Should we have played Henne the entire 2nd half?
 

I keep seeing on social media that Chiefs fans are pissed at Mahomes and Reid and insist that Henne should have played the rest of the game.

I have to ask the Planet their opinion because I don't get it. It's the playoffs, it's win or go home. I don't see us winning that game with Henne because that last TD to MVS was pure Mahomes, Henne doesn't make that throw. Nor does he make a couple of the throws leading up to it.

Nah, no no thanks.

The RPM's may be redlined and yeah, something may catastrophically break loose. But I'm in the last lap here. There's no tomorrow at this point and the pit crew assured me nothing is broken to badly and or won't get worse so we're full throttle here.

1st! err I mean 2nd!

I haven't even seen this accusation on social media, much less heard of a fan or human being having this take.

Exactly.

I mean, they mounted a 98-yard TD drive. I get that people were excited but they all seem to forget that his very first pass was tipped and nearly intercepted.

Nah... it's very Casual Fan to think just because Henne did it once, he'd just keep finishing drives and scoring touchdowns, but unless they thought there was a significant risk of making the ankle worse and they just ignored it and let him play anyway.... meh.

Lose next week and I doubt we're thinking "what if he had sat the entire 2nd half?!?" :shrug:

Literally half of the drive was a RB popping out of a pile and going for 45 of that.

Great job Chad, head on back to the bench.

Here's one. He not only said Henne should have finished the game, he said Mahomes was immature for not sitting out. Do you need more?

Me either. But, to each their own.

If Mahomes can play without causing long term damage, he has all off season to get the ankle right. The opposite is true? Set his ass on the bench. We will get more shots at a SB, we don't need to burn Mahomes this year.

This is why I stay off social media.

I don't think there's any question we lose that game if Henne is our QB in the second half.

Seems like KC took the proper steps necessary to assess and weigh the risks of Mahomes coming back in.

They reigned him in, had it looked at, gathered the input from their medical staff and made a decision.

Unless I've not seen an disagreeing opinion from a medical professional involved, it appears to have been the right call.

It's great to have in case of brake glass Henne, but he's not winning that game. Mahomes is him...

In the regular season, I would have said yes, but in the playoffs, it's go time.

It's easy to try and make that argument after the fact. As has been said, we're not in a position to ask that question without Mahomes doing what he does after he came back in.

I think there's a good argument for it. The Jags didn't prepare for Henne, they prepared for Mahomes, so that gives you an advantage to a Henne run offense vs a Mahomes one. As long as Henne doesn't turn the ball over I think you still win a close game without having to risk Mahomes further. Everyone in that stadium was nervous letting Mahomes come back in, clearly going against the wishes of the medical staff and coaches. There's a point where being a warrior and competitor goes against you, and your hubris and pride takes a fall. Luckily that didn't happen with Mahomes and he can have a good rest this week before Sunday night.

Hard to say, but I would have liked to have seen them keep pounding the ball with Pacheco in the second half when Mahomes was back in for the 2nd half. It didn’t seem like the Jags defense had an answer for him.

How is this even a thing?!

Well, those people are nuts. I think that's a lot of hindsight with the D holding up the rest of the game

Lmfao “prepare for the chad”?! Yep that’s it, they needed prep time to game plan for a wobble launcher that’s been rusting away for years on the sidelines. That’s it.

Facebook fan posts on the click baits are generally posts that make tuckdaddy look like a genius

I think they did their due diligence, they did the XR to make sure nothing was broken, and they knew what the injury was. These sorts of sprains are treated symptomatically so it's a matter of pain management.

I think you do send him back into the game to see if he can execute the offense to a better standard than Henne could. In a playoff game the risk of further injury is going to be there but if you lose anyway, it doesn't really matter.

I can see both sides of it, but I don't think Henne wins the game. No way to know - they call the game differently if Henne is QB, things could have played out differently in either direction.

Henne only accounted for like 20 of those 98 yards, lets not forget how lack luster he was in his last playoff appearance. It was just a matter of time before the jags got to him.

Yeah, yeah I know. I made the mistake of following some Chiefs pages while I was taking a break from CP. I've seen so many stupid takes now that I can't look away. It's like rubbernecking.

Sometimes I read "I keep seeing on Twitter Chiefs fans......" and am confused because I've been on Twitter for days and haven't seen a single person say whatever that sentence ends with. What I think you meant to say was, "I saw someone say they were pissed...."

I've seen no one expressing frustration over playing Mahomes in the 2nd half.

The dumbest people are always the loudest.

ROFL

BTW, Jags fans LOVED seeing the guy they used to call Checkdown Chad engineer a critical TD drive against them in the playoffs. That added some additional pain/irony to the whole thing.

But they've no reason to hang their heads, Jax is on the way up and will be around for a while having the HC and the QB needed to build a consistent winner.

They're everywhere. I just posted a screenshot. I can find A LOT more.

