I hate to say this but the very day I feel Sparano and Company throw a game For Any Reason will be the very last day I watch the Dolphins under that Management Team! Herm was right "You play to win the game!" BTW I hope the Colts choke and lose their first playoff game; they deserve no better results!
If houston, jacksonville, baltimore and the jets all lose and so do we because we benched henne how would you feel then?
I think Henning has finally got him some action in the right light, let him run the ronnie brown formation, he can read and react from that position, and while I understand that he's not built to take the pounding, he can take a few shots in the bloodzone, especially since Ricky is ailing, plus, i like the way he handles the Jet sweep, theres some lanes there he can exploit...So while I dont agree with your original thought, I would like to see him more out of the standard wildcat, with a little more emphasis on the pass.Iam hoping David lee has some options favoring the pass out of the formation, moreso then what we've seen. All this has nothing to do with Henne, hes our future proset QB, but I am a proponent of the hybrid system moving forward, So I do think that Pat is in our future plans...Hopefully were devising ways where next year, Pat is on the field WITH ronnie, running their part of that system.. Ronnie brown out..wildcat dead..... and justly so, ronnie's the ultimate ball handler and decision maker from there [I miss him, and this team misses him in the formation, big time}..would like to see if Pat can give it some life though.. One last thing...I think its been laid to rest that the formation is a gimmick, so Iam still intrigued with the player that ran it best in college, teaming up with the player who is best at it in the pro's....Just gotta let them work together, even if it does mean Pat plays a couple different roles on a few plays.
Henne plays the whole game unless they give White or Ricky a couple WC snaps...which I doubt they will. As a fan, I don't want to see any team throw the game.
That is exactly it, right there. This season for Henne has been all about experience. Learning to prepare, learning to practice as the start, learning his WR's, learning how to read defenses better in the NFL, to sit him down for the last game of the season is definitely not what you do. It Pittsburgh is up by 30 on us, then sure, maybe pull him and give White some time. But there is no way, no if's, and's or but's about Henne not starting this game. This season, while I know we were still in the hunt for the playoffs, it was all a learning experience for Henne. No reason at all to cut that short. He needs all the experience he can get out there. While I agree with the original poster, that Pat White also needs a chance to gain some experience. This just isn't that time. Henne is much further along at QB than White, Henne is our starter for next year. Any time for experience you will see for White is in the preseason next year, or if we're getting blown out. It's the right call. You have to continue to let your starting QB learn, and grow.
I would have to throw Thigpen in for a half Thigpen had 18 tds and 12 interceptions his first full season Thigpen also ran for 386 yards that season at a 6.2 yard average...being only 25 I would like to see what we have as a player with Tyler
not interested in White getting reps at all .... Henne is still developing, so he still needs all the reps he can get - before heading into the offseason. if you want to get anyone reps .... give them to Thigpen -- but not sure taking snaps away from Henne is a smart thing to do .... since he will be leading this team for the next decade.
I'd prefer to bench Porter since we already know what he can no longer do and sink or swim with Cam Wake. Getting him, instead of Pat White, as much game experience as possible will be of more longterm benefit to the team.
in this case, that logic is crap. now if Penny was starting...I could see benching him for Henne but in this case that would just be dumb-dumb-dumb
I believe Henne's development is more important than Pat White's... so lets get Henne as many reps as we can "against a defense that is playing for keeps." And I wanna win this week. A draft slot should be the consolation prize... not the goal. Continue winning, and avoid a losing season. Be a spoiler and show that we will fight to the end. And end the season and go into the offseason on a good note. That is more important to the culture around here than a draft slot. But if we end up losing... hey, the higher draft pick doesnt hurt...
Only starter i think should have a bit of help is Ricky. I said help not sit. Only time to sit Henne in this game would be late in the game with at least a three score lead. We watched this season as we all know we wont have a lead late in any game.
(apples & oranges w/ a twist of lemon) 1) ThigPen w/ brought in to be backup to Henne in the ConventionalOffense 2) White was acquired to diversify our Offense: specializing in the the WildCat (single wing) & SpreadOffenses. He was very successful playing @ the University level within these systems & understands the workings & dynamics involved.if we give the PatPackage a chance to develop, we could tweak it & it should work well. 3) the twist: Thigpen can run both Convention & WildCat offenses... there are real questions to be asked & answers to be found before we can move on to 2010
playing to win is an attitude the concept of winning is sometimes ambiguous you can win a battle & lose the war winning would be leaving the 2009 w/ the answers we need to proceed into the 2010 season & the experience we require across the board for improvement & development in our second year if we played to win but with different pieces in the mix we would already be a winner answers + experience + playing to win + experimentation + a win 8-8 or a loss coupled with experience, answers & a better draft positioning for a very important year in which we will fill the holes that will allow us to contend in 2010 would be just as big if not a bigger win for the franchise only question : is the Dolphin Coaching-Cadre confident enough in their work to pull it off?
