kearly":30mu0jms said:
McGruff":30mu0jms said:
JMO but when I watch Henry I see a guy who is decisive and explodes at the LOS.
And who are these better athletes?
https://3sigmaathlete.com/rankings/rb/
At 240 pounds, Henry is in the top 5, with the only guys above him being unproven small conference players with glaring weaknesses.
The prevailing notion among evaluators is that Derrick Henry lacks explosiveness and agility. Five anonymous NFL executives were asked to make a player comparison for Derrick Henry. Three of them said Brandon Jacobs, one of them said Eddie Lacy, and the remaining GM said LaGarrette Blount. An NFC RB coach compared him to Marion Butts. All physically impressive runners, but none them are agile or explosive. Former NFL RB Merrill Hoge added to this line of thinking by directly stating that Henry lacks the "spontaneous agility" to succeed in every scheme in the NFL.
I don't always agree with NFL consensus but in this case I do. While Henry possesses a freakish vert and broad jump for a person his size, the end result of all that leg power is only a 1.61 ten yard split. To put that number in comparison:
Christine Michael: 1.49
Marshawn Lynch : 1.53
Robert Turbin: 1.57
Michael Robinson: 1.61
Spencer Ware: 1.65
Henry's 10 yard split is in the same range as fullbacks and sluggish RBs.
This shows on tape too. He can reach scary high speeds but is only worth using if the team around him is skilled enough to make sure he never touches anything. Every time I see Henry get bottled up or someone grabs his ankle for a second behind the LOS, it seems like he is almost always swarmed over and tackled right after. His top speed is excellent, but he has to be unfettered to reach it. If he were a Mario Kart character, he'd be Bowser.
For the right team, he's a great pick. However, I tend to think Seattle is the perfectly wrong team barring big changes in the OL. I don't think Seattle is lying about their interest in Henry, but I think this is one of those cases where they look at his physical size and traits and can't help but drool, even if his actual fit in the offense is dubious.
Waking up in the middle of the night now, and this actually makes sense.
I guess I read "slow to the LOS" and interpreted that as tentative. Shaun Alexander was slow to the LOS. While I see some similarities between Shaun and Henry, that wasn't one. Henry isn't tentative. But the build up speed is a real deal with Henry.
I guess part of me gets frustrated because I see Henry being pigeon holed and pre judged on the basis of the team he played for. Not saying you, kearly, are doing that, but others seem to be. Becuase he had a great line, he either sucks or needs to go to a team with a great line. Kinda like Russell Wilson isn't good becuase he has a run game and defense to make him look good. No, Russell Wilson is good with or without those things, but they certainly help. Same goes with Henry. He's good regardless.
I do think it's hard to project how he would do in less favor let circumstances, becuase he's never had to face them consistently. He's never been hit in the backfield 2 out of every 5 snaps. But with the possible long term changes in our scheme from a pure power game to a more spread out offense, I wonder if that changes things. I think holes were there for Rawls becuase of the changes made in the offensive game planning, and I suspect they would be there for Henry as well. But it is a bit of a projection.
But I do suspect Attyla is right on the money, and it why I stick with my tougher version. Of Shaun Alexander comparison. The style is different, but the rsult would be similar IMO. A few more losses off set by a few more 60 yard home runs.
I thin it's the big play ability that has Carroll intrigued. Carroll loves big plays.