That looks like a rando twitter comment responding to a Chiefs fan account I've not heard of. I guess I don't really count those guys. Twitter repliers are flooding Twitter with crazy 24/7. I follow a fair amount of KC and Twitter accounts. The closest thing I saw was from PFT during the game suggesting the team needed to take the decision out of Patrick's hands to protect the player. But then when Mahomes came back he was cheerleading him.

I’m not educated enough about high-ankle sprains to make that determination. Reid and the Chiefs medical staff are so I trust their judgement.

So you think I'm lying? Do I need to post more screenshots?

You can doubt Chad Henne as a great backup if you want, but you look pretty ****ing stupid by dismissing him as a rusted away wobble launcher, and I think most of the fan base and the Chiefs team would smack you down pretty quick on that one.

Henne got the 1st down to clinch the game when Mahomes went down in the divisional last year. He did take it from the 2 yard line to a TD this year. Thanks Pacheco.

But, to trust him to win a going to a SB game against Burrow is just not realistic. I recognized at least two of the plays he ran last year and ran this year. Defense's are going to prepare for him on Sunday.

None of this is a diss of Henne. You need an elite QB in 2023 or playing like one, to be in the SB. We either punch our ticket with a hobbled Mahomes or we go home.

Not lying, but probably misinterpreting the validity of the sample size of rando twitter commenters. You can post more if you want. Had not heard even a whiff of this until this thread.

The Chiefs have a highly trained medical staff that has spent their entire careers learning how to manage sports injuries and what they need to do is listen to guy that works in the warehouse over at the legends Nebraska Furniture Mart and tweeting on his phone while taking a crap.

They make it sound like Henne is the prototypical backup QB. Has the attitude he's going to play every week and prepares as such, has been with the team for years and knows every detail inside and out, knows to execute the plays and not try to do too much.

If you have an untested rookie playing in that situation you end up with turnovers. You need an experienced hand who's not going to get carried away by "this is my moment" feelings, someone who can just unemotionally run the plays like he's done a hundred times before.

I can assure you, I'm not misinterpreting it. I've seen dozens of posts on FB this morning saying we should have held Mahomes out because we need him next week. Dozens. I'll leave it at that.

I think this writer has personal beef with the Chiefs. Must be a Cowgirl fan as his twitter account says CBS is promoting him and can move back to Texas. He questioned every move by the Chiefs.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/m...ers-make-list/

Yes, Mahomes needed to play in the second half.

Henne's very first pass was almost intercepted. Probably should have been. The running game bailed him out.

We would have won either way. That's how the Chiefs roll.

bingo
he had a 98 yd TD drive doing just what you described

Yeah, it's not like he never makes an error or he wouldn't be a backup, but I'm discounting a tipped ball and considering that he made no other mistakes.

No. Once they knew there weren't any breaks they should have put him right back into the game. Instead, they let Henne finish the drive and Mahomes was out of the locker room before Pacheco broke that run.

I don't think Mahomes was being immature really, I think he is just ultra-competitive and wanted to get back out there to help the team win. He knew he sprained it. There's nothing you can do for a sprain other than tape it up and let him play on it anyhow.

I think social media is filled with alot of idiots that never played the game. Playing with broken fingers and sprained elbows and ankles is about as normal as taking your daily shit.

It was one drive where the running game did all the work.

Do you honestly think we're winning that game with Henne playing the rest of the way?

But isn't there some level where if you look at the replies to anything on facebook and twitter you'll see the dumbest 1/3 of humanity? Chiefs stories, news stories, posts by the city parks department, anything you like. I don't think the sharpest people spend their time bickering on facebook.

I say this as someone who casually bickers on CP, of course, acknowledging the irony.

I love Henne as much as the next guy but ya...NO

Oh, you're 100% correct. Like I said before, I made the mistake of tuning into the train wreck when I was away from CP and now I can't look away. The stupidity is mesmerizing.

Yeah, no.

We only need him next week if we win, and I’m sure that’s exactly how Mahomes felt

Henne did a great job on that drive, but they guy was limited when he was young, which he is not.

I have zero confidence in Henne over a large sample size to win a big game against a quality opponent.

I don't look at it as bailing him out.

I look at it as being efficient with what you have.

No, I don't think so. There's a chance... maybe they pound the rock and it works, Pacheco takes over the game, something. The defense played pretty well.

I give Henne credit for doing his job on that drive, but a 98 yard TD drive was a pretty unlikely outcome and you don't manage the game like you can expect that to continue or like you won't need any more points.

Fair enough.

No

But it was still only one drive. To win the game, we were going to have to complete a pass longer than 6 yards. That's not Henne.

Yeah, it's sort of like betting on a bad team pulling an upset and seeing them win. Great, you won against the odds. Don't bet on them every week.

It's cool man. It's my fault for looking at that shit anyway. I should have tuned it out a long time ago.

I get that.

I don't think any team truly expects to win a playoff game with the backup if their top QB in the league goes down.

The people yammering for Henne to be the starter for the second half are thinking that playing would further injure Mahomes, IMO.

That's silly, simply because Pat knows if he's able to play.

