William Henderson

[Pacopete4]

I am just curious, has he been demoted to 2nd sting cuz on all these message boards thats what I've been reading.. but I havent seen anything official nor is it changed on the Packers website depth chart..

[Fosco33]

I am just curious, has he been demoted to 2nd sting cuz on all these message boards thats what I've been reading.. but I havent seen anything official nor is it changed on the Packers website depth chart..

I haven't heard that yet - but it's obvious he's only there for passing as he can only take on one block on running plays. He should've hung them up before this year.

[MJZiggy]

I haven't heard a thing besides speculation. Miree might start on special teams, but you're right. Nothing from 1265 has been said about Henderson.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Well, Miree must at least be better than Leach, or they would have re-signed Leach after he was released by New Orleans.

[Guiness]

Or they already know what Leach brings (not much outside of the occasional explosive block) and they just want to look at someone else...

Did someone get cut from the 53 man to make room for him? Or were they already sitting below that number?

[Green Bud Packer]

the pack cut a lb.#57 i think his name is tracy white.????

[LEWCWA]

Sad to say but big willy just doesn't pack much of a punch anymore.

[RashanGary]

I've been saying Big Will was washed up for a while. It's not some big surprise. Everyone acts like he's this great asset to the team.

The guy has played hard and earned his pay check year in and year out. He's a utility player and he was never anything more.

This will be his last year in the league. He's done and losing him is no worse than losing Will Blackmon at this point. He's just an old washed up player who has just enough savvy to stay on a roster one more year.

I like William Henderson as a person, as a football player at this stage in his career, I could care less about him. I would have cut him before the season but I don't know that we had a valid player to start in line. Hopefully Miree works out because IMO Henderson is bordering on average and junk at this point with no room for improvement and an awfully predictable trend of sliding.

[Harlan Huckleby]

wow, FB position has really petered out. Nick Luchey - dud. Vonta Leach - dud. Will Henderson - he's made some really nice catches the last couple years, he's not dud, but been fading.

[Packnut]

I've been saying Big Will was washed up for a while. It's not some big surprise. Everyone acts like he's this great asset to the team.

The guy has played hard and earned his pay check year in and year out. He's a utility player and he was never anything more.

This will be his last year in the league. He's done and losing him is no worse than losing Will Blackmon at this point. He's just an old washed up player who has just enough savvy to stay on a roster one more year.

I like William Henderson as a person, as a football player at this stage in his career, I could care less about him. I would have cut him before the season but I don't know that we had a valid player to start in line. Hopefully Miree works out because IMO Henderson is bordering on average and junk at this point with no room for improvement and an awfully predictable trend of sliding.


"never anything more than a utility player"? There was a time when he was in the top 2 or 3 FB's in the league.

[RashanGary]

Yeah,

He was a top 5 player at the least important position on the field.

I think I would take the 15th best SLB over the best full back.

[Fosco33]

Yeah,

He was a top 5 player at the least important position on the field.

I think I would take the 15th best SLB over the best full back.

Tough to say that FB is the least important position on the field - maybe of the starting 22 - but there are plenty of less useful positions - long snapper, upfront kickoff return, etc....

Our best years were when Wil was doing awesome. Look at the top backs in the league and they usually have a quiet, terrific blocker upfront.

So, I'd consider taking a great FB over having an average LB if the situation was right.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I kind of agree with Jennings on this one. Sort of. I think Will was more important in a different scheme, and when he was younger (e.g. a better player). FB is the least important position on the field. Having a good FB is low on the priority list. However, I wouldn't be as dismissive as he is. FB may not be important, but I believe Will's leadership on and off the field plays a role. If the coaches deem that leadership trumps his diminishing skills, then so be it. Will is still good in spurts, but it's clear there needs to be a decent FB to pair with him. Will will be in the Packer Hall of Fame, and it pains me to see a guy like him dismissed so easily.


Ask yourself; why is that? When you elect a President that fights terror with terror, you made your own beds.

I don't think he's looking at those positions as "starting" positions, per se.

[Guiness]

FB is an afterthought, or almost non-existant in many offenses in today's NFL. How many true Full Backs are there really in the league today?

As far as him coming back, I think it's important with the number of rookies we have. And, the Vikes really forced our hand by making an offer - we had to shit or get off the pot...

[Fosco33]

I don't think he's looking at those positions as "starting" positions, per se.

I understand. So, if a RB has a good year, is it just cursory to bring the FB along - ala Mack Strong and Neal (Alexander/Tomlinson, respectively). Or Holmes/Richardson from recent Pro Bowls.

Looking at the current leaders in rush yards, you've got veteran, journeyman FBs (Neal, Damion Shelton, Paul Smith, Obafemi Ayanbadejo) and medium aged guys with one team (Kyle Johnson, Jeremi Johnson).

