Henne Finally Looks Sharp!!!

All it took was one series in the team’s first live scrimmage of training camp for Henne and Marshall to start up the conversation again. On back-to-back plays, Henne hit Marshall with touchdown passes of 29 and 9 yards, sending the crowd in the bleachers into a frenzy.

After the first touchdown, which was placed perfectly over cornerback Sean Smith by Henne in the right corner of the end zone, Marshall ran over to the stands and threw the ball to the fans. The second one came in the back of the end zone and again as Marshall tiptoed along the back line and put on display how the two of them are communicating.

“Today was really the first day I think we connected pretty well,” said Henne, who completed 10-of-15 passes for 146 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. “I think in the previous practices we just weren’t on the same page and we talked before practice, we communicated and we got it done today.”

Henne’s lone blemish happened right after his second touchdown pass to Marshall as he had his pass picked off at the 1 by inside linebacker Karlos Dansby and returned for a touchdown. But on his next series he found Marshall again, this time in the left corner for a 20-yard touchdown. Henne also connected with Marshall on a 17-yard pass earlier on that same series.

New offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s offensive system is getting closer to being fully installed, and that’s what Henne credits the progress to. There are some clear nuances at play, like the mixing in of the shotgun formation and some other schemes designed to take advantage of weapons like Marshall and running back Reggie Bush.

“We had some good spacing out there today and I think that’s something we’ve been working a lot on is the spacing,” Sparano said. “The timing looked a little better today than it has the last couple of days. I felt like Chad’s been throwing the ball well in the last couple of practices and today out there I thought he threw the ball well, particularly in the first two series. He made some plays today with Brandon and I thought those guys got in the same page, so I thought Brian Daboll did a really good job of mixing things up there.”

Marshall caught four passes for 74 yards, with three of them going for touchdowns. Davone Bess had a nice 9-yard reception in the Red Zone and Bush got free on Dansby over the middle for a 23-yard gain, showing the mismatches he will be able to create.

There has been a lot of excitement and anticipation over Daboll’s new offense and how much different it will be from last year, specifically when it comes to being effective on the scoring front. Henne, who has the most familiarity with it having run the offseason workouts during the lockout, likes its potential.

“We’re definitely on attack mode,” Henne said. “We’re looking to go downfield and make big plays. Our philosophy, especially in the Red Zone, is touchdown, check down. We’re trying to make the shot, we’re trying to make those tight throws and believe in it, but if it’s not there check the ball down, make the smart play and move on to the next play.”