I've followed a lot of sports, and one thing I've noticed is that no matter how well your team does, there are going to be people who want changes in the coaching staff. But still, I think the fire Dan Henning threads are among the most crazy and ludicrous things I have ever heard.
The guy has single-handedly brought the spirit of offensive innovation into the NFL again, which is usually an incredibly conservative league. The wildcat is an old trick, but one that he resurrected and used to great effect. And this year, with the entire league having an entire offseason to prove that the wildcat was a fad and could be defensed, Henning has actually improved the wildcat by adding the extra RB and adding new wrinkles. On any given formation, we have 4-5 plays we can run out of it, and even when the defense commits to one and guesses right, we still have a reasonable shot of physically dominating them at the point of the attack.
But this thread isn't about pointing out the merits of the wildcat, just about giving props to the one calling the shots. Since he's been here, more often than not our offense has worked like a finely tuned machine. We hold the ball for 35-40 minutes of most games, we get first downs left and right, and most importantly, with both Chads in there, it seems like we've been able to convert big 3rd and even 4th downs by getting the right play in there to get what we need. Some of you disagree before the season started, but I think most of the games this season have reminded everyone of just how bad our defense really is, and our offensive efficiency alone lead us to winning games and the divison- something that hadn't happened in so long it felt like eternity.
I'm not saying that Henning makes the perfect call every time, but that is every coach in the league. And I know we haven't been perfect in things like redzone efficiency, but some of those things are related to personnel. And the thing is, just like last year, we're well on our way to improving in that area because Henning has really dialed in who our play-makers are in that area and how to use that to our advantage, both in terms of feeding them and playing off of them for deception.
People simply forget just how much Henning has gotten out of this offense that was nothing before him. Tonight's win, which came thanks to a big night from an offense that had more things going on than D-Day, really shows to me that Henning is the right man for the job down here. People get knee-jerk reactions every time there is an offensive hiccup. That's going to happen. Henning got the most out of an offense with a weak offensive line, no receiving corps to speak of, and a Qb with a weaker arm than our RB, getting a division title out them, and I think he is going to continue to get the best out of the offensive pieces we have here.
The guy has single-handedly brought the spirit of offensive innovation into the NFL again, which is usually an incredibly conservative league. The wildcat is an old trick, but one that he resurrected and used to great effect. And this year, with the entire league having an entire offseason to prove that the wildcat was a fad and could be defensed, Henning has actually improved the wildcat by adding the extra RB and adding new wrinkles. On any given formation, we have 4-5 plays we can run out of it, and even when the defense commits to one and guesses right, we still have a reasonable shot of physically dominating them at the point of the attack.
But this thread isn't about pointing out the merits of the wildcat, just about giving props to the one calling the shots. Since he's been here, more often than not our offense has worked like a finely tuned machine. We hold the ball for 35-40 minutes of most games, we get first downs left and right, and most importantly, with both Chads in there, it seems like we've been able to convert big 3rd and even 4th downs by getting the right play in there to get what we need. Some of you disagree before the season started, but I think most of the games this season have reminded everyone of just how bad our defense really is, and our offensive efficiency alone lead us to winning games and the divison- something that hadn't happened in so long it felt like eternity.
I'm not saying that Henning makes the perfect call every time, but that is every coach in the league. And I know we haven't been perfect in things like redzone efficiency, but some of those things are related to personnel. And the thing is, just like last year, we're well on our way to improving in that area because Henning has really dialed in who our play-makers are in that area and how to use that to our advantage, both in terms of feeding them and playing off of them for deception.
People simply forget just how much Henning has gotten out of this offense that was nothing before him. Tonight's win, which came thanks to a big night from an offense that had more things going on than D-Day, really shows to me that Henning is the right man for the job down here. People get knee-jerk reactions every time there is an offensive hiccup. That's going to happen. Henning got the most out of an offense with a weak offensive line, no receiving corps to speak of, and a Qb with a weaker arm than our RB, getting a division title out them, and I think he is going to continue to get the best out of the offensive pieces we have here.