I still say FBs are heavily underrated in today's NFL. The Packers proved a few years ago you could go w/ a guy like Tauscher (1 year college experience) and be successful as a lineman - great FBs are not a dime a dozen, IMO.

[Harlan Huckleby]

FB is an afterthought, or almost non-existant in many offenses in today's NFL. How many true Full Backs are there really in the league today?

Fullbacks can be like an extra tight end.

I don't think the FB position is irrelevant. The problem is finding guys who are big, tough, and athletic enough to be an outstanding blocker and reciever. I don't think there are the players available to do it. Henderson fit the role for a long time.

[MJZiggy]

So then maybe they give Miree a couple of snaps and see what he looks like in a game. He'll already be suited up for special teams anyway. I just don't believe that they'll go from never having seen him in a game to starting in one shot.

[Packnut]

Yeah,

He was a top 5 player at the least important position on the field.

I think I would take the 15th best SLB over the best full back.


Well fortunately, you'd be the only one which says something about your opinion does'nt it?

[Tarlam!]

()but I believe Will's leadership on and off the field plays a role.()Will will be in the Packer Hall of Fame, and it pains me to see a guy like him dismissed so easily.

RIGHT ON, HARV!

Reading the JSO article and then some of the more disrespectful posts on this thread make me queeze.

No friggin' wonder the players have forgotten what it means to honour a ball club and continuously hold out their hands for more bucks when fans and press treat a seasoned veteran of Hendu's standing in such a dismissive fashion.

He never complained about his pay, his role on the team or anything. He worked hard. I never read anything about the guy even remotely negative, except that he looked at wearing purple when TT didn't offer him a job. But I would have done the same thing if I was facing unemployment.

Will is a Green Bay Packer hero to me and he should be ushered into his post-playing days with the same class he demonstrated as an active Packer.

[MJZiggy]

I don't think he seriously considered wearing purple. I think he and TT were just testing the waters to come up with a fair bargaining number. Notice that he was resigned within a day or so of that visit. I can't even hold that one against him. Dude played his entire career right here. How often does that happen?

[RashanGary]

Like I said, Will WAS a great packer and is a great person. As a player, I could care less at this point in his career.

[MJZiggy]

Perhaps you need to learn to care more.

[mission]

Im with Zigs... could care less about people thinking he's washed up. I love the guy and don't want him cut, dont want him wearing another uniform. He's parallel to Brett Favre's career and I'll always remember him for that.

I think he's a smart enough guy to sit down with the front office when it's the right time and hang it up respectfully to go out as a Packer with the fans cheering him off the field for his last game. It might even be this year, but whatever... he's a great guy and I'm glad he's ours.

Despite losing a step...

[NewsBruin]

In our offense, I don't see fullback as a very important component to the running game (as holes come by opportunity more than design). We've always used the fullback as a blocker/safety valve in the passing game. And honestly, I don't see us in a position where 1-2 wins is going to make a huge difference in our end-of-season standings.

Someone check me on this, but I believe William Henderson and Brett Favre are the only two current Packers who played in the 1997 Super Bowl. Henderson's star really shone during the offseason, when the national networks saw how intelligent, articulate, and genuine this guy is.

The direction I thought we were going in our draft this year was rebuilding the lockerroom. We were trying to add players who were positive and self-motivated, while jettisonning anyone who was dragging our team down, even if we got shorted on the deal or ate big salary cap numbers. We wanted leaders and examples for the young Packers. We wanted someone who could skewer Sean Salisbury in the morning and put on pads for special teams practice in the afternoon, or so I thought. I would bet, for some players, that Henderson has more direct impact on their attitude than Favre, who's turned recluse over the past couple of seasons.

We would be idiots if we did not publicly guarantee this guy a roster spot for the entire season. We're borderline idiots for not having done so already.

I haven't seen enough practice to know what shape Henderson (Hendo? Hendu? Will?) is in. I know he could still hurdle tacklers by the end of last season. But I think he gives the team more value through his influence than through pure numbers.

Henderson's not an idiot, and I'm sure he knows that he could be cut at any time. He's probably seen that hundreds of times over in this league. However, if we keep him, then we'll have one more guy that the Greg Jennings and Abdul Hodges and Vernand Morencys say, "That's who I want to be when I grow up." If we cut him in the middle of the season --for nothing more than a fullback upgrade-- then how does that filter throughout the lockerroom we're trying to rebuild?

[RashanGary]

I have no problem with people who "care" about big Will. I care about him as a person too. The problem I have is when people start to let those good emotions about him as a person transfer to how they believe he performs on the field.

