Henne Vs Sanchez AGAIN?

Hopefully the on-the-field drama will match or exceed the off-season hype, for it seems this Chad Henne vs Mark Sanchez duel is picking up serious steam.  

The latest comes directly from the mouth of former Dolphins great and current Jets has-been, Jason Taylor, in the latest AFC East blog from Tim Graham/ESPN. Taylor rightly puts his support behind Sanchez, but it's hard to miss all the things he says about Sanchez are also traits of Chad Henne's work ethic, something Taylor may have seen the previous year had he bothered to ever be in a football uniform in the spring before.  

Chad Henne - Isn't it time for Dolfans to get on board?

As bad a time that Pat White has gotten from fans and the media since becoming a Miami Dolphin, it's another quarterback who has taken a non-stop bashing from both sides, despite the fact he was an under-priced eventual starter who has flashed a coolness and leadership that no other QB other than his rookie-season mentor, Chad Pennington, has shown in a Dolphins uniform for the longest time - I can't even remember back that far - even the Great One, Dan Marino, was no cucumber - he intimidated those around him, and quite often scared me as a young teenager watching from the sidelines or on TV.  Marino was excitable, flashy, a record-breaker kind of player.  

Why The Schedule Is Good For Chad Henne

by The Knight Who Says Ni!

Let's start with him getting thrown into the fire in San Diego when Pennington went down. He played okay but threw a bad pick for 6 that basically sealed the deal. Okay he got a quick lesson in how important protecting the ball is.

He seemed to learn from it by not turning the ball over once in the Bills game despite being sacked 6 times and fumbling twice, but he recovered. He rebounded in that game with an unspectacular but solid performance against the Bills and got a good home win against a division rival.

The next two games with the Jets and Saints with a bye in between are at home. So he gets to settle in and not play in a hostile environment on the road for a few weeks. He along with the entire team gets to stay in Miami for a couple more weeks. The bye comes at a good time for him to get a little more up to speed. That week could be used for the entire team to work on what everyone is doing well and continue to build our identity on both sides of the ball. Special teams could use some work too.

Yes the home crowd could be tough if Henne struggles, but it's still not nearly as significant as being on the road with crowd noise and no fan support. Unless he completely implodes at home and the crowd gets on him because the feeling is that the season is lost and he's a bust. Most fans are short-term result oriented; you're great, you suck, you're great, you suck. 

Then again they'll just blame Ted Ginn and Channing Crowder so he should be okay. :  )

I'm excited to watch the development of Chad Henne because the trifecta is high on him and he will be given every chance to succeed. This 2008 2nd round pick has the prototype size (6-3 235), arm strength and he's a decent athlete. He reminds me of Phil Simms. Jake Long reminds me of Jumbo Elliot. So I see a Parcells stamp here. Not that he drafted them because he didn't, but he coached them and he likes those types of players. The Michigan style of football is Parcells' style. Yes I know Simms didn't play at Michigan but Jumbo, Long and Henne did.

So Henne has the physical tools. Does he have the other intangibles a QB needs? 

1. Does he have the leadership (command of his troops), do they believe in him?

2. Can he read defenses and execute game plans?

3. Can he protect the ball consistently?

4. Can he handle tough, big game situations and play under pressure?

5. Can he make the players around him better?

6. Is he durable?

As we all know, there will be ups and downs with a young QB so we have to patient. At the same time Chad has to show he can do some special things. We shall see.

Let's support our young QBs and not run them out of town before they have a decent body of work to fairly evaluate them.

Go Phins!!!!

Tin's Fins Exclusive Interview - Justin Schulman, Agent

Justin Schulman is an agent with the firm Athlete's First. They represent four Miami Dolphins, and are known primarily as the agents of now super-rich NFL quarterbacks, Mark Sanchez, and Matt Cassel.

Cassel signed a six year, $63 Million contract a week ago, and Mark Sanchez signed a five year, $44.5 Million contract in June.

