Chad Henne's First Start Compared to the Greatest

Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Robert Henderson
MDBW Staff Writer
Talk about this in MDBW Forums

Tom Brady got rocked in his second career NFL start after the Patriots lost Drew Bledsoe for the season. He was playing the Miami Dolphins in a loud and packed Pro Player Stadium in 100 degree South Florida September heat. He was sacked four times, and fumbled at the one-yard line, gift-wrapping a touchdown for Jason Taylor and the Dolphins. He was only 12 for 24 (50%), and had a disappointing 86 yards passing (the third lowest total of his career—coincidently, the first and second lowest have also come against the Dolphins).

The Dolphins won that game handedly, 30-10.

Chad Henne won his first start. The Dolphins came to play for him and wollopped the Buffalo Bills 38-10. His numbers (16/22, 115 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) weren’t that flashy, but they were exactly what offensive coordinator Dan Henning and the coaching staff expected of him. By the way, Brady’s first start was equally as underwhelming—13/23, 168 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT—I simply used his second game against the Dolphins to illustrate the start of his career because it had more… let’s say… bite.

Henne made key throws on third down, and located his underneath receivers at times when no one was open down the field. Even more importantly, he did not make a mistake. He was sacked 6 times and did fumble twice, but they were both recovered by the Dolphins. His presence in the pocket was promising, and his release will become quicker as he becomes more comfortable with his decision making and defensive reads.

Dolphins fans, like many fans, are quick to judge. Henne only threw for 115 yards, and was sacked 6 times, fumbling twice. On paper this looks like a bad game, but check out the aforementioned Tom Brady’s first game numbers above. He only had 168 yards passing without a touchdown. The Patriots clobbered the Colts 44-13. The Dolphins shredded the Bills, and therefore winning overshadows everything.

The coaching staff made a clear point to center the Buffalo game plan around excellent defensive play and a strong running game. Do not expect this to change. The Jets come to town next week with a young quarterback, and like Miami, will want to run the ball and not force Mark Sanchez into any tough throws. On the other side of the ball, Rex Ryan will want his defense to do just that to Chad Henne. The defensive game plan next Monday night for both teams is simple: stop the run and force the opposing quarterback to win the game. The question is who can execute it better?

More to come about the Jets game later… Meanwhile the table below shows you how many of the greatest quarterbacks of today and of the past fared in their first NFL start.

Click here to comment on this post.