The dynamics of the White-Henne competition

I cannot begin to tell you how many e-mails have flooded my Outlook box since the draft, wondering about the dynamics of the looming Chad Henne vs. Pat White competition.

Can I give you one man's opinion?

Don't get too worried about this competition deal. Having witnessed only four rookie minicamp practices I can tell you Pat White has a loooong way to go before he can compete with Henne. And, by the way, Henne has a loooong way to go before he can be considered an NFL starting quarterback.

Thank God for Chad Pennington!

Pennington should be the starter at the beginning of the 2009 season, assuming he is healthy. Where things go beyond that will be determined by Miami's record (are the Dolphins contending in 2009 or so far out of the picture they need to look to 2010?), how well Pennington is playing, and how fast Henne and White are progressing.

But let us forget 2009 for the moment. It is an unquestionable fact the Dolphins are expecting a quarterback transition prior to the 2010 season. It will be either Henne or White if Bill Parcells' plan is followed. I still believe it will be Henne.

Why? He has the superior arm. He has the superior pocket presence. He is not as mobile as White, but neither is he immobile. And I have never seen him overmatched by any situation or circumstance during his 12 months in Miami. 

White? You have to understand I've only seen four practices so this will be a fluid and too-early call on a rookie. But unless he has an arm transplant, it isn't likely to get a whole lot stronger. And unless he's about to get a leg extension, he isn't likely to get a whole lot taller.

His arm is good enough, but not great. He sailed quite a few passes during the practices this weekend. His mid-range and short-range throws are excellent. His ability to read and recognize was decent, considering he learned the play only hours before running them. But his deep outs and 9-routes (deep up the sideline) throws were unimpressive to me. They get there, but not with the velocity of a Henne pass.

That does not guarantee White cannot become a better quarterback than Henne and a fine quarterback overall. Arm strength is only part of the equation for an NFL quarterback. But off the blocks, White is behind on both his size (which is important to staying healthy and seeing over the blockers and rushers) and arm strength.

If you are wondering why I haven't mentioned Henne's one-year advantage over White in experience, it's because in 2010 that might not be a factor. White, you see, will see more game action this season than Henne if Pennington continues playing well. Absent a change at the starting job, Henne will sit while Pennington starts. And White will play more than Henne as he contributes to the WildPat spread option package.

Many of you were thrown off by general manager Jeff Ireland's point that White will be exclusively a quarterback at first and would compete with Henne in the future. What about that is troubling? This is what he must say. This is how it must be.

Can you imagine picking a guy in the second round and setting the ceiling at playing only in the WildPat package? The last time that happened was when Cam Cameron announced Ted Ginn Jr., the ninth overall pick, was going to be a special teams guy. It's a disastrous approach.

So Ireland set the bar high for White and, in so doing, gave the rookie something great to shoot for while also sending a message to Henne. The message: You've not won the 2010 starting job yet so don't get all comfortable and cocky.

The Dolphins win all around with their current situation. Henne is motivated. White is motivated. And the team has a great competition in the offing.

If Henne wins the competion, which I predict he will, the Dolphins have a promising young QB as the starter and a backup quarterback, who also has promise but will not be simply holding the clipboard waiting for an opportunity. The backup will be contributing (hopefully) in the WildPat spread option package the Dolphins hope to eventually unleash.

If White wins the competition, the Dolphins have a mobile quarterback with a good enough arm that is obviously so intelligent and sound that he beat out a more experienced player. And the Dolphins still have waiting in the wings a hungry Henne who will be doing all in his power to reclaim something he will see as being rightfully his.

We have a term for this in my country. Win. Win.

By the way, to answer some reader questions, yes, the 2010 Dolphins probably would want a veteran quarterback added to fill out the QB corps. That experienced QB could be Pennington if he's willing to accept a diminished role. Or it could be some other player if Pennington finds an opportunity to compete for a starting job elsewhere. Pennington is currently unsigned for 2010.

Comments

[gary 1 1/2 of the duo]

f you soiledbottom aka diego, don't use my name

[Dfan]

who wants one moe poem ? let me know

[Dfan]

Nice try fake Dfan... get your own name you butt wipe.

