This article is going to be a rant more than anything else, simply because I’m tired of biting my tongue on certain topics.
For starters, the thing that I can’t stand about a lot of football analysis these days is the fact that people willingly ignore common sense so they can try and big-brain everything.
Saying Derrick Henry is on the decline after what we saw last season is a perfect example of that.
The Alabama legend, who was coming off a serious foot injury, just had a season in which he dropped over 1,500 rushing yards, yet some are claiming he’s declining because his yards per carry was down from previous years.
That alone is ridiculous.
Context is important and the reality is that he played with three different quarterbacks and a passing attack that took zero pressure off, and had an offensive line and offensive coordinator that were inept, leading to his running into brick walls on a regular basis.
on 1st downs Tennessee had the #2 highest run rate
despite Ds stacking the box at the #4 highest rate
unsurprisingly the runs ranked #4 worst in efficiency
but nothing stopped them from running into loaded boxes
not even the fact that 1st down passes ranked #3 in efficiency
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) June 21, 2023
Realistically, what exactly was Henry supposed to do last year with that supporting cast, especially when he was the only thing opposing defenses actually had to worry about?
Tennessee couldn’t produce an average passing attack when Treylon Burks was out, and he missed one-third of the season.
To make matters worse, in some of the games Burks did play, he was forced to catch passes from a backup quarterback, meaning defenses would solely focus on Henry in order to force Josh Dobbs or Malik Willis to beat them.
Needless to say, Henry was immediately put in disadvantageous positions more often than not, yet still managed to finish with the numbers he did.
Another thing I’ve seen people talk about is Henry losing his explosiveness. Well, it’s kind of hard to explode and pull off breakaway runs when you’re getting hit at every turn. Not to mention, Henry still finished as one of the most explosive runners in the NFL by Next Gen Stats.
Simply put, anyone who genuinely expected Henry to average five yards a pop and produce explosive, breakaway runs under the circumstances he was in is kidding themselves.
I get it, it can be hard to appreciate what he did with how high he’s set the bar for himself over the years, but we can’t lose sight of the fact that what Henry individually accomplished in 2022 despite everything going on around him was damn-near unbelievable and is certainly not a sign of decline.
How high has Derrick Henry really set the bar for idiots to be labeling 1900 yds of total offense with 13 tds as “declining”? pic.twitter.com/0N2FSAD1lE
— 𝓝𝓲𝓬𝓴 ⚔️ (@FeedKingHenry) July 14, 2023
I’ll end it with this: it’s OK to just enjoy King Henry’s greatness while it’s here without having to nitpick every single thing, especially when that nitpicking is based off anything we saw in 2022.
10 years from now, no one will give a damn about Henry’s YPC. Instead, they’ll marvel at the fact that he probably neared or eclipsed 10,000 total yards over what was essentially a five-season span (81 games, barring injury).
🗣 STOP DOWNPLAYING DERRICK HENRY’s GREATNESS 🗣
— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) June 21, 2023
And, and one thing is for sure: if there is anybody who deserves the benefit of the doubt that he can hold off Father Time longer than most, it’s the monster who wears No. 22 in two-tone blue.
Derrick Henry’s transformation from a big running back to a cyborg doesn’t get talked about enough lol pic.twitter.com/Py2c0t2nMO
— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) July 11, 2023
