Week 9 QB projections   •  MIA Stats

QB Chad Henne, Miami Dolphins

HT: 6-2, WT: 230, Born: 7-2-1985, College: Michigan, Drafted: Round 2

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Stats and Week 9 Projection

WK	OPP	RES	CMP	ATT	PYD	Y/A	PTD	INT	RSH	YD	Y/R	TD	FPT
7	vs NO	L, 34-46	18	36	211	5.9	0	2	0	0		0	7
8	at NYJ	W, 30-25	12	21	112	5.3	1	0	3	-5	-1.7	0	10
SEASON TOTAL			74	124	771	6.2	4	3	6	11	1.8	0	54
9	at NE	PROJ	17	30	156	5.2	0.9	1.2	1	1	1.0	0	10

Week 9 Injury Status and Other News

He was not listed on Friday's official injury report.

Opinion (from The Upgrade/Downgrade/Waiver Report): Henne and the Dolphins offense had difficulties against the Jets defense for most of the game. Miami didn't get a first down until its fourth possession. The Jets often sent four, five and sometimes what looked like the entire defense to pressure the Dolphins QB. Often, Henne was forced into 3rd and 7 or 3rd and 8 situations that were obvious passing downs and the Jets brought different packages at him to keep him guessing. Some plays they blitzed, others they only sent four and dropped into coverage, making sure to have someone covering Ronnie Brown or Rick Williams in the flat. In one possession in the first half, the Jets brought the house on 3rd and 7 and sacked Henne for -16 yards. The next possession on 3rd and long, they didn't blitz, and Henne threw a ball away instead of forcing it into the TE in tight coverage. It was like that for most of the game. If it weren't for two return TDs by Ted Ginn and a fumble returned for a TD, Miami would have come nowhere near winning this game. The Dolphins used a lot of short yardage formations, often using a jumbo lineup that consists of two RBs, two TEs and a WR. In fact, they didn't have a completion to a WR until there was 0:24 left in the first half. Taking all of this into account, don't expect Henne to air it out often in the Dolphins rush-heavy offense. As a result, he is not a good fantasy start, not even in bye week filler situations. An obvious conclusion before the game even began.

Week 9 Matchup Info

at New England Patriots (Bad matchup) - Chad Henne is being eased into the starting role down in Miami (he has the benefit of playing behind a stellar offensive line that helps generate 4.6 yards per carry and 153.4 rushing yards per game in the other phase of the game - they have allowed 21 sacks to date, though). Over the past four weeks, he's acclimated to his new job with 50/83 for 564 yards passing, three TDs and two interceptions (24th-best fantasy QB in the land during that time frame). There has been turmoil at the WR position of late, with Ted Ginn Jr. being demoted out of the starting lineup due to catching only four of the 11 passes that came his way during the past four weeks (4/73/1) - rookie Brian Hartline was inserted into the starting lineup, but was only targeted once in that role last week (0 receptions) while Ginn also failed to catch the only pass he saw last week. Davone Bess led the team's WR corps with 5 targets for 4/18/0 - Ricky Williams led the team last week with 2/41/0 receiving, while TE Joey Haynos caught the only score (2/20/1). Henne eventually compiled 12/21 for 112 yards and one TD, but it was good enough to beat the Jets 30-25 thanks to two kickoff return TDs posted by Ginn (of 100 and 101 yards, respectively). We'll see who gets the nod in Miami at WR this week. One thing is certain - whoever the starters are, being one doesn't necessarily guarantee passes coming their way.

New England's pass D is currently fifth in the NFL averaging 176.3 net yards allowed per game, and they have given up just eight passing TDs in seven games vs. seven interceptions and 13 sacks generated (27th in the NFL in the sacks category so far). The Patriots play good, tight coverage and rarely give up a long ball. They recently held the Titans to negative seven yards passing, with two interceptions (you read that correctly, negative seven yards passing), and followed up by choking Tampa Bay's QBs off (11/30 for 151 net yards, one TD and three interceptions). This unit is playing at an elite level entering week nine.

Henne has done a solid job filling Chad Pennington's shoes, but the Patriots are intimidating and they have home field advantage for this key divisional game - this looks like a bad matchup for the WR-deprived Henne.

Game Summaries

Week 3 at SD - Henne was listed as the third quarterback for this game, meaning if he played then Chad Pennington could not return if Henne played. Despite that, the Dolphins put Henne into the game immediately upon learning about Pennington's injury. He looked confident when he first went into the game, standing tall in the pocket despite being caught off guard early by a Kevin Burnett sack on his first dropback. However, things got ugly in a hurry. He was nearly intercepted on a deflection over the middle, and later threw an interception that was returned for a score by S Eric Weddle. He later threw another that was almost intercepted by Weddle and Quentin Jammer. He was a bit off on two consecutive passes to Ted Ginn, one going too high and one going too low. And when he finally did make a nice throw down the field to Brian Hartline, he was already beyond the line of scrimmage when he released the pass, negating the score. One other note is that the injury to Pennington looked serious enough that Henne will likely be Miami's quarterback moving forward. He'll need to perform a lot better in the coming weeks if the Dolphins have any hope of getting back into the playoff chase.

Week 4 vs BUF - In his first ever NFL start, Chad Henne "led" the Dolphins to a decisive victory over the Bills. That is, he committed no turnovers, and was able to lead the team to scores in the red zone. But this game was won on the ground and by the defense, as the Dolphins controlled the clock and the field position throughout. Henne seemed nervous to begin, but once he settled in, managed the game well, making good decisions and throwing with accuracy when called upon.

Week 5 vs NYJ - Henne had a big-time performance in front of a national audience that announced his arrival as the QB of the present for the Dolphins. He was mainly a game manager early in the contest, often yielding to the wildcat formation, but when the Dolphins needed to make plays in the passing game in the fourth quarter, Henne rose to the occasion. His mobility, arm strength, and poise all showed up as big assets. He was very effective early on short third downs, but not so much when the running game failed to get him out of a third and long situation - until the game's final drive, when Henne converted two key third downs. One was in the face of massive pressure, and the other was on a designed rollout where Henne threw a laser on the run. Henne also threw a gorgeous deep ball to Ted Ginn for an earlier fourth quarter TD that added the dimension that was lacking from the passing offense when Chad Pennington was in. Henne also used his mobility and arm strength on his first TD pass to Anthony Fasano. The tilt of the offense toward the run limits Henne's fantasy upside, but this game proved that he does indeed have some.

Week 7 vs NO - You can't really say Henne played badly, but the Dolphins defense and running backs really kept them in this game more than Henne did. Henne had one long pass play on a quick slant to Brian Hartline, but most of his completions and yardage came when the Dolphins were trying to overcome a late deficit. He was under a lot of pressure and let down by some drops. His two pick sixes came on a ball Ted Ginn juggled right into Darren Sharper, and on a desperation 4th and 13 at the end of the game.

Week 8 at NYJ - The Dolphins won this one in spite of Henne. He overthrew an open Brian Hartline deep early, and also missed open receivers on more than one occasion after that throw. He held the ball too long and took too many sacks, including one that cost the Dolphins important yardage with the game hanging in the balance. He only looked good when he was on the move and throwing close to the line of scrimmage. Henne also looked mentally overwhelmed on blitzes, expect teams to continue to exploit this flaw.