I wish he would do it more often - Drenthe in particular should be able to maximize these throws with his pace. Howard does distribute by throwing on his national team quite a bit - and he's quite good at it - very good placement. There was a game in the World Cup where he managed to get the ball 2/3 up the pitch with a throw - Ian Darke's jaw fell open while commentating. He was a talented basketball player earlier on, and it shows in his throws.
Pienaar could also benefit, but I think he's a tad slow to lead a break off a throw.
Interesting. Sounds like he is told to hoof.