Sorry for another Titans RB thread, but this looks like pretty big news (although it is coming from a coach..).
Debate all you like about the franchise's two running backs.
Titans Coach Jeff Fisher said the addition of Henry signals the start of a new era for Tennessee, one in which the running back position is far different than it was when Eddie George carried the ball as often as needed.
While workhorse backs are still smattered around the NFL, only nine teams had a running back with more than 300 carries last year. On a day when Fisher paid tribute to George, he said the Titans are now officially believers in a two-back system.
"It's not a matter of who's starting and who's not, they're both going to play," Fisher said yesterday. "The days of having a franchise back that gets 90 percent of the carries are over. You just don't see that. It doesn't happen anymore.
"Successful teams that have played into the postseason the last four, five, six years have had two good backs. Look at Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Carolina. There is depth there."
The Titans acquired Henry from the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a third-round draft pick next year. Yesterday the Titans announced they have agreed with Henry on a new contract that now extends through 2009.
This season he will earn a base salary of $1.25 million, the same amount that was in the final year of his old deal with Buffalo. Four more years are tacked on, with a $4 million option bonus next spring triggering the rest.
With incentives Henry will earn around $2.4 million a year if he posts backup-like numbers or in the $3 million to $3.5 million range if he hits statistics expected from a starter.
The Titans are assured of having Brown and Henry for the next two seasons. Brown's rookie contract has him locked up though 2007.
Henry will take his physical today. He played a good part of the 2003 season with torn rib cartilage and a hairline fracture in his leg. Last season he missed a game with a sprained foot, then sat out the final five games with torn ligaments in his right ankle.
Barring unexpected problems with the physical, Henry will be introduced as a Titan at a 4 p.m. press conference.
"It's not a concern," Titans General Manager Floyd Reese said. "But we'll certainly have it before the press conference."
Titans fullback Troy Fleming blocked for Brown last season and was a teammate of Henry for two seasons at Tennessee.
"I haven't seen Trav in a while. We were good friends up at UT, it'll be good playing with him again," Fleming said. "I know everybody wants to make a big deal out of him coming in with Chris, but it'll only make it better."
Fleming called Brown a "smooth slasher" and Henry a "shorter power runner who is also fast," but said the two backs will find they have one major trait in common.
"Both of them are quiet, until they are angry," he said. "I've been around both of them when they are angry. They talk a lot when something is on their mind."
Indications are that the Titans will be reluctant to put Brown and Henry on the field at the same time, but Fisher said it's far too early to spell out what determines who will play when. It also doesn't appear that one back will be designated for third downs, at least not for long stretches.
"We've got two good backs. There is not going to be any drop-off," Fisher said. "It's pretty simple. It may depend on down and distance, it may depend on personnel groupings, it may depend on a lot of different things. But both of them are going to play."
The "both of them are going to play" sounds like a bunch of coachspeak but the "days of one back...90% of the carries is gone" worries the hell out of me. It'll be interesting to see if Chow is able to project his usage of 2 RBs into the NFL as seemlessly as he did in the college game. Could be looking at a modern day Mack/Byner combo?
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MadScott wrote:The "both of them are going to play" sounds like a bunch of coachspeak but the "days of one back...90% of the carries is gone" worries the hell out of me. It'll be interesting to see if Chow is able to project his usage of 2 RBs into the NFL as seemlessly as he did in the college game. Could be looking at a modern day Mack/Byner combo?
Two 1,000 yd rushers? Makes for a coupla good #3 or #4 FF RB's.
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"It's not a matter of who's starting and who's not, they're both going to play," Fisher said yesterday. "The days of having a franchise back that gets 90 percent of the carries are over. You just don't see that. It doesn't happen anymore.
What?!?! It happens with lots of teams...those are the teams that don't have lame-arse guys that can't carry the ball more than 15 times a game without getting hurt.
I am all for keeping your guys fresh in the game, but if you've got someone who's markedly better than anyone else you've got or better than most RB's in the league, you run him into the ground - and he probably wants the ball anyway.
He's just scared that the guy he had will get hurt again and figures this will keep him healthy. Fine for real games, bad for fantasy games. They don't play to please us, though.
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MadScott wrote:The "both of them are going to play" sounds like a bunch of coachspeak but the "days of one back...90% of the carries is gone" worries the hell out of me. It'll be interesting to see if Chow is able to project his usage of 2 RBs into the NFL as seemlessly as he did in the college game. Could be looking at a modern day Mack/Byner combo?
The last RB to get 90% of his teams carries was Edgerrin James when he was a rookie and 2nd year player. That's a crazy high ratio. Even if a RB gets only 70% of the carries, he can still get up into the 400 touch range. When you get between 60-50% of the carries, that is where things become dicey and more of a RBBC. Full-blown RBBC, no one will get more than 50%...
Every team uses more than one RB, the question is to what extent. The definition of RBBC is a gray area open to interpretation, what exactly is Jeff Fisher's?
Not sure I agree with Fisher's logic about playoffs teams now using 2 backs because of depth. It has more to do with a lack of a proven starter that is healthy. Just look at his examples...Atlanta? Pittsburgh? If Bettis was 5 years younger you can bet he would get 90% of the carries.
Before last year, Carolina used Davis exclusively. Last year, it was Dillon with NE. StL? Faulk. Phil? Westbrook.
I think he is just trying to rationalize this trade a little bit.
MadScott wrote:The "both of them are going to play" sounds like a bunch of coachspeak but the "days of one back...90% of the carries is gone" worries the hell out of me. It'll be interesting to see if Chow is able to project his usage of 2 RBs into the NFL as seemlessly as he did in the college game. Could be looking at a modern day Mack/Byner combo?
The last RB to get 90% of his teams carries was Edgerrin James when he was a rookie and 2nd year player. That's a crazy high ratio. Even if a RB gets only 70% of the carries, he can still get up into the 400 touch range. When you get between 60-50% of the carries, that is where things become dicey and more of a RBBC. Full-blown RBBC, no one will get more than 50%...
Every team uses more than one RB, the question is to what extent. The definition of RBBC is a gray area open to interpretation, what exactly is Jeff Fisher's?
Interesting, I didn't realize 90% was such a rarity. I'm sure it was a "lesson learned" when Edge went down type of thing.
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by Free Bagel » Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:51 pm 
