I made the assertion in an earlier blog that the Dolphins will have to be able to sling the ball down field in order to have a realistic shot of competing when it comes to the playoffs. Henne technically has not yet played a full season, having only become the starter after Chad Pennington went down with a shoulder injury last season. Last week I jumped all over him and started to doubt whether he could be the guy to lead this team to the Super Bowl. A week has passed and although I have many of the same concerns, I am willing to let Henne evolve before my eyes (hopefully he does).
That being said, here are some of the problems I see with Henne so far. I think he holds the ball way too long and at times doesn't look too confident about where to throw the ball. Against the Vikings he will have to get rid of the ball early because Jared Allen is lining up on the other side of the ball and will be looking to wreak havoc on him. But the main thing I want to see from Henne is a little of the stuff that makes Brett Favre one of the all time greats--Henne needs to trust himself and trust his instincts. He can't be worried about making mistakes. I know the Dolphins preach no interceptions, no fumbles, and no penalties. All of that is beautiful, but if Henne is worried about making mistakes, he'll never be the playmaker we need him to be.
Henne has a strong arm and is capable of hitting the deep pass (he made Ten Ginn look great against the New York Jets). We need him to become the leader of this offense, and he will never gain that position by being the guy who makes the safe passes. He needs to be the guy who takes some risks, makes some big plays. The quarterback needs to live and die on his arm, a la Brett Favre. The Dolphins need look no further than their own past. Dan Marino trusted his arm more than anything else. He had the utmost confidence in himself. Take a look at this play just to see exactly what I mean. In this game against the New England Patriots, coming from behind and on 4th down and 5, instead of going for the safe play Marino slung the ball down field to Irving Fryar. What happens next is a thing of beauty (fast forward to the 3:43 mark to see the play I am referring to).
