Henne #1 qb?!?

[texaspackerbacker]

I agree, let him go to someone else. I don't see him as being a big deal in the NFL. I would prefer them go after a QB in the third. Perhaps someone like Josh Johnson who might even be there in the 4th or 5th. Just make sure it's an accuracy guy who can play WCO, and can ellude the rush a bit.

Well said. Drafting any QB high up would be a mistake even if we needed one as a starter--which we clearly don't. Top college QBs don't correlate very well with becoming pro stars.

As for Henne, I've seen him play a helluva lot more bad games than good. I also don't care for Brohm. I hear good things about Flacco, but haven't seen him.

This Josh Johnson, or any of quite a few others who Thompson may decide on, would be worth getting in the 6th or 7th, maybe even 4th or 5th. If Nall goes elsewhere, we need somebody, although I still think an adequate backup will become available when final cuts are made.

[TennesseePackerBacker]

I actually like Henne. Most people underrate Big Ten QBs simply because their numbers aren't as gaudy as others who work in gimmick offenses that don't translate well to the NFL. Henne has the size and arm you are looking for in an NFL QB. I think he is one of the top 40 players in the draft...but top 20, I doubt it.

I'm not a fan of Ainge. The guy made tons of horrible throws in his career. I saw him firsthand against Wisconsin at the Outback Bowl in January...he wasn't impressive.

See that's the problem with you big 10 fans, too many snap judgements, you see one game and Erik Ainge is horrible. In fact, against Wisconsin Ainge threw for 365 and 2 td's. Ainge also looked good against many of the top D's this year, including Georgia and LSU.

Must we forget how Colt Brennan looked against Georgia's D? Or how Ohio St. looked against LSU?

Ainge has a great arm and can make all the throws, he just makes bad decisions some games and will throw the costly pick(see LSU SEC title game).

If Ainge were to land in the right system with people helping him out I'm sure he could be a pretty decent NFL QB. As for Henne, he probably will be a good player, but unlinke Ainge, Henne tends to disappear from a game entirely, and that's a pretty bad trait IMO.

[SkinBasket]

Henne's offense posted 480 yards of offense in that game. I don't see how Henne was primarily responsible for the loss.

Unfortunately, Henne can't take "his offense" with him when he's drafted. Henne was 19/37 for 233 with 1/1. Those numbers would be fine against OSU or another high caliber program on the road. Against a I-AA @ home, it's pretty damned anemic.

Henne also wasn't the culprit in most of Michigan's losses in big games...in his four losses to OSU, he only threw 2 INTs. It was the defense that continually failed the Wolverines against the Buckeyes in recent years...not the offense. Michigan's offense was relatively prolific throughout Henne's career.

Yeah. 11/34 for 68 yards wins a lot of games. Especially against OSU. It's great he didn't throw any INTs that game. It's just unfortunate he didn't throw a TD in 34 tries and averaged 2 yards per attempt. Seems UMs offense was "prolific" throughout Henne's career despite Henne's career.

The only big game where I think Henne really choked was against ND in 2005. That was a major stinker for Henne.

See above. Add powerhouse E. Mich, a 4-8 MAC team. 17/26 for 195 yards, 1TD 2INT.

Of course he might have had more opportunities to suck if he could have stayed on the field for more than half the quarters they played.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

I actually like Henne. Most people underrate Big Ten QBs simply because their numbers aren't as gaudy as others who work in gimmick offenses that don't translate well to the NFL. Henne has the size and arm you are looking for in an NFL QB. I think he is one of the top 40 players in the draft...but top 20, I doubt it.

I'm not a fan of Ainge. The guy made tons of horrible throws in his career. I saw him firsthand against Wisconsin at the Outback Bowl in January...he wasn't impressive.

See that's the problem with you big 10 fans, too many snap judgements, you see one game and Erik Ainge is horrible. In fact, against Wisconsin Ainge threw for 365 and 2 td's. Ainge also looked good against many of the top D's this year, including Georgia and LSU.

Must we forget how Colt Brennan looked against Georgia's D? Or how Ohio St. looked against LSU?

Ainge has a great arm and can make all the throws, he just makes bad decisions some games and will throw the costly pick(see LSU SEC title game).

If Ainge were to land in the right system with people helping him out I'm sure he could be a pretty decent NFL QB. As for Henne, he probably will be a good player, but unlinke Ainge, Henne tends to disappear from a game entirely, and that's a pretty bad trait IMO.

Let's take off the orange colored glasses.

First, he is slow. He is EXTREMELY non-mobile. He had a very good line at Tenn...doubtfull he will ever have that good of a line in the pros. He is a statue waiting to get sacked. Because of that..you have to have a very conservative offense.

Second, he is way inconsistent. Consistency is the one thing you need outta a QB. Inconsistent in his play, inconsistent in his mechanics.

Third, he locks on to his primary receiver.

Fourth, throws very poorly on the run.

Ainge is the poor man's Drew Bledsoe.

That being said, if he was available in the 3rd..i'd take him.

[The Leaper]

Unfortunately, Henne can't take "his offense" with him when he's drafted. Henne was 19/37 for 233 with 1/1. Those numbers would be fine against OSU or another high caliber program on the road. Against a I-AA @ home, it's pretty damned anemic.

It may be anemic by your standards. It hardly cost Michigan the game. 480 yards of total offense should be enough to win any game.

Yeah. 11/34 for 68 yards wins a lot of games. Especially against OSU. It's great he didn't throw any INTs that game. It's just unfortunate he didn't throw a TD in 34 tries and averaged 2 yards per attempt. Seems UMs offense was "prolific" throughout Henne's career despite Henne's career.

