Henry got benched

[sinsay]

Do fans forget that henery got benched in Bufflo?
So while everbody thinks he is the answer at rb. He may just be a guy who get's 1000 yards using alot of carries to do it.I say draft one of the big three and trade LJ for a second or very high third.

 

[arthurracoon]

I read on another post that he is averaging 4.0 ypc for his NFL career.

 

[sinsay]

with a line that was and is better than the cards.

 

[WildBB]

Do fans forget that henery got benched in Bufflo?
So while everbody thinks he is the answer at rb. He may just be a guy who get's 1000 yards using alot of carries to do it.I say draft one of the big three and trade LJ for a second or very high third.

1- They're (top 3) no sure bet. Benson doesn't fit in well. Caddy has durability issues as well. Brown won't be there, for sure.

2- We still need a CB with the top pick. Or Smith if he falls.

3- We should be able to get a 3rd rounder for LJ, true. But who's our RB then, Shipp and _________________ ? I'd say Arrington, Fason or Morency.

 

[CardinalLaw]

with a line that was and is better than the cards.

From everything I hear he had the worst oline in football when he put up his numbers. Are line will be an upgrade over Buffalo's. The only guy they had on that line was Jonas Jennings in his career. He isn't that great.

 

[overseascardsfan]

He was bound to get benched after Buffalo drafted McGahee #1. But their loss is our gain. Henry will get a 1000 yards and you know what if it take a lot of carries that means we can control the clock and everyone won't stay focused on our passing game.

 

[Shane]

Do fans forget that henery got benched in Bufflo?
So while everbody thinks he is the answer at rb. He may just be a guy who get's 1000 yards using alot of carries to do it.I say draft one of the big three and trade LJ for a second or very high third.

Your reaching with the longest pole you can find. Last I checked when you can average 4 yards per carry it really doesnt matter the # of carries. 4 yards is still 4 yards anyway you try and slice it.

Buffalo's line has not been good. They were better last year then they were the years Henry put up 1400 and 1300 respectively. The guy is proven talent at the NFL level no matter how you try and skew it and that was playing in a division that had very stout defenses in the Dolphins and Jets as well.

You make it sound as though he was benched because he sucks. That clearly isnt the case. He is a legitimate NFL running back who can get you 1300+ yards a year and double digit TDs. Those are damn good numbers and would be a welcome sight in Cardinal RED! He was benched in favor of a RB who could get the Bills 1600 yards a year and double digit TDs. So him being benched isnt a bad thing. In fact its great because it means we may be able to land him and I hope we do.

I will take the proven entity(who is still young) over reaching for a RB at # 8 who MAY SUCCEED at the NFL level.

 

[Codeofhammurabi]

Getting Henry will be less of a chance than drafting someone with no NFL experience.


GO CARDS!!!

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Do fans forget that henery got benched in Bufflo?
So while everbody thinks he is the answer at rb. He may just be a guy who get's 1000 yards using alot of carries to do it.I say draft one of the big three and trade LJ for a second or very high third.

BIM: HENRY

 

[seesred]

I'm hopeing we get Henry. He has had huge years and is still very young. Assuming our line gets better than last year when an old Smith had almost 1000 yards rushing, it isn't much of a stretch to think Henry could go 11-12 hundred his first year with us. What does it do. It makes who ever is QB better when you can't just lay back waiting for the pass. It will give us Time of possesion causing the other team to play catch up. I'm a big proponent of picking up this proven back.

GBR
40

In Green we trust

 

[JeffGollin]

Example of the danger of taking things out of context. If Henry was benched at all, it was because "The Pheenom" (McGahey) was on the scene, coming off his injury. Maybe I'm wrong but I vaguely recall Henry being nicked up and, in effect, being "Wally Pipped" by McGahey. Anyone know the real story?

There is a small category of RB's who aren't stupendous at anything but still get the job done. i.e. they're not as big and powerful as Jerome Bettis, as dominant as OJ or as elusive as Barry Sanders. But they did everything relatively well and got the job done. Poster Boys of this category: Marcus Allen, Stump Mitchell, Curtis Martin.

