Eric Henderson moves to SSLB

[BlainThePain]

I remember it. They were trying to find someone to fill the role Geathers failed at. I still think they're trying to find somebody like that, which is why you shouldn't be surprised if we draft Carriker.

[HairOnFire]

How much time are you guys going to spend debating whether a DE kicked inside to improve the pass rush is still a DE or has somehow morphed like a butterfly into a DT?

I'll guess that every DE on the Bengals roster has been kicked inside to occasionally produce a front with DE's now playing side by side. And we've all seen John Thornton occasionally line up on the edge, right? So who thinks he's a DE?

Nobody, right?

[derekshank]

I take it that your a guy that sees the glass half empty aren't ya DS?

No, I'm not a pessimist. Read through my posts. I'm generally optimistic... but I'm also a realist. Forgive me if I don't see a how guy who couldn't make the team last year is going to lead us to the promised land. I'm clearly being unreasonable.

[TJJackson]

He lined up at DE all through the pre-season. I'm going back and watching the tapes, and still have yet to come across a play where he was lined up inside at DT.

Keeping reviewing, you'll see it, particularly in the latter half of the later preseason games

[Kirkendall]

Do you guys really sit around and watch pre-season game tapes?

[Stripes]

I would if I had 'em.

[BengalPappaw]

I take it that your a guy that sees the glass half empty aren't ya DS?

No, I'm not a pessimist. Read through my posts. I'm generally optimistic... but I'm also a realist. Forgive me if I don't see a how guy who couldn't make the team last year is going to lead us to the promised land. I'm clearly being unreasonable.

Funny, you could say the same thing about Rudi -- remember he started out on our practice squad. If Henderson can do for the defense as well as Rudi did for the offense -- I would be happy.

[TJJackson]

Do you guys really sit around and watch pre-season game tapes?

I don't....I use this thing called "memory"

How much time are you guys going to spend debating whether a DE kicked inside to improve the pass rush is still a DE or has somehow morphed like a butterfly into a DT?

That has little to nothing to do with it, oh ye of the flaming noggin.

Preseason is about evaluation, particular your new players, and it seems quite a bit unfair to me to evaluate a DE by seeing how he does at DT. I'm all in favor of trying a DE....follow this closely, okay?.....at DE. :-)

Then again, that's just me :-)

Given that Marvin wants to show a 3-4 look on a small but significant percentage of defensive downs, though, I imagine he is trying to find players he can rotate between DE and OLB, and Henderson has the chance to be that kind of player.

I have to keep reminding myself that Marvin's defense on that all-time great Baltimore team was a 3-4, despite the fact that Marvin doesn't really have the right personnel for that configuration here.

[Spor_tees]

I take it that your a guy that sees the glass half empty aren't ya DS?

No, I'm not a pessimist. Read through my posts. I'm generally optimistic... but I'm also a realist. Forgive me if I don't see a how guy who couldn't make the team last year is going to lead us to the promised land. I'm clearly being unreasonable.

Funny, you could say the same thing about Rudi -- remember he started out on our practice squad. If Henderson can do for the defense as well as Rudi did for the offense -- I would be happy.

If I remember correctly, Rudi wasn't on the practice squad. He started out returning kick-offs and then got injured.

[BengalPappaw]

I was going by memory too -- I went back to the Bengals Report, but only have them back to his second year -- and he was NOT on the Practice Squad then.

Another case of convenient memory.

[HairOnFire]

Preseason is about evaluation, particular your new players, and it seems quite a bit unfair to me to evaluate a DE by seeing how he does at DT.

Following your argument isn't difficult. Finding merit in it is a tougher challenge, and on that score I'd say you're wasting too much time making a silly semantic argument of no real value.

Players line up in other positions all the time but doing so doesn't make them something they aren't. For example, Anthony Munoz wasn't a TE despite having repeated success as a pass catcher on trick plays. And kicking Eric Henderson inside on a handful of plays doesn't make him a DT as much as it suggests the Bengals occasionaly use an "extra DE" to improve their interior pass rush.

Granted, hybrid players do exist with DE/OLB and DE/DT being amongst the most common. But at some point you've got to ask yourself if the player being bounced around from time to time is being counted on for more than spot duty at his unnatural position.

Again, it's a silly semnatic argument and if you want to suggest that the Bengals had any designs of making Eric Henderson a real DT then you're welcome to it.

