Who is faster, Parsons or Hollywood Henderson?

nathanlt

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Who do you think ran a faster 40 time, Micah Parsons or Hollywood Henderson? There are different sources out there, but what is your best guess?
 

CATCH17

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Was Henderson 250 pounds running a 4.3 40? I doubt it.


A lot of the players some of you grew up cheering for in the 60s and 70s would get bullied in today’s NFL because they would be physically outmatched.

A guy like Bruce Carter would’ve looked like Ray Lewis back then.
 

glimmerman

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Parson likely faster but Henderson during his playing days was one of the fastest LB in the league.
Yeah running a 40 in shorts and running it in full pads is different. They are both fast. Hard to know who is football faster. I know Parson has some serious fast closing speed. Looks like someone hitting fast forward on the film.
 

Doomsday101

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Yeah running a 40 in shorts and running it in full pads is different. They are both fast. Hard to know who is football faster. I know Parson has some serious fast closing speed. Looks like someone hitting fast forward on the film.

True but comparing players from the 70's and 80's to todays player is apples and oranges. No doubt Henderson was a change from LB before him, he brought speed which is why we would see him on kickoff returns and he was successful at it.
 

xwalker

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Who do you think ran a faster 40 time, Micah Parsons or Hollywood Henderson? There are different sources out there, but what is your best guess?
Parsons is faster but the gap between Hollywood and the average speed of LBs in his era was probably bigger than Parsons relative to the average speed of modern era LBs.

Hollywood even returned some punts and kicks.
 

xwalker

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Was Henderson 250 pounds running a 4.3 40? I doubt it.


A lot of the players some of you grew up cheering for in the 60s and 70s would get bullied in today’s NFL because they would be physically outmatched.

A guy like Bruce Carter would’ve looked like Ray Lewis back then.
Hollywood returned some punts and kick-offs in the NFL and he had some TDs doing it.
 

tyke1doe

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Don't know. And I'm not trying to be snarky and smart-alecky, but what's the point of comparing their speed?
The game and rules and body types - not to mention training - are totally different than when Henderson played.
Even if Henderson was faster, he'd get knocked all over the place because he was like 220lbs playing linebacker against 300-plus linemen.
Furthermore, if Parson played during Henderson's days, he'd be a monster.
One of the best tackles of Henderson's era was Art Shell, who was 6'5 265lbs. Parsons is 6'3 245lbs. With his 4.3 speed, Parsons more than likely would DESTROY Shell.
It's like comparing Jesse Owens and Usain Bolt.
 

Plankton

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Was Henderson 250 pounds running a 4.3 40? I doubt it.


A lot of the players some of you grew up cheering for in the 60s and 70s would get bullied in today’s NFL because they would be physically outmatched.

A guy like Bruce Carter would’ve looked like Ray Lewis back then.

To be fair, if the nutritional and training advances available to players today were available back then, Hollywood Henderson would not have been a 220 pound linebacker - his size would more resemble what you see now.
 

cowboyec

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i'd never bet against hollywood.
he coulda been L.T. if not for his illness.
i still believe our young lion from mt. nitnay will fulfill hollywood's legacy of what might've been.
micah parsons is for real.
he's gonna be a all-time good'n.
 

DFWJC

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Was Henderson 250 pounds running a 4.3 40? I doubt it.


A lot of the players some of you grew up cheering for in the 60s and 70s would get bullied in today’s NFL because they would be physically outmatched.

A guy like Bruce Carter would’ve looked like Ray Lewis back then.
Those same players....translated into today's world of life-long regimens of weight training and diet would be WAY bigger, stronger , faster than they were 50 years ago.

Can't compare across eras, just relative to current era peers
 
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tyke1doe

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I doubt Henderson could have been LT. LT was Henderson. But somehow LT was able to keep his drug problems from derailing him - at least on the field. Henderson was not.
Still, both being clean, I don't think Henderson would have been an LT. Henderson was more of a talker and a jokester. LT had a relentlessness Henderson didn't have, IMO. That, along with all-world football speed and incredible instinct, is what separates LT from Henderson.
 

glimmerman

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True but comparing players from the 70's and 80's to todays player is apples and oranges. No doubt Henderson was a change from LB before him, he brought speed which is why we would see him on kickoff returns and he was successful at it.
Hmmm maybe Parsons on a return. Lol. I doubt they chance the injury. I bet he would not be fun to tackle.
 
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