Henne, best QB in the UofM-MSU series?
I submit to you all that within the rivalry of UofM vs MSU football, there has been no QB better than Chad Henne on either team. Who can forget seeing Henne grow up in the triple overtime game as a true freshman against an MSU team with a 17 point lead in the 4th quarter? Or Henne holding on for the OT win the following year on the road? Granted, Henne had some great targets, but he has performed better than any QB in this series IMHO.
The stats within the series:
-Record: 4-0
-3 clutch performances in close games
-Passing TDs: 14
-Intercepted: 2
-Passing Yards: 880
-Completions/Attempts: 79/120 (66%)
Henne's worst game in the series was 2006, where he went 11 of 17 for 140 yards with 3 TDs and 0 INTs in a 31-13 victory. His stats could have been much more impressive had Lloyd Carr not called off the dogs and went to conservative play calling. In example, Carr only called 1 passing play in the final 26 minutes and 22 seconds of game time, with only a total of 4 passing plays called in the final half.
Henne's best game would have to be the 2007 comeback game on the road. Henne braved severe should pain and injury to comeback and make clutch throws to gain 211 yards with 4 TDs and 1 INT in the victory.
I posted this on the ESPN board a year and a half ago. A few Spartans argued me tooth and nail over it, but they refused to name anyone who might be better within the series, which is a tacit way of agreeing with me.
Can anyone think of a QB who might have performed better within the series?
P.S. I am still cheering for Henne with the Miami Dolphins.
The stats within the series:
-Record: 4-0
-3 clutch performances in close games
-Passing TDs: 14
-Intercepted: 2
-Passing Yards: 880
-Completions/Attempts: 79/120 (66%)
Henne's worst game in the series was 2006, where he went 11 of 17 for 140 yards with 3 TDs and 0 INTs in a 31-13 victory. His stats could have been much more impressive had Lloyd Carr not called off the dogs and went to conservative play calling. In example, Carr only called 1 passing play in the final 26 minutes and 22 seconds of game time, with only a total of 4 passing plays called in the final half.
Henne's best game would have to be the 2007 comeback game on the road. Henne braved severe should pain and injury to comeback and make clutch throws to gain 211 yards with 4 TDs and 1 INT in the victory.
I posted this on the ESPN board a year and a half ago. A few Spartans argued me tooth and nail over it, but they refused to name anyone who might be better within the series, which is a tacit way of agreeing with me.
Can anyone think of a QB who might have performed better within the series?
P.S. I am still cheering for Henne with the Miami Dolphins.
At least as far as great games are concerned. The two OT games were two of the best games I can remember in recent history of the rivalry. Nothing is more exciting than the 2004 game.
Agreed. I was so pumped up after that game. That was an amazing comeback.
Peyton Manning-esque....... I feel he had solid leadership control of the team his last two year, and performed as well as you could, despite lousy Debord play calling and playing thru injuries.
Started right away. Hyped to high heaven before he even stepped on the field. More or less met expectations right away.
I think Henne is Roethlisberger-esque. Not as hyped, but you look back and he was destined to be a long-time starter. Hopefully he has the same NFL career.
Full credit to the Spartans reliably dismal secondary. Take that and Michigan's arsenal of future NFL picks and that was the annual mismatch that gave the Wolverines the big edge from 2002-2008.
It's hard to compare a four-year starter with a guy who only started two years (and had to platoon for part of one), but Tom Brady was outstanding in his two MSU games. If he had gotten to play the entire game in 1999, there's a good chance we would have won.
At any rate, let's not forget that it's a team game. Michigan held on for an OT win in 2005, not just Henne.
True, it is a team game and I didn't mean to imply that it wasn't.
Tom Brady would not be a bad choice. Here are his stats vs MSU:
1998
15 of 26, for 208 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT
1999
30 of 41, for 285 yards with 2 TDs and 0 INTs
Career QB rating versus MSU:
Henne: 162.6
Brady: 140.7
I would still give the nod to Henne. Keep in mind that Brady got to warm up for 3 years before becoming a starter. Henne was thrown to the wolves. However, your choice of Brady was a good one.
