Vince Young who?

[Mikie2times]

For all the Vince Young talk I think people are missing the most important factor in this game, Travis Henry.

 

It's hard to imagine Travis not looking forward to this one for a long time. He was a young, cheap, former Pro Bowl selection/alternate off several 1,000 yards seasons and we drafted his replacement. His desire to remain in Buffalo clearly changed from that point on. Now around two years later Travis get's to come back to Buffalo. Even more on the other side is the same RB the Bills drafted as his replacement. Travis would have to be a complete coward to not play the most motivated game of his career. He already hit's the hole hard, and is a real SOB to bring down. We already have issues with our interior run defense. The potential for a big game out of Henry is certainly their.

[Chilly]

I'd be concerned with the ground skills of both. If you ignore Vince's running ability, that'll be a problem. Likewise with Henry.

[Mikie2times]

I'd be concerned with the ground skills of both.  If you ignore Vince's running ability, that'll be a problem.  Likewise with Henry.

874500[/snapback]

You can't ignore either, but to me the only way TEN wins is if Travis has a big day. Which is why I'm worried he'll be on a mission Sunday.

[Dan]

You can't ignore either, but to me the only way TEN wins is if Travis has a big day. Which is why I'm worried he will be a possessed man on Sunday.

874507[/snapback]

I think McGehee will be pretty well motivated as well to prove he's better than Travis. Hopefully the 2 cancel each other out. Because I agree, Travis rushing worries me more than Young throwing.

[/dev/null]

Ask Sterling Sharpe about Vince Young, he's got a serious mancrush on Vince Young and needs some VY Jelly

[Mikie2times]

I think McGehee will be pretty well motivated as well to prove he's better than Travis.  Hopefully the 2 cancel each other out.  Because I agree, Travis rushing worries me more than Young throwing.

874511[/snapback]

I thought/wish for the same thing. To me this will be a big sign of the type of player Willis is. You know for a fact Travis will be on a mission. As a competitor Willis should be out to show why Buffalo kept him. If Henry goes off we need to counter with a strong rushing attack.

[Lori]

I thought/wish for the same thing. To me this will be a big sign of the type of player Willis is. You know for a fact Travis will be on a mission. As a competitor Willis should be out to show why Buffalo kept him. If Henry goes off we need to counter with a strong rushing attack.

874515[/snapback]

Good thing TEN's rush D is actually slightly worse than Buffalo's, then, isn't it?

[Mikie2times]

Good thing TEN's rush D is actually slightly worse than Buffalo's, then, isn't it?

874535[/snapback]

I believe it is statistically. On footballoutsiders.com they have rush rankings which has us 30th and TEN 23rd. They factor in SOS, and just about every other measurable statistics in the rankings. Henry is also averaging .4 yards more then Willis per carry. To me that's more a reflection of better run blocking then RB performance.

[Lv-Bills]

Good thing TEN's rush D is actually slightly worse than Buffalo's, then, isn't it?

874535[/snapback]

VY does tend to concern me though with one thing. Spread the Bills out a little bit. VY in the shotgun (not sure if that's where he is or how much they use it in Tenn), and send multiple WR's and a TE (maybe even a RB in Fletcher's case) out in patterns to somehow take Fletcher out of the play. If VY gets one on one with a gimpy Spikes or rookie Ellison, he might make a big play or two.

 

Hope not, but that could be a worry.

[Dibs]

.....Henry is also averaging .4 yards more then Willis per carry. To me that's more a reflection of better run blocking then RB performance.

874536[/snapback]

I would say it's a reflection more on the ability of VY to run as a QB. Lv-Bills spells it out above...post #9.

[C.Biscuit97]

For all the Vince Young talk I think people are missing the most important factor in this game, Travis Henry. 

 

It's hard to imagine Travis not looking forward to this one for a long time. He was a young, cheap, former Pro Bowl selection/alternate off several 1,000 yards seasons and we drafted his replacement.  His desire to remain in Buffalo clearly changed from that point on. Now around two years later Travis get's to come back to Buffalo. Even more on the other side is the same RB the Bills drafted as his replacement. Travis would have to be a complete coward to not play the most motivated game of his career. He already hit's the hole hard, and is a real SOB to bring down.  We already have issues with our interior run defense. The potential for a big game out of Henry is certainly their.

874499[/snapback]

 

I agree 100%. I was always and still a Henry fan. I'm sure alot of low class Bills fans will take their petty shot at Henry and his mistakes. However, the guy is a warrior and I'm happy for his rebirth in Tennessee.