[Diego.Monta]

sorry ,i signed Dfan,my name Diego Montoea,

[x]

nice try diego aka Dfan,stop faking my name dirt.

[finfan17]

where's the new poem rex ryan sucks ? we are wating.

[gary 1 1/2 of the duo]

cara de pito go patz no mames stop using my name.

[Dfan]

spoiledbottom speak spanish ? i thuoght he has a hood.oh i see ,he's using google on the flay

[cuban menace]

Ok Guys, the menace is on line, whats the 1st Q for the cuban?

[Smoky McBandit]

Phin Fan,

Yes, you can only bring your 3rd string QB in in the 4th quarter or your 1st and 2nd stringers cannot come back in. That should result in Penne being 1st string, White being 2nd string, and Henne being 3rd string ON GAME DAY. Not because White "beat out" Henne, but because of the rules. If Penne went down, I think you end up bringing in Henne, sitting White and his Wildcat formations, and maybe running the Wildcat with the same personnel as last year (with Henne taking Penne's spot).

The more interesting question is whether you have to have a player listed on the roster as a "Quarterback" in the game for every offensive play. If you don't have to, you could list White as a running back or receiver and still have him run the wild cat as a quarterback without running into the 3rd stringer rule. Then you have White where Ronnie was last year, Ronnie where Ricky was, and either Ricky or Turner (or Some Other Receiver Not Ginn) where Pennington was, depending on down and distance. That would be tough to defend AND would give the ability to bring in Henne if you had to without having to sit White. In addition, you wouldn't have to have a QB out at winger getting decapitated on Wildcat plays. I suspect that you do have to have a "QB" in on every play. Otherwise, why did we leave Penne in to get creamed on every Wild cat play last year?

Now, the down side is that, by listing White as a receiver you end up having to take one of the other receivers off the gameday roster. Same problem with running back. So basically you lose your fourth running back (Hilliard or Cobbs) or your fifth receiver (Camarillo, Bess, Turner, Hartline, London - whoever the last Other Receiver Beside Ginn would be).

Now we see the reason for wanting to list White as a QB. The "emergency third QB" roster spot is basically this unused spot that just sits on the roster and is never used. So if you can get White to be competent at running the base offense, you can tuck Henne away at the third spot in a "break in emergency" situation and enable you to operate the 2-QB system. Personally, if a lot of teams start going to 2-QB systems, I wouldn't be surprised to see the rules committee go to a 54 man roster in the future.

[jepito]

who's the soiled man cuban ?

[cuban menace]

Gort, heres a Q for you, are you a robot or a cyborg, or a automtone? what exactly are you?

[jepito]

yesssssssss, cuban in the house

[Fagatron]

i have a question for the Cuban..
Permission to speak.

[cuban menace]

I Hear that chad (neck fat)henne will win the # 2 q.b spot because he sports a size 96 neck, what are your thoughts?

[cuban menace]

Of Course fagatron , shoot a Q at the menace.

[Diego]

cuban, would you like to have a play date with your biggest fan soon ?

[Fagatron]

dear cubes
if optimus prime was gayy, would there be more that meets the eye?

[cuban menace]

Sorry Diago, but the menace doesnt swing that way..( not that theres anything wrong with that.)

[Dfan]

Fagatron, where were you born ?

[Diego]

cuban ,i can write you a nice poem about jets and us ? did you read my poems today ?

[Fagatron]

i come from a place called modore..

[Diego]

modore in which truck ?

[cuban menace]

Yes Diago , your poems are good.

[cuban menace]

Iam Sorry i misspelled your name.

[Nathaniel Dodsworth]

Some observations:

1) Conservatives romanticize the past. Liberals romanticize the future.

2) Millions of Americans grew up thinking that the typical English accent was that of Cary Grant. In reality, Englishmen often commented that they NEVER came across ANYONE in England who spoke like Cary Grant.

3) Making love to a woman with breast implants is like making love to a robot. There is something inhuman about no natural sag.

4) I don't feel badly for the 1991 Miami Dolphins who missed the playoffs because of a heartbreaking loss to the Jets on the final game of the season. Miami finished 8-8, hardly worthy of postseason. I DO feel sorry for the 1975 and 1977 Dolphins which both finished 10-4, and missed the playoffs each season because of tie-breakers that worked against them.