Athlete's first also represents Dolphins quarterbacks, Chad Henne and Pat White, as well as wide receiver Patrick Turner, tight end Anthony Fasano, and former Dolphin QB, John Beck (now with the Ravens).

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Schulman about his Dolphins clients:

Tin: Anthony Fasano is entering a contract year, after having a breakout season in 2008. Much has been made of the trade that brought Fasano and linebacker, Akin Ayodele, to the Dolphins last yer for a 4th round draft pick. It is considered by many Dolphin fans as a blockbuster move by the Trifecta. Does the Agency have any involvement in trades, and if so, at what time do the teams involved contact you?

J.S.: "The only time a team would involve the agency is if they figure the player is not in their plans and as a courtesy would give the player the right to seek a deal."

Tin: So, if the player is given this courtesy, he could tell you who they'd like to be shopped to?"

J.S.: "Exactly. But with Fasano it wasn't like that. Parcells knew what he wanted and went out and [initiated the deal]."

Tin: "Your agency has the perceived conundrum of representing both Henne and White. Do you see any conflict of interest there or do you think due to the way White will be used that his contract would not be based on the standard 2nd/3rd QB contract on the team?"

J.S.: "No, we don't see any conflicts, because an Agent has no say with who gets on the field, so we'd work as hard for each player. I know the Dolphins think extremely highly of Chad Henne, and they also like Pat White. With White's contract, all those things [how they use him, playing time, etc.] go into consideration."

Tin: "What do you think of Pat White as a person?"

J.S.: (without hesitation) "A 100% quality person. Pat is the nicest guy. He held a leadership role at West Virginia for 4 years and he held it really well. I have to tell you, those fans up there in his hometown think the world of him."

Tin: "Getting back to Chad Henne, what is it about him that made you seek him out as a client?"

J.S.: "Our firm is known for representing top quarterbacks, so we're always going to sign that [type of player]. I went to Michigan because Chad showed that he is one of those guys."

Tin: "Were you disappointed in his draft position? Do you think the team should sit him for another year or do you think he's ready to start?"

J.S.: "Obviously, you like to go as high as you can go, but we feel he fell into a good situation, and ultimately you want your players to find those good situations. Chad will be fine whenever he's called upon. Remember he started from day one as a freshman at Michigan and started four years. But Pennington has been a great QB and a great mentor to Henne and to Beck before him. If Henne sits he sits and will learn that much more."

Tin: "You recently got Patrick Turner signed to a four year deal. What's his story? He seems like the antithesis of an NFL WR as far as his personality goes."

J.S.: "Patrick is an incredibly hard worker. He's a mature, thoughtful person. The thing with Turner is unlike a lot of other wide receivers, he doesn't need to let you know every time he makes a catch."

Tin: "Can you walk us through your negotiations with the team? We always hear from the media that talks have not started even at this late juncture. It's hard to believe that a team and a player's agent wouldn't have at least done a preliminary look at the contract before the last 2 weeks of the deadline. So is what the papers say true, that Pat White, for example, has not even started talks?"

J.S.: "Every team is different, the Jets and the Bears are done and have been for awhile. Some teams like to wait and see. Some teams like to start from the bottom up and sign the late round picks one by one. From an agents side of things, we start preparing before the draft, checking numbers, etc. I can't discuss negotiations, but we have had discussions with the Dolphins regarding Pat White, setting groundwork, etc."

Tin: "Thanks for your time, Justin. Before I let you go I have one final question. When you have your agent/player meetings, what kind of snack food do you have at those meetings, and what is your specific favorite snack food?"

J.S.: "Well, with recruits we can't have any kind of snacks or food there, as its against the rules. My favorite is any kind of chocolate candy."

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So, there you have it. Thanks again to Justin Schulman for taking the time to talk to me.

