By now you have probably calmed down somewhat after that extremely frustrating and humiliating shutout against the Bears. No matter what you think about this year's team and its players, the show must go on.
The season is not over yet, and the Miami Dolphins are back to .500 with 6 games left to play. It is going to be considerably harder to make the playoffs after that loss, but the Dolphins still have a shot.
Because the Dolphins still have a shot, my question is: Which quarterback gives the Miami Dolphins a better shot? Chad Henne or Tyler Thigpen?
Normally, after a 16-0 loss you would expect the losing team's starting quarterback to be on the bench for the next game, but this loss is not completely Tyler Thigpen's fault.
Thigpen hardly had any blocking at all Thursday night, and was constantly forced to scramble with the ball. Yes, Tyler Thigpen is a good scrambler, but no quarterback can be successful while on the run for every single play of the game. He never had time to get settled, and it showed in the Miami Dolphins inability to score a single point.
Despite all of Thigpen's struggles, he only threw one interception that was tipped on the line, and had a pretty good completion percentage going 58% by completing 17 out of 29 passes. He was able to be moderately successful while the rest of the offense was crumbling down around him.
Chad Henne, on the other hand, has had great blocking this season, but poor play calling and a pathetic running game have held him back. Henne isn't nearly as fast as Thigpen, and he hardly ever scrambles unless there is a wide-open hole in front of him. What Henne has going for him is his arm strength. If Miami's offensive coordinator Dan Henning were capable of calling the correct plays, then Henne could be a dangerous downfield threat.
Henne has a bunch of weapons on the Miami Dolphins, but he is never allowed to use them to his full abilities because he is always forced to throw short passes. He also has a knack for throwing interceptions, but many of them are because he has to constantly throw the ball short distances, which isn't one of his strengths. After a lot of the shorter throws he is forced by Dan Henning to make, he is bound to misfire every once in a while, resulting in an interception.
If I were the Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator choosing whom to start, I would put Chad Henne in there. Henne has an incredible arm and more experience in this offense than Thigpen.
If Dan Henning finally allows Henne to air the ball out we could see a major improvement in this Miami Dolphins ability to score. Not only would passing the ball turn out better for the Dolphins, but running the ball would work better, too. Defenses will be more concerned with covering receivers and less concerned with stopping the running game, which can really open things up for the backs.
All of this is assuming that Henne is healthy enough, though. I have not heard any indications about whether he will be able to play next week, but I am assuming that the extra rest he gets because of a Thursday night game will be enough to recover. He also had his pads and jersey on Thursday night, which tells me he could have played if it was absolutely necessary.
That's all I've got for now. Thanks for reading, and please leave a comment below with your predicted starter. I would like to hear what you think.
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