Passed early in both of Henne's starts....expect to see the same

[dolphinator86]

Both in the Bills and the Jest game we came out throwing the ball. What for to establish confidence in Henne? To see how the D would react and shift coverages and audible? I dont know that with any kind of certainty but the question is.....

Will we see much of the same this week? I do not remember the formations at the beginning of the games but with our rushing attck i would assume most teams would expect us to come out pounding the rock. So do we run or pass early if the saints are stacking the line and expecting it i see no reason why not go to PA and try to catch them off guard.

But it isnt up to me obviously.....I think allowing Henne to get into the groove of the game and feel the rush and energy of the game by passing early will do us alot of good. Nothing spectacular maybe some short passes like the Jest game get 6-8 yards and give us 2 downs to pick up 3 or 4 yards a simple task for our O-line :up:.

So what do you guys think.

 

[Pinkboy]

Passed early in both of Henne's starts

On the first drive against the Jets we ran the ball 8 times and Henne passed 3 times (one pass was by Brown)

Most of the drive was running the ball. Eight of the 12 plays were runs.

Sure the first play was a pass.. But then it was run on 8 of the next 11 plays (one of them the Ronnie pass). And Henne only passed twice for the rest of the drive.

So it's not like Henne came out slinging it play after play after play on the first drive against the jets. He passed more in the early parts of the Buffalo game.

But my guess is it was because the Bills secondary was decimated with injuries. As they amounted a lot of injuries to their secondary the week before against the Saints... three of their secondary starters got hurt. So I'm guessing that Henning wanted to pass a little more early to see how the new people in the secondary would react, trying to set up things for later in the game (if needed).

 

[finfan54]

I've noticed alot of passing on first downs.

 

[Locke]

That is the exact opposite of what we should do. The giants abandoned their run game, and look what happened to them. If we have to pass, it needs to be high-percentage throws. That clock needs to keep moving, and their offense needs to stay on the sidelines. If we come out the gate throwing, this game will get out of hand quickly...

 

[cafinfan408]

We dont know how long we are going to be able to run the ball this game I'm thinking we are going to run while we can.

 

[Roboturner913]

Yeah, I don't think coming out passing is a good idea against the Saints. Our corners are too good.

You can make yardage over the middle to the TE and slot receiver, because our linebackers can't cover. However, to do that, you first have to draw in the safety (Roman Harper) who plays like a 4th linebacker close to the line of scrimmage. And to draw him in, you have to establish the run.

Of all the teams we've played so far, the Bills have done the best job of that. They didn't run the ball all that well, but the threat of the run left their WR Josh Reed open all over the place.

 

[ciscoholgate]

I say start running. It will be hot, humid, and nasty. Let our OL set the tone for the game and use that nice draw action counter that we have had a lot of success with. Let Lousaka lead Ronnie up the middle and pund on those LBs.

Run it until they can prove they can stop it. Use PA once in awhile to keep them honest. Ball control is key, incomplete passes equals clock stoppage.

 

[Sirspud]

Nobody here is going to call for us to pass/run 60/40, but we really do need to get Henne some opportunities to throw early in the game. Against a team like the Saints, they are probably going to be able to put up some kind of points, even if we limit their opportunities by controlling the ball. I'd say the chances are very good that we are going to end up calling on Henne to mount some crucial drives to win this one. I don't think our chances of winning are that bad, but our chances of winning without a real fight are pretty slim. It's going to take a good effort from the run game and some good pass plays here and there to beat them, because their offense is powerful enough to do damage no matter how much we limit their opportunities (see Week 2).

The best thing you can do to keep an inexperienced QB cool is to have him throw some passes early in the game. That way, you aren't going to be calling on him to only throw the ball in high pressure situations, like third and long or two minute drills. You can have a run first attack and still keep your QB comfortable, they aren't mutually exclusive.

 

[ciscoholgate]

Nobody here is going to call for us to pass/run 60/40, but we really do need to get Henne some opportunities to throw early in the game. Against a team like the Saints, they are probably going to be able to put up some kind of points, even if we limit their opportunities by controlling the ball. I'd say the chances are very good that we are going to end up calling on Henne to mount some crucial drives to win this one. I don't think our chances of winning are that bad, but our chances of winning without a real fight are pretty slim. It's going to take a good effort from the run game and some good pass plays here and there to beat them, because their offense is powerful enough to do damage no matter how much we limit their opportunities (see Week 2).

The best thing you can do to keep an inexperienced QB cool is to have him throw some passes early in the game. That way, you aren't going to be calling on him to only throw the ball in high pressure situations, like third and long or two minute drills. You can have a run first attack and still keep your QB comfortable, they aren't mutually exclusive.

Ok, so we go with what you are talking about.

The Saints get the ball first, go down and get a TD. We get the ball and Henne throws two incomplete passes. Now what? He will be throwing 3rd and long anyways. I see what you're saying and that worked for the Bills game, but we need to follow the model that got us a win against a stout Jets D.

 

[Sirspud]

Ok, so we go with what you are talking about.

The Saints get the ball first, go down and get a TD. We get the ball and Henne throws two incomplete passes. Now what? He will be throwing 3rd and long anyways. I see what you're saying and that worked for the Bills game, but we need to follow the model that got us a win against a stout Jets D.

Well we could have two run plays get stuffed and then we'd be facing third down and long anyway. I see little use to discuss these hypotheticals. But based on your situation, I'd a lot rather have Henne throwing it third and long if he had gotten a couple chances to throw against the Saints defense already, rather than going in there without really seeing what type of coverage they were running or what certain players are doing.

I don't think we should follow the model of the Jets or Bills game. I think we should follow a model for the Saints. Besides, we still threw early a couple times against the Jets to establish the rest of what we were going to do on offense. It would be ludicrous not to get your young QB comfortable throwing when you are going to need him to keep pace in a potentially high scoring contest.

 

[Pinkboy]

Well we could have two run plays get stuffed and then we'd be facing third down and long anywa .

The Dolphins lead the NFL in 1st down run average.

That's why Miami is so good in 3rd down conversions, leading the league.. It's not that they are great on 3rd down conversions, it's because they run so well on first down, creating manageable 2nd and short and 3rd and short situations.

Show me a team that gets into a lot of 2nd and 5, 2nd and 6, and 2nd and 4 situations, and I will show you a team that has a high 3rd down conversion rate.

Those nice chunks of yardage running the ball on 1st down that Miami has been getting, helps your 3rd down conversion rate tremendously.

Without that success running on 1st down, Miami's 3rd down conversion rate wouldn't be close to what it is today. It all goes hand in hand, fitting like a glove.