[RashanGary]

Henderson's not an idiot, and I'm sure he knows that he could be cut at any time. He's probably seen that hundreds of times over in this league. However, if we keep him, then we'll have one more guy that the Greg Jennings and Abdul Hodges and Vernand Morencys say, "That's who I want to be when I grow up." If we cut him in the middle of the season --for nothing more than a fullback upgrade-- then how does that filter throughout the lockerroom we're trying to rebuild?

Just like when SF cut Montana and went on to win a SB with YOung, it pissses people off but they work their asses off becasue they know they'll be gone if they don't. Same way it works in NE and Pittsburgh. I'd have a problem with a team who does it any other way to tell you the truth.

[Rastak]

I don't think he seriously considered wearing purple. I think he and TT were just testing the waters to come up with a fair bargaining number. Notice that he was resigned within a day or so of that visit. I can't even hold that one against him. Dude played his entire career right here. How often does that happen?


I think he very seriously considered it. And based on current events regrets his decision...he left money on the table to sign back with Green Bay.

[Bretsky]

Henderson's not an idiot, and I'm sure he knows that he could be cut at any time. He's probably seen that hundreds of times over in this league. However, if we keep him, then we'll have one more guy that the Greg Jennings and Abdul Hodges and Vernand Morencys say, "That's who I want to be when I grow up." If we cut him in the middle of the season --for nothing more than a fullback upgrade-- then how does that filter throughout the lockerroom we're trying to rebuild?

Just like when SF cut Montana and went on to win a SB with YOung, it pissses people off but they work their asses off becasue they know they'll be gone if they don't. Same way it works in NE and Pittsburgh. I'd have a problem with a team who does it any other way to tell you the truth.


I don't think SF ever cut Montana; pretty sure they traded him for a first round draft pick to KC.

[NewsBruin]

Just like when SF cut Montana and went on to win a SB with YOung, it pissses people off but they work their asses off becasue they know they'll be gone if they don't. Same way it works in NE and Pittsburgh. I'd have a problem with a team who does it any other way to tell you the truth.

Here's where I disagree with that:

As was said earlier, SF got a first-round pick for Montana. If they kept him, they'd have owed Montana's salary for the privilege of him holding a clipboard. Henderson's nowhere near that costly.

(Edit: Check that. He's got $810,000 base (http://members.cox.net/cappage/2006cap.htm), plus $355,720 in Likely to be Earned incentives. Still, that's only 1.12% of our cap.)

But we'd get more this year from Henderson playing on special teams than if we cut him and bring in a street rookie or practice squadder to fill the roster spot.

Yeah, if we could get a first-rounder (or even a fourth-rounder), I'd thank him for his service and drive him to the airport. But the on-field gain would be negligible, especially in this Mensa-level ZBS running system that's complicated enough to use as an excuse for us having no blocking. Good Lord, we need to send our blocking schemes to college freshmen so they can be prepared by draft day.

(Edit: Check that. Our new fullback has been in Denver for two years. Still, I don't want Henderson cut.)

You mention the Steelers and the Patriots. I totally see where you're coming from, but here's the thing: Those two teams already have chemistry. They have more than two players who won Super Bowls with their current team and coaches who've had 14 and 6 seasons, respectively. The buy-in there is 100%, and you can bet the players know the team will keep on winning without them.

I know I'm kicking a dead horse here, but that's not what our team chemistry is like. I don't think you can build a winning team by accident. I don't think you can get a bunch of "guys" together and get a good record. Maybe the Bengals will prove me wrong, but I think you have to build a lockerroom first. I think keeping and valuing Henderson will have results that go long after we give him the send-off.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Henderson WAS great, but he is long past that level. The fact that Leach, a one dimensional player, was taking snaps away from him tells you all you need to know.

Miree starts on monday. It's official.

Thank you Mr. Henderson. Your efforts have been appreciated. Time for the new regime.

[MJZiggy]

The article I read said that Henderson is not completely healed from his surgery. Either way, I was quite wrong on that one--didn't see it coming. Let's hope this new regime can block and catch.

[the_idle_threat]

Miree no sure thing to last even three games. Don't count Hendo out yet. But if the new guy can give Hendo a breather to heal up a little more, I don't have a problem with throwing the kid in there.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Well, obviously the best scenario is that the new guy plays so well that Henderson is not needed as a starter this year.

[the_idle_threat]

My best scenario is that the new guy fills in admirably and Hendo heals up, so that in a few weeks Hendo is back to 100% and plays that way for the rest of the year. Then we worry about whether or not ro replace Hendo after the year is over.

[Pacopete4]

oh "F" that.. you guys are so quick to jump off the band wagon it's unreal... Henderson is damn good and still will be, let his knees heel and all will be well with him and we'l be talking about his our greatest FB ever..I show to much respect to even say he's washed up right now..

[Tarlam!]

