With a better O line...

[northernbillfan]

Travis Henry could have had a Jamal Lewis type of year.

I am one of the biggest Henry fans on this board and have been criticized for saying he could get 2000+ all purpose yards in 2002. Hell he almost had 2500 that year. I have also been crapped upon for calling Henry the next "Sweetness", but I still believe he will go down in history as one of the best backs of recent times.

This season he had a cracked bone in his leg in one of the games, and he still managed to gain 136 yards.

Back to my original question...DO you think or agree that with better blocking Travis Henry is better than Lewis or Holmes? The only reason Lewis had 2000 yards this season was he is the only offensive weapon that Baltimore has. And Preist Holmes has an awesome blocking line in front of him and was able to get significant gains down field.

[ArcticWildMan]

Tough call. Henry doesn't have the breakaway speed of Holmes or the physical size to punish tacklers that Lewis does.

I really like Henry and think the guy is a warrior but he is just a tad below the superstars like Lewis and Holmes.

[ryguy8161]

I think he could be close to Priest. He runs behind practically an all-star offensive line.

But not Jamal Lewis. Defenses put 8 or 9 guys in the box and he can still consistently run.

[Devin]

I dont know if hes better, hes def. not as strong. But as far as speed I think he beats them. Hes more speed while they are more power.

But with a better line I think hed do wonders.

[ryguy8161]

And by the way, get rid of that avatar, it scares me.:eek:

[Jeff1220]

Jamal is an awesome running back, but there is NO DOUBT that he was a benefactor of having one of the best OLs in football in front of him.

Side note: Does anyone else find it strangly coincidental that Jamal didn't seem to run so hard the other day, after his push for the record* had been finished the week before?

[The Spaz]

Originally posted by ArcticWildMan
Tough call. Henry doesn't have the breakaway speed of Holmes or the physical size to punish tacklers that Lewis does.

I really like Henry and think the guy is a warrior but he is just a tad below the superstars like Lewis and Holmes.

Henry isn't easy t tackle by any means he is one of the profound users of the stiff-arm users as well.

[The Natrix]

Jamal Lewis has one great year, and everyone acts like he is the greatest. I rank him about 5 or 6. Henry at about 6 or 7.

[The Natrix]

What did Lewis do against Tenn when it mattered the most?

[ArcticWildMan]

Originally posted by The Spaz


Henry isn't easy t tackle by any means he is one of the profound users of the stiff-arm users as well.

I agree, but he never seems to have any really huge runs. His biggest for the past two seasons is only something like 35 yards.

A lot of that might be because of the piss poor play calling by Gilbride. :idunno:

It should be interesting to see next year when we HOPEFULLY have a new offensive scheme.

[The Spaz]

Originally posted by ArcticWildMan


I agree, but he never seems to have any really huge runs. His biggest for the past two seasons is only something like 35 yards.

A lot of that might be because of the piss poor play calling by Gilbride. :idunno:

It should be interesting to see next year when we HOPEFULLY have a new offensive scheme.

I can agree with that but he gets the tough yards.

[Ð]

Originally posted by Jeff1220
Jamal is an awesome running back, but there is NO DOUBT that he was a benefactor of having one of the best OLs in football in front of him.

Side note: Does anyone else find it strangly coincidental that Jamal didn't seem to run so hard the other day, after his push for the record* had been finished the week before?

Speaking of Baltimore's OL, did anyone catch Orlando Brown going ape**** in the Tennesee game ? :eek:

[ryguy8161]

Lol, Yeah and some people think that he cost them the game.

[Ð]

Wasn't he the guy who got poked in the eye with a referee's flag a few years back ?

I seem to remember him going ape**** on the referee at the time too.

[The Spaz]

Originally posted by Ð
Wasn't he the guy who got poked in the eye with a referee's flag a few years back ?

I seem to remember him going ape**** on the referee at the time too.

Yeah it was and he pushed the ref and the ref went flying like 10 feet.

[casdhf]

Originally posted by The Natrix
Jamal Lewis has one great year, and everyone acts like he is the greatest. I rank him about 5 or 6. Henry at about 6 or 7.

Look again, chump. Three seasons: 1364 yards, 1326 yards, 2066 yards.

[The Natrix]

2 good seasons, 1 great.

I still think he is damn good back, just not a top three.

[Novacane]

Top 3 backs IMO

1. LT
2.Holmes
3. Portis


I want a back that can produce as a reciever too. As a pure runner Lewis would be up there but he does nothing as a reciever.

[The Natrix]

plus he has had injury problems. Wasn't he out for almost an entire season?

My rankings:

Portis
Holmes
Duece M.
LT
RW
Lewis
Henry tied with Stephen Davis

[juice]

My Rankings; #1 OJ #2 lewis

[helmetguy]

TH did have one run of something like 64 yards this past season. It came after all the noise being made about KG always calling pass on 3rd and short (someting like 80 passes in 83 3rd down situations). Had KG committed to the run more, and allowed TH on the field as part of KG's beloved "3rd down 'package,'" the results might have been significantly better. None of TH's TD runs were very long, but he did produce in those situations when called upon. Hell, with a decent EXECUTABLE offensive philosophy, the offense could have made a lot of guys look pretty good. In TH's case, he looked REAL good IN SPITE of the crappy OC.

[caveboy]

I agree he could do better with better blocking. Maybe not the line. Henry seemed to have to crash through a lot this year and make his owen holes. Maybe if he got more lead blocking from Gash it would open things up a bit.

Plus, I'd love to see him be used more like Thurman. As I recall, didn't Henry have far better receiving yards at Tennesse than Lewis? I think LEwis also benefited from Gash's blocking in Baltimore.

Losing Centers hurt Drew's game this year as the short-range go-to guy. But Henry could fill that void IMO.

[Tatonka]

lewis has amazing speed.. henry doesnt come close to touching jm in a race.. i would say that they are both equally strong..

lewis is a better back, no question.. but not by a huge distance..

best backs..
1. portis
2. priest
3. lt
4. green
5. lewis
6. williams
7. taylor
8. henry
9. alexander
10. edge

[BADTHINGSMAN]

Originally posted by Tatonka
lewis has amazing speed.. henry doesnt come close to touching jm in a race.. i would say that they are both equally strong..

lewis is a better back, no question.. but not by a huge distance..

best backs..
1. portis
2. priest
3. lt
4. green
5. lewis
6. williams
7. taylor
8. henry
9. alexander
10. edge

Really cant beat that list.. I was going to post theses guys in that exact order..

[Tatonka]

Originally posted by silent_one
Really cant beat that list.. I was going to post theses guys in that exact order..


:bravo:

some may be surprised with the taylor and green picks.. but i think they are two of the most underrated backs in the game.. especially since taylor looks to have kicked the injury bug.

[kill4bills]

lewis got shutdown vs titans and henry doesnt get the ball nearly enough. he needs more carries to get better as the game goes. with our offense this year he should have boken the attempts record