Miami Dolphins coach shows tough love to QB Henne

[DolFan619]

http://www.miamiherald.com/616/story/661348.html

Miami Dolphins coach shows tough love to QB Henne

BY JEFF DARLINGTON
Miami Herald

Nearly two weeks ago, upon the Dolphins' return to South Florida after a preseason win in Jacksonville, coach Tony Sparano and quarterback Chad Henne were chatting about some corrections the rookie planned to make following a still-solid performance.

''What did I yell at you for?'' Sparano asked.

Henne paused, taking a moment to recollect nearly three quarters that he played.

''Which time?'' the rookie joked.

During that particular showing -- which included three Henne-led drives resulting in field goals -- the quarterback estimates Sparano met him at the sideline with a harsh scolding at least twice. Through the entire preseason, the total has to be up to six or seven.

These aren't just quick shoulder shrugs that would suggest Sparano is simply annoyed, either. No, these are all-out verbal thrashings, full of all the body language that would suggest Henne had just handed the ball to a defender on the final drive of the Super Bowl.

Welcome to the tough-love relationship between a coach and his new quarterback-in-training, a player Sparano believes with conviction has the potential to become the face of this team.

''Some coaches are like that,'' said Henne, who admits he appreciates the purpose of the loud lectures much more after the fact than he does during the moment. ``Some coaches have a player on the team they think has potential, and they get after them.''

A SOLID START

Henne, no doubt, has become that player in Sparano's eyes.

See for yourself. Since Henne is likely to see some decent playing time during Thursday night's final preseason game against the Saints at 8 p.m., although Chad Pennington will start, the highly vocalized lessons surely will resume.

''Man, he does get after him!'' linebacker Channing Crowder said. ``I just noticed it last game [against the Chiefs], actually. You can see Coach Sparano's head and his neck bobbing all over the place, yelling at him loud as can be.

``And the funny thing is, I thought he had a pretty nice drive. I was cheering on the offense, and I thought Henne did a good job. Then, coach Sparano just lets him have it!''

Some players clearly don't take well to the approach. Others, such as wide receiver Greg Camarillo, said it took him some time to get used to Sparano's criticism, since he had never dealt with it before, but he has now learned to embrace it.

Henne, though, isn't just any player. First, he's on offense, which is Sparano's expertise. Second, he's a rookie with loads of potential, and Sparano sees it. And finally, he's a quarterback -- so he'll undoubtedly need to have some tough skin.

''Coach Sparano gives a lot of people crap,'' Camarillo said. ``But I mean, when you're a starting quarterback, you need to know what you're going to get praise when the team does well and you're going to catch a lot of crap when it doesn't go well.

``He takes it in stride.''

Actually, if Henne wasn't hearing an earful each time he left the field, he should be concerned. Make no mistake, Henne has become one of Sparano's prized possessions, a player he clearly embraces to the point of nearing adoption.

One of Henne's best qualities in the NFL has already been his toughness and his swagger, which makes this relationship so strong between them.

Perhaps that's why, to spectators watching it unfold, the scoldings are becoming more entertaining than intimidating. Consider last week against Kansas City, when Henne threw an interception 2 yards shy of a touchdown.

''Oh yeah, he was going berserk,'' Henne said. ``We were in the red zone and we're not supposed to turn the ball over there. We had three points in the pocket, and I threw the ball a little too flat. Not to mention, we had adjusted that earlier in the week.''

Henne doesn't often stop to chat as Sparano tees off on him, instead simply walking past him toward quarterbacks coach David Lee. But he still listens to what he has to say, because ultimately Sparano always has a point.

STRIVING FOR PERFECTION

Sparano also has an even bigger point beneath the yelling. He wants his players to strive for perfection, even if it's preseason and even if Henne is making more big plays than bad ones.

''If we make it tough in practice and we make it tough in these preseason games, then when we get to the games it becomes just a little bit easier,'' Sparano said.

Henne isn't complaining, either. Not at all. And as the coach pointed out, if Henne thinks he's hearing it often, he should just go talk to his former college teammate and current left tackle.

Then, Henne will realize these scoldings are about as soft as a Hallmark card.

''If the quarterback thinks that's hard,'' Sparano said, ``then they should live in Jake Long's shoes.''

[fyo]

Some players clearly don't take well to the approach.

Let's just see if we can avoid having players leave practice crying this year