Henning: Henne just as good as Matt Ryan

There are grumblings in some circles -- among fans, not anywhere inside the Dolphins organization -- that maybe the Dolphins would have done well to pick Matt Ryan with the first overall pick.

Ryan, who went to the Atlanta Falcons with the third overall pick, is playing pretty well now. His projected stats indicate he's on pace for a 3,000-yard season.

But the Dolphins are quite happy with their pick of Jake Long No. 1 and Chad Henne later, thanks very much. That's because the Dolphins think they got a franchise left tackle and a franchise quarterback in Chad Henne in the second round.

"We think Chad Henne can play just as well as [Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco] can," Dolphins offensive coordinator Dan Henning said just minutes ago. "I'll tell you that right now. I think when he gets his opportunity he will play well. Every time we've given him an opportunity, he has played well. We also like Chad Pennington. So I think the quarterback situation here as it stands right now is better than it was Feb. 1st. I'll tell you that right now."

I believe if Brett Favre had not changed his mind about retiring, Henne would be Miami's starter now. How? Well, it would mean Pennington woul dhave stayed with the Jets and Henne was beating out both Josh McCown and John Beck in the preseason.

Henning didn't want to go there today but did say, "Without being obtuse, if we didn't have our No. 1 quarterback, we'd be starting our No. 2 quarterback. And Henne is our No. 2 quarterback."

So do you agree Henne could be as good as Ryan?

Comments

[Canefan86]

First.

Without a doubt. he is a stud. great pocket presence, big and strong. A little experience and he will be awesome starting. Id also rather him wait to start when we have a better receiving corps. =)

[James Phin Up!]

Henne won't be 'just as good' as Matt Ryan. He will be better than Ryan because of how he is learning to be a pro QB. Look at it this way Henne is learning from the most accurate passer ever. And Ryan has to learn all of it first hand.

Phin Up!

[Crocodile]

Armando !

Jayson Foster is a Steeler now. Do you know something about other former 2008-Dolphins ? It would be interesting to know something about them .....

Gracias !

[Rich]

Ryan's doing great for a Rookie. He's tied with Pennington on TD's and yards.

Pennington, though, has a 98.8 QB rating... the likes of which we haven't seen since 1984 (24 years ago).

In the one series in AZ, he had zip on the ball and scored a touchdown with efficiency.

I just wish he had a double digit number, the last time someone had seven "Feeley" that did not work out so well. The last time we had "9" before beck we had "Fiedler" Both sucked...

[NYScott]

I think it's too early to tell who the better QB will be but Henning is right. We got a starting (probable) pro bowl caliber LT and our QB of the future. Henne has a strong arm, quick release, and seems to be a very smart kid but the thing I like most about him is his presence. He is all business so far and seems like he's going to be a great leader. His attitude in the huddle reminds me a little bit of how Marino was. A no nonsense QB who isn't afraid to call people out when they mess up. He has the make up and what I believe to be the right coaches in charge of his future. Learning from Pennington is the icing on the cake.

[finman72]

I feel for the first time, since Dan Marino. The Dolphins finally got a GREAT bunch of quality quarterbacks. Before that all we had was a bunch of LOSERS. GO FINS!!!!!!

[Sean McNally]

While I can't say that I have Henne fever like so many here do. I will give credit to the Dolphins organization for really drafting well and turing around the mentality of that team. I am a Falcons fan and I will say that Ryan is my favorite QB in the league due to his performance and the fact he is my teams QB. I say we let the chips fall where they will and for now know that Ryan and Henne are two good players with a bright future ahead of them.

[AK]

It is way to early pass judgement on Henne at this point. After the pre-season and all we heard out of camp, it appears he is on the right track. I also agree that having him sit behind a guy like Pennington for a year or two is only going to make him that much better in the long run.

As far as Ryan is concerned, yea he is having a great year for a rookie QB who was thrown into what was a tough situation in Atlanta. However, not once has it crossed my mind that we passed on him for Jake Long. Securing a potential pro-bowl left tackle to anchor your offensive line for years to come is almost as important as drafting a franchise QB. We may have just got both of those guys in the same draft.

Not too bad if you ask me.

[Mo Gar]

Media, always trying to start something.

[bangee]

I was one of the chad hene haters but given what he has done in the preseason and the arizona game im pretty confident were in good hape for the future.
chad henne reminds me of a guy who plays for the steelers .

[Jimbo]

Matty Ice looks very poised right now. He has displayed good decision making skills, has a good grasp of the offense, and throws a BEAUTIFUL LOOKING deep ball. If Henne can be 2/3 of what Matt Ryan is, I'll say we did OK with that second round pick.

