Say what you will about Chad Henne's performance as an NFL quarterback, but there's no doubting his ability to block out negativity.
When asked about being called names and being compared to a robot, the man who's arguably the most criticized QB in Dolphins history -- and that's saying something -- says it's never hurt him deep down.
"I understand my position, I've been in it since I was a kid. As a quarterback you're here to win," he said. "I am human, you take it in, you hear the things. But for me personally, I've grown up that way that things don't really bother me."
Except one time. Henne admits that he felt like his critics crossed the line at the August scrimmage where fans showered him with boos.
"When you have your fans kind of rooting against you at practice, it digs down in you. It kind of pisses you off to a point where it's like, this is our home team, root for us good or bad if you're a true fan.
"If we go 1-15 like a few years ago," he said, "we deserve to be booed. But don't come at us at practice."
Henne smiled and quoted Allen Iverson's infamous line, "We're talking about practice, right?"
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That's the Henne people rarely see. But lately, he's making an effort to show his personality more, especially around his Dolphins teammates.
"If you get to know me, I'm not just a boring guy who doesn't show enthusiasm," he said. "I like to have fun with things, enjoy life, and what's better than playing NFL football with a great group of guys?
"I just don't think I've shown a lot of who I really am on the field. Hopefully, this year they get a little taste of that and they saw a little taste in the preseason -- you know, going down the field, getting excited after big plays and showing enthusiasm with the guys."
Three years ago, Henne was dubbed the Dolphins 'quarterback of the future.' But in two seasons as a starter, he's thrown more interceptions than touchdowns, and lost more games than he's won.
Despite an outcry from fans and the media, the Dolphins stuck with Henne as their starter this season, and he intends to pay them back for their loyalty.
He says he's re-discovered his confidence, a transformation that started during the lockout when he was the one who organized voluntary team workouts at Nova Southeastern University. He was the one who had new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's playbook, and spent time teaching it to his teammates.
Then, Henne put together a solid preseason, crediting, in part, an offensive system that he says gives him more control. And even his most critical teammate last season took notice.
"He's just done an amazing job of taking control of the huddle. You need that in a quarterback," Brandon Marshall said after the Carolina game.
"It's always been in me," said Henne. "I showed it in college a little bit. I think it's just a comfort level, just being around the guys, that off-season helped express what kind of person I really am."
Henne also commended Marshall on being a better teammate and said their relationship is totally different than it was last season.
"We communicate all the time, more than we ever have. And not just about football -- about personal life. 'What's going on?' 'How's your wife doing?' 'What are you doing after practice?'
"He's just a normal person. It's great to have him around. He's a changed person, changed for the better."
Henne says Dabol's "whole philosophy of the offense has changed both our mentalities."
He also understands that to win over the fans, he'll have to prove himself during the regular season -- and he's never been this confident.
"Nobody gives us a chance, so why should we be uptight? We should be loose, we should go out there, have fun and attack.
"We're going to show the league the Miami Dolphins are back in town."
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