[tango]

Starting QB Chad Henne 2nd year pro.
Backup Thigpen 3rd year pro.

Sunday Buffalo - 2.5 @ Miami.

Load up on on the Bills now before the line changed?

[Sidetracked]

bills is the only NFL play i have in right now

[Dark Horse]

It won't make much difference. Miami is a running team, and Pennington was just managing the game with safe passes. Not a hard spot for Henne to step into.

[yorksdicks]

Bills would cover 2.5 with or without pennington in my book!!

[here2fu]

what do you mean. the dolphins are not a bad team. they just arent catching the breaks this year.

[stocker08]

Whats the over/under? With an expaded running game (yeah, how do you expand it any further you ask) we are looking at 8 minute drives if they can get first downs. I might be pulling on the under.

[tango]

Originally Posted by stocker08

whats the over/under? With an expaded running game (yeah, how do you expand it any further you ask) we are looking at 8 minute drives if they can get first downs. I might be pulling on the under.

o/u 37

[xraygord]

I bet this game yesterday, I took BUF -1 and OVER 35.

[losturmarbles]

Originally Posted by Dark Horse

It won't make much difference. Miami is a running team, and Pennington was just managing the game with safe passes. Not a hard spot for Henne to step into.

i guess you didn't watch the game sunday.

it makes a huge difference right now. henne is not going to have the same timing or accuracy as pennington. buffalo is going to stack the box on running downs and blitz on passing downs. and miami's play calling is going to be even more conservative. they will probably try running the wildcat schemes more frequently, but i would imagine buffalo knows this and will be studying film to find a way to contain it.

buffalo should at least be favored by a field goal

buffalo -3.5 +100/miami +3.5 -120

[Dark Horse]

Originally Posted by losturmarbles

i guess you didn't watch the game sunday.

it makes a huge difference right now. henne is not going to have the same timing or accuracy as pennington. buffalo is going to stack the box on running downs and blitz on passing downs. and miami's play calling is going to be even more conservative. they will probably try running the wildcat schemes more frequently, but i would imagine buffalo knows this and will be studying film to find a way to contain it.

buffalo should at least be favored by a field goal

buffalo -3.5 +100/miami +3.5 -120

Backup QB's hardly get time with the starters. That will change this week. The Miami style lends itself exceptionally well to low risk QB passes. What makes people think that missing Pennington will make such a difference? He's a second rate QB at best. Henne will be asked to manage the game and not make mistakes. Pretty much the same as Pennington. The game will not be on Henne's shoulders.

Everybody knows Miami does the Wildcat. But that doesn't make it predictable. Dolphins could easily have beaten Indy last week. Their offense was fine. Defense was the problem.

[OvertimePlease]

why henne? thigpen is alot better than he is...

[OvertimePlease]

screw buffalo, they suck. Look for henne to hand it off whenever he gets a chance, williams and brown are gonna have a big day sunday against that crappy defense.

[SexyMit]

Buffalo is not that good. Miami is a running team for sure. Pennington was not that great of a QB to begin with! Miami wins their 1st game at home this yr.

[slacker00]

I agree with Dark Horse. If there's a team in the NFL which isn't driven by the QB, it's Miami. Besides, Henne is Parcells' "Golden Boy", drafted and chosen by the man himself. With rookie QBs looking great the last couple years, I'm not sure why people are worried about Henne stepping into this spot. I also like Thigpen, if all else fails.

The line should be close to Miami -2 1/2 or -3 or whatever. Sure Miami has gotten off to a slow start, but they are every bit as good as the Bills. It's a division game, throw the records out the window.

[Limey]

I'm opposing Miami pretty much all season (3-0 so far doing that) for various reasons. I won't change that this Sunday, and Pennington being out definitely helps. I think it's rough to call the most accurate (completion percentage) QB ever, 'second rate'. If it was that easy to hit short to middling passes all the darn time then everyone would be doing it. A new QB in, even with a week of practice... sure, he might join Ryan, Flacco et al as an instant success. More likely, he will make more mistakes than Pennington. I also suspect that the Dolphins might try to go a little more vertical with Henne in, given their frustration at not picking up 'chunk yardage', and increases the chances of errors.

[InThisMoment]

Pennington was terrible. Phins should be improved without him. Just because he goes 15 for 17 for 90 yards doesn't make him any good, in fact the opposite.

[Limey]

Originally Posted by InThisMoment

Pennington was terrible. Phins should be improved without him. Just because he goes 15 for 17 for 90 yards doesn't make him any good, in fact the opposite.

Pennington's career YPA is a very respectable 7.2. Last season, with Miami, an excellent 7.7 - that was equal to Kurt Warner, better than the Mannings and almost everyone else.

[Go Beavers]

Dolphins moneyline is the play for me

[losturmarbles]

i'm not saying henne can't or won't be successful with the dolphins, just not this game. he's not going to know all the different options on passing routes and won't be on the same page as the receivers. that is if they dont dumb down the plays they call. when he played the other day he didnt want to throw downfield (even though that should be his strength) and was inaccurate on 5 yard passes. maybe they can open up the offense for him, but unless he stops playing like a scared rookie, he's not going to be successful. dolphins would be better off starting pat white (if they're playing to win). and thigpen once he gets familiar with the offense.

[big0mar]

Originally Posted by Limey

Pennington's career YPA is a very respectable 7.2. Last season, with Miami, an excellent 7.7 - that was equal to Kurt Warner, better than the Mannings and almost everyone else.

Not this year. First two weeks he did not play well. A lot of people were speculating he would be benched.

[Limey]

Originally Posted by big0mar

Not this year. First two weeks he did not play well. A lot of people were speculating he would be benched.

He played pretty well at Atlanta really, but regardless, I think his career record and his record for the entire last season are more significant in evaluating him as a QB than two games.

[therber2]

Originally Posted by Dark Horse

It won't make much difference. Miami is a running team, and Pennington was just managing the game with safe passes. Not a hard spot for Henne to step into.

Very true. I wouldn't jump on the Bills so quick if I were you guys. I think Miami could surprise us this weekend.