Moving onto WR and CB...

Does anyone remember this same talk about TrentGreen mentoring our QB of the future John Beck?

[Canezitis]

ok,that's actually a dumb question.how in the world would we know if henne is just as good or better or worse?he hasn't played a regular season snap yet so can even compare.my opinion from what i've seen in college and pre season is that henne will be ok when his chance comes,but you never know for sure until he plays for real on sundays.so again-dumb question.

[Tinshaker]

Crocodile, good info there, but if you're referring to just 08 draftees/UFAs I think he's the one of the few who isn't still with the organization. Mulligan, Hilliard, Armstrong and Parmele are on the PS; Murphy, Merling, Langford, Long, Bess, Henne are on active roster and Thomas is on IR. Am I missing anyone? Heerspink was on PS but got deleted as did Toribio.

As for other people who got cut, Mauia, Grigsby, Joey Thomas, Junior Glymph, et al are all unemployed. To my knowledge the only 2008 pickup to leave and be employed as of today is Keith Davis. He is only on ST for Dallas.

As for those who left from 2007 this is what I know:
Jason Taylor has been injured half the season and has one sack and 4 deflections but only 11 tackles.
Zach Thomas in a 2 down role leads Dallas in tackles and has been his usual spectacular self.
Justin Peelle is not getting the ball much in Atlanta since Ryan only throws to one receiver.

[Tinshaker]

Canezitis, Henne played in the 4th Q against Arizona and led a TD drive. Forgot about that? It was our only highlight in that game.

[FZB]

armando, besides this being a very stupid question on your part , how can we know ???? henne has not even been on the field other than for a short time at arizona , only time will tell...but the tuna and friends know what they are doing ....I trust them...

[Don Strock]

I never got a fair shake with the Dolphins. Did you see me weave my magic against the Chargers in the January '82 AFC playoff? I was magnificent. All this talk about Henne and Penne and Beck and Schmeck - screw it all! I'm the greatest Dolphins QB of all time - not that psycho from Pitt who couldn't even master the play action fake!

If the Dolphins really were ambitious, they'd sign Joe The Plumber as their 2nd string QB. He's such a good plumber he doesn't even need a license!

[pancanfinfan]

I absolutely agree with Hennings assessement. Everytime henne was given opportunity he delivered. I can't help but think that had he been given a chance to start he would have been as good as matt ryan---given the same recievers. unfortunately, the dolphins need to address the recieving corp issue in the next free agency period and draft

[Factron the Emotionless Robot]

Contrary to an incorret statement in this blog, Miami Dolphins qarterback Chad Henne has played in a NFL regular season game (during 4th quarter against the Arizona Cardinals. The significance of said playing time is subject to opinion, but the statement that he did not play is incorrect.

[Gordon]

Obviously we can't have any real idea how good Henne can be until he has played a significant number of meaningful regular season games. Henning obviously gets to see a lot more of him in practice and should be a better judge of a good quarterback, but on the other hand he is not exactly an unbiased source of information. Can't really imagine him saying Henne will never be anywhere near as good as Ryan could you? Plus although this entry may be refer to Ryan, Henning actually compared him to Ryan and Flacco. And good as Ryan has been as a rookie starter, Flacco has struggled (1TD, 7INTs). So being described as every bit as good as Flacco (at this stage in his career anyway) isn't exactly a ringing endorsement! Basically as again after the 2009 season and maybe we can have a real discussion.

[AndyP]

one way or the other he is on the bench.

[Chris S.]

No, I don't agree with Henning because he is guessing on what Henne would do and Ryan has put forth evidence on the field.

He's just defending the personnel guys on this. The Dolphins blew it with Ryan.

[Master]

Chad Henne holds the records for most weeks as starting QB ranked in the top 25 (44 out of 48 weeks), most victories against ranked teams as the starting qb - 24, most nationally televised games as the starting qb, most passing yards at Michigan (he passed Tom Brady), most Td's at Michigan (passed Tom Brady) and he put 4 receivers into the NFL: Breaston, Manningham, Avant & Braylon Edwards. Matt Ryan didn't play anyone in college. And John Clayton and all of the others that said Joe Flacco was so good never even saw him play. Chad Henne was the mvp of the senior bowl: Ryan and Flacco both folded.

[Master]

Lastly it was public knowledge before the draft that Henne was the guy Parcells coveted. And Parcells is the Master no?

