APDolphins quarterback Chad Henne has earned a reputation in his two seasons as the team’s starter for being so hesitant to make the wrong throw that he can’t pull the trigger on the right throw. But Henne says he doesn’t think that reputation is fair.
“I don’t think I was ever afraid of mistakes,” Henne told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “There are things I have to improve on, but I’m not going to change the way I play.”
Dolphins fans probably won’t be thrilled to hear that a quarterback who’s had more interceptions than touchdowns in each of his two seasons as a starter isn’t planning to make any changes, although Henne’s admission that he needs to make some improvements is a step in the right direction.
Another step in the right direction is that Henne seems to have a good read on new coordinator Brian Daboll’s offense.
“I like it and I’m comfortable with it. I don’t know the whole offense yet, but it’s very diverse, and there a lot of things you can add to it,” Henne said. “Last year, we did five- or seven-step drops. . . . Now, we have three, five and seven. It keeps the defense on their toes. As a defensive back, you’re not looking at the quarterback’s feet as much.”
After the 2010 season, it looked like Henne was likely to lose his job as the Dolphins’ starter. But the longer the lockout lasts, the harder it will be for the Dolphins to bring in a new quarterback and get him up to speed before the season. Henne realizes that’s to his advantage, even as he acknowledges nothing has been promised to him.
“But it’s not my job yet,” he said. “I’ll still have to compete.”
“I’m not going to change the way I play.”-Chad Henne/Miami Dolphins
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This quote immediately brought smiles to the faces of the fans of the OTHER teams in the AFC East.
I guarantee there are dozens of players like Henne around the league thanking God for this lockout.
It is going to be extremely hard to replace incumbent veterans in the short amount of time that will be left to sign free agents and hold training camp.
Even if it drags into September and they miss a game check or two, it will still be better than the 16 game checks they might have missed if they had actually had to compete for their jobs.
Fortunately for him, Miami doesn’t seem to have a viable alternative.
Good!
As a division rivals, The Patriots/Jets/Bills hope you play EXACTLY the way you did last year.
Chad Henne – “I’m not going to last much longer in the NFL”
The Dolphins felt like Henne was their guy all along this off-season, all that talk about them drafting a QB was a smokescreen. And they never for one second wanted Harbaugh, that’s why the owner and Carl Peterson flew cross country to meet with him. Ok I’m joking.
“I don’t think I was ever afraid of mistakes,” Henne told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “There are things I have to improve on, but I’m not going to change the way I play.”
Sparano might as well type up his resume
This is the same Henne who last season said that Tim Tebow isn’t an NFL caliber QB. He is just a big dumb jock whose mouth is bigger than his talent.
Tyler Thigpen > Chad Henne
Chad Henne: “I’m still going to suck.”
Yea, he’s been soo good so far in his career.. Why change?
uh oh
Henne Given Sunday! I still bellieve he’s the Phins future. Give him another year, especially with a new O-coordinator, more o-line depth and new offensive weapons. Don’t blame all the Phins misfortunes on him. The defense needs to create more turnovers and special teams needs to get better field position.
Career backup. His inability to feel pressure while sliding in the pocket with his eyes down field is what frustrates me the most about him,
He sounds like he thinks people view him as a gunslinger. No, Chad, they view you as Trent Edwards with a strong arm who unleashes check down missiles.
well thats excellent news for every team that plays against the Dolphins this year
everytime this meatheads arm goes back it’s an interception waiting to happen
it think the Dolphins should go and hire Mike Tice and bring him in as QB coach for Henne – it would be a perfect marriage of meatheads!
I hope there is a training camp so Thigpen can gets a shot.
Tyler is more athletic and he makes the phins fun to watch again. Even Miami’s wins are boring and would be forgetable if it wasnt for the defenses fourth quarter saves.
In the immortal words of Jamie Foxx, “Blame it on the Henne!”.
Oh yeah Chad, definitely wouldn’t want to do that.
