In his first two years, the Dolphins’ Chad Henne has been a more accurate passer who has thrown for more yards and been statistically better than the New York Jets’ Mark Sanchez.
Sanchez has completed 54.4 percent of his passes for 5,735 yards, 29 touchdowns, 33 interceptions and a 70.2 passer rating. Henne has completed 61.1 percent of his passes for 6,246 yards, 27 touchdowns, 33 interceptions and a 75.3 passer rating.
One of them is viewed as a Sexy Winner; the other is viewed as a Boring Failure.
How?
Why?
Let’s rewind for a moment. There was another University of Michigan quarterback who was once unproven and drafted outside of the first round. But his coach trusted him in an uncommon way. The team got a lucky bounce on a rule that has since been fixed and stumbled to the Super Bowl, where it found itself tied late against the heavily favored Rams. Up in the broadcast booth, an old champion coach named John Madden implored Bill Belichick to run out the clock and play for overtime. This was wise with a young quarterback, he told the nation.
But that’s not how Belichick does business. On the biggest stage, in the biggest moment, Belichick trusted a quarterback who had thrown only one touchdown pass the entire postseason. One. And that’s the moment that Tom Brady became Tom Brady and Belichick became Belichick and the Patriots became the Patriots.
Quarterbacks, not unlike children, are products of their environment, their upbringing. They need to be nurtured when young and surrounded by support (running game, solid receivers, protection, faith). This is how confidence is built in just about any workplace, by having bosses who trust you and help you and groom you before you are ready. You have people who believe in you before you believe. Then you start stacking successes atop each other. Then you start to believe for yourself.
Compare that with how Henne has been raised here. First, just before Bill Parcells fled the scene of the crime, a couple of reporters close to Parcells reported that Parcells was very disappointed with Henne.
It wasn’t Parcells’ fault, see? The legendary Parcells, who hasn’t won a playoff game in more than a decade, obviously did his job before quitting. It isn’t his fault that the most important position in sports hadn’t been filled. It is Henne’s fault for not growing, for not being what the genius knew he should and would be. This had to make Henne feel very good, very supported, as Parcells fled the premises out the back door.
Once Parcells left, so too did the idea of job security among Dolphins management types. So what did his left-behind friends do? Ran for cover. They tried to save their own jobs by putting in Chad Pennington. This made Henne cry.
His bosses, rather obviously, rather publicly, didn’t believe in him. Gave up on him. This is the kind of thing that happens when people work like they are afraid to lose their jobs. It is hard to see clearly when scared, and it is hard to exhibit vision when you aren’t seeing clearly. The blueprint doesn’t get followed when it is in shaking hands.
You can yell and scream at the robot at quarterback if it makes you feel better.
Or you can wonder about the short-circuiting program around which he has been built.
