Dolphins Fans - Are We Ready to Give Chad Henne A Chance?

That's right.  I want to know if we are ready to give Chad Henne a chance.  Are we ready to stop booing the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback.  No more wanting Kyle Orton.  No talk of quarterbacks the Dolphins "passed" on in the draft.  I think, it's time to let Chad Henne, in just his third year as a starting quarterback, show us what he has.

I've purposely not explored the quarterback situation over the last week.  It's getting old hearing the same complaints over, and over, and over, and over.

And yet, we already see people jumping on Henne's performance as a fluke.  As not anything to get behind.

Every year, you hear about quarterbacks who have their confidence shaken.  Former Detroit Lion and Miami Dolphin quarterback Joey Harrington is an exceptional example.  Harrington came to league with a ton of talent and expectations.  But, he got to Detroit, and lost his confidence. (By the way, if you missed this story earlier, check this out for a laugh.)

But here we are as fans destroying the guys who is supposed to be the Dolphins starting quarterback.  We, as fans, are chanting for the Denver Broncos' starter when our quarterback struggles in practice.  WE are the ones shaking the confidence of OUR quarterback.

At least last night, Henne quieted the critics - at least for this week.

Friday night was just the start.  Could it all go bad?  Sure.  But, could we be at the threshold of a young quarterback establishing himself as a star in the league? Sure.

If you don't believe me, make the jump...

Below are the stats of several quarterbacks from random games thus far this week:

Do you want to guess which quarterback is which?  Well, I'll tell you.  Quarterback A is the man who sent Dolphins fans into frenzy last week, Ryan Mallett, with his performance Thursday against the Buccaneers.  

Quarterback B is Henne, from last night against the Pathers.

Quarterback C is Mallett's teammate Tom Brady, again from Thursday's game.  

Quarterback D is new Arizona quarterback Kevin Kolb last night at the Packers.

E and F are both from the same game, with the Eagles' Michael Vick and the Steelers' Ben Roethlisbeger, respectively represented.

G is one of the most controversial quarterbacks, from Dolphins' fans' perspectives at least. In 2008, the Dolphins had the first overall draft pick, selecting tackle Jake Long over quarterback Matt Ryan - .  Since, Long has become one of the top two tackles in the league, while Ryan has led the Falcons to the playoffs two of his three years in the league.

Quarterback H is former Dolphin, and new Redskins starting quarterback, John Beck.

Quarterback I is Ravens' starter Joe Flacco against the Chiefs.

As you can see from the stats, Henne out performed a number of the NFL's starting quarterbacks during this week.  Now, does that solidify Henne as an NFL great?  No way.  It's a preseason game against the Panthers, who had last year's worst record in the NFL at 2-14.

But, it does mean that Henne is performing at the level expected of starting quarterbacks in week 2 of the preseason.  That should say something.

So, before we drive out another young quarterback from Miami, maybe we should give him another chance.  After all, if John Beck is now an NFL starter, maybe we, as fans, aren't as good at rating quarterbacks as we think we are.