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Eric Henderson moves to SSLB


TJJackson

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Can't wait to see this guy on defense....

...if he can make the roster. With Brooks, Nicholson, Landon, Caleb, Jeanty and a draft pick, six of what will probably be about eight LB spots are already spoken for -- and there's still the Pollack and Thurman question marks, as well as Andre Frazier, floating around.

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Can't wait to see this guy on defense....

...if he can make the roster. With Brooks, Nicholson, Landon, Caleb, Jeanty and a draft pick, six of what will probably be about eight LB spots are already spoken for -- and there's still the Pollack and Thurman question marks, as well as Andre Frazier, floating around.

They are not "on the roster." Both are RFAs I believe.

It's really:

Henderson

Brooks

Jeanty

Fraizer

Nicholson

Others:

Odell

Not Currently Under contract

Landon

Caleb

Injured

David Pollack.

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Not Currently Under contract

Landon

Caleb

They are effectively under contract. As an RFA, you can either sign your tender and play under that, work out a long-term deal, or spend your Sundays this fall raking leaves and watching the NFL on TV. Both will be here.

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Can't wait to see this guy on defense....was an absolute one man wrecking crew when healthy at Georgia Tech

http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=5942

I agree!!! :sure:

I really like the energy and playmaking that he brings each play.

I thought he would have been a better pick than Frostee -- still have to wait and see.

I think that Jason Berryman, who now playing in Europe is also playing LB. Looks to me like the Bengals are still searching for someone a LB.

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wonder if this means Pollack moves back to DE despite being injured, having another DE converted to OLB with Jeanty and Henderson already doing that seems excessive

wonder if this means Pollack moves back to DE despite being injured, having another DE converted to OLB with Jeanty, Berryman, and Henderson already doing that seems excessive

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I doubt Berryman enters the equation. If he does well in NFLE and camp he's likely PS material.

DE for Pollack makes some sense as a way to ease him back in, but the roster is already tight there, too, with Geathers, Justin and Rucker all apparently locks, plus the two DE/DT swingers, B-rob and Fanene. They have a hole at DT now with S. Smith gone and I suppose they could just move Fanene to DT full time (ugh) and open a spot for a DE...bit they also look to be likely to take a d-lineman at some point in the 1-4 round range, which would crunch things even more.

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Now that is a move that makes sense for the Bengals to try. Good thought by the coaching staff, and plenty of time for Henderson to get used to the position during off-season camps etc. Well worth a shot.

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Don't quote me but I think his 40 was around a 4.7 something. And I have no clue about his shuttle.

Yeah, it was a 4.75. He's lost some weight, so he might be a bit faster now, but Jeanty ran a 4.62... and he's not known for his speed. Henderson will have to get a good pit quicker to be a 2-down SSLB like the article indicates.

Not to burst any bubbles - and I've been wrong before (namely the aforementioned Jeanty), but I doubt he ever amounts to the stud starter that so many people were clamouring about when he was signed. 32 teams didn't view him as worthy of a draft pick, and he couldn't crack the active roster for the Bengals in a year riddled with injuries.

Maybe he is made to be a SSLB and will find success, but I'm leaning toward doubting it. He was a skilled college DE, but the NFL is a different animal. I guess I just have a hard time believing that a guy who can't get signed off of a practice squad warrants the level of excitement this forum brings. Call it the Fanene effect.

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I guess I just have a hard time believing that a guy who can't get signed off of a practice squad warrants the level of excitement this forum brings.

Remember, getting signed off a PS means a team has to put you on its active roster, which makes them fairly rare events to begin with. As for the "level of excitement" around here, hey, no one had said boo about Eric in months -- until Hobson whipped up one of his patented "the next savior is already on the team" pieces. Expect similar opuses (opi?) about Nicholson, Rucker, Brazell and all our draft picks.

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All we need is an experienced lb to lead our young guys, I hope that if Edgerton Hartwell is healthy we would bring him in for a look-see.

I agree that Henderson's best shot of seeing any action comes from being a special teams monster, I hope these young guys can get over their ego and embrace whatever role the coaches give them.

I like Henderson and I hope he has success, I wish him the best luck.

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I guess I just have a hard time believing that a guy who can't get signed off of a practice squad warrants the level of excitement this forum brings. Call it the Fanene effect.

I can speak only for myself, but I think it's fair to assume that Henderson can fill Marcus Wilkins shoes by making the roster as a special teams player. The bottom of the roster always churns, right? And if Henderson can make the team as a special teamer it might buy him enough time to learn a LB or designated pass rush role.

As for the Fanene effect, much of the blame has to go to writers who make quick comparisons to Adalius Thomas while ignoring how long it took before Thomas actually emerged.

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I said boo (and more) about Henderson quite a bit a year ago, and on occasion since then, particularly when Fanene was coming off IR and I had hoped he'd remain on IR and Henderson would be brought up

I know the Wretched One had brought him up a few times as well.

He and Wilkerson have never been off my radar since they signed as UDCFAs in consecutive years.

The reason the other teams passed is because he was injured and couldn't really play last year, and had a considerable injury history to boot. That and 6'2 is generally considered short for a NFL DE

I honestly do see him making the roster this year and getting a lot of playing time

As far as 'excitement level' I think there's not a lot else to talk about right now. :-)

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I guess I just have a hard time believing that a guy who can't get signed off of a practice squad warrants the level of excitement this forum brings.

Remember, getting signed off a PS means a team has to put you on its active roster, which makes them fairly rare events to begin with. As for the "level of excitement" around here, hey, no one had said boo about Eric in months -- until Hobson whipped up one of his patented "the next savior is already on the team" pieces. Expect similar opuses (opi?) about Nicholson, Rucker, Brazell and all our draft picks.

No doubt. This is as much Hobson's fault as anyone's. But hey... he's got the same number of things to talk about as we do right now... so he's digging.

I guess my main issue is that neither he, nor Nicholson, nor Rucker, nor Brazell are going to be "savior's" of anything. As Hair mentioned... the bottom of the roster always churns. We need to view this as a "bottom of the roster" situation.

If he gets some playing time... great. He certainly had a good enough college career to warrant giving the guy a chance to prove himself. But I'll be very surprised if he takes a significant role other than "Special Teamer." He has will be learning a new position while guys like Jeanty and Brooks will be competing for the starter role. It seems unrealistic to imagine him playing as a SSLB for any other reason than injury.

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neither he, nor Nicholson, nor Rucker, nor Brazell are going to be "savior's" of anything.

Frostee the Slowman Rucker will be lucky to make the practice squad this year

back to EH.....

The 4.75 40 time quoted earlier was taken at a weight of 270 pounds, when he intended to play DE. I would expect his 40 time to be in the mid to low 4.6's at the lower weight, and that is a respectable time for his size.

Please also note his production at GT was better (despite time off for injuries) than Mario Williams - you know, his teammate who went number 1 in the draft.

Please also note he also did 30 reps of 225lbs......this is VERY good for a DT and EXCELLENT for a linebacker.

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/profile.php?pyid=10859

Eric himself makes the point in the article that his position at GT was somewhat of a hybrid between DE and LB, so he feels the switch will not be as difficult as one might normally imagine.

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Nah....undersized defensive ends who clock a 5.08 40 at the combine generally aren't fast enough to play in the NFL

Most NFL teams are capable of recognizing this and saying "you know, maybe we shouldn't devote a draft pick, particularly a first day pick, to this player. Maybe, just maybe, a phenomenally slow player might be available as a UDCFA."

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