In regards to Henson

[Galian Beast]

I'm sorry, but as much as I like Henson, and think he is doing a great job... I'm not going to elevate my opinion of NFLE.

There are 7 rounds in the draft per year...

Given rookies don't go into NFL Europe their first year, you have to compare the NFL Europe players to two draft classes. And lets assume that 1st-5th rounders don't go to NFL Europe for the most part.

That is at LEAST 320 players who are coming out and are considered better than NFL Europe players.

So while all together an NFL europe team might be better than a major college school, simply because of the depth of talent... you're not going to have those major stars who make a huge difference on a team.

Zuriel Smith was our 5th or 6th receiver for like 2-3 years on and off.. and he is basically the Fire's top receiver... That is another reason why Henson probably isn't putting up great numbers. He has scrubs for receivers, who drop more often than even normal NFLE players.

We don't have a single player with more than 140 yards receiving, where as most teams have two...

 

[iceberg]

we're undefeated.

 

[silverbear]

I have seen several posts and comments about how well Henson is playing, often followed by "but he is playing against scrubs" or something of the sort.

Although Henson is not playing against the best players in the world, here are a few things to consider:

1. He is not playing with the best players in the world as well. His teamates are also so-called scrubs, as some have called them. That really came to light this week with the four or five drops that were suffered in the game, three of which would have been first downs. Put Manning or Brady on that Reighn Fire exactly the way Henson was thrown in there, and I feel 100%confident that neither of them would be lighting it up any more than Henson, maybe even less. Especially Brady. Remember, against scrubs, but also, with scrubs.

I've been making this same point for some time now... his WRs and his OL are not that good, even by NFLE standards... really, the strength of that team is its defense...

2. A great pass is still a great pass. Wether it is thrown in Giants stadium, Berlin, or your local park. A great read is still a great read. A great checkdown is still a great checkdown. Henson cannot control his level of competition. All he can do is play well. He is doing that very well. A great pass is.........what it is........a great pass.

A very good point again-- what you're looking for is good decision making, and so far, Drew has been pretty good with his decisions...

3. The competition is not as bad as you think. Though some call them scrubs, they are not really scrubs. Who do you think would win a game between Berlin and Texas Tech? Even though this is the minor leagues of the NFL, if you look at the players profile, most of them played at major college programs and a lot of them were top players at those programs. So, they may be the lower end NFL, but they are still amongst the lucky 25% of major college players who actually play at the next level. In other words, Henson is actually probably playing against better competition than, Leinart, Young, Cutler, or any college QB for that matter. Most of the players Vince Young lined up against will never play professional football, period. Don't lose sight of this.

Even my beloved Longhorns would probably be a sub-.500 team in that league... the level of competition IS better than anything you'll find in the NCAA... to me, NFL Europe is like AAA baseball (where the NFL is the major leagues, obviously), Division I football is akin to AA baseball, I-AA is like A baseball, and the lower divisions like low-A ball... on that scale, the CFL and Arena Leagues would probably be on a AA level as well...

 

[silverbear]

The talent in Europe is not as great as some of this thread would have you believe. Its under the level of, say, Texas VS USC. So In Baseball Terms its about AA. The very best of College Football is AAA, while the Pros are the major leagues.

That's so wrong, burma... in NFL Europe, every single player was a good college player, good enough that he might have NFL potential... but even the Horns and Trojans played players who will NEVER be good enough to land a job over in Europe...

The Horns and Trojans might have themselves x number of likely high draft prospects in any given year, players that will never HAVE to play in NFL Europe, but top to bottom, the rosters of NFL Europe are deeper and more talented...

I liked the rest of your argument, though...

 

[cleverusername]

I have seen several posts and comments about how well Henson is playing, often followed by "but he is playing against scrubs" or something of the sort.

Although Henson is not playing against the best players in the world, here are a few things to consider:

1. He is not playing with the best players in the world as well. His teamates are also so-called scrubs, as some have called them. That really came to light this week with the four or five drops that were suffered in the game, three of which would have been first downs. Put Manning or Brady on that Reighn Fire exactly the way Henson was thrown in there, and I feel 100%confident that neither of them would be lighting it up any more than Henson, maybe even less. Especially Brady. Remember, against scrubs, but also, with scrubs.

2. A great pass is still a great pass. Wether it is thrown in Giants stadium, Berlin, or your local park. A great read is still a great read. A great checkdown is still a great checkdown. Henson cannot control his level of competition. All he can do is play well. He is doing that very well. A great pass is.........what it is........a great pass.

3. The competition is not as bad as you think. Though some call them scrubs, they are not really scrubs. Who do you think would win a game between Berlin and Texas Tech? Even though this is the minor leagues of the NFL, if you look at the players profile, most of them played at major college programs and a lot of them were top players at those programs. So, they may be the lower end NFL, but they are still amongst the lucky 25% of major college players who actually play at the next level. In other words, Henson is actually probably playing against better competition than, Leinart, Young, Cutler, or any college QB for that matter. Most of the players Vince Young lined up against will never play professional football, period. Don't lose sight of this.

Why you gotta pick on Tech? That ain't right!:nono2:

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

i love when people try to out-hibrow the other.

does anyone *really* use "ad hominem" in casual conversation???

I do. I hang out with highly educated individuals. Are you now the thought police?

 

[Billy Bullocks]

One of the things that has me concerned on Henson is his age.

