Quote:I didn't mean making excuses for Henne specifically...more that we seem to be saying the exact same things about Henne as every other QB we have had since Mark B..."he just needs better line play"..."he just needs more weapons"..."we need the D to step up"...ect...

 

To me they are excuses because a franchise QB makes a lot of that better...Manning made an oline of undrafted guys look like all pros...Brady has made pedestrian at best WRs look like all pros...sometimes running lanes open up when teams are forced to respect the pass...ect.

 

I to think the focus is going to be to get a franchise guy...if not this year then next.

 

I didn't say lofty expectations...I simply said nothing in his career has shown he can be what some think he can be...in other words...nothing in his career has shown he can be a 20/12-15 guy...

 

Peyton Manning looks awfully average when his line lets him down and he's forced to move, or when his receivers start dropping passes.  No QB is immune to this, and every successful QB needs the tools around him to be at least moderately effective to give him a chance to produce.  You hear the same thing for every Jags QB because it's the same formula not only for them, but every other QB in the NFL.

 

Even elite QBs can't carry a team on their back if they don't have some semblance of a line, and a couple of receivers they can rely upon.  There are rare exceptions where they can do so for shorter intervals, but not for an entire season.  Henne played behind arguably the worst line in the league for 13 games, and he still managed to cobble together 3200 yards of passing.  It wasn't always pretty, and a good chunk of it came in garbage time, but that's what he had to work with. 

 

I think Henne has been in unstable situations throughout his career.  This is probably one of the first times where he's ending the season as a starter, and preparing for the next season with the same head coach, position coach, and coordinator.  That kind of continuity matters for guys, and with just a little bit of improvement, it wouldn't be shocking to see him get 20/15 and 3500 yards.  He wasn't that far off last year.

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