I find myself thinking the same thing. I gotta wonder if Pat White's poor QBing has to do with him being a rookie, or the FO just completely mis-evaluating his talent. Either way, it would be nice to know if he's a "White Elephant" sooner rather than later. I say play him this week for a couple quarters at least.
I could go on reading this hole thread and there is no disrespect with the starter, but... Point blank, I don't believe Sporano is giving up on the Season or one game like the Colts HC did for them... You put your best players out there, IMHO, and see how it turns out...
Preseason is for seeing what you have in a backup, not the final game of the regular season when you are grooming your future starting QB in Henne, and giving him the valuable experience to be a starter. The FO knows what they have in Pat White. A guy they hope will prosper in the wildcat formation as we continue to use it. He is a back up, always will be. There is no value in seeing what he can do as a starter. They know what they have. A guy who is mobile, quick, and inaccurate as a QB. If they thought he had a chance of playing QB over Henne, we'd have seen him attempt more than what, 2 passes this season from the WC. Its obvious to me they dont trust him to throw the football. Playing him against Pittsburg in the finale of the regular season will accomplish nothing. Pat White will be on the bench until the preseason unless Henne gets hurt. Even then if Henne does get hurt tomorrow, I think we'd see Thigpen in there over White.
No disrespect taken. I think you gotta a good point. Agree that with Tony S. pride and attitude will probably prevail over better draft position, developing PW, and injury protection. But you gotta consider the upside and downside to both.
I want the W. I don't care how, why or who plays. This team hasn't given up all year and I don't think they'll start now. Hope we do draft or get some good players, but that's later, not now. Now we need to win regardless of stats, losses or standings.
Never understood this perspective....if you are IN the draft you have a great draft position regardless. Years, and years, and years of watching and I never see how 1 position is veiwed as better than another over the course of 7 rounds. We have all watched GREAT selections occur in 1st round thru 7th round...and we have watched as HORRIBLE selections occur in 1st round thru 7th round. Lets work to finish 8-8 and go from there.
If the goal is to allow Pat White some experience time against an awesome defense, I could go for that. I would go against conventional wisdom though and actually start him, allowing Chad Henne to come off the bench late in the third quarter. That way they both get the experience they need most...White facing tough defenses and Henne becomming the comeback kid. If Henne does not play all 4 quarters there is probably a 1% chance we win the game, and like others said I do not feel comfortable throwing a game for a draft pick either. For that reason (and really that reason alone) I'd say go 1st stringers all the way with the exception of using Ricky sparingly with Hilliard carrying most of the load.
I hear you - Drew Brees and Dan Marino both come to mind. But it is a fact, the higher up in the draft the higher the chances of landing a higher graded player.
operative word.....I will take my chances following the most WINS possible for this organization every season....lets finish 8-8 and build on that!
I just want to make clear, I'm not advocating playing for a loss, only pointing out that a loss (as a opposed to a win) could help in April. To me the argument can be simplified to this: The logical approach of player evaluation and lower injury risk vs. pride. Looks like most take pride, but a loss won't kill me. Perhaps because I was already killed when we lost last week.
This post is flawed in a number of ways. For one, Miami is still alive in the playoff hunt. Teams that are in the playoff hunt, no matter how slim do not sit their starting QB. That would be an absurd decision for a coach to make. Secondly and more importantly, Henne is Miami's future hope for a good starting QB. He needs all the reps he can get and playing a team like Pitt with a playoff spot on the line is invaluable experience for a young QB. Thirdly, they won't let Pat White throw a ball out of the Wildcat which is what he was drafted to do let alone play behind center all game and expect him to efficiently pass the ball. Thats how much trust and confidence they have in him so why on earth would they start this kid at QB?????
Its not pride, its just that a LOSS does not guarantee anything come draft day....chances are meaningless about draft picks....win the game. Thats not PRIDE....its the object of the game.
come on NoCal every reason was stated...the best reason is to WIN. Thats the simple and point blank reason.
What does a win guarantee? As for draft day, you seem focused on that being the reason we should play Henne. I'm only pointing out there is little harm in a loss at this point, and that we should take this opportunity to get PW some reps.
Guarantees, Winning feeling Guarantees, this team got over the hump to WIN a game that has playoff implications @ HOME Guarantees, they did everything in their power to end this regular season on a high note regardless of playoffs Guarantees, playoffs are still alive Guarantees, an attitude of what the OBJECT of EVERY GAME is in the NFL Guarantees, that DRAFT Selection takes care of itself and you never focus on that over WINNING a game Guarantees, a .500 record Guarantees, finishing 8-8 following 11-5 and 19-13 over these 2 years for Sparano, Ireland, Parcells, Ross Guarantees, non-losing record for this group It guarantees so much more than a LOSS does and some arbitrary DRAFT spot. If coaches feel Henne isn't the best chance at a Win, then he can be sat in my mind.
Not by himself, but all players on the field and all coaches should GUARANTEE that their ONLY CONCERN is winning the game.
Despite the sweep, I'm irked over the possibility of finishing a game behind the Jests, and absolutely dread any thought of adding to that disparity. I hope they approach this game, with every intention of winning it.