It should be noted that JS mentioned the B-word about 12 times during this interview. I reminded him that Beck was no longer a Dolphin, but he still kept bringing him up. I've edited all of that out, but he had this interesting quote which I think really applies to our current QBs as well: "John Beck was brought in to be the future face of the team, but then he lost his general manager and then his head coach." Well, I think he also lost his ability to play football, but Schulman does have a point. If, heavens forbid, the Trifecta were to move on from Miami, then our Knight in Shining Benchwarming Armor, Chad Henne, may not even get a shot. It's for this reason, I hope the Trifecta finds a way to showcase Henne in the next year or so.

The Pat White contract discussions are obviously under way but also obviously are still ongoing.

I'll take 2 Chads and a Pat of White on the side, please.

Seems like in 2008, the only quarterbacks we really talked about were Chad Pennington and the 'Primitive Weapon' mostly because the media runs through New York. But lately South Florida has been getting some buzz thanks to the addition of Pat White, and the question of where that addition leaves Chad Henne. On top of that we also have the question of Pennington vs. Henne. It's as if we suddenly have a REAL competition at quarterback. But it's not a competition over who will start versus the Falcons in week 1. It's a competition over how many snaps each of the three will get during the season. Let's rack 'em up!


Chad Pennington, # 10.
The incumbent starter had the best year of his career in 2008. Unlike some of the other starters who I'd like to see increase their production from the previous year, if Pennington could just MATCH his 2008, then we'd likely be heading in the right direction. Obviously it looks like he will not have to be the only arm out there, so he would have to match those numbers with fewer snaps.

Chad Henne, # 7.
As much as I like Pennington, and as much as he deserves the starting job, I would be secretly (ok, not so secretly) happy when Henne gets to step in. The throws are so different between the two Chads. Henne's passes come out like bullets, are lower, faster, perhaps a bit wilder on the short passes but the intermediate throws get their very quickly, and the long throws don't hang long enough to catch the wind. Pennington is more accurate because of his soft touch, but Henne's give the defense less time to catch up. I honestly believe his throws allow for more yards after the catch. He wouldn't have to launch it down the field to Ted Ginn. An intermediate bullet of 15 yards would get there in Ginn's stride and allow him to keep going at full speed instead of having to slow down for the ball.

Pat White, # 6.
It's become a growing consensus that White will change his number after training camp. From what little I could find about the jersey rules, he wouldn't have to chancge it until the Monday after the last pre-season game which would be September 7th. That day also happens to be Labor Day. Since the NFL is a union-run business, the actual day might not be until the 8th, but even if the offices are open, the players won't be back to work until either the 8th or 9th, and the Atlanta game is on the 13th. So technically, the little surprise could present teams only 3 or 4 days to prepare for White as a wide receiver, if that's what the Dolphins wanted to do. It's yet to be seen.

For now the Dolphins are happy to let everyone know that Pat White is only working as a QB and that they are installing a lot of Wild-cat into their offense. The Offensive line, of course, did not get the memo and has been blabbing about how they're not going to rely on the wild-cat.
But Pat White has had some typical rookie QB struggles (learning to throw without gloves, learning the playbook, beating the buzzer), and some not so typical rookie QB struggles (hitting Parcells in the flats, thinking he was the tight-end, struggling to climb into Randy Starks' freightliner, throwing a pass to Ernest Wilford, etc.).

We really don't know the full extent of what the Dolphins have in store for the three quarterbacks, but don't be surprised if Chad Henne gets the lion's share of the work in training camp and the pre-season.

The reason is that Pennington will not need as much work, and that the Pat White experiment can't really be 'Plan A'. Meanwhile, they drafted Henne in 2008, they'll want him to be ready this year, so if he eventually takes over in 2010 he'll be 'ready' ready. And if he's not ready, they'll need to trade him ASAP to get as close to that 2nd rounder in value as they can.

I know what you're thinking, why trade Henne, he's good insurance as a back-up. That's true, but he's not going to want to remain a back-up for long, and if they extend Pennington through next year and beyond, the Dolphins would have a lot of money and draft picks sitting on the bench at the quarterback position.

Hopefully they will wait until after the 2009 season to make a decision on all three of these guys.