have enough info to make that assessment. For example, everybody called for the fade pass to Marshall but Henne and Marshall may not be good enough at that play yet. On the surface it seems like a high percentage play, but maybe the practice reps have shown Henning that it isn't?

 

Ronnie was in the game for much of the fourth quarter. He was used primarily in pass pro though, from what I recall.

 

Henning has said before if it was up to him, he'd run every down but obviously situations and defenses dictate that. He's always said he's a 60/40 run-pass guy though.

 

looking at the patriots defense i hope so. i think we will attack the left, jake long side. they are very weak at olb and de on that side (their right) i also think they have two holes in the secondary, one CB and one safety. i expect alot of running to the left side to start the game and then when we have them expecting that to go over the top to marshall or hartline maybe even fasano.

 

I disagree with his philosophy then. IMO the goal should be 50/50 with the way the rules are now.

 

I got a feeling that you would be 40/60 if you were an OC.

 

Not at all. My preference is 50/50. When I've coached I tended to favor the run. But I wasn't coaching in the NFL with those rules against great talent. I do think you have to pass more early and run more late though. IMO even in the NFL you are passing too much if your run pass ratio is 40/60. The only way I could see that ratio being optimal is if your talent is only in the passing game. I'm thinking something like Brees at QB, Marshall at WR and Tony Nathan at running back.

 

Pleeeeease, let's drop the subject now!. Almost time for the game and Im' SURE many of us don't want to hear it and we're getting are game face on .
Henning is our man,we will execute and win this game. There,I said it!

Time for the game...

LETS GO MIAMI !!!!!!!

 

I can tell you nobody here would have called wildcat on 3rd and long. He is bringing idiot OC to a whole new level.

 

Hell why not?

Take the wets OC away Im down

 

I can think of 31 OCs, I don't know all their names but I know They surely can't be an worse.