William Henderson

[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, 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.