Blackistone:Thinking that Henson can fix things this season is an old wives' tale

[LaTunaNostra]

Thinking that Henson can fix things this season is an old wives' tale

09:02 PM CST on Tuesday, November 16, 2004




Kevin B. Blackistone

It is not surprising that a review of the Quincy Carter Era is suddenly in need right here in Cowboys country. So many things went wrong with the quarterback during his time here that all of them are difficult to remember.

There was the revolving door of offensive coordinators and, consequently, offensive philosophies. There were the injuries to receivers. There was the Chad Hutchinson experiment, which smelled more of sabotage. On and on.

But the problems really all began when Carter was tossed into the fray as a rookie and handed the reins of Troy Aikman's old offense in training camp.

With as little time as he had in college, Carter wasn't ready. What NFL quarterback so green would be?

And what good did it do him? To quote the late great soul singer Edwin Starr: "Absolutely nothin', say it again."

There is never a good time to send a rookie quarterback into an NFL game.

Yet, the sentiment is swelling (even among some of my otherwise intelligent – really, they are! – colleagues) for Bill Parcells to throw rookie quarterback Drew Henson, the Cowboys' latest football reclamation project from the baseball diamond, to the Ravens and Bears and Seahawks and all the other NFL wolves right now.

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Just because Parcells has, uncharacteristically, racked up quite a few bad decisions this season, doesn't mean he may as well chance one more.

It is true that this Cowboys season ended, for all intent and purpose, on Monday with the Eagles just about clowning their way to a 49-21 rout at Texas Stadium. It would seem to make sense to use the rest of the season to see if Henson has what it takes to justify all that it took to get him.

And with all the high draft picks lined up for April, the Cowboys could use the rest of this campaign to decide if one should be used on a quarterback, or packaged to acquire another veteran signal-caller from another team.

But what kind of proving ground could be provided for Henson right now? How fair of a clinical test would this be?

He would not have a reliable running game on which to rely as a pressure reliever, keeping defenses honest.

He would not have a deep threat at receiver to open up the field so that he could throw easier short passes to Keyshawn Johnson, the last true wideout standing, or tight end Jason Witten (even though Witten showed once again Monday that he is as good at his position as there is in the league, a should-be lock for the Pro Bowl).

Henson wouldn't have the benefit of a defense that could keep the other team from scoring and give him a fighting chance under center.

And if the Cowboys want to see if injured rookie running back Julius Jones was worth them passing on Steven Jackson in last April's draft, how can they do so with a rookie quarterback handing off to him?

If all things were a little more settled, playing Henson would be a fine idea. In fact, it would be hardheaded of Parcells not to.

But everything is so jumbled with this team right now that playing Henson under the circumstances would be unnecessarily harmful to his future well-being, mental if not physical. What difference would waiting until the next quarterback school make?

The Steelers are, of course, flying high under rookie quarterback Ben Roethles..., Ben Rothlisbur..., uh, the big guy from Miami of Ohio. But they turned to him only because an injury forced out Tommy Maddox.

The Bears all of a sudden can't lose behind rookie quarterback Craig Krenzel. But his quarterback rating is 49.4. If he is the difference, it is as a good-luck charm.

And the Giants did announce just the other day that they are handing their season over to rookie quarterback Eli Manning. But they're nuts.

It doesn't matter that Manning, the product of the NFL's most-famous blueblood quarterback line, was the first player picked in last April's draft after a stellar and uninterrupted football career at Ole Miss. So what if Tiki Barber anchors their offense's legs and the Giants are equipped with receivers such as Amani Toomer and Ike Hilliard and over-hyped tight end Jeremy Shockey?

The Giants are 5-4 and smack in the middle of the playoff picture. Further, former Super Bowl star quarterback Kurt Warner was playing just fine. It was his supporting cast, chiefly his suddenly porous offensive line, which caused the Giants' sudden problems. A rookie quarterback can't fix that.

Similarly, Henson can't fix what is wrong with the Cowboys right now. But he could wind up in need of fixing himself if he's handed the wrench tomorrow and shoved under the hood.

E-mail kblackistone@dallasnews.com

[Dale]

Blackistone lost me with the headline of this article. I didn't even read past that.

I have yet to see one person suggest Henson would save this season.

[Madzo]

Blackistone lost me with the headline of this article. I didn't even read past that.

I have yet to see one person suggest Henson would save this season.


That's because he can't, the way the defense is playing not even Peyton Manning could save our season. Aikman said on PTI earlier that Henson needed to come and take some snaps in the blow out loses this season to Green Bay, and Philly etc.. He didn't understand the logic for not putting him in. He also mentioned that the season is basically over for the cowboys and why not start Henson and give him that playing experience and get him prepared for next year.

