Should the New York Jets Bring in Chad Henne to Be Mark Sanchez's Backup?

It looks like former Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano isn't the only one from the Sparano era that's being flushed from the system.

Quarterback Chad Henne could be next in line, according to a report from Omar Kelly of the Miami Sun-Sentinel. And if that's the case, Sparano might be wise to pick up the phone and invite his old friend to join him in his new home with the New York Jets.

Systemic Knowledge

Henne has experience in Sparano's system. Whether or not he can run the system well is another question entirely, but what he can do is help Sanchez get up to speed. 

The question is whether the offense can work for quarterback Mark Sanchez.

Sparano was criticized in Miami for an offense that was oftentimes too conservative—sound familiar, Jets fans? Sounds a lot like the offensive coordinator the Jets just got rid of in Brian Schottenheimer.

Regardless, Sanchez's transition would be made a lot easier if he had a resource like Henne to tap into.

No One Else Pushed Mark Sanchez Like Chad Henne Did

Whether or not Henne and Sanchez are to football what Mayweather and Pacquiao are to boxing (which, clearly, they're not), it's hard to ignore that the two consistently pushed each other to the limit. Their games almost always came down to the very end, with the more steely quarterback winning in the long run.

In order, this is how many points each game was decided by: 4, 5, 8, 4, 18, 2. 

Two of Sanchez's eight best performances in passer rating came in quarterback duels with Henne. Sanchez threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns in a five-point win in 2009 for a rating of 100.3, adding another score on the ground, and he threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns in an eight-point win in 2010 for a rating of 120.5.

If Henne can push Sanchez on the practice field anything like he did on Sundays as a division rival, Sanchez could be pushed to reach new heights for the Jets in 2012.

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