[MartinK]

Did Henne put them into the NFL or did they put Henne into the NFL? Besides the listed receivers, he had Jake Long and Mike Hart on offense. He clearly has a strong arm and is clearly more capable than Beck, but Ryan has an "it" factor. He has the ability to lead his team to victory and his players believe he will lead them. I don't see that "it" factor with Henne. It is good for Henne to sit and watch, but he's only seeing how to play offense within 15 or 20 yards of the line of scrimmage. It's good experience, but don't confuse Pennington as a great example of a quarterback. Penny can throw accurately, anticipate and take what the D gives him. BUT,he can't dictate what a D will do - like top tier QB's can do. I believe Henne can be a quality QB but Matt Ryan will be/is special.

[Bill Parcells]

Why you guys make it harder?
If somebody ask "do you think Henne will be good?" and i answer "yeah, he'll be better than Matt Ryan". that's just an opinion, we know Ryan has proven a little more than Henne in the NFL.

[Master]

I have nothing against Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco or even Chad Pennington. Maybe Henne doesn't have the 'it' factor, every football coach that's ever seen him is mistaken. If Matt Ryan had gone to a national powerhouse maybe he would have been the four year starter and hold all of those records. Or maybe Favre could have gone back to Atlanta for his final 2 years and then Henne would have the stats now and Ryan would be the future. Or maybe Flacco could have won the job at a mediocre school like Pitt and would not have had to transfer to Deleware A&T and then all of the journalists that touted him would actually have seen him play before they started talking him up. Anyway I'm going to try and enjoy the game this weekend and I hope you do also. Maybe the Ravens will be fooled by the back-door wildcar formation.

[Ben]

I see the arm and vision promise in him when he plays. If this coaching staff can tweak the playbook around him the way they have with Pennington, I see him playing just as well as Ryan and Flacco. He's just missing Crabtree ;)

[pmorris]

We wouldn't be having this conversation if Cam had selected Brady Quinn over Ginn, whose shining ability seems to be fair catching the ball wherever the defense happens to be. Oh wait, we picked up that 27-yr old Beck from BYU that year who has passed for....has run for...has won...never mind.

[Atlanta Dolfan]

Henne is pure speculation at this point as he remains untested. Ryan is proving himself now so he is way ahead and will have proven himself. Henne remains a question so too early to tell if Miami made mistake in not taking Ryan. Sure looks like a future franchise QB. He is taller than Henne which makes a hugh difference.

[ethan]

The front office needs to be focusing on bringing in some talent for the receiving corps so that when Henne is ready, he has some playmakers to get the ball to. Something tells me that while Ryan has been very impressive, he would be having a lot more trouble if his receivers were struggling the way ours have been. (obviously excluding camarillo)

[rswgoforit]

Both Henne & Ryan had the advantage of playing in pro-style offenses. (Thank goodness Henne graduated before Rich Rodriguez became Michigan's coach.)

I agree that Brett Favre's unretirement opened the door for us to get a veteran presence with Chad Pennington at QB.

Matt Ryan is in a situation where he was going to win the starting job with the QB's the Falcons had. If the Dolphins didn't get Pennington, Chad Henne would be starting.

The Falcons are fortunate that their big FA acquisition Michael Turner is working out fine. That takes a lot of pressure off Matt Ryan to carry his team. In addition, Roddy White and Michael Jenkins are better receivers than what we have with Ted Ginn, Derek Hagan, Earnest Wilford, and our only reliable WR Greg Camarillo.

My point is that both Ryan and Henne are in two different situations. In due time, I believe Henne will be the franchise QB. In the meantime he has the luxury of learning the game from Chad Pennington and David Lee. And it gives the Dolphins time to draft and/or acquire the WR's they badly need for Henne to work with.

Both QB's have that aggressive, go-get-em, go for it kind of mentality. John Beck was never that kind of QB. He'd fit well being under a Cam Camisole kind of coach. Henne is a Tuna kind of QB.

[dre]

um wasn't pennington aquired after the draft so how r we thanking brett farve again?

[Willi Chirino]

dre, favre decides to unretire. Green Bay trades Favre to Jets. Jets cut Pennington. Pennington signs with Miami.

Thank you Brett.

[Master]

If Favre had signed with the Falcons instead of Jets then Pennington would still be on the Jets. The Falcons drafted Favre 20 years ago.

[PT]

No, Pennington wasn't acquired after the draft. He was acquired after the Jets let him go after they signed Brett Favre.

[PT]

Damn that was a late response by me.

[PT]

Henne is good and will be a lot better in time. Ryan is good and will gets lots of experience. Both are franchise QBs but one cost more.