It's definitely apples and oranges to compare a four-year starter with a two-year one. Whether Brady could have performed as a freshman, we'll never know. All we can go by is what they did on the field. One thing I give Brady is that he went up against two Saban-coached defenses. 1999 MSU was definitely their best team of the past 20 years or so, much better than any team JLS fielded.
Great point.
Brady faced a 6-6 and a 10-2 MSU team and that 10-2 team was outstanding. That 1999 MSU team did hold 4 opponents to single digits, but the week after beating UofM they gave up 52 points to a 7-5 Purdue and then 40 to an eventual Rose Bowl Champ Wisconsin the following week.
It is tough to compare, but I'd give the nod to Henne.
As much as I'd like to believe that, we simply had no answer for Plaxico in that '99 game. He could've gone off on us even more than he did had Saban let Sparty's offense continue to air it out.
The only people who have ever really stopped Plaxico are himself and the NY justice system.
There is no doubt that Plaxico is a knucklehead to the highest degree.
Solid topic, kudos to you. I agree Chad Henne played MSU very well, unfortunately he never beat...USC or that other school.
I want to add a question to this topic though, will Chad Henne eventually be the best QB of his draft year? Through my maize and blue goggles, I say it wouldn't surprise me. Again though, I'll admit I'm biased.
I'm glad you brought it up because it warrants attention: Chad Henne vs. Ohio State. I looked at the numbers and here they are:
2004: 27 for 54, 328 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT
- Freshman year, obviously, and on the road. This one got off to a promising start but crumbled in the second and third quarters. We fell behind, thus the 54 attempts. Not great, but he's not the reason we lost.
2005: 25 for 36, 223 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT
- In my memory, and I was there, Henne was heroic in this game. Hart was out, and we had zero chance of running on a great OSU defense. Kevin Grady missed a block on a sneak attack QB draw that should have been a clinching TD, we settled for 3, and Troy Smith did the rest. To me this is the toughest of our recent losses to OSU to swallow. Yes, even tougher than...
2006: 21 for 35, 267 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT
- Ok, so you put up 39 points and lose. ITS NOT YOUR FAULT (cue Robin Williams and Matt Damon and... scene).
2007: Game was cancelled, if memory serves correctly, due to inclement weather and unfair injuries.
So there you go. Two worthy performances, one freshman meh showing, and an INC for what should have been senior year vindication. We'd have to wait for the bowl game for that.
I agree wholeheartedly, which is why it's extremely disappointing that Chad Henne never had the experience of having beaten Ohio State. He ranks as one of the best QBs in Michigan history, but when players of teams past meet at various events, he won't have that experience to share with other former players.
Don't get me wrong, it doesn't change what he did as a college quarterback, because like you said, the losses weren't his fault; in fact, quite contrarily, he played very well. I think he handles pressure well, which will prove to be the reason he succeeds as QB in the NFL. I have high expectations.
Henne came out in a great year for QBs. Matt Ryan proved his value with perhaps the best rookie QB campaign ever, and Joe Flacco was more than competent in taking Baltimore to the playoffs. But let's imagine Henne was a year younger or had redshirted and was in this past year's draft. When I look at Matthew Stafford, I see a Henne clone. A number 7 wearing, rocket armed pocket passing Chad Henne clone. And I think they both possess all-pro potential. So Chad, to me, is a #1 pick kind of talent. No sugarcoat, just my epinion
By all accounts, the Dolphins are loving Chad's ability, and it's only a matter of time before he takes the reigns. And when he does, he will likely be joining a playoff team. So there's a lot to be excited about with Chad's NFL career.
navarre stacks up to brady or henne, but didn't he do pretty well against sparty? someone got stats to back me up?
Navarre's stats versus MSU are:
47 of 85 (55%), for 9 TDs and 3 INTs, with 647 yards.
This resulted in 2 wins and 1 loss.
Navarre's QB rating versus MSU would be 147.1, which is outstanding, but noticeably below Henne's.
Henne was consistently clutch versus MSU. You can't argue with those stats or the victories. I'd also like to see him pull out a starting job with the Dolphins. They did draft White, but I can't really imagine him being ahead of Henne in terms of quarterbacking, so long as the team isn't running the wildcat consistently. Chad Pennington gets injured if a stiff breeze comes his way, so here's to hoping that Henne gets a chance to become the beastly NFL quarterback I believe he can be.
where he said he posted on an ESPN board? nobody??