Henne isn't as prone to making a huge mistake...that's my point. In the NFL, that is paramount for QBs. That is why I would view Henne as a better prospect than Ainge...both are mediocre athletes at the next level, but at least Henne isn't as likely to make a boneheaded error. Only a few guys can sling it around like Favre and make up for their own errors...neither Henne or Ainge is one of them, so I'd take the guy less likely to screw up.

Of course he might have had more opportunities to suck if he could have stayed on the field for more than half the quarters they played.

I guess you hate Aaron Rodgers then. Henne was actually quite durable for Michigan. Yeah, he got beat up a little during 2007...and that impacted his ability to perform at a high level as well. He still was on the field almost all of the time during his college career.

I'm not trying to say Henne is the next superstar. I'm saying he is underrated because Michigan had a pathetic year as a team from top to bottom and Henne was less than 100% much of the year. Tough to make an adequate judgment based on those factors.

Expect NFL GMs to take his entire resume into account, not just 3 or 4 bad games.

[TennesseePackerBacker]

I actually like Henne. Most people underrate Big Ten QBs simply because their numbers aren't as gaudy as others who work in gimmick offenses that don't translate well to the NFL. Henne has the size and arm you are looking for in an NFL QB. I think he is one of the top 40 players in the draft...but top 20, I doubt it.

I'm not a fan of Ainge. The guy made tons of horrible throws in his career. I saw him firsthand against Wisconsin at the Outback Bowl in January...he wasn't impressive.

See that's the problem with you big 10 fans, too many snap judgements, you see one game and Erik Ainge is horrible. In fact, against Wisconsin Ainge threw for 365 and 2 td's. Ainge also looked good against many of the top D's this year, including Georgia and LSU.

Must we forget how Colt Brennan looked against Georgia's D? Or how Ohio St. looked against LSU?

Ainge has a great arm and can make all the throws, he just makes bad decisions some games and will throw the costly pick(see LSU SEC title game).

If Ainge were to land in the right system with people helping him out I'm sure he could be a pretty decent NFL QB. As for Henne, he probably will be a good player, but unlinke Ainge, Henne tends to disappear from a game entirely, and that's a pretty bad trait IMO.

Let's take off the orange colored glasses.

First, he is slow. He is EXTREMELY non-mobile. He had a very good line at Tenn...doubtfull he will ever have that good of a line in the pros. He is a statue waiting to get sacked. Because of that..you have to have a very conservative offense.

Second, he is way inconsistent. Consistency is the one thing you need outta a QB. Inconsistent in his play, inconsistent in his mechanics.

Third, he locks on to his primary receiver.

Fourth, throws very poorly on the run.

Ainge is the poor man's Drew Bledsoe.

That being said, if he was available in the 3rd..i'd take him.

You're assessment of Ainge is spot on, there were no rose-colored glasses on, I just thought the statement of horrible was exaggerated and offered points to counter that.

I for one do not want the Packers to draft Ainge, even though the Pack's pass protection was one of the best in the league last year(Favre Factor?).

His biggest negative is his inconsistency, he can look like a 1st rd. draft pick some games against a great d and then tail off and look completely awful against an average d the next.

Honestly, I think Henne and Ainge are pretty much the same qb.

[SkinBasket]

It may be anemic by your standards. It hardly cost Michigan the game. 480 yards of total offense should be enough to win any game.

Again, you're referring to the UM offense, not to Henne. A team isn't going to draft the UM offense with a first round pick. They're (supposedly) going to pick a QB who couldn't throw for more than 1 TD against a I-AA team to get them a victory at home. That's not the kind of performance I'm looking for for a first round selection in his last year.

Henne isn't as prone to making a huge mistake...that's my point. In the NFL, that is paramount for QBs. That is why I would view Henne as a better prospect than Ainge...both are mediocre athletes at the next level, but at least Henne isn't as likely to make a boneheaded error. Only a few guys can sling it around like Favre and make up for their own errors...neither Henne or Ainge is one of them, so I'd take the guy less likely to screw up.

You cannot just excuse an 11/34 68 yard performance as being cautious. Unless you're looking for Grossman 2.0, but I doubt many teams want that.

I guess you hate Aaron Rodgers then. Henne was actually quite durable for Michigan. Yeah, he got beat up a little during 2007...and that impacted his ability to perform at a high level as well. He still was on the field almost all of the time during his college career.

I'm not trying to say Henne is the next superstar. I'm saying he is underrated because Michigan had a pathetic year as a team from top to bottom and Henne was less than 100% much of the year. Tough to make an adequate judgment based on those factors.

Expect NFL GMs to take his entire resume into account, not just 3 or 4 bad games.

Why would I hate Rodgers?

I'm more concerned with who Henne is NOW, not who he's been throughout his college career. Who he is now is a guy who missed around half the snaps last year due to injury. The concerning part is that it wasn't just one injury, but a series of mild ones and re-aggravations. Combined with an inability to evade rushers, that becomes a valid concern.

I'm not sure how you feel Henne is underrated when there's talk of him being selected in the 1st round.

The problem with those 3-4 games is that constitutes half of his performances this last season. You can claim he didn't play up to ability due to injury, but then you have to consider he was injured. So either you have concerns about his durability or his consistency depending on how much you believe those injuries effected his play.

[ND72]

I'll be happy if any team other than GB takes Henne in the first round. It'll be like when the gym teacher made the team captains pick one of the retarded kids first for dodgeball. Well, kind of like that anyway, because they play football and not dodgeball.

I make the special ed kids the captain in my PE class.