Tweet
he is sucking a fat one... just like when he did nothing in college.. this guy always was a joke.
Henson's status gets shakier every day
By GIL LEBRETON
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. - Twelve months ago, he was the hottest thing in camp.
Drew Henson, we were convinced, was the future of the Cowboys. The darling of the radio talk-show set. The next -- fanfare and drum roll, please -- Troy Aikman.
In Henson, the question last summer wasn't if he would take over the Cowboys' No. 1 quarterback job, but when.
When was the former Michigan star, after taking off four years to play baseball, going to become accustomed to throwing a football again? When was Henson going to become comfortable with coach Bill Parcells' offense? When was Henson going to take over 40-year-old Vinny Testaverde's starting job?
Hope you're not still waiting.
Seventeen months have passed since owner Jerry Jones made him a Cowboy, and quarterback Drew Henson is struggling.
His timing is off. His passes have been errant. Too low. Too high. Too everything.
Last Saturday's scrimmage provided the fitting synopsis to Henson's first week in training camp. His long pass to Ahmad Merritt soared high and true, but seemed to wither about one stride short of its mark -- incomplete. Henson completed only four of his next 12 passes, failing to reach the end zone.
Don't jump to conclusions, Parcells has cautioned the media.
"I'm not going to go into those guys yet," he said Monday morning, dodging a question about his three quarterbacks. "I told you that I'll talk about them after a couple of [preseason] games."
It doesn't take a sociology degree, however, to see that in newcomer Drew Bledsoe, Parcells has a No. 1 quarterback whom he feels he can trust. Bledsoe's training camp performance thus far could best be described as confident, but unspectacular.
Not that Parcells is looking for spectacular.
Henson, meanwhile, has been undistinguished to the point of prompting some sideline-watchers to think he might be losing his No. 2 status to Tony Romo.
Henson admitted he didn't have a good first scrimmage.
"Yeah, I would have liked to have been more effective," he said. "I've got to make the corrections, learn from my mistakes and keep moving forward. I don't have time to look back."
Parcells may not have time, either. He has structured practices to give equal opportunities to all three quarterbacks -- equal snaps, equal attempts in the two-minute drill and equal playing time once preseason games begin.
Henson shrugged off a question about that putting added pressure on him and Romo.
"I don't think I need to try to come out and prove anything," Henson said Monday. "I just need to concentrate on getting better each day, and hopefully that will help the team win games."
If something is bothering Henson, in other words, he isn't about to announce it where Parcells can read it.
His arm, for example. Henson's arm looks tired.
You won't hear him say that.
But even the sideline passes that Henson seemed to throw so crisply last summer appear to have lost a little of their mustard.
When Parcells was asked Monday if anything was wrong with Henson's arm, the coach shook his head.
"Not that I'm aware of," Parcells answered.
During the off-season, it was well documented that Cowboys coaches tried to get Henson to change his throwing motion from a baseball-like three-quarters delivery to a release point that is more over the top.
Parcells alluded to Henson throwing "5,000 passes" in workouts.
And now he comes to this training camp and Henson finds that three, not a more-customary four, quarterbacks will be splitting the duties.
So do the math. Add the warm-up tosses. The two-minute drills. The seven-on-seven sessions.
On a typical day, a quarterback at this Cowboys camp is going to throw in excess of 150 footballs. Every day. With only one day off since the team arrived in Oxnard.
Yes, Bledsoe and Romo are on the same diet of passes. But they didn't throw "5,000 passes" in preparation for this camp, either.
Henson won't complain. He's smart -- valedictorian of his high school class in Brighton, Mich. He's personable and glib. His time wearing the Yankees' pinstripes has given him a mature 25-year-old's perspective.
A year ago, he was the hottest thing in camp. Now, Henson returns from practice each afternoon with ice packs secured in various places along his throwing arm.
By not critiquing his quarterbacks yet, Parcells may well be damning Henson with his silence. Not that Parcells has ever shown any evidence of favored-son treatment toward Henson.
On the contrary, of course. Once Henson was needlessly pulled from the Bears game last season, he never got to throw a pass again.
Don't jump to conclusions about the quarterbacks, Bill Parcells says.