Yeah, it can be maddening. I am wondering if we'll see debate as the week goes on about who should be playing in the AFCCG. Probably will depend on the news we are getting out of 1 Arrowhead Drive as the days progress.

He has been a QB for 25 years? Oh rly? Why have I never heard of you, random dude? :shake:ROFL

Let me say this:

I am so thankful for CP. It's really nice to come back here and see real football talk from people who actually know the game.

Chiefs do have the best quarterback from Michigan in this year's playoffs, even if he did play there in the 80s.

We also have Quesadilla Joe

I mean we won, so no.

You don't 'take points off the board' so to speak. Survive and advance - we advanced and there's no way of knowing if we would've with Henne in there.

But full disclosure: I'd have had Henne take that first drive of the 2nd half to see how things went. When Mahomes had that short carry for a first down up the middle, cleared the sticks and went straight down, it was clear how much of a hindrance that ankle was. And he misfired on 2 or 3 of his passes as soon as he came out.

I'm not positive he was better in that state than Henne would've been, but I AM positive we won the ballgame and as such, onward and upward.

And, he has never lost to Burrow! :-)

If your star player can play, even limited, you go down swinging with him.

70% Mahomes (I didn't see the game, was working, so correct me if I missed the percentage,) beats a healthy Henne, physically and team emotionally, all day.

And with Pat’s injury, we are probably going to run an offense that will suit Henne to a T this week in the event he needs to play.

I don’t doubt this team or staff. Those close games played to end the year build team character and attitude.

The Chiefs are primed and a dog in their own house .

CP is about as social media as I get

Trust me, I learned a valuable lesson in my time away.

First of all, who the **** is Chris Spear? Second, in what league did he play QB for 25 years? His company's intramural flag football league?

Henne is an older version of what he once was, a poor man's Alex Smith. You can spout off about his once a year heroics, but let him play the entire season in today's NFL and you'll be drafting in the top 10.

I’m proud of henne and he has a place in chiefs history for two terrific playoff performances. But my god can we stop the narrative that he isn’t a clear backup? If there’s any downside it’s that people (including our own for some reason) have this weird idea that mahomes is a system qb and reid can win with just anyone.

Andy Reid backups were doing this all the way back to chase Daniel. Brilliant 1-2 drives then back to normal once the defense adjusts. You can only do so much with quick dink and dunk. Before henne had a gutsy finish in Cleveland he had a few bad drives and Cleveland climbed back.

Mahomes had a good second half. And we won. So there is no doubt that the approach we took was a winning approach.

I feel like it's only Bills fans who believe that.

If it's the regular season, you'd probably consider it.

But guys, it's the playoffs. Lose and go home. Season over.

Patrick would not have gone back out there if the trainers thought his injury was severe enough that playing on it more would lead to permanent damage. In the playoffs, Mahomes with a bad ankle is still more dangerous than a fully healthy Chad Henne. Zero doubt in my mind.

No. Jacksonville would eventually catch on to the gameplan. There were throws Mahomes made on the final TD drive that Henne wouldn't make.

Dance with the girl that brought you.

50% Mahomes is better than 100% Henne.

Henne got away with a near pick as well.

Yeah we almost had pure disaster right out of the gate. Instead it ended up being longest TD drive in Chiefs playoff history and Henne getting showered with love. It's a fickle game, sometimes.

I had a few beers by the time the Mahomes injury happened, and for some reason, I thought he injured his knee. I was bewildered when he went limping around, and then ended up back in the huddle. Once it sunk in that it was his ankle, I understood that it wasn't as bad.

We desperately need Mahomes for the AFCCG. I had mixed feelings about him playing the rest of the game. The Jags were coming after us pretty hard and I was worried about Mahomes getting hurt worse. I am glad that taping his ankle let him finish out the game. If his warrior mentality wasn't evident to the rest of the world, it certainly is now. Everything worked out great, so playing him was the right decision.

However...Henne led an impressive drive when Mahomes went out. I'm not set on the fact that Henne also couldn't have gone on to win that game. The Jags prepped for playing Mahomes, not Henne, and I think that first drive caught them off guard a bit. We were also running the ball very well with Pacheco. If EB and Reid protected Henne with smart play calling, who knows? It appeared that the rest of the team realized they needed to level up their game when Patrick was out.

Yeah, weird how that works.

But I view Henne as a hero today.

That said, as long as Patrick Mahomes II isn't at increased risk of further injury, you play Mahomes. He's still got the arm and the quick reads.

It stinks that he's losing mobility right now, though. That's a major weapon for him. And it's a bit worrisome that some of his throws were off due to not being able to plant his foot properly. The Bengals are getting really lucky to not face 100 percent of Mahomes, though of course we'll still win.

Not only no, but hell no.

If Patrick wants to play and the docs say it's OK, Henne sits. Besides, Henne's drive is nothing w/o Pacheco's run.

I hope his ankle is getting hourly attention. Isn't his wife a physical therapist or something? That's 24/7 medical care.

I think I know who he is.

https://i.pinimg.com/564x/f8/e5/40/f...f26ec7065d.jpg