Should the Tennessee Titans should be giving Derrick Henry more touches then they have been so far in the 2016 season?
So far, the offense of the Tennessee Titans has relied heavily on DeMarco Murray, with mixed results. Against Minnesota in the season opener, Murray had an average game at best on the ground. He toted the ball 13 times for a total of 42 yards. Averaging 3.2 yards-per-carry isn’t enough if this exotic smash-mouth offense is to be successful.
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Murray was on pace to have a similar outing against the Detroit Lions, if not for a 67-yard sprint at the end of the second quarter. Sure, Murray has produced a significant amount as a pass-catcher. However, the team needs a runner to establish a punishing ground game so the rest of the offense can flow off the success of that.
Can Derrick Henry be that guy for Tennessee? Now, I’m not saying to just pull DeMarco Murray off the field and give the ball to the rookie every play. But would splitting the workload more evenly help the team accomplish what they want to on the ground?
For starters, Henry’s statistics don’t really back up him stealing carries away from the veteran. He’s only managed 3.1 yards a carry on 14 attempts. But, that’s only looking at seven carries per game. No running back can get into any kind of groove with that minimal work load. Every time Henry has come in, he’s made the most of his opportunities—even if it doesn’t show on the stat sheet.
It seems as if every time the 6-3 back gets a handoff, he’s getting hit at or behind the line of scrimmage. However, he still manages to fight his way forward and fall for extra yards every time. If you look at every carry individually, Henry displays solid vision and attitude with the way he carries the ball. You rarely see him getting tackled for a loss, which is a testament to his tenacity as a runner.
Everyone saw his wild run against the Vikings in Week 1. However, on closer look, you see what I’m talking about. He was able to shake-off three tacklers before even getting back to the line of scrimmage. Then, he proceeded to stiff-arm Chad Greenway to the ground and made one of the best tackling safeties in football, Harrison Smith, completely miss in the open field.
It was only one play. But you see the special attributes Henry can bring to this offense if given enough chances.
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I get the team decided to pull the trigger on a trade for Murray and expected him to be the bell-cow back. The team can’t allow that notion to limit their usage on Henry, who has shown some promising ability thus far in limited action. At the end of the day it should be about what gives the team the best chance to win. Giving the rookie more touches could help them beat a talented Oakland team at home in Week 3. Hopefully, we’ll see the workload even out a little more as the season goes on.