Is Derrick Henry like a modern day version of Jim Brown?

[TecmoSuperJoe]

16 hours ago, sammymvpknight said:

They all played in running era. Derrick Henry is so good that he’s a unicorn in this passing era. I’d honestly be surprised if he doesn’t break the rushing record this year. He typically gets better as the season goes on. 

The biggest caveat is that he has an extra game to break the record though. Still a huge accomplishment. At his current pace he's just a sliver of what Dickerson averaged in 16 games. If he keeps this pace he'll surely get it by the end of the year. 

[The Guy]

On 10/19/2021 at 11:01 PM, Awsi Dooger said:

Henry isn't anywhere near as agile or adaptable as Jim Brown.

As others have mentioned, the league doesn't care about stopping the run these days. This is equivalent to raving about some NBA player who repeatedly sunk 3-point distance shots before there was a 3 point line. Be my guest. Fire away from out there all you want.

All time running backs show it early. The raves are immediate. It's not 4th year in the league before your own team decides you need the ball. 

 

Indeed.  Multiple regression analysis with the dependent variable being win percentage in any recent season and with the independent variables being offensive passing EPA, offensive rushing EPA, defensive passing EPA, and defensive rushing EPA reveals that defensive rushing EPA hasn't been a significant predictor of season win percentage throughout the league in any recent season, whereas the other three major facets of the game (offensive passing, offensive rushing, and pass defense) have been.  Teams can be poor defending the run game and still win aplenty.  The two strongest variables in predicting season win percentage are of course pass offense and pass defense, in that order, with rushing offense significantly behind them.  All of that will certainly dictate how teams decide to defend the opposition -- i.e., prioritizing pass defense at the expense of run defense.

[The Guy]

On 10/19/2021 at 1:47 AM, mdonnelly21 said:

Jim Brown was one of the most powerful backs of all, but he had world class speed too. 

I think Jim Brown might have been a bit more agile than Derrick, but perhaps Derrick is more like Earl Campbell. 

Hard to give a rough RB that he duplicates from the past. But his combination of size, power and speed is a force to wrecken with. 

I'D like to see him get MVP this year over a QB. It's time for someone new to get it. 

The thing that makes Henry effective is that he runs extremely well, in comparison to other backs, against stacked boxes defensively, and he has the speed to outrun everyone else on the field the length of the field.  He just posted the fastest running speed clocked in the NFL by any player this season the other night, in fact.  The strongest predictor of yardage gained on a run play is the number of men in the opposing box.  Stacked boxes typically limit rushing performance, though nowhere near as much against Henry.  Combine that with his speed to outrun everyone and you have a highly unique player who commands more attention from opposing defensive coordinators than probably any other back in the league.  Defensive coordinators of course lean toward defending the pass at the expense of the run, as noted above, but with Henry and his ability to defeat stacked boxes and reel off a long TD run at any time by outrunning everyone, the scoring threat he poses becomes nearer the threat posed by the passing game, and he therefore generates defensive attention similar to that devoted to defending the pass.  In a league that revolves around the passing game, he's perhaps the one player who keeps defenses honest against the run game.  Quite a valuable player, obviously.

[Uncle Buck]

Earl Campbell is my all-time favorite RB, so I may be biased, but I remember him as being a more agile and harder runner than even Henry.  It's a shame that there aren't more highlight clips available of him because he was really something special.  This is coming from someone who had the privilege of watching Adrian Peterson all throughout his prime too.  If there are any Oilers fans out there, am I exaggerating things with Earl?  I think he was just amazing.

At the same time, I would also agree that Derrick Henry is on a Hall of Fame pace.  He is really fun to watch - unless it is your team trying to stop him! 

[AntonChigurh]

Juice/Dickerson hybrid imo

[HerbertGOAT]

I think the best comp for Henry is Marion Motley. Just too large and rugged to be stopped.

[Mox]

Unfortunately, this level of workload gets everyone at some point. This is why getting the record was never a real possibility.

[Hunter2_1]

Yeah he's killed me the last two weeks. I'm done in fantasy lol. 

He will come again though. It's just defenses are stacking it against TEN. This could be a contributing factor as why Brown just had 10 catches. If defenses realise it's not just Henry, he will come back with 4.5 ypc again + 100 yard games

 

Edit: OK no he won't. Cool.

Edited November 1, 2021 by Hunter2_1

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

He's also a lot like LaDanian Tomlinson.

[Mr Bad Example]

On 10/31/2021 at 8:41 AM, HerbertGOAT said:

I think the best comp for Henry is Marion Motley. Just too large and rugged to be stopped.

Did you read Paul Zimmerman's book too?

[LuckIsGOAT]

On 10/19/2021 at 2:28 PM, SkippyX said:

Walter Payton may have been the most complete back.

• He was a top 5 all-time runner.
• He was a gifted receiver.
• He was a wrecking ball as a blocker.

Sweetness made 9 pro bowls and 6 first team all-pros in 10 full time / healthy years. (out of 13 total)

 

 

He was still not the monster that Henry and Brown are/were at their size speed combo.

You can argue top 10 or top 5 rankings all day long but its fair to say that Henry and Brown are very similar players

Yes Walter Payton > all.

He never had a probowl teammate on offense until his 11th year

[DinoZ]

Jim Brown didn't possess world class speed,  actually he wasn't as fast as his RB Bobby Mitchell a Big10 sprint champion.  Brown had good speed especially for a 230 pounder. 

 

The thing about Brown was he played at a time when he was close to the size of those on the defense and he never had to deal with guys who could run a 4.4 forty. He was a freak of nature for that era. A perfect blend of speed, size, elusiveness.

Derrick Henry isn't as fast as Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson, when it comes to those over 220 pounds, but he is harder to tackle, being a 248 pounder.

I do expect Jonathan Taylor to push Henry as Da Man when it comes to stud RB's.  Taylor is faster and more elusive.