Way to skew an interview to ‘say’ what you want it to say… Seeing the entire interview, those were just excerpts that were taken in and out of different contexts… The blame goes to Barry Jackass, not to MDS tho…he just reiterated what Jackson wrote…
Henne may or may not be the next great QB in Miami, that is way undetermined yet, however, Sparano and company didn’t give much for Henne to work on either…that largely goes unsaid about Henne. That OL was atrocious, the RBs were in and out of health all season long, there wasn’t a target other than Marshall and he seemed to be able to be taken out of games, particularly by the jests and pasties… The STs were un-Godly bad and there wasn’t a legit TE on the roster…Not to mention the D was improved, but not great either…
Way too much to hang all the woes of the Fins on just Henne as many wish to do…
Thank god for the lockout that means henne will go one season with no ints lol
3 step drops? Wow!
Chad Henne: “I’m not going to change the way I play”
Tony Sparano, leaning back to Jeff Ireland: “Get Andy Reid on the phone.”
There are things to fix:
1) Read the defense better
2) Go through progressions properly instead of an immediate checkdown
3) stop freaking out when there isn’t really any pressure
4) Stop staring down the intended receiver from the moment the huddle breaks
5) Find a sense of urgency in the 2-minute drill
6) Throw to Marshall inside the red zone (let him go up and get it)
7) Be a team leader on/off the field
Most of those are able to be fixed rather quickly and he has started embracing his leadership role. Henne has decent skills and a big arm but he is shaky at times. He will be fine as long as he gains some more confidence. If he stays the same or regresses further then the Dolphins made a big mistake in not drafting a future starter
@FinFan68
hahahahaha all of those things are what make a QB great and he doesn’t do any of them.. He sucks man give it up.. He’s not a leader, makes terrible reads, and can’t score in the red zone.. the phins O-line isn’t to blame for their failures.. Henne is a backup QB at best right now and if you think that QB is gonna lead the phins past Brady or even Sanchez at this point in the division you have lost it.. this franchise is an absolute joke right now
Finfan68,
Your last sentence is the only thing in your entire post that is true since Andrew Luck will be folk hero in Miami by the first week in October.
henne does need better people around him with out a doubt,but then again marino needed better people around him most of the time as well and he still put up some pretty good numbers.i believe henne has the arm and the heart what i believe he needs is confidence and noone but him can make that happen he’s got to believe in his ability and go for it.i know this won’t impress many here but i am a dart player and i play in league and tournaments and i play aginst alot of really good players and even pro’s and it is never easy to beat any of these guys and i more than once was gonna give up because felt i could not compete but over the last 5 or 6 months i have improved greatly and many other players have took notice of it especially when they find themselfs on the loosing end of a match and the real reason for my marked improvement is confidence i dont throw the dart any different i just believe in me and i let it rip and it’s really paid off,now i don’t have 350 lb linemen trying to stop me like henne does but the point is still the same and i truly think henne is lacking in the confidence dept. or else he would not check down so much and make so many mistakes with the ball and if he can overcome that he might be better than we all ever thought he could be.he has all the tools to be a good qb he just needs to do what he knows how to do and refuse to be denied.and the wins will come
How many of you Henne bashers have compared his stats (first 3 years, 2 full season) vs. other playoff QBs (Brees, McNabb, Cutler)?
Obviously he is not Brady, Manning material, but people make him out to be AJ Feely. Give him a chance.
Henning is a very acerbic and sarcastic type dude so if a QB hates being coached hard I can see that QB getting timid and losing confidence. Not all QBs are mentally tough enough to take Henning’s coaching.
That said, I am not sure if Henning is any type of contributor to Henne’s issues.
Um hate to break the news to you Chad, but the only place that is compatible with the “way you play” is the UFL.
@FinFan68, You pretty much hit the nail on the head but I want to add a few things.
You should add !!!!!!!!! to #5 because the two minute drill has been pathetic.
Improve play-action fake (I’ve seen him fake to the left while the RB runs right, one too many times)
9) Most importantly – Gain some confidence.
Huh… what’s with the smiley face with glasses in my post. It should have been an 8.
I wouldn’t be too upset by this if I was a Dolphins fan. With Henne at the helm you might actually have a snowball’s chance in hell at landing Luck.