Sports Illustrated Article on Derrick Henry and His Lethal Signature Stiff-arm

[TitansGuru]

https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/12/03/the-meaning-of-derrick-henrys-stiff-arms
 

Just a few excerpts from a very long article:

 

Quote

 

Derrick Henry Isn't Changing the Game. That's Why We're Obsessed With Him
 

His stiff-arms—those ultimate emasculations—won't win games. Some stat heads would question how much they matter at all. But they keep us watching. And they link us to the past.

 

 

Quote

The move is as old as football and, like so many elements of the sport, more complex than the catchall term suggests. Great practitioners of the stiff-arm, over the years, have shared certain attributes—an innate understanding of angles and timing; an awareness of the relationship between force and balance, strong hands and driving thighs—but applied them differently.

 

Quote

 

“He wanted to be a run-around-you guy,” says Bobby Ramsay, Henry’s coach at Yulee High, outside Jacksonville. “We had to tell him, ‘Hey, dude: You know you’re really big?’”

Ramsay, too, steered his pupil to the tape. Henry watched Dickerson and Eddie George, the mammoth Titans All-Pro, both of whom had the kind of edge speed he found appealing—an ability to beat a defense to the perimeter when it bunched against the offense’s strength—and an understanding of when the situation called for something more straightforward.

 

Anyway, just cool to see our guy get more national recognition. 

[JoelinBellevue]

It wasn't a "wow" stiffarm, but in the Colts game he stiffed a tackle. Guy never got a hand on him. Said he learned it in HS.

[NFL2K5]

Everybody knows how I feel about Derrick Henry. But I wouldn't say he is changing the game. I think he is a phenom at the position though. Lawrence Taylor changed the game.

 

Derrick Henry is doing what I predicted would happen. Me and my boy use to talk about how We hated how the Runningback position was being devalued. I told him the NFL is like society, it's mostly about trends. And it's a copycat league. I told him before we had Henry (We just drafted Bishop Sanky) that eventually the Runningback position would be back. I noticed teams were building their defenses to deal with the potent passing games. Up front teams were getting weaker. I told him eventually teams were gonna catch on. The Colts were smart to build the front to try to deal with Henry, but not every teams built that way. 

 

I think Henry is the most complete back because he literally does everything so well. And he is big with break away speed and nimble enough to get through the hole and make defenders miss with great vision. That's a lethal combination.

 

Im not really sure how he is changing the game. All he is doing is bringing back something that was becoming devalued. 

Edited December 4, 2020 by NFL2K5

[OilerTitanHybrid]

His initials are DH.  He's the Designated Hitter with that stiff arm. 🎯

[bondra316v2]

1 hour ago, NFL2K5 said:

Everybody knows how I feel about Derrick Henry. But I wouldn't say he is changing the game. I think he is a phenom at the position though. Lawrence Taylor changed the game.

 

Derrick Henry is doing what I predicted would happen. Me and my boy use to talk about how We hated how the Runningback position was being devalued. I told him the NFL is like society, it's mostly about trends. And it's a copycat league. I told him before we had Henry (We just drafted Bishop Sanky) that eventually the Runningback position would be back. I noticed teams were building their defenses to deal with the potent passing games. Up front teams were getting weaker. I told him eventually teams were gonna catch on. The Colts were smart to build the front to try to deal with Henry, but not every teams built that way. 

 

I think Henry is the most complete back because he literally does everything so well. And he is big with break away speed and nimble enough to get through the hole and make defenders miss with great vision. That's a lethal combination.

 

Im not really sure how he is changing the game. All he is doing is bringing back something that was becoming devalued. 

Literally the first sentence that Guru quoted is "Derrick Henry isn't changing the game".

[NFL2K5]

Just now, bondra316v2 said:

Literally the first sentence that Guru quoted is "Derrick Henry isn't changing the game".

 

Riiiight I was agreeing with that statement. Lol

[Supdawg]

I wouldn't be surprised if there are future bigger backs that play running back that are that long. His length is a physical mismatch for almost every lb and db and many dlinemen too. You can't get into his body. 

[Stan]

I don’t get why these guys when he extends his arm don’t go for a full arm bar and grab and take him down instead of trying to take him down near his legs or body. Grab and twist the arm. They should have martial arts experts teaching how to defend

Edited December 4, 2020 by Stan

[japan]

3 hours ago, JoelinBellevue said:

It wasn't a "wow" stiffarm, but in the Colts game he stiffed a tackle. Guy never got a hand on him. Said he learned it in HS.

Yeah, who was the guy on tv earlier this season that was saying that he wasn't impressed with Henry stiffarming DBs and they he couldn't do that to DL and LBs?

[BudsOilers]

 

Earl had a wicked stiff arm - more so than Henry.  And LOL at Peter King for saying Henry runs like Earl.  No he doesn't.

[Somedude]

I don't care if he is as good or better or worse than Earl. We are watching one of the best backs to every put on a Titans jersey. He's a freak and no use comparing him to others. Just enjoy it.  Who knows how long it will last. He is currently the best pure RB in the NFL and currently has the best stiff arm among any RB in the NFL. When was the last time this franchise could claim they had the number one player at any position?

[Stan]

Remember when we wanted to trade him? Yeah that would have been the single worst mistake this franchise ever made. He’s been a constant pro, never caused trouble on or off the field., great teammate, hard worker and durable as hell. He became one of my favorite players and I honestly haven’t had once since maybe Keith Bulluck

[TitansFan23]

1 hour ago, Stan said:

I don’t get why these guys when he extends his arm don’t go for a full arm bar and grab and take him down instead of trying to take him down near his legs or body. Grab and twist the arm. They should have martial arts experts teaching how to defend

Because Henry would just lift them over his head and slam them into the ground like Rampage did to Arona (albeit, that was a triangle submission attempt), but my argument still stands. 😆

[NashvilleNinja]

Eddie George had speed to the edge? Uh...

I don't get that and I'm more of an EG defender than some. EG wasn't slow, but did he ever really run much toward the edge? 

[BudsOilers]

6 minutes ago, NashvilleNinja said:

Eddie George had speed to the edge? Uh...

I don't get that and I'm more of an EG defender than some. EG wasn't slow, but did he ever really run much toward the edge? 

Before the toe, he was a pretty damn good back.  You watch some games like 97 and 99 against the Raiders and plenty of others games (I remember a couple against the Jags) and he looked great. 

 

I think we all remember too much of 2001 - 2003 when he was done yet still getting too many carries at the expense of the offense.