Which begs the question: Does Travis Henry fit with Marcus, Stump or Curtis? Or is he a notch or two below? (His numbers suggest he belongs up there with those guys).

If so, he'd help our team if we had him, and would remove the pressure to draft for need if we felt we needed a RB more than a CB in the first round.

 

[SuperSpck]

Buffalo drafted McGahee due to concerns of Henry being injury prone. He's a talented back with power, good cut, and downhill speed. He sat out a number of games previous to McG being drafted due to injury. So the Bills got a backup for him. That part made sense. What stunned everyone is that the backup they got was rehabbing a nasty knee injury and might never be the RB he once was. The Bills took the gamble anyway and when McG got healthy and Henry got banged up and had to sit a game McG ran (pun) away with it. In the NFL a player will always be replaced with the younger guy. Another case of it happened here, nothing more or less.

 

[Pariah]

I'm not even a big proponent of the Henry trade, and I can see through the "benching" argument. He got benched for a superior RB, IMO. No shame in that. McGahee is going to be pretty special in the NFL, Henry just isn't. Henry's good...maybe even really good; but McGahee is simply better--why wouldn't they bench him. It's not like he got benched for Adrian Murrell.

If Shawn Alexander was playing on the same team as Barry Sanders or Walter Payton or (insert great back here), he'd be benched, too. Does that mean that Alexander isn't a very good RB?

 

[Pariah]

Buffalo drafted McGahee due to concerns of Henry being injury prone. He's a talented back with power, good cut, and downhill speed. He sat out a number of games previous to McG being drafted due to injury.

Why would they draft a RB coming off a terrible knee injury for insurance for an injury-prone back?

They didn't draft him for that reason. They drafted him because they liked his potential, and it paid off.

 

[chickenhead]

I think Buffalo drafted McGahee because they thought they were getting a steal with the 23rd pick. Risky, yes, but you rarely see a high-caliber back fall that far, injury or no injury.

As far as Henry goes, I think emphasizing his benching is a waste of time. The fact that Buffalo feels McGahee is a better fit for them means little to us, since we should be weighing Henry against the opportunity cost of acquiring him, and against the backs in the draft.

 

[Russ Smith]

with a line that was and is better than the cards.

Buffalo's OL was pretty bad when Henry was there, I'm not a big henry fan at all but even I concede that getting the yards he got there with that OL is pretty impressive.

What I don't like about Henry is the "type" of RB he is. he's not a big guy but the way he runs he takes a lot of big hits. jerry P mentioned in another thread that injury prone is a misnomer since his injuries were all the result of collisions, that's true, but the WAY he runs he gets into a lot of collisions.

That's the same question I have on Ronnie Brown, he tends to look for contact, and guys are so big in the NFL I'm not sure that's the smartest way to play as a RB, there's too many guys like Ray Lewis or Sean Taylor that are as big or bigger than you and guys who seek out the contact tend to have shorter careers.

Back to Henry I also don't think he's nearly as a good a receiver as people made him out to be he had one year where throwing him the ball was a big part of the Buffalo offense, and he only averaged 7.2 yards per catch, even Shipp averaged 11 YPC on 38 catches in 2002, Henry isn't an elusive RB so he's not the guy who's effective catching the ball in traffic and making people miss, he just tries to move the pile. he DOES run very hard he's absolutely a good RB, just don't think he's a great one.

If you listen to Buffalo's coach he has said quite consistently he made the switch looking for a spark because they weren't getting enough big plays in the run game and they were looking for a boost in the passing game. McGahee didn't have many big runs himself and he wasn't all that much more effective as a receiver, but that was the reason cited by Buffalo for making the switch.

 

[JeffGollin]

Thanks for the clarification. Sounds like Henry, did in fact, get "Wally Pipped*."

