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Time to ask the question: Is it Derrick Henry time?


titans0021

What kind of role should Derrick Henry have moving forward?  

21 members have voted

  1. 1. What kind of role should Derrick Henry have moving forward?

    • Derrick Henry should be the feature back
    • There should be a 60/40 ratio in favor of Henry.
    • There should be a 60/40 ratio in favor of Murray.
    • Murray should remain the unquestioned starter until Henry can block.


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So, to lead with, I think I'm finally able to say this. At this point, Derrick Henry is a better pure runner than DeMarco Murray. It's shown in the first two games this year and it started to show over the last month of last season. If you don't agree with that sentence, this question is probably a pretty simple one for you.

The issue comes when talking about him as more than just a runner. As an actual running back. We haven't really seen him featured as a receiver, so we don't know what he's capable of. We have seen him as a pass blocker. And it's not very good. Usually he's willing to throw his body at a rusher (which can sometimes be good enough based on his size and strength), but fundamentally he seems to really struggle holding a block or decided who he needs to pick up. This is obviously a pretty big deal.

So, the question obviously is, at what point does what Henry adds to the offense over Murray outweigh the obvious advantages DeMarco has an all-around back? Moving forward, what kind of playing time split do you want to see?

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I think Henry needs a bigger work load going forward. 60/40 or 50/50 to me is reasonable. I also think Murray may miss some time so Henry will be the feature back for a bit anyways to see what he has.

I don't think Murray is done though by any stretch and when healthy will show he is still a dangerous and needed for us to truly make a strong playoff push and even a run.

Henry's blocking is still concerning to me and he needs to tighten that up. I also feel Murray is a better back catching the ball still.

Regardless, the Titans have a good problem to have. Two strong running backs is never a bad thing.

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Demarco is done and has been done since he hurt his toe last year, as much as it pains me to type

zero burst. it is what it is. his body has been through a lot. Would kill for a speed guy to offset Henry.

 

edit -- but damn does Henry suck at pass blocking.

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I suppose I should answer my own question.

I'm ready for a 60/40 split in favor of Henry. I think Murray's fairly obvious advantages in blocking and receiving ensure that he should continue to still have a decent-sized roll in the offense. At the very least, he could be a great third-down back.

However, I can't justify trotting Murray out there as the true starter if we want to be a power football team. Henry just pretty clearly has a better sense behind the offensive line and has an ability to stiff arm and fall forward that Murray just can't match. We should ride them both to keep them fresh for what should be a big stretch run, but I'm definitely ready to see what Henry can do with a real workload.

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I want him to take a bigger role... but I can't just say 60/40 or whatever.  I think gameflow and each player's respective success each week should be more of a determinant than just "FEED HENRY".  

If the gameplan calls for a heavier passing game, I'm still trusting Murray more than Henry.  Not only is he a better pass catcher, but he's light years ahead as a pass blocker.  

Henry's a good pounder... but the question going forward is going to be... does he mesh well with a more pass oriented offense?  Many posters, analysts, etc are clamoring for an offense to be tailored more to Mariota's strengths... are Henry's strengths in line with that?  

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Given that Murray is battling a hamstring injury and just didn't seem totally right the first two games, I'd say Henry deserves a chance to do more.

But I'll say this. I'm not 100% sold on Henry as a runner, not yet. His pass protection sucks, and he offers close to nothing in the passing game, and he needs to improve in both areas to really be a featured back in this league. But also I don't think he's as good as a runner as most people do. I'm not writing him off, I'm hoping to be proven wrong, it's more that I'm being skeptical. He had a strong game yesterday, no doubt about that, but looked like Jacksonville kind of gave up later in the game, so it's hard to really know what to make of it. Still, he stiff armed people, he bounced runs outside very impressively. His TD run was beautiful, but also hard to deny that was the best blocking we have showed in the game up until that point.

He appears to be the fresh one between him and Murray, so I would have no problem him getting to be the workhorse for a while. I think he'll look much less effective once we start putting more on his plate, but would love to be proven wrong.

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I would like to see Henry on 1st and 2nd down and Murray on 3rd down. Henry to ice the game. I voted 60/40 Henry. Henry does need to get his pass pro up to par. He should be de-cleating guys as big as he is... C'mon man. ☹️

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60/40 (whichever direction situationally) or 50/50 seems about right. RB is starting to become more like WR where being the "starter" is less important than snap count or situation usage. Henry has proven he's stellar at pounding out yards when we need it - short yardage, goalline, and especially 4 minute offense when defenses are worn down but know runs are coming. 

I think Demarco still has a place and should get his touches, but it's probably time to pull Henry in earlier. I think one way or another Henry will punish defenses. Demarco could benefit from facing defenses that have seen 15ish carries from Henry by the 3rd quarter. 

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