Chad Henne, sit
Chad Henne, Jake Long, and Mike "Mighty Mouse" Hart all came back as seniors to do two special things: beat Ohio State, and win the National Championship. Only one of these dreams is still a possibility, since the two demoralizing and embarrassing losses have knocked them out of national title contention. Only two of these seniors may finish this season trying to fulfill the dream of beating Ohio State, something the seniors on this team have yet to see in their career.
Ever since getting injured in the second game, against Oregon this Michigan team has climbed back into respectability (sort of) by beating Notre Dame and Penn State, getting back to .500 under freshman stud QB Ryan Mallet. Now, with Henne cleared to play, the question is, should he? There's an aura around the Michigan program and a gut feeling from me, that Henne is about to get Wally Pip-ed.
"Do I anticipate him starting? Well, we have to see," Carr said. "Chad took some snaps last week. (Trainer) Paul Schmidt worked him out (Sunday). It's to a point now where the doctors, they really now will leave it up to Chad, how he feels. And then, of course, it will depend on what I see and what I think. So I think as we go through this week, we really are encouraged by where he is. But we just have to look at him and see.
While Carr admitted that Mallet made more mistakes in his second start as opposed to his first, it's the result on the field that matters, and those results have been wins. Mallet seems to be more exciting, and able to ready to rally the troops than the stoic Henne, and it's my opinion he's here to stay.
Henne's played his last snap. Although, I sincerely hope Henne plays against Ohio State.
Henne gets medical clearance to play [Detroit Free Press]
Photo: Donald Miralle [Getty Images]
6 comments:
I imagine if there is a debate, it is more based on Henne's health. Mallett has played pretty well, but you can tell they are scared shitless to call passing plays with him in there. Mannigham's season is in the toilet without Henne.
Hey, that no passing offense has garnered Michigan two wins in a row. But I guess it's a good thing that they played two teams that like to run into a wall.
Last time Michigan changed QBs to a freshman, it turned out to be a pretty good season - as an OSU alum I don't want that. That being said, that season ended with a loss at OSU, and that was fun. So, all in all, mixed feelings.
I still say that his injury is mostly fluff, and he was actually benched.
No way is Henne being benched! Sure, Mallett is 6'6'' and can throw the ball 80 yards, but Henne's performace this year -- which has been notably worse than in the past -- is hardly worse than Mallett's.
Michigan's passing offense has not been stellar in any game so far, and the two wins can mainly be attributed to good defense/poor opponent's offense/Mike Hart.
There is no one out there who would choose to have Henne sit out, it's only a question of whether Michigan needs him or not. They are playing Northwestern this week and Eastern Michigan next week, two teams that would probably be destroyed by the likes of Appalachian State. If Henne can benefit from a couple extra week's rest and Mallett can benefit from a couple extra week's experience, you bet Carr will give it to them.
There is no chance that Henne continues to sit, if he's healthy. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mallett get the call this weekend, but by mid-October, Henne will be back in the starting lineup.
A four year starter who is on the verge of every significant passing record or a freshman who hasn't been asked to do much? It's a pretty easy call.
I would think that you'd have to start Henne simply to preserve Mike Hart's body. Say what you want about Henne, but when he's in there he poses a more credible threat to go long than Mallet does. Without him, teams will stack the line and punish Hart. He's good -- he has more heart than anyone I've ever seen in a UofM uniform (I'm a Buckeye and I've seen em all)and he'll get his yards, but he will be hurting come late November.
I would hope that Carr has more concern for Hart's legs and future pro career than that. And I think he does.
Well, certainly not his future career, Shyster. Carr runs his running backs into the ground in college, which is evident on them breaking down and sucking in the NFL.
If he did have concern, then he wouldn't have run him 44 times last week. Surely there must have been another RB on the roster to take 10ish carries? Hart is by far the best player on that team, and the barometer of their success, but Carr only has concern for him until the end of the year.
As on OSU alum and fan, I've also seen them all, very painfully.
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