 

In my eyes, this is a huge game for Willis. I like Willis but never saw the logic of picking him when Henry was already here. I expected a huge upgrade and so far, I haven't seen it. That said, this is a showcase game for Willis. And here's to Willis lighting it up on Sunday.

[Mikie2times]

I would say it's a reflection more on the ability of VY to run as a QB.  Lv-Bills spells it out above...post #9.

874540[/snapback]

Young has most his designed run plays from shotgun, or he run's in passing situations. In either case the defense would be playing more to stop Young then Henry. Henry was always a traditional I or single back with Buffalo, and with his style it's hard to picture him as anything else. If he's behind the QB the defense is not playing Young to run unless Young drops back to pass. In these situations Young's effect on Henry's YPC is marginal. If Henry got most his carries in this situation Young’s overall effect on Henry’s numbers are marginal.

[Tortured Soul]

The Bills often give up big rushing games, and I don't honestly expect them to hold Henry under 100, but that won't matter. Stay away from mistakes on offense and they'll be fine.

[Mikie2times]

The Bills often give up big rushing games, and I don't honestly expect them to hold Henry under 100, but that won't matter.  Stay away from mistakes on offense and they'll be fine.

874553[/snapback]

100 is fine. 150+ is not, that's what I'm worried about.

[Tortured Soul]

100 is fine. 150+ is not, that's what I'm worried about.

874555[/snapback]

150 and JP playing like he has? No worries.

[Rico]

For all the Vince Young talk I think people are missing the most important factor in this game, Travis Henry. 

 

It's hard to imagine Travis not looking forward to this one for a long time. He was a young, cheap, former Pro Bowl selection/alternate off several 1,000 yards seasons and we drafted his replacement.  His desire to remain in Buffalo clearly changed from that point on. Now around two years later Travis get's to come back to Buffalo. Even more on the other side is the same RB the Bills drafted as his replacement. Travis would have to be a complete coward to not play the most motivated game of his career. He already hit's the hole hard, and is a real SOB to bring down.  We already have issues with our interior run defense. The potential for a big game out of Henry is certainly their.

874499[/snapback]

Good post. I hope Travis receives the great welcome back that he deserves from the crowd, and I hope he has a very nice game while the Bills win comfortably.

[Lori]

VY does tend to concern me though with one thing.  Spread the Bills out a little bit.  VY in the shotgun (not sure if that's where he is or how much they use it in Tenn), and send multiple WR's and a TE (maybe even a RB in Fletcher's case) out in patterns to somehow take Fletcher out of the play.  If VY gets one on one with a gimpy Spikes or rookie Ellison, he might make a big play or two.

 

Hope not, but that could be a worry.

874537[/snapback]

KZoo's already mentioned it, but the Titans run a LOT of shotgun, since that's what Young is more comfortable doing. Norm Chow has even tossed in some spread-option plays for him.

 

Glad to see I'm not the only regular FO reader here. The current Pro Football Prospectus sits right next to Relentless on my bookshelf; consistently quality analysis. (Even if I have yet to forgive them for all the potshots at J.P. ...)

[Starkiller]

Good thing TEN's rush D is actually slightly worse than Buffalo's, then, isn't it?

874535[/snapback]

For what it's worth, the Titans run D has been much better recently than they were early on, so that skews the stats. For the season they have allowed 4.5 ypc, but just 3.9 over the last 6 weeks. Also 145 yards per game for the year vs 121 ypg in the last 6. Not great, but much better.

 

I'd say the Titans' run D is about average in the league right now.

[BuffOrange]

Ask Sterling Sharpe about Vince Young, he's got a serious mancrush on Vince Young and needs some VY Jelly

874514[/snapback]

 

You obviously don't understand that he "just wins football games".

[Starkiller]

VY does tend to concern me though with one thing.  Spread the Bills out a little bit.  VY in the shotgun (not sure if that's where he is or how much they use it in Tenn), and send multiple WR's and a TE (maybe even a RB in Fletcher's case) out in patterns to somehow take Fletcher out of the play.  If VY gets one on one with a gimpy Spikes or rookie Ellison, he might make a big play or two.

 

Hope not, but that could be a worry.

874537[/snapback]

They don't use the shotgun a ton, but it does get a decent chunk of the plays. He has been in shotgun about a third of the snaps, but they use it more often late in games in a 2-minute offense situation (like the whole 4th quarter against the Giants) than during the rest of the game. The Titans want to make him a better conventional QB, but clearly he is more dangerous in the shotgun so they do use it.

 

And also, the Titans don't really use many designed run plays for Vince like they did at Texas. When he runs, it's usually because he didn't find an open receiver, was flushed from the pocket by a blitz, or it was a designed option where he sees the defense and decided whether to hand it off or keep it himself.