pro football weekly has a nice piece on henne. its in the fantasy football section but still a good quick read http://www.profootballweekly.com/2010/08/03/dolphins-henne-ready-to-take-next-step Don't be overly concerned about the fact that Henne threw more interceptions than touchdowns (14 to 12) last season. Most young quarterbacks struggle with picks; it's part of the learning process and the adjustment to the pro game. Look at the comments from Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano after watching Henne in OTAs in early June: "The greatest area we needed to see improvement in from Chad was the decision-making process and taking care of the football. The touch throws that are necessary in the middle of the field — he has shown improvement in both those areas. His numbers are off the charts. On Sunday, he was 12-for-12 in practice." Henne showed he has the arm strength to make all the throws. He's a big pocket passer who will thrive with improved personnel around him. It was the finesse throws where he needed to be more precise.
yeah if he added touch to his repetroire (sp?) I'll be juiced big time. He seemed to lack a bit of touch at times last year. If he's got that with a touch more accuracy we should have a lethal offense that will be a nightmare to defend
His increased touch has been mentioned a few times by WRs in TC. I doubt he'll suddenly have CP's touch, but just a little improvement would probably raise his completion % by a point or two over last year. I think that between any improvement in his touch passing, Marshall and increased comfort with/knowledge of the offense it's reasonable to expect that his completion % moves up over 65%. If he does that I think it bodes well for our overall offensive efficiency. I also think their number projections are reasonable (20+ TDs and 3,300 yds). I've been predicting about 23 - 25 TDs and 3,500 yds. If he does that and keeps his INTs at 15 or lower, I think he'll be doing a pretty good job of executing the offense Sparano wants to run.
I agree with everything you say here and I think 65% is a reasonable expectation. I think there is a chance that 3500 yds could be conservative. If teams play us to stop the run we will throw I believe. Bledsoe in his second year threw for 4500 yds and Parcells likes to play off tendency. Its why setting up the run is always his first priority when he builds a team. Once you establish yourself as a run team, then passing becomes much easier off of it. I'm not predicting 4500 yds but I think we might make a run at 4000 this year and then probably level back down to 3700-3800 in the following years when teams will play us more honestly
I agree and I was being conservative on the yards. I am anticipating that we'll throw between 550 and 580 times next year. If we are efficient then we'll average at least 7.0 YPA. That translates to between 3,850 - 4,060 yards.
That's a realistic view of Henne and his potential. Those projected numbers are fair, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that he could toss 25 TDs or so and eclipse 3500 yards. With the running game keeping the defense honest, the play action pass is going to be a big weapon and we should have bigger plays downfield that will help inflate Henne's numbers. Having Marshall is huge and I believe Hartline is going to be one helluva number 2 with his hands and good speed. Throw in the ever reliable Camarillo and Bess, and feel really good about our receivin corp. Not to mention Ronnie and Ricky out of the backfield. Throw is Fasano, who I think is going to have a fine season for us this year, and we are rollling on O. Our offense should be pretty potent, and very balanced. The defenses we face are going to have a hell of a time trying to defend us.
Meh. It'll be a little longer than that maybe. I remember that Dan used to be really rusty the first few pre-season games but after that he turned it on and by Game 1 it was lights out. So I look at it more like by pre-season game 3 we'll see.
I agree with just about everything that was said. Henne is going to have a great season. So here is my prediction for him: 4,100 yards and 35 tds. That might be a stretch but I am having fun with this. Good article
I think Henne has the ability for the touch pass but just needs more consistency with them. He had a couple of very nice touch passes in the monday night game against the Jests. I think as he gets more comfortable the game will slow down and he will throw with more precision and not feel he has to rocket every throw.
I certainly hope all of you are right but Henne has never recorded a 65% completion rate in his life. Just what makes you think he will now?
That might be a touch optimistic, particularly the TD count. It's safe to say that Pennington in 2008 ran the offense Sparano wanted, and he came away with just 19 TDs. IMO, Sparano and Henning would prefer to rush the ball into the end zone. If Henne racks up a significant amount of TDs (20 or more) then we're either doing so well on offense that there are plenty of goal line opportunities for Henne to vulture and convert, or the goal line offense can't convert on the ground and we're forced to go to the air. That said, I'd love to rack up passing TDs, since we've got an abundance of tall passing targets now. Marshall, Haynos, Fasano, and Turner are all 6'4'' or higher. (I'm being generous by including Patrick Turner on this list, but the point remains.) But hopefully there'll be plenty of touchdowns to go around.
With Chad Pennington as his mentor, is there any doubt that Henne will be a great QB? Sure, perhaps Pennington never had the strong arm to launch the ball, but Pennington is indeed a VERY smart QB. You don't accumulate the highest passer completion in NFL history without having the smarts when to and when not to throw the ball. No one's talking about the Dolphins on the big networks...Brandon Marshall, a 5 minute hiccup with buzz as was the signing of Karlos Dansby. Other than that, nothing... And I LIKE that!!! We're going to shock ALOT of people this year I believe.
Henne needs to come out playing heads up ball in the first preseason & maintain the pace throughout the regular season. time to step up.
IMO, our success or failure as a team this season is directly tied to Henne's maturation and progression as a starting NFL QB. And, everything is in place for him to meet or exceed all expectations. He's got all the tools physically, his experience last season, his full off season knowing he's the guy (in combination with Penny mentoring him), the faith and confidence this FO has in him, the return of Ronnie, the addition of Marshall, it just all adds up. Now, all he needs to do is execute. I know, I know...easier said than done. But, I just have this feeling he's going to blow up. I really think the sky is the limit for him. Henne given Sunday baby...Henne given Sunday. Go Phins!