He is already 26 and by the time 2008 comes around, he will be 28. So is he really the "future at QB" if he does start at some point? Even if he could play at a good level until age 35, thats only 7 years.

I like Henson and I also like Romo. I just want at least one of them to be ready to step up to the next level.

When was the last time we've had a QB here for 3 years.....7 years is a LONG time in NFL terms. Do you realize that Bledsoe starting on opening day next year would be the 1st time since Aikman retired that we have had the same starting QB in consecutive seasons. If Henson pans out, I guarantee you that most of the NFL would wish they could have Henson for "only" 7 years.

 

[Zippy Speedster]

Gosh dang, did my pants just start getting tighter, did someone say Drew Henson is doing well on the european level?!

Wake up people, this is not Professional Baseball, the minor leagues don't work here the same way as they do there. Would be very luck if all the players of that blasted league combined accounted for one NFL star, and I don't mean some backup or third string guy once he gets brought back home, but a true honest to god star.

Funnier point, guys like McNair and Farve, are completely washed up and done according to some of you, but right on the other hand what Henson is doing in the NFLe is beyond words for you to even describe. Wake up and smell the coffee, Henson is what he is, period.

QBs every year show promise in the ACTUAL NFL, yet nothing ever comes of their careers. Henson on the other hand can't complete as much as one NFL game, goes to NFLe and plays four, all of a sudden he's the second coming. Ok. Sure. Whatever. You guys are so right.

 

[superpunk]

Wake up people, this is not Professional Baseball, the minor leagues don't work here the same way as they do there. Would be very luck if all the players of that blasted league combined accounted for one NFL star, and I don't mean some backup or third string guy once he gets brought back home, but a true honest to god star.

So, what.....you'd be ecstatic about Henson's progress if the league he was playing in had produced just one pro-bowl, star caliber player? Is that really any way to analyze what you see?

 

[iceberg]

I do. I hang out with highly educated individuals. Are you now the thought police?

a tad sensitive are you not? i also don't think NOT using the phrase is a sign of hanging out with morons either.

so are you telling me i can't think what i want about others thoughts???? : )

 

[aikemirv]

Gosh dang, did my pants just start getting tighter, did someone say Drew Henson is doing well on the european level?!

Wake up people, this is not Professional Baseball, the minor leagues don't work here the same way as they do there. Would be very luck if all the players of that blasted league combined accounted for one NFL star, and I don't mean some backup or third string guy once he gets brought back home, but a true honest to god star.

Funnier point, guys like McNair and Farve, are completely washed up and done according to some of you, but right on the other hand what Henson is doing in the NFLe is beyond words for you to even describe. Wake up and smell the coffee, Henson is what he is, period.

QBs every year show promise in the ACTUAL NFL, yet nothing ever comes of their careers. Henson on the other hand can't complete as much as one NFL game, goes to NFLe and plays four, all of a sudden he's the second coming. Ok. Sure. Whatever. You guys are so right.

All I can say is this. This last game was pretty much a perfect game IMO. I don't know what else you could have asked him to do in that game that he did not do. His decision making has been very good IMO and a lot of his throws have been laser darts right on the money.

All this after only starting 13/14 games since HS as many of his detractors have pointed out. I think there is a lot to get excited about. Nobody is saying that he is there yet, but just that he is really showing promise.

 

[burmafrd]

On average the talent level is probably higher then top college teams- BUT the skill level in NFLE on both offense and defense is less then teams like USC, Texas, etc. So that is why I still put NFLE at AA level. Or maybe at the low level of AAA while the top college teams are at the top level of AAA.
Every starting receiver, DB on Texas, USC, etc will at least go to a pro camp- which is the same as NFLE. BUT you will not have those like Vince Young and Bush and etc EVER at NFLE. Or anyone CLOSE to that level. Henson is a major exception in that he was at that level, or almost, coming out of Michigan. I have always been a little skeptical of that myself- just how much can you learn from someone that only had 8 starts in college?

 

[aikemirv]

On average the talent level is probably higher then top college teams- BUT the skill level in NFLE on both offense and defense is less then teams like USC, Texas, etc. So that is why I still put NFLE at AA level. Or maybe at the low level of AAA while the top college teams are at the top level of AAA.
Every starting receiver, DB on Texas, USC, etc will at least go to a pro camp- which is the same as NFLE. BUT you will not have those like Vince Young and Bush and etc EVER at NFLE. Or anyone CLOSE to that level. Henson is a major exception in that he was at that level, or almost, coming out of Michigan. I have always been a little skeptical of that myself- just how much can you learn from someone that only had 8 starts in college?

I understand that the talent level is not that good, but I am not really sure how much the talent level applies to Henson in these cases. Sure the DB's are not as good, but also the WR's are not as good. If a WR in NFLE has a yard of seperation from the DB and Henson nails a strike that is thrown on a rope, I don't see how you can say that the same throw will not be successful in the NFL. We all know he has an NFL arm and IF NFL WR's get that or better seperation the throw would still be on target.

I think the main difference in judging Henson would be the complexity of the defense in NFLE vs the complexity of NFL defenses. I can very well see that difference and that is something we will see if he can bring to the next level.

BUt... the passes themselves are pretty good IMO.

 

[Doomsday101]

Main thing is Henson is getting the playing time and doing very well. He is not making many mistakes and seems to be showing improvement week to week. I look forward to seeing him this upcoming training camp and pre-season.