I think when Bills drafted McGahee, Henry had not yet had his breakout year, and they did think they had stolen their running back of the future. When Henry did produce those huge numbers, I think they were as surprised as anyone. And when McGahee came back the following year and wowed the folks in Bills camp, they realized they were suffering from an embarrassment of riches.

For awhile Henry retained the starting job he had earned and did OK, but as soon as he fell victim of nagging injuries, the Bills leaped on that opportunity to immediately put McGahee(whom they viewed as a budding superstar now that he was healthy) in a starting role.

To me that says nothing negative about Henry - other than giving him a small red flag re his durability.

(Note - For those of you not steeped in baseball history - Wally Pipp was starting 1st baseman for the NY Yankees. One day he suffered an injury and was replaced by a young unknown who Lou Gehrig - who went on to set a record for consecutive games played. Pipp never started for the Yanks again).

 

[BigRedMO]

I want more than 4 yards a carry. I want a guy with the potential to deliver like Ottis Anderson in his rookie year. 301 att, 1,605 yds, 4.8 AVG.

 

[Russ Smith]

Thanks for the clarification. Sounds like Henry, did in fact, get "Wally Pipped*."

I think when Bills drafted McGahee, Henry had not yet had his breakout year, and they did think they had stolen their running back of the future. When Henry did produce those huge numbers, I think they were as surprised as anyone. And when McGahee came back the following year and wowed the folks in Bills camp, they realized they were suffering from an embarrassment of riches.

For awhile Henry retained the starting job he had earned and did OK, but as soon as he fell victim of nagging injuries, the Bills leaped on that opportunity to immediately put McGahee(whom they viewed as a budding superstar now that he was healthy) in a starting role.

To me that says nothing negative about Henry - other than giving him a small red flag re his durability.

(Note - For those of you not steeped in baseball history - Wally Pipp was starting 1st baseman for the NY Yankees. One day he suffered an injury and was replaced by a young unknown who Lou Gehrig - who went on to set a record for consecutive games played. Pipp never started for the Yanks again).

Henry and McGahee were teammates for 2 years and one of those years McGahee was inactive the whole year rehabbing.

henry began this season as the starter, started 5 of the first 6 games, was very ineffective, the team was 1-5 with the lone win over Miami in the game Henry didn't start(or play in). If you really look the schedule was REALLY tough early 4 of those 6 games were Jax, New England, the Jets and the Ravens 4 VERY good defenses and all tough to run on. But Henry was in the low 3 YPC when he got benched. McGahee's first start, Miami, he got 111 yards and Buffalo got their first win, he was back on the bench the next week against Baltimore to start the game but had 16 carries in the loss to Baltimore and was named the starter next week.

Buffalo won 8 of the next 9 games with McGahee topping 100 6 of those 9 games. So yeah it's not at all embarassing to have lost his job the way he did because the team turned around completely at that time so it's quite easy to see why Mularkey stuck with McGahee. It's impossible to PROVE that the RB switch explained the 1-5 going to 8-1, the schedule was much easier in the 8-1 run than in the 1-5 start, but no coach in the NFL would have gone back to Henry with his team that hot and when Henry's leg injury was found to be a stress fracture, there was no point risking further injury so they shut him down the last 5 games of the season.

It's easy to say McGahee's contract is why he played but his cap value isn't all that much higher than Henry's, in 2003 about 300K more, 2004 a bit more I'm not sure precisely how much because I don't know what incentives he earned.

Buffalo was looking to jumpstart the offense, they won 8 of 9 after the switch so for whatever reason it worked.

 

[slanidrac16]

The most attractive thing about Henry is that he gives us a bonofide NFL RB and allows us to indeed take the BPA when we get on the clock.

We are going to need another rb anyway( imho). In essence Henry would cost us a guy ( Shelton) whos bags are already packed.

Some publications have Arrington lasting until late in the 3rd round. With Henry we could take a chance that he will indeed still be there with pick #75. Our 2nd round pick could be the best O-Lineman available.

How would you like :

Henry to go along with Pacman...Mankins....and Arrington.

