Dolphins' future may rest on shoulder of U-M's Chad Henne

MIAMI — The local pro football team was back on the field for an offseason workday, so I went out there trying to find the one guy who is the most important person to this Miami Dolphins franchise.

Jason Taylor was drawing the day’s biggest media crowd by far and by rote upon his return to the team. But it sure wasn’t him.
Second-year tackle Jake Long (out of Michigan) walked past looking like something Michelangelo sculpted, but it wasn’t him, either.
Coach Tony Sparano and personnel maven Bill Parcells (not looking like something Michelangelo sculpted) sauntered off the practice field together, but, no, even they aren’t the most important.
Ricky Williams was over there holding his little court, speaking his free-spirit esotery, talking about the power of praying. Not him, either, of course. (Ricky continues to lead the team in interesting, but not importance).
Top-draft pick cornerback Vontae Davis? Nah. Joey Porter? Nope. Ronnie Brown? Nuh uh. Jimmy Buffett? Let’s move on.
Finally I saw my man, and approached.
“Hi, Chad. Got a minute?”
It wasn’t Pennington.
It was the guy in the No. 7 jersey, backup quarterback and former U-M star Chad Henne.
Hardly played last season as a rookie.
Might hardly play this year.
Most important person to this club nevertheless.
Not to this season, perhaps, but to just beyond it and for a long time thereafter if the Dolphins are right in gambling on his greatness.
To any Dolfan balancing an imperative on right now with an eager eye on tomorrow, there is no more overriding question than this one: “How good will Henne turn out to be?”
Because as surely as Pennington won’t be counted on beyond this year and as surely as Pat White is here as a Wildcat novelty not the future at quarterback, it’s all on Henne.
Will he be Dan Marino or John Beck or shades in-between?
Will he smoothly accept the baton from Pennington and deliver excellence at the most important position, year after Pro Bowl year?

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Or will he bust and leave Miami back at square one in its search for the young franchise quarterback it hasn’t had since Marino circa 1983?
No person more than Henne will impact the team as meaningfully or for as long if he’s great, or leave a bigger crater of disappointment is he isn’t.
(Hey, no pressure, Chad!)
We couldn’t know much about that potential watching Henne throw all of 12 regular-season passes last year. We know a little more now in gauging his progress. Or believe we do.
We look for signs. Hints. We watch his development by degrees, imagining he will be the next Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, but maybe privately fearful he won’t.
We hear testimony from eyewitnesses, and it is impressive.
“What not many people get to see is his confidence, his unbelievable presence in the huddle,” guard Justin Smiley said of Henne. “He acts like he’s been there. The sky’s the limit. He has the makings of a great quarterback. All the tools to be great. And I think he will be.”
Having Pennington as a willing mentor helps.
“It’s been tremendous,” Henne said. “I’m right by his side all the time.”
It takes a generous person to help groom the man who will take his job, but Pennington has been that.
“No. 1, I see great poise and great quarterback demeanor,” Pennington said of his heir to the air. “All the talent in the world, and a very calm demeanor, even when coaches are yelling.”
Sparano mentioned not poise but physical advancement when I asked him what development he had seen in Henne over the past year.
“The change in his body — he is completely, physically much stronger,” said the head coach, crediting quarterbacks coach David Lee with tuning Henne’s mechanics. “The ball’s coming out at a different pace now. And his decision-making process is better.”
That analysis alone tells you why Henne slipped to the second round a year ago. A quarterback who needs to get stronger and better mechanically will slip. We still don’t know if a stronger Henne with a better delivery will be enough.

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Sparano — refreshingly plain-spoken, detailed and honest in most assessments — acknowledges we still haven’t seen Henne in a way we yet must to begin to fully judge if he’ll be a franchise quarterback.
“When the bullets start to fly and you’re doing it in games, that’ll be the best test,” said the boss.
Until then, Henne is doing all he can, which is believing he is good enough while he tries to prove he is.
“Right now, I will try to compete for the starting job,” Henne said, even though Pennington is certain to open as No. 1 barring an injury. “I feel fully confident about my ability to play. I’m humble, but I really feel like I have the ability to lead this team to championships and hopefully Super Bowls.”
Ask Henne if anyone in the NFL reminds him of himself, and he mentions a guy who shared the same coach at Michigan.
“We have similar arm movement and other things,” Henne said.
He meant Tom Brady.
If the comparison looks as good on the field as it does in theory, this franchise’s quarter-century wait for its next great young quarterback might have ended at last.
Of course, “if” shall necessarily remain the biggest word surrounding Chad Henne until which time he has a chance to erase all doubts — and does.