Too late.
By GIL LEBRETON
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. - Twelve months ago, he was the hottest thing in camp.
Drew Henson, we were convinced, was the future of the Cowboys. The darling of the radio talk-show set. The next -- fanfare and drum roll, please -- Troy Aikman.
In Henson, the question last summer wasn't if he would take over the Cowboys' No. 1 quarterback job, but when.
When was the former Michigan star, after taking off four years to play baseball, going to become accustomed to throwing a football again? When was Henson going to become comfortable with coach Bill Parcells' offense? When was Henson going to take over 40-year-old Vinny Testaverde's starting job?
Hope you're not still waiting.
Seventeen months have passed since owner Jerry Jones made him a Cowboy, and quarterback Drew Henson is struggling.
His timing is off. His passes have been errant. Too low. Too high. Too everything.
Last Saturday's scrimmage provided the fitting synopsis to Henson's first week in training camp. His long pass to Ahmad Merritt soared high and true, but seemed to wither about one stride short of its mark -- incomplete. Henson completed only four of his next 12 passes, failing to reach the end zone.
Don't jump to conclusions, Parcells has cautioned the media.
"I'm not going to go into those guys yet," he said Monday morning, dodging a question about his three quarterbacks. "I told you that I'll talk about them after a couple of [preseason] games."
It doesn't take a sociology degree, however, to see that in newcomer Drew Bledsoe, Parcells has a No. 1 quarterback whom he feels he can trust. Bledsoe's training camp performance thus far could best be described as confident, but unspectacular.
Not that Parcells is looking for spectacular.
Henson, meanwhile, has been undistinguished to the point of prompting some sideline-watchers to think he might be losing his No. 2 status to Tony Romo.
Henson admitted he didn't have a good first scrimmage.
"Yeah, I would have liked to have been more effective," he said. "I've got to make the corrections, learn from my mistakes and keep moving forward. I don't have time to look back."
Parcells may not have time, either. He has structured practices to give equal opportunities to all three quarterbacks -- equal snaps, equal attempts in the two-minute drill and equal playing time once preseason games begin.
Henson shrugged off a question about that putting added pressure on him and Romo.
"I don't think I need to try to come out and prove anything," Henson said Monday. "I just need to concentrate on getting better each day, and hopefully that will help the team win games."
If something is bothering Henson, in other words, he isn't about to announce it where Parcells can read it.
His arm, for example. Henson's arm looks tired.
You won't hear him say that.
But even the sideline passes that Henson seemed to throw so crisply last summer appear to have lost a little of their mustard.
When Parcells was asked Monday if anything was wrong with Henson's arm, the coach shook his head.
"Not that I'm aware of," Parcells answered.
During the off-season, it was well documented that Cowboys coaches tried to get Henson to change his throwing motion from a baseball-like three-quarters delivery to a release point that is more over the top.
Parcells alluded to Henson throwing "5,000 passes" in workouts.
And now he comes to this training camp and Henson finds that three, not a more-customary four, quarterbacks will be splitting the duties.
So do the math. Add the warm-up tosses. The two-minute drills. The seven-on-seven sessions.
On a typical day, a quarterback at this Cowboys camp is going to throw in excess of 150 footballs. Every day. With only one day off since the team arrived in Oxnard.
Yes, Bledsoe and Romo are on the same diet of passes. But they didn't throw "5,000 passes" in preparation for this camp, either.
Henson won't complain. He's smart -- valedictorian of his high school class in Brighton, Mich. He's personable and glib. His time wearing the Yankees' pinstripes has given him a mature 25-year-old's perspective.
A year ago, he was the hottest thing in camp. Now, Henson returns from practice each afternoon with ice packs secured in various places along his throwing arm.
By not critiquing his quarterbacks yet, Parcells may well be damning Henson with his silence. Not that Parcells has ever shown any evidence of favored-son treatment toward Henson.
On the contrary, of course. Once Henson was needlessly pulled from the Bears game last season, he never got to throw a pass again.
Don't jump to conclusions about the quarterbacks, Bill Parcells says.
Too late.
Pretty much sums up his career.
DraftBoy
Comment