Turn it loose.
That's the advice NFL Hall of Famer Dan Marino has for current Miami Dolphins QB Chad Henne going into a do-or-die season.
Marino, the standard by which all Dolphins quarterbacks are measured, said Thursday that Henne has a good chance to succeed this year thanks to the NFL lockout.
"He was kind of in charge during the offseason," said Marino, who still keeps a close eye on his old team. "I think that's going to help him a lot. Sometimes coaches can over-coach."
That's easy for the man who was once the NFL's all-time leader in almost every major statistical category. Henne, on the other hand, is coming off a season where he threw more interceptions than he did touchdowns and got booed by fans at practice.
Practice!
The Dolphns really don't have many options if Henne doesn't mature into the final successor to the Marino mantle. Matt Moore is the current back up and Miami failed to trade for or draft a potential franchise quarterback.
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That left Henne as the man, whether he is ready or not.
The entire nation will get to see if Henne is ready as Miami opens the season on Monday Night Football against the New England Patriots.
Henne had a solid preseason and displayed a will to test defenses down the field, bucking the "Check down Chad" label he's carried since he was drafted.
The addition of Reggie Bush and extended work with wide receiver Brandon Marshall should help Henne take the next step, but ultimately, the key to Henne's success lies in his head, Marino said.
"He needs to play the kind of football where he's not worried about making mistakes," he said. "I would just come out and turn it loose. Just let it go."
