So I went back and listened to every press conference of Sparano's since the Baltimore loss on Sunday, Henne's and Penny's interviews from today... I'm a little more at piece with this whole thing. I still think it's a step back in terms of progress that you want to see from your young football team. It's interesting that you bring in a guy like Al Harris on the defensive side of the ball, the same day you name Chad Pennington your starting quarterback. Harris brought in to help the young corners grow and get better. Couple of things that I picked up on that didn't see mentioned anywhere while watching these pressers... Sparano said Pennington is the guy for right now, at this moment... as in, he's not saying he's the starter for the rest of the season. He's focused on the Titans and feels Pennington is the best guy for the current task at hand. Don't be surprised if this turns out to be a temporary thing and that neither due to Pennington's play nor his health status, we could see a change back to Henne if that's what the coach thinks is best. Also, Pennington let it slip a little during his interview there at the end, he said the coach is in a tough position. If Sean Smith had picked off that Flacco pass and scored, and we somehow pulled out the win, I guarantee Chad Henne would still be the starter (even with those three int's, most if not all weren't his fault). I think Sparano is getting a jump start on the second half of the season. You don't coach scared, although that is sometimes the inference. But if we were to continue to start Henne and lose against the Titans this weekend, going 4 and 5 (with four straight losses at home), I think more of us would be on board with the qb switch. I think he sees the urgency of this Titans game and understands what is at stake... this so called tough position that Pennington was referring to. Yes, I still believe that Ross talked to Sparano after the Ravens loss. And I think Sparano is enough of a straight shooter with Pennington to let him in on it. It's a tough thing... Sparano at the very least is going to say at the end of the year that he provided every opportunity from a head coaching standpoint, to put the right guys in position to help this team win this season. Whether that will be enough remains to be seen.
agree 100%. great post. i also agree if we beat pittsburgh or the jets henne is still the starter. i think that's the part that pennington was referring too somewhat that it wasnt fair. those losses werent really on henne but they made the patriots and ravens games that much tougher to swallow. i am a fan of henne and letting him grow and am not a fan of pennington and his dink and dunk ways but honestly henne isnt using his arm enough and if you're going to be dink and dunk might as well use the master of it. the most important thing for henne to realize is that this isnt the end of the story. this is merely an intermission. he needs to decompress and figure out how to attack cover 2 with his arm
The amount of protection Henne had received was outstanding. We very well could see a revival in Pennington's career. He never had that much time in the pocket. I'm liking the switch, the offense could really get on a roll.
For those really interested in this stuff: http://www.wqam.com/index.php?page=347&sid=k6n3l3jki21qs7bn8lhq0nv4djiektnm Omar Kelly was on the Mike Irvin show, simply click on "audio" then interviews and you will find his halfway down the page. The deal is, from what OmarK was saying, is the Staff has TRIED to get Henne to take more chances and he defaults to safe throws, in essence he has become a Game Manager, they evaluated that and decided if Henne won't loosen up, who then, Penny or Thiggy? They went with Penny, Irvin's cohost then makes the leap of inference, with utterly no evidence, that they had decided that "Henne isn't their guy". Listen in, quite illuminating if OmarK is correct.
It was depressing to hear Henne's reaction though... he is taking it hard when he says things like "we'll see" about his future with the Dollphins. Perhaps the step back will help him long term... Not what I would have done as coach but who the hell am I.
I just find that so hard to believe. That's a complete 180 from his Michigan days. Did he all of a sudden get to the NFL and decide he was gonna start doing this? I also find it hard to believe that the same staff the preaches "No turnovers" like it's the 11th commandment has really been that adamant about taking more shots. Who knows though.
this is a short term thing I think...Henne needs a slap in the face and he will either hit the field running with his next opportunity or not. I think if they turned to thigpen then that would spell the end of Henne in miami
Yes. In Michigan he was a gunslinger. He would throw that rock into the smallest windows. Now he won't even throw a ball unless the wideout is completely open. I hope the team is just doing this to light a fire under his ***. A la Sean Smith.
In all honesty, that bolded comment sounds like lawyer talk. You are not taking either side, but rather saving yourself in case the change blows up in your face. You want to make the change, you make the change, but you fluff it up by saying its not "conclusive." I said previously, and believe it to this day, this change was done for one of two reasons: 1) light a fire under Henne or 2) save Sparano's job.
I'm not saying Pennington won't be better then Henne, b/c I actually think Pennington will put up some points this week, but to say that it will be due to the time in the pocket that Henne had is a little off base. Keep in mind, a lot of these plays had Max Protect where only 2 guys were running routes. That's not going to make it easy for Pennington. I will say that the pass blocking of the line has been solid, but some of that is certainly blinded by the amount of Max Protect plays that were run. By the way, I think the over for this game is an absolute lock. I see the offense rallying behind Pennington and Penny having a lot of success getting Marshall the ball. With the amount of sideline routes Bess runs, I just don't see him being that successful since that's one of Penny's weak spots, but Marshall should have a big game and I can see the running game having a bit of a spark. On the flip side, Tennessee's offense is difficult to stop and it won't get any easier with Moss running Fly patterns on every play. Unless they want to leave Vontae on him 1:1 (and hope like hell he doesn't put up a performance like last week), Chris Johnson may run wild with us leaving a safety over Moss.
Trying to force a Troy Aikman type of qb into an offense that is designed for Steve DeBerg And Henning just said it himself...and I quote... the plays and gameplan are based on the opponent, not the QB. Why on earth did we draft Chad Henne if we weren't going to adapt our offensive system to his skill set.
not if the reason he has five seconds is due to max protect... and one maybe two receivers are running routes... one of them is triple covered and the other is double covered... Michael Irvin would run up to the OC and ***** slap him...
Love the post and I like and agree with what you said. I also think Sparano might be in some trouble with his job. Yeah,I like Tony and don't want to see him go anywhere...really. Just like the prospect of "The Chin" still being unemployed,Tuna being out of the way and more depth on our team than the last few years. This is all me thinking and what I would envision if I had a say.We have the talent to do special things but are lacking a kick in the *** IMO. This is also Tony's way of making a statement..let's hope it works this year or I see a change happening.
which part? The maxprotect or Michael Irvin? Go back and look at the Steelers' tape if you can... it doesn't show up in the stats other than it was an incomplete pass to the short right side of the field. The play was our second one from scrimmage after the opening kick turnover. After a run by Ronnie that gained one yard, we went for the pass... max protect... the Steelers rushed no more than five guys... there were two guys running routes. That's a great way to go for the throat eh? Way to set the tone for the rest of the game? Now, the question is who called for the max protect, Henne at the LOS based on what the Steelers were showing or Henning in his play call? I suppose it doesn't really matter because Henne is coached to make decisions based on the offense from an overall standpoint. If Sparano is on him in practice to throw it away if it's not there, don't risk a turnover at all costs, kick the FG... does it really matter? It's playing scared.... it's playing not to lose... sure, there's a fine line and arguments can be made on both sides. lets see what changes under Pennington... 2008 or 2009? we shall see what the results are... Can we win with Hennings offense under CP, sure... can we lose? sure... But we sure as hell aren't building a dynasty with Pennington at quarterback.