5) Why is it that I find round eyes so beautiful, yet I find Eurasian women to be so beautiful, too?

[sammo]

i have a question for the multiple name bloggers what do you all do for a living? seems to me if you put that much effort in blogging and getting out your ideas then you should be quite successful in life. or lives i should say.

[cuban menace]

I hear the tuna tipped the scales today at 358 lbs, hes lost 11 lbs, mondo check this out would you?

[Gopats]

Mr Nathaniel Dodswroth, i knew Cary grant,Cary Grant was my friend and gary was speaking like an english man.mr Nathaniel Dodsworth you NO Cary Grant

[Gopats]

OK ,Nathaniel...i know ........Cary Grant was a friend of mine

[monkey]

I have a pet pig called sammo. SHUT UP!!!

[Gopats]

sammo, i used the name MONKEY BEFORE and rex rayn sucks just used it to make trouble. after i defended armando last night he started using my names to insult every one.

[sammo]

i think i touched a nerve. bubbles go back to the ranch. mr. jackson misses you. here i even bought you a set of knee pads. and a bottle of scope.

[cuban menace]

Nathanal, Its great to hear your mussings, and your right about euraisian women.

[gary 1 2/2 of the duo]

mercy.soiledbottom aka diego aka rexryansucks and voldomore IS out in force w/ his deadly fumes

[Gopats]

the cuban mence, there's any chance Henne will be good at number 2 or you think that pat white can grab his job ?

[sammo]

there once was a man named monkey whose wife was incredibly chunky he went to go down passed out like a clown because her stuff was so funky.

[Fagatron]

cubes do u have any info on gay south florida area?

[cuban menace]

Go Pats, hows tom ( mr. super bowl) coming along with rehab?, i know he scored big with his super model wife, guys gotta be the luckest guy since the fat cats of A.I.G scored there millions and used there golden parashutes to retirement.

[Gaypats]

Menace if White wins hennes backup role can u see miami tradeing henne.

[gary]

that was the fake sammo.

[duece]

That is funny sammo. Oink Oink

[Gopats]

menace, soiled bottom out in force, he just posted as gaypats.

[Mr Culito]

Mr pessimism is on the radio today replacing Sedano.

Asking if we have Star Power? Worried about 12 Free agents next year.... Maybe he should have read some columns in the sentinel explaining how Parcell is drafting to fill those voids! Do you think its a coincidence we have Haynos, Nalbone and the tryout TE in here because Martin and Fasano will be FA next year?

I dont care if we dont make the playoffs this year. This team is trying to be set up to be competitive for 5-7 years in a row starting in 2010. We don't need one year wonders loading up on Stars...

Still crying about Boldin after the draft. If he is so hot, why didn't the other 16 teams that needed a receiver jump on him?

Maybe you are better suited covering the Pats who are your heroes.

I dont expect you to be a homer but maybe less depressing would be nice.

[cuban menace]

Fagatron, no buddy , i live in the city so nice they named it twice, and no i know nothing bout gay life, not that theres anything wrong with that.

[REX]

cuban, fagatron is voldomore

[monkey]

fagatron, did you find your papa yet ?

[RexRyanSucks]

any gay bars in ny ny cuban ?

[sammo]

no fake sammo . just me the one and only sammo. guess my rhyme struck too close to home gary?

[Dfan]

i second that

[Fagatron]

no... i dont like potatoes, why?

[SpoiledBootom]

that was the fake gary fake sammo

[SpoiledBootom]

sammo, shut up

[Mr Culito]

Dfan, what do you second?

[Fagatron]

Mr culito u have great insight, And great information that is extremely relevent, until we go through an uninjured looseing season under the tuna, i really dont have any complains yet. His track record speaks for itself.
I am /Da real VOldomre/Cuban Marika/ Jet in Lube if any of u guys need to know.

[Optimus Prime]

We meet again Fagatron

[SpoiledBootom]

Mr cuilto,i second rexryansucks question to the menace.

[Fagatron]

Sir Optimus how may i be of service.

[Optimus Prime]

Fagatron, go and tape the pats training camp and debrief our fin staff at once.

[x]

thank you faga