Quote:No, we really haven't been too hard on Henne.  The fact is he is at best a decent backup.  While he hasn't had much to work with -- he hasn't given the offense much to work with either.  Some people think that he's a 'good backup'  even one of the 'best backups in the league'.  I don't think that's remotely the case, and I think it wouldn't be hard to upgrade him.  

 

Chad Henne was abysmal in the Red Zone last year.  His stats outside of that were better -- but some in part thanks to Garbagé time.  

 

I'm not sure we'll upgrade him in Free Agency.  I think we potentially could.  But I think Caldwell will determine it's not worth it in the long run.

 

Are there worse QB's out there?  Absolutely.  But I don't think our aim is 'better than Gabbert' at this point.  Or at least I hope it's not.  Going into next year with Henne as the starter (for the entire year), and I think this team will have another Top 5 pick next year.

 

"Better than Gabbert" may be our only alternative for the short-term.  There could be some possibility of upgrading Henne, but seriously, how much of an upgrade are we going to find in free agency?  Are there any guys in the draft who could truly step into a starting role and be better than Henne? 

 

The point the OP was making has some validity here because we did have some issues that contributed to our red zone woes last year.  It can't all fall on Henne when the running game, and our offensive line were as inept as they were last year.  He wasn't perfect by any means, but he also wasn't fully to blame. 

 

Laying the blame at the feet of the QB is nothing unusual.  It's either the QB or the coach who are going to take the heat when the team struggles.  In the end, if the team isn't getting it done in the red zone, a lot of things are going wrong, not just one player. 

 

If the team fixes the offensive line issues, and finds an impact player to help the running game, and we continue to improve the WR corps, I think even a pedestrian Chad Henne can show improvement.  If the team has to go another year with him as the starter because we've drafted a QB who is going to be more or less a developmental guy, then let's hope they do fix the other aspects of the offense.

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