[JoePong]

Do you guys really sit around and watch pre-season game tapes?

I don't....I use this thing called "memory"

How much time are you guys going to spend debating whether a DE kicked inside to improve the pass rush is still a DE or has somehow morphed like a butterfly into a DT?

That has little to nothing to do with it, oh ye of the flaming noggin.

Preseason is about evaluation, particular your new players, and it seems quite a bit unfair to me to evaluate a DE by seeing how he does at DT. I'm all in favor of trying a DE....follow this closely, okay?.....at DE. :-)

Then again, that's just me :-)

Given that Marvin wants to show a 3-4 look on a small but significant percentage of defensive downs, though, I imagine he is trying to find players he can rotate between DE and OLB, and Henderson has the chance to be that kind of player.

I have to keep reminding myself that Marvin's defense on that all-time great Baltimore team was a 3-4, despite the fact that Marvin doesn't really have the right personnel for that configuration here.

Now you have really lost credibility. Marvin ran a 4-3 defense in Baltimore, not a 3-4. He had the two massive DTs, Adams and Siragusa. Ray Lewis was the middle LB. I think you are imagining things, just like you imagined that the Bengals were ever interested in making Eric Henderson a DT.

And Rudi Johnson was NEVER on the practice squad.

[redsbengalsbucks]

Do you guys really sit around and watch pre-season game tapes?

I don't....I use this thing called "memory"

How much time are you guys going to spend debating whether a DE kicked inside to improve the pass rush is still a DE or has somehow morphed like a butterfly into a DT?

That has little to nothing to do with it, oh ye of the flaming noggin.

Preseason is about evaluation, particular your new players, and it seems quite a bit unfair to me to evaluate a DE by seeing how he does at DT. I'm all in favor of trying a DE....follow this closely, okay?.....at DE. :-)

Then again, that's just me :-)

Given that Marvin wants to show a 3-4 look on a small but significant percentage of defensive downs, though, I imagine he is trying to find players he can rotate between DE and OLB, and Henderson has the chance to be that kind of player.

I have to keep reminding myself that Marvin's defense on that all-time great Baltimore team was a 3-4, despite the fact that Marvin doesn't really have the right personnel for that configuration here.

Now you have really lost credibility. Marvin ran a 4-3 defense in Baltimore, not a 3-4. He had the two massive DTs, Adams and Siragusa. Ray Lewis was the middle LB. I think you are imagining things, just like you imagined that the Bengals were ever interested in making Eric Henderson a DT.

And Rudi Johnson was NEVER on the practice squad.

I thought he battled to get off the PS, he and Curtis Keaton were both there I thought.

[schweinhart]

Henderson reminds me more of another old Ratbird in Marques Douglas than Adalius Thomas. But it's good to see him get a shot to add some versatility that could prove useful. They did drop him back into zone coverage off right end during preseason besides kicking him down to DT but I seriously doubt he can trail on crosses from the strongside any better than Jeanty. He's a strong in fighter, though, and playing in trash plays to his strength because he won't get backpedalled out of view.

But hopefully, the Bengals put Ahmad Brooks where he's got the best shot to make a big impact -- at strongside and rushing down on 3rd downs. I'd rather see Brooks and Jumpy Jr. rushing at ends on passing downs and let Justin Smith take some breathers.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Do you guys really sit around and watch pre-season game tapes?

I don't....I use this thing called "memory"

How much time are you guys going to spend debating whether a DE kicked inside to improve the pass rush is still a DE or has somehow morphed like a butterfly into a DT?

That has little to nothing to do with it, oh ye of the flaming noggin.

Preseason is about evaluation, particular your new players, and it seems quite a bit unfair to me to evaluate a DE by seeing how he does at DT. I'm all in favor of trying a DE....follow this closely, okay?.....at DE. :-)

Then again, that's just me :-)

Given that Marvin wants to show a 3-4 look on a small but significant percentage of defensive downs, though, I imagine he is trying to find players he can rotate between DE and OLB, and Henderson has the chance to be that kind of player.

I have to keep reminding myself that Marvin's defense on that all-time great Baltimore team was a 3-4, despite the fact that Marvin doesn't really have the right personnel for that configuration here.

