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5/5/08
Henne Hits The Wall At Dolphins Practice
The Chad Henne Experience Is Not Off To A Rousing Start
I'm going to be totally honest here. I was never really impressed with Chad Henne while he was at Michigan. My best memories of him are when he got flattened by USC in the 2007 Rose Bowl and how he lost every game he ever played against Ohio State.

And on top of that, he damn near got Wally Pipp'ed during his senior year by a guy who's since transferred out of the program.

So naturally I was a bit surprised when there was talk during the NFL Draft that he could potentially be drafted in the first round. I was also admittedly amused that he was drafted in the second round, but whatever, Bill Parcells knows what he's doing, right? Uh, maybe.

Henne was apparently terrible at the Dolphins' first rookie mini-camp and he even had to run a lap for missing a snap count. He spent the 3-day camp overthrowing most of his receivers and struggled to get a handle on the Dolphins' playbook. On the flip side, Willie Copeland, an unsigned free agent out of Valdosta State who had a 138.02 career passer rating in college, was sharper by far. That's always encouraging to hear.

Of course this was only Henne's first time practicing with the Dolphins, but it begs the question why did the Dolphins take Jake Long #1 and not a quarterback like Matt Ryan? What good is it going to do having Long protecting John Beck, Chad Henne, and Cleo Lemon?

Maybe Parcells and the Dolphins see something in Henne that I'm just missing. But to me, I'm beginning to wonder more and more what the hell the Dolphins were doing on draft day.
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425 days ago
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lol..good for the Dolphins...this guy is more inaccurate than weathermen!
 
425 days ago
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You're not missing anything on Henne.  He sucks and has no shot of being an NFL QB, especially since he won't be allowed to develop for 2 or 3 year without being thrown into the fire. That said, drafting Jake Long was the safe choice, which I don't think you can blame the Dolphins for.
 
425 days ago
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To be fair, the media reports said he looked good on the very first day of the three day rookie minicamp.  Tony Sporano was impressed with his command of the huddle and the confidence he displayed.  Reports about his passing ability during the first two days were mediocre.  Apparently the third day, he sucked.

As to why Henne was picked in the second round - from everything I've read it seems that there is a Michigan fan in the new Dolphins regime.  Parcells, Ireland, and Sporano were under pressure from a lot of the fans to get some QB "insurance" because so many of the blowhard analysts said John Beck looked bad last season.  Also, they like the fact that Henne is of a prototype size, has a great work ethic, and lives and breathes football.  PIS (Parcells, Ireland, and Sporano) said that was their formula for the draft -size, work ethic, and football junkie.  Henne fits that formula.  Whether he can pass the damn ball in the NFL remains to be determined.

Although John Beck is not PIS's man (he was drafted by the former Dolphins brass), he will maintain the starting position.  I watched every Dolphins game last season, including Beck's starts.   He looked great.  It was the OL that sucked.  Any QB in the league would have looked horrible behind that OL they had last season.
 
424 days ago
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You got that right Sack.No one should use last year as a yardstick of Beck's ability.

As for Henne.......I don't know what to think of him yet.It's too early to tell.

 
424 days ago
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(Edited 05/06/08 12:59PM by kizzlep)
I can't believe he hit the wall..it must have been huge!
 
424 days ago
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(Edited 05/06/08 7:08PM by blipper21)
Keeter wrote:

Yet another example of people doing "associations" WAY too much !

 

You know Miami, and many other 'talent scouts' were all thinking....

 

"OK, there's this QB from Michigan, a little under the radar, not great skills but above-average, seems smart, maybe didn't perform as well in college.....hmmmm......sounds like Tom Brady !    So, if we draft Henne, it'll be liking drafting Tom Brady !"

 

If that was the case, then every year the following people would be drafted (or traded for) regardless of their skills or the 'competition':

 

- Whoever was the shooting guard for North Carolina  (thanks to Jordan)

- Notre Dame's QB   (Montana)

- A kid from Gretzky's hometown

- The U & San Francisco's Center (Russell)

 

and so on.    Please, let's stop trying to find the next 'pedigree' through this absurd association.     And, while we're at it....let's eliminate the work 'potential' as well !   

If Parcells and other Dolphins exec's were looking for Henne to be the next Brady, I think they would have chosen him with the first pick. I know Brady was selected in the 6th round, but knowing what we know about Brady now, if you think someone is the next Tom Brady, you take him as early as you possibly can. I don't know that there's really any basis for assuming the Dolphins were making this Brady/Henne association.
 
418 days ago
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I agree with you blipper......I think the Phins were just looking for a quarterback that would be competent at this point.After Marino retired we haven't had a quarterback that could be considered a franchise player nor have we had one that did what we needed him to do when it counted.

Brady was a fluke, in that they got lucky that he just happened to become a great player without having a stellar college career.Great quarterbacks are pretty rare.I think if Henne turns out to be truly great then it will be a lucky coincidence,not a part of the plan.I for one hope he does,it's been a VERY LONG eight years.

 
 
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