Hey, I was young, foolish and hopped up on meth at the time. I have since, been clean the past year - of both ESPN and meth.
(just kidding about the meth)
When I was young and foolish, I argued about Michigan on YouTube, Mlive, and ESPN. The only thing that could have been worse is if I had added Freep and done all 4. Wow, I deserve negative points for my past. Thank goodness this board was created to save my sanity!
I picked on it! and then I scrolled up after posting and saw your post!
gah. always just a bit too late
first thing that came to mind when reading the title of this post was the touch down pass in the back corner of the endzone to matthews, basically off his back foot, to make it 24-21.
call him emperor xerxes
I posted this on the ESPN board a year and a half ago.masochist.
Drew Stanton was born to beat Michigan according to his father. Yes the same Stanton that calls UofM the University of Puke and who tore off the Desmond Howard EA Sports cover from his game in public. Let's look at his stats in the series.
50 of 88, for 629 yards, with 1 TD and 3 INTs
27 carries for 104 yards with 3 TDs
This resulted in 2.5 games played for an 0-3 record.
I'd still take Henne, who clearly has a much higher QB rating, despite Stanton's predestination to destroy all things UofM until he ran like a fullback and Woodley laid the lumber. True story, about 2 plays before Stanton got injured, I told my friend if Stanton keeps running like that he will either fumble or injure himself.
One thing that is magical about that game is getting that onside kick. Is that the last one that we have recovered?
Technically it wasn't an onside kick, but we did do that pooch kick off against Florida to open the 2nd half, with the intent of recovering the ball....which we did.
EDIT: Posted in the wrong place.
It seems like we've had one more recently than that, but I'm drawing a blank.
I remember that the onside kick recovery was the moment when a lot of people in the stadium started to believe a comeback was possible. I remember the crowd being really, really quiet right before when we kicked the FG to make it 27-13. People weren't happy to settle for three. But then we got the onside and it was like a lightswitch turned on in every fan's mind. What an amazing finish.
Chad Henne rules. He has a stout, studly chin, and gruff, yet inviting stubble, like a lumberjack who will catch a 500-pound trout with his bare hands and then gently fillet it in drawn butter for you.
I love Henne to death. He played his best in games against Little Brother, and I will always think on him with pride.
Most of my family went to MSU, sadly, so anyone who basically makes it their mission to put the farmers in their place is awesome in my book. The stats don't lie.
It's tough for me to hate anything more than OSU, but MSU wins by a hair for the family dis(affiliation).
I was at the 2007 game. Henne's pass to Super Mario was ridiculous. I know which QB wasn't the best, Drew Stanton.
Great topic here IMHO. Here are the QB ratings for some other notables:
Collins - 130.51
Grbac - 117.75
Griese - 115.41
Dreisbach - 192.39
Dreisbach's only start was in a 45-29 win at home in 1996. Pretty stellar performance rivaling what Henne did in 2004 and 2007 - 14 for 23, 203 yards, 4 TDs and 0 ints.
Kind of neat idea for a future Diary:
The Michigan ALL VERSUS MSU TEAM
Every position, the guys who had stand-out careers versus Little Brother.
RB: Mike Hart (four amazing performances, defined rivalry)
FB: B.J. Askew (49 carries, 4.8 YPC)
WR: Braylon Edwards (22 catches, 323 yards -- plus 22 rushing -- 5 TDs, one game won almost single-handedly)
TE: Jerame Tuman
Defensive notables:
DE: Shantee Orr -- 11 tackles (3 games), 3 sacks, 6 TFLs
OLB: Mark Messner -- 26 tackles (4 games), ? TFLs for 67 yards.
ILB: Larry Foote -- 26 tackles (4 games), 6 TFLs, 3 sacks, 4 PBUs
CB: Charles Woodson -- 3 INTs in two games, 17 tackles. Scored two TDs on offense, one giant leap for mankind.
Special Teams notable:
KR: Desmond Howard (6 returns for 165 yards and a TD)
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