[Jimz31]

I agree with you Dale. I don't remember ONE person....fan or media pundit saying that he can do ANYTHING to help THIS SEASON.

However, this is about next year....and hopefully, the year after that and the year after that and so on.

If he doesn't get some playing time THIS year, then it would be a disservice to Henson as well as the fans, next year.

Who of us couldn't handle losing the way we are if he was in there? I think we could all handle that ALOT better than how we are all handling it this year. Shoot, even BP would be able to handle it better. :eek:

[Hostile]

Blackistone lost me with the headline of this article. I didn't even read past that.

I have yet to see one person suggest Henson would save this season.
Not even me and I am the biggest shill for him that there is it seems.

The losses are on the defense. We all know that. The battle cry for Henson is about preparation for 2005 and beyond.

[Dale]

I agree with you Dale. I don't remember ONE person....fan or media pundit saying that he can do ANYTHING to help THIS SEASON.

However, this is about next year....and hopefully, the year after that and the year after that and so on.

If he doesn't get some playing time THIS year, then it would be a disservice to Henson as well as the fans, next year.

Who of us couldn't handle losing the way we are if he was in there? I think we could all handle that ALOT better than how we are all handling it this year. Shoot, even BP would be able to handle it better. :eek:

This is what I hate about articles like these.

The same people who are against playing Henson this season, will be complaining about how we're starting a quarterback next season that has yet to play in a professional football game.

Well sheesh, Sherlock, let's attempt to expedite the problem somewhat by getting him on the field this year.

Obviously, Henson needs to be prepared before we throw him into the action. Some guys are ready sooner than others. He's now had a lot of time to digest the playbook and watch what Vinny has done right, and what Vinny has done wrong, to get a feel for what's going on. It seems, to me, like the next stage in his development is for him to actually get on the field.

I agree that you shouldn't throw a quarterback out there totally unprepared. Considering Henson is a smart fella and a decorated college quarterback in his limited time in the NCAA, I'm assuming he's had enough time now to go out on the field and not line up behind the wrong man.

And I'm sorry, but if he gets his feelings hurt because he plays poorly in his first professional outing and is unable to ever recover, then he wasn't the man for the job to begin with. Dude's going to encounter controversy at some point in his career, and if he can't bounce back from a little heat in his first start, how's he going to handle a poor game that knocks us out of playoff contention? Or a poor decision that loses us a playoff game? The list goes on.

[BrAinPaiNt]

Blackistone lost me with the headline of this article. I didn't even read past that.

I have yet to see one person suggest Henson would save this season.


Even though the Title of the Article was lame and flat out WRONG.

It was still a good read that many here should look at.

Whether you want to bring the guy in now or not it is still something that in the short term hopefully will ground some with the high expectations they may have.

I swear even though many do not think he is going to save the season...I can still bet money that when he does start people will complain...this article just puts some things in context.

It also points out that just because Ben is doing well does not mean others will...because Ben has a better supporting cast...once again I have seen many times on this site where people point to Ben and saying if he can do it why can't Henson and so on.

Before I was saying wait until the other guy (J.Jones) is healthy enough to start and Q.Morgan and are troop of unkown WRs gets a tad more EXP.

However in the end I do not care if Henson comes in now ...this season is officially IMO over as far as a winning record and or playoff chance.

But I still refuse to be part of a group like PHIN...Nope I won't be part of it. :D

[MichaelWinicki]

I want Henson to start too... but Vinny has been one of our minor problems.

Fix...

DE
DT
CB
S
RB
WR
LB

and then we can talk about Henson saving something...

[Juke99]

Interesting interview I heard last night...Phil Simms, bright guy...

Sez that when he was a rookie, he felt most comfortable when the defense blitzed because there was no thinking involved....ya saw it, you knew who the hot receiver was...you go the snap and threw the ball...no thinking.

Now, the key I s'pose is that he recognized the defense.

He also said that the most overused excuse for not starting a young QB is they make too many mistakes...and then said that he sees veteran QB's making those very same mistakes, week in week out.

He felt that the Giants will not dumb down their offense at all for Manning...and that it's always a mistake to do so because it also allows the defense to not be concerned with a full game plan.

[MichaelWinicki]

Interesting interview I heard last night...Phil Simms, bright guy...

Sez that when he was a rookie, he felt most comfortable when the defense blitzed because there was no thinking involved....ya saw it, you knew who the hot receiver was...you go the snap and threw the ball...no thinking.