[Scott]

I for one, being a Dolphin fan my entire life (42 years) see's great promise in Henne. Although the question is speculatory, aren't they all? Look, Henne played on the largest stage in the country every week against big time schools. Michigan's stadium holds 108,000 minimum; they're adding on to seat 115,000. He played every week in front of more people than any Superbowl will ever be. The kid won't crack; I believe he would thrive under pressure; leaders always do. My opinion; Henne is the "Jay Cutler" of the draft class. Best of the bunch, without a doubt! He will be the franchise for many years to come!! Huge arm and great release, kind of reminds me of someone else...

[kurtiss]

Henne cannot touch Matt Ryan in talent. everyone forgets how he was benched last year a few times.... Henne is way overrated

[beerphin]

Matt Ryan is decent he reminds me of a weaker jake plummer... Henne will have the greater career... it looks like Ryan still has face acne LOL he will fade falcons will fall and the fans will cry Vicks name in their sleep

he reminds me of a kid i went to middle and high school with when I was a teen. Can't believe he went as high as 3rd in the draft i mean Boston College... really? Henne played at Michigan ... there can be no comparison

[jack maraacio]

chad henne was not a good pick at last years draft
i think we should have gone after defensive tackles and ends as well as lnebackers

i think we would be better with
making our defense the talk of the league then in 2009 after we shore up the secondary start building the offense
our qb of the future should come from the 2011 draft after all the pieces are in place.

just like the steelers did with big ben

imagine if we had selected dorsey and laws dt
ellis and davis de
adibi spencer and ruud as linebackers
and nakamura and horton in the secondary

now thats the start of a great defense.

[Stephanie]

Um, Kurtiss? I assume you never watched Michigan football. Those of us who are avid Wolverines know that Chad Henne was never benched in the four years he started at UM. He did miss several full and half games during his senior season due to two different injuries. However, he played through them on several occasions and churned out wins at Illinois, Northwestern, and Michigan State in spite of them. Please get your facts straight before you make those types of comments about players.

As far as who will be better, my bet is on Henne. As several have stated, he played on the biggest college football stage for four years, learning how to deal with and excel in spite of the tremendously high expectations that are placed on every single football player in Ann Arbor. I am disappointed that he is not starting as I think this offense, especially the passing game, would be a lot more explosive if he were at the helm. He has the talent and would learn quickly on the field. I am sure Pennington is a great mentor, but he could do that just as well from the sidelines.

Everyone's love affair with Matt Ryan is humorous in my opinion--besides Flacco, what rookie quarterback from this draft can you possibly compare him with at this point to say that he is the best? Flacco has been overrated since early-on in the draft and I hope he quickly becomes the bust that I thought he was. He had to transfer to a Division IAA team to even play in college, has everyone forgotten about this? Time will tell, and I think it will be interesting.

kurtiss wrote: "Henne . . .was benched a few times last year."

That's ridiculous. Henne was never "benched." He was Michigan's starting QB for four years. He missed a lot of PT last year because of injuries, including a knee injury that kept him out early in the season, then a separated shoulder, ultimately aggravated by partial paralysis in his throwing arm caused by a freak misplacement of a pain shot that damaged a nerve. Despite these injuries he gutted it out and played about half the season, but when he was taken out of games it was because his injuries kept him from playing. Really the only time all season he was fully healthy was the bowl game against Florida in which he outplayed last year's Heisman winner Tim Tebow. That's the real Chad Henne. The guy's a stud, and Miami was lucky he fell to the second round.

[BOB]

WE DRAFT JAKE LONG AND THE GUY HE PROTECTED CHAD HENNE.THAT WAS GREAT DRAFTING.HENNE IS THE FUTURE OF MIAMI FOR YEARS TO COME.WHEN HENNE IS ON THE FIELD DO U NOTICE THE OFFENSE AND GINN HOW THEY ALL CONNECT.AND HENNE THROWS DEEP WITH ACURACY.I CANT WAIT TILL HE STARTS.PHIN NATION

[DENNIS L BOWERS]

i agree Ben, Crabtree would be wonderful

[dumdedumdumduh]

"So do you agree Henne could be as good as Ryan?"

Absolutely...IF Henne plays as good or better as Ryan has then he is as good as Ryan is Mando.

Kind of simple isnt it?

[gafinfan]

Face it Parcells blew it big time!! Oh, and by the way the statement was "Hes better than Ryan AND FLACCO." Well since they are on the field, and he is not, Henning just put his foot in his mouth!!

Maybe Henne is good, maybe not, but we won't know that until the guy starts AND WINS!!!!! They have while he sits!!