In reality if nothing changes we are going to be almost forced to take rb/cb or cb/rb in the first two rounds.

 

[spikecop02]

Henry got benched coming off the injury I thought.

 

[apulshunny]

Another Bills fan infecting the thread:

IMHO, Henry for Shelton straight up is a steal for the Bills. Even if Henry rushes for 1500 yards for the next 5 years for you, he's worthless to us now.

Also, Henry has a checkered past and has proven by his comments recently and when McGahee was drafted that he's as dumb as a box of rocks.

Unfortunately for all, Donahoe still has the chip on his shoulder about being dumped in Steel-town, so all he has done since coming to Buffalo is make one "catch-your-attention" move after another. Some worked out, most have not. As evidence:
1) Hires Greg Williams over Marvin Lewis and John Fox
2) Decides Rob Johnson IS worth investing another season in.
3) Trades future first rounder for Drew Bledsoe
4) Franchises Peerless Price in hopes of re-acquiring 1st round pick given up for Bledsoe (not a bad move, just another attempt to assert "brilliance")
5) Signs Takeo Spikes, possibly the most coveted free agent in 2003.
6) Uses the 1st round pick obtained for Price to take a remarkable gamble on McGahee
7) Quickly uses up recently acquired cap spact to acquire Lawyer Milloy before season opener 2004
8) Fires Greg Williams, hires another unproven coach without the highest credentials in Mike Mularkey
9) Absorbs an 8 MILLION DOLLAR CAP HIT last summer to keep Bledsoe another year (a move that also cost us a couple of additional million this off-season)
10) Allows younger, more productive A. Winfield to leave and acquires aging Troy Vincent who will now be an overpaid safety
11) Trades this year's first to draft J.P. Lohsman, a QB with notable maturity issues
12) Holds up a win-win trade involving Henry long enough that Henry shoots his mouth off (which was INEVITABLE) and likely hurts some of the value he actually had. In a season where neither SHAWN ALEXEXANDER nor EDGERIN JAMES can be dealt for a 2nd round pick.

Yep, things are looking up for us.

MEMO TO DENNY: Stay away from Henry. Selfish guy without much upstairs. He will NEVER remind you of Robert Smith (the smartest guy in the NFL back in the day).

 

[moklerman]

I'm not a Henry fan either but the more I think about it, I have to acknowledge the fact that he may have been compiling pretty impressive stat's while in Buffalo. I mean, you have to consider that he was playing in the toughest division in football against three different top defenses (Miami, New England and New York). More importantly, as much as I was rooting for Bledsoe to resurrect his career, Buffalo hasn't had much of a passing game the last few years. At times it was downright bad.

So, rushing to solid numbers in a situation where the deck was stacked against him, I think Henry might be a better back than I gave him credit for. Could he come in and duplicate the Marshall Faulk/Priest Holmes role? As solidly as he played on a restricted offense in Buffalo it just might be a pretty good possibility.

 

[Russ Smith]

MEMO TO DENNY: Stay away from Henry. Selfish guy without much upstairs. He will NEVER remind you of Robert Smith (the smartest guy in the NFL back in the day).

That's part of Henry that I've been concerned with all along, as you say he really has had a "checkered past" that makes you wonder if thats why Buffalo drafted McGahee with a guy coming off 1400+ yards.

 

[bills_phan]

That's part of Henry that I've been concerned with all along, as you say he really has had a "checkered past" that makes you wonder if thats why Buffalo drafted McGahee with a guy coming off 1400+ yards.

Don't pay too much attention to apulshunny, an obvious Tom Donahoe hater. His view of Henry is jaded by his dislike for the GM. I mean look at the laundry list of bad things TD has done (common, rehashed dead-horse-beating fodder on any Bills message board).

apulshunny, these people are Cardinals fans and don't likely give a rat's ass about the Bills or their percieved GM/fan troubles. Give it a rest.

Henry is actually a solid guy who works hard and doesn't create a lot of waves. He's been screwed by the Bills in this situation and has held up better than I would have thought.