Now, the key I s'pose is that he recognized the defense.

He also said that the most overused excuse for not starting a young QB is they make too many mistakes...and then said that he sees veteran QB's making those very same mistakes, week in week out.

He felt that the Giants will not dumb down their offense at all for Manning...and that it's always a mistake to do so because it also allows the defense to not be concerned with a full game plan.


Hey aren't you the guy that hates Bill Parcells so much you can't think straight? :D

[ibis]

...the Heading,Title,whatever you want to call it was most likely put there by his Editor...to call attention to the piece...columinists write the stuff,they're not involved in getting the reader to well....read....

[ibis]

Hey aren't you the guy that hates Bill Parcells so much you can't think straight? :D..no,that would be me....

[hockix]

Yes starting Henson would save the season.

In fact I don't think starting Henson, JJones, Rogers would help much the team to win this year, but it would give them experiences.

I don't want to get in next offseason, FA and draft and not have seen Henson start some games. I really hope JJones will start soon.

I don't care if they even do worse than Vinny, EG and Tucker.
Those kid need to play and get ready for next year.
The hole team need a push and sometimes, youth gives it to the team.

Vinny is not the problem this year, but he is not the answer for next years.

I would prefer to lose all the next games and see the kid play and learn, instead of win some and getting next year with no answers and no experience at QB and RB.

[BulletBob]

QB is NOT a problem - it is a question mark.

Vinny has done what we have asked of him. He really only had one horrible game (Cincy). Right now, Vinny is the least of our problems.

However, we do have a question mark at the position in terms of our future. I think that most of the fan base has conceded the season, and is looking toward the future. In this light, the team should resolve its question marks.

At several other positions, I think we have both problems and question marks. Take RB - we clearly have a problem (EG has been mostly horrible): we have no starting TB. We also have a question mark: is Lee a reliable back-up? Is JuJo the real deal? Is Barnes the answer at FB (I say no)? All of these question marks should be resolved this year.

We can also resolve a few question marks if "Down Goes" steps it up at CB, Thorton can get to the QB, Rodgers can play some Oline, and Dixon/Wiley/Carson undergo some sort of scientific metamorphosis.

Personally, I am less interested in our record at this point than watching individual players and removing some enigmas. If we do that, we will have a clear roadmap heading into next season. The way I look at it, we have a 7-game pre-season type environment ahead of us: you really don't care what the score is as long as some of the question marks turn into positives.

[MichaelWinicki]

..no,that would be me....


LOL!

Then you'll be getting a terse post from LaTuna also.

[noshame]

Henson in blow-out losses this year. Just suppose Drew comes in and makes some plays, with his arm and with his feet? What does Bill do then? How does he defend still using Vinny? I'm not saying Drew is the savior, he will do well, and he'll struggle also.
However, Bill won't take that chance till he has to, for the sake of his old buddy Vinny. :rolleyes:

[hockix]

QB is NOT a problem - it is a question mark.

Vinny has done what we have asked of him. He really only had one horrible game (Cincy). Right now, Vinny is the least of our problems.

However, we do have a question mark at the position in terms of our future. I think that most of the fan base has conceded the season, and is looking toward the future. In this light, the team should resolve its question marks.

At several other positions, I think we have both problems and question marks. Take RB - we clearly have a problem (EG has been mostly horrible): we have no starting TB. We also have a question mark: is Lee a reliable back-up? Is JuJo the real deal? Is Barnes the answer at FB (I say no)? All of these question marks should be resolved this year.

We can also resolve a few question marks if "Down Goes" steps it up at CB, Thorton can get to the QB, Rodgers can play some Oline, and Dixon/Wiley/Carson undergo some sort of scientific metamorphosis.

Personally, I am less interested in our record at this point than watching individual players and removing some enigmas. If we do that, we will have a clear roadmap heading into next season. The way I look at it, we have a 7-game pre-season type environment ahead of us: you really don't care what the score is as long as some of the question marks turn into positives.

Same as mine, but you are a much better writer... ;)

[BulletBob]

Same as mine, but you are a much better writer... ;)

We were writing at the same time, so as soon as I posted, I read yours and thought maybe I should just edit mine to read, "yeah, what he said ^^^." :rolleyes:

Great minds .... ;)

[dmq]

Blackistone still can't get over the fact that Quincy didn't stick here. Get over it.

[hockix]

We were writing at the same time, so as soon as I posted, I read yours and thought maybe I should just edit mine to read, "yeah, what he said ^^^." :rolleyes:

Great minds .... ;)

I really hope we will see Henson and JJones a lot till the end of this season.
You know, I will always be axious to get on sunday and see our boys play.