Willian Henderson was interviewed and the piece can be watched, if you have a real player, on the following link.

http://play.rbn.com/?url=nfl/nfl/open/packers/demand/PressConferences/060930henderson.rm&proto=rtsp

If you can't watch for some reason, wander on to the team page and look under the multi media section. DO IT!

What you will watch, is the most professional handling of a demotion by a vet you will ever see. This man is class right into his toenails.

It is my sincere hope that TT keeps this man in the Packer organization until his retirement from making a living, period. This is what a Paker Person looks like, talks like, acts like, leads like, thinks like - eats, sleeps and probably, shits like.

Part of taking care of an active roster entails symbolism. The way TT ushers Hendu into post-footballism will be measured by the entire league and closer to home, all younger players on our roster.

Maybe more. Think Charles Woodson. Think how he might be motivated. How we might turn him from a mercenary into a Packer. The answer is in the way we today treat this exemplary Packer named Henderson.

Somebody get me a Kleenex!

[falco]

FROM JSO:

Twelve-year veteran fullback William Henderson also will not start. Instead, that duty goes to Brandon Miree. The Packers will have to look at their special-teams needs to see if Henderson will even be activated for the Eagles game.



----

Anybody else want their Henderson love to blind them from reality?

[MJZiggy]

Great assessment, Tarlam. If William didn't want a broadcast career after his playing days are over, I'd say he should be on the sidelines. He is incredibly well-spoken, concise, and actually imparts information when he speaks. He will be a sideline coach tomorrow night, cheering his replacement on. How cool is that!?

[falco]

It is my sincere hope that TT keeps this man in the Packer organization until his retirement from making a living, period. This is what a Paker Person looks like, talks like, acts like, leads like, thinks like - eats, sleeps and probably, shits like.

I think its a possibility; TT already made an effort by bringing Hendu back this year...I wonder what everyone would be saying about him though, if he had gone to Minnesota.

[Tarlam!]

I wonder what everyone would be saying about him though, if he had gone to Minnesota.

Prolly be kinder than what we say about Sharper and Longwell. WH was largely tipped as being cut, so if he would have signed, it would have been understandable.

Sharper doesn't get off too badly here. Ryan, on the other hand, was being starkly criticised while still in a Packer uni for scolding his holder. That's where that bad blood stems from...

[bigcoz75]

Heard on "The Fan" this morning not only is WH not starting he didn't make the trip with the team.

[Patler]

Heard on "The Fan" this morning not only is WH not starting he didn't make the trip with the team.

I have a real hard time believing that, unless he is injured and they are leaving him home for rehab. Otherwise, I would think they would make a game time decision on whether he would be active or not. Green is hurt. If another of their backs wakes up ill or something else (crazier things have happened) they could go into the game with only two backs.

[Merlin]

My understanding is that he won't suit up but will be there. Interesting if they didn't take him at all...

[Merlin]

Longwell blamed everyone but himself for his miscues. He didn't give the Packer's a chance to counter before signing with the Vikings. Face it, he was a candy ass that the Packers went out on a limb for and MADE Ryan Longwell. I doubt he would have gotten a chance with another team at that time to play.

[Patler]

Longwell blamed everyone but himself for his miscues. He didn't give the Packer's a chance to counter before signing with the Vikings. Face it, he was a candy ass that the Packers went out on a limb for and MADE Ryan Longwell. I doubt he would have gotten a chance with another team at that time to play.

Longwell got a chance with GB because he earned it. He was brought in to take up some of the kicks in TC. He was supposed to be just a "camp leg". But with Conway flopping, injured and not healing, Longwell got the opportunity because he made kick after kick after kick.

GB didn't give him anything he didn't earn.

[MJZiggy]

That's true, but can I still think of him as Peyton would? Idiot kicker.

[Patler]

That's true, but can I still think of him as Peyton would? Idiot kicker.

Sure! :lol: :lol:

[Harlan Huckleby]

Heard on "The Fan" this morning not only is WH not starting he didn't make the trip with the team.


That would suggest he is getting cut. I doubt it.

[Zool]

If he's injured and inactive, he wouldnt have to make the trip. He could be rehabbing.

[Harlan Huckleby]

If he's injured and inactive, he wouldnt have to make the trip. He could be rehabbing.

ya, but his injury is not that bad, he's been practicing with the team.

[MJZiggy]

William and M3 have both said he's got rehab to do and he's (as usual) completely committed to getting it done. If he were active for the game, he'd make the trip. If he didn't go, I'd believe it has something to do with effort expended to get back on the field.

[MasonCrosby]

well it's sad to see his career winding down, as others have said his morarle and leadership was invaluable to the team. maybe he can soon go into broadcasting or journalism and put in a good word for the packers every now and again...