Now you have really lost credibility. Marvin ran a 4-3 defense in Baltimore, not a 3-4. He had the two massive DTs, Adams and Siragusa. Ray Lewis was the middle LB. I think you are imagining things, just like you imagined that the Bengals were ever interested in making Eric Henderson a DT.

And Rudi Johnson was NEVER on the practice squad.

I thought he battled to get off the PS, he and Curtis Keaton were both there I thought.

I believe you are correct - he was a PS player his first year at least, from what I remember.

[derekshank]

Rudi Johnson was a 4th round draft pick in 2001. To my knowledge (and from what I can muster up in a Google search) he has never spent a day on the practice squad.

But just for fun, let's assume that Rudi was a PS guy and was called up for duty due to injuries. That means that he was skilled enough in his position to be called up, being asked to perform a role on the team.

Henderson, despite the ridiculous number of injuries last year, was never called to duty. Instead, we signed future hall-of-famers such as Andre Frazier, John Busing and Jonathon Fanene. Meanwhile, Henderson is being forced to change his position to even give him a shot.

The point I am making is this: I could accept the belief that he will be a solid (even well above-average) special teamer. I can also admit that if he were to develop into something more, it wouldn't be the first time. However, assuming that a guy such as this will be a star is at the very least being presumptuous, is betting well against the odds, and in my opinion is diving headfirst into the deep seas of wishful thinking.

It's simply not the way things usually work out folks.

[HoosierCat]

Re Rudi, all you have to do is check the bengals.com roster page, where it will tell you he was on the active roster all his rookie season...but was deactivated for 14 of the 16 games (he served as a returner in the last two tilts). Just FYI and all...

[Spor_tees]

Rudi Johnson was a 4th round draft pick in 2001. To my knowledge (and from what I can muster up in a Google search) he has never spent a day on the practice squad.

But just for fun, let's assume that Rudi was a PS guy and was called up for duty due to injuries. That means that he was skilled enough in his position to be called up, being asked to perform a role on the team.

Henderson, despite the ridiculous number of injuries last year, was never called to duty. Instead, we signed future hall-of-famers such as Andre Frazier, John Busing and Jonathon Fanene. Meanwhile, Henderson is being forced to change his position to even give him a shot.

The point I am making is this: I could accept the belief that he will be a solid (even well above-average) special teamer. I can also admit that if he were to develop into something more, it wouldn't be the first time. However, assuming that a guy such as this will be a star is at the very least being presumptuous, is betting well against the odds, and in my opinion is diving headfirst into the deep seas of wishful thinking.

It's simply not the way things usually work out folks.

I agree with pretty much all of this and was the point I was making earlier but not to this extent. I'd rather say that presuming Henderson is going to be a great player is more like diving headfirst into the shallow end of the pool.

[TJJackson]

Eric Henderson getting some more love on Bengals.com in this article that is mostly about the new UDCFAs signed.....

http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=6024

[HairOnFire]

That article also mentions that bad boy DE/OLB Jason Berryman was cut....adding more ammunition for my well crafted conspiracy theory about the Bengals sometimes signing players soley for the purpose of having someone to send to Europe.

[Oldcat]

Certainly seems like they are unimpressed by anything a NFLE player does.

Didn't we have the leading rusher in NFLE a few years ago and didnt even PS him? Then they sent that Wyoming QB there and released him in exchange for Craig Kunzel.

You are probably better off bailing hay for a year than going to NFLE for the Bengals

[kingwilly]

maybe he can lose a little weight and play safety?

[Bengalbob]

That article also mentions that bad boy DE/OLB Jason Berryman was cut....adding more ammunition for my well crafted conspiracy theory about the Bengals sometimes signing players soley for the purpose of having someone to send to Europe.

I think NFL teams that send a certain number of players to NFLE get bonus roster spots on their pre-season roster (2~4?). I'm guessing that the Bengals send players more for this purpose much more than talnet development.

Also, I don't see that English player (Watts?) on our roster anymore. Does anyone know if he's done with his "internship"?

[derekshank]

I'm surprised how much love Hobson gives a guy who he admits would be "the ninth lineman and seventh linebacker." Off-season hype? I hope he contributes - but I maintain my doubts that he'll be anything more than a ST guy.

[TJJackson]

maybe he can lose a little weight and play safety?

he'll play strong safety, tab will play free safety, in our new "heavyweight" alignment