But this year is just so frustrating even since the offseason.

I just don't see where we are going right now.
I want to see those kids on the field. That would make my season.

[Juke99]

Hey aren't you the guy that hates Bill Parcells so much you can't think straight? :D


Yeah, that's me...blinded...I am so blinded that I can't even read the two books he wrote....that are sitting on my shelf...that I've read twice already PRIOR to his becoming the Cowboy's coach.

Yep, that's me.

Oh and I'm also so blinded and ignorant about Parcells that I can't even listen to my customer who knows him because he was hired as a ref by Parcells in order to officiate practices...for 4 years...I am one degree of separation away from Parcells...but I can't listen any longer to this customer who has great stories to tell about Parcells...stories that I enjoy immensely...

Yep, that's me.

Susqueeeehana!!!!!...slowly I turn, step by step... :rolleyes:

[mperfection]

This is what I hate about articles like these.

The same people who are against playing Henson this season, will be complaining about how we're starting a quarterback next season that has yet to play in a professional football game.

Well sheesh, Sherlock, let's attempt to expedite the problem somewhat by getting him on the field this year.

Obviously, Henson needs to be prepared before we throw him into the action. Some guys are ready sooner than others. He's now had a lot of time to digest the playbook and watch what Vinny has done right, and what Vinny has done wrong, to get a feel for what's going on. It seems, to me, like the next stage in his development is for him to actually get on the field.

I agree that you shouldn't throw a quarterback out there totally unprepared. Considering Henson is a smart fella and a decorated college quarterback in his limited time in the NCAA, I'm assuming he's had enough time now to go out on the field and not line up behind the wrong man.

And I'm sorry, but if he gets his feelings hurt because he plays poorly in his first professional outing and is unable to ever recover, then he wasn't the man for the job to begin with. Dude's going to encounter controversy at some point in his career, and if he can't bounce back from a little heat in his first start, how's he going to handle a poor game that knocks us out of playoff contention? Or a poor decision that loses us a playoff game? The list goes on.

VERY well put, Dale.

[joseephuss]

QB is NOT a problem - it is a question mark.

Vinny has done what we have asked of him. He really only had one horrible game (Cincy). Right now, Vinny is the least of our problems.

However, we do have a question mark at the position in terms of our future. I think that most of the fan base has conceded the season, and is looking toward the future. In this light, the team should resolve its question marks.

At several other positions, I think we have both problems and question marks. Take RB - we clearly have a problem (EG has been mostly horrible): we have no starting TB. We also have a question mark: is Lee a reliable back-up? Is JuJo the real deal? Is Barnes the answer at FB (I say no)? All of these question marks should be resolved this year.

We can also resolve a few question marks if "Down Goes" steps it up at CB, Thorton can get to the QB, Rodgers can play some Oline, and Dixon/Wiley/Carson undergo some sort of scientific metamorphosis.

Personally, I am less interested in our record at this point than watching individual players and removing some enigmas. If we do that, we will have a clear roadmap heading into next season. The way I look at it, we have a 7-game pre-season type environment ahead of us: you really don't care what the score is as long as some of the question marks turn into positives.


Well said.

I agree that Barnes is not the answer at fullback. He is a poor blocker and actually gets in the way of the other players.

George has been a problem which should have been addressed by getting Lee more involved in the game to start answering the question of whether he could be a viable back up or even a potential starter.

[tyke1doe]

Blackistone lost me with the headline of this article. I didn't even read past that.

I have yet to see one person suggest Henson would save this season.

Uh, reporters don't write headlines. That's the copy editor's responsibility. And believe me, as a reporter, copy editors are notorious for writing the wrong headlines. :)

[ibis]

Yeah, that's me...blinded...I am so blinded that I can't even read the two books he wrote....that are sitting on my shelf...that I've read twice already PRIOR to his becoming the Cowboy's coach.

Yep, that's me.

Oh and I'm also so blinded and ignorant about Parcells that I can't even listen to my customer who knows him because he was hired as a ref by Parcells in order to officiate practices...for 4 years...I am one degree of separation away from Parcells...but I can't listen any longer to this customer who has great stories to tell about Parcells...stories that I enjoy immensely...

Yep, that's me.

Susqueeeehana!!!!!...slowly I turn, step by step... :rolleyes:...so you're the one who bought the two books...

[ibis]

Uh, reporters don't write headlines. That's the copy editor's responsibility. And believe me, as a reporter, copy editors are notorious for writing the wrong headlines. :)...tyke1doe...see ibis