Time To Give Drew Henson His Due - GREAT Topic
I've been thinking about Henson because, with the first ten years of the century over, I'm mulling over a team of the best Wolverines of the decade, based on their best season. I figured Henson's final season might qualify. As I looked closer, I concluded that Henson in 2000 actually had the best season of any Michigan quarterback in history. |
I think that this is a GREAT topic. I completely agree and additionally think that you can make a strong case for Henson (if he would of had a full career) being probably the best Michigan QB ever. Discuss???
Henson is the ultimate coulda, shoulda, woulda, when it comes to Michigan QBs. Right up there with Antonio Bass in the spread.
Bass didn't sell out to an Ohio State Univ baseball owner and screw over his team because of greed.
I can see why people are still upset about Henson bailing for baseball, but you have you understand that baseball was his first love.
When you hit more home runs in high school than any other player in history and the Yankees come calling, dangling a boatload of cash in front of you at the age of 18 (not to mention that at the time Henson left, the Yankees were in the midst of winning three World Series in a row) you have to at least consider playing baseball.
Also, keep in mind a few years earlier, another Michigan high school kid left school for the Yankees, and that worked out just fine for him. Henson was well aware of what happened with Jeter, and I'm sure he saw a similar future for himself.
...how'd Baseball work out for Henson? And what sport did Drew go back to playing after he failed at Basbeall?
Did Jeter actually play ball for U of M? If not mistaken, he was there for one semester and then left. Not quite the same as Henson who had cemented his role on the team and then abandoned it. I can't fault him for going for the $$$$ but I can also fault him for leaving when he was a center piece of the team. That's why, I believe, many were and are upset that he left.
Just ask yourself how'd you feel if Mike Hart, Chad Henne, or Jake Long left after their junior year to go play another sport for the money. I think you'd probably be pissed even though you realize it would be hard to pass up the money.
You know Henson has free will right? Sure it sucks that he left without playing for all four years, but he wanted to play baseball, so he left. Get over it.
Hind sight is 20/20.
You (and many others, myself included) don't like the fact that Henson left U of M to play for the Yankees, and that's understandable given our positions as an M fans, but don't pretend like at the time it was a stupid decision.
Also, as a quick aside...I never said Jeter played for M. I said he left school.
Remember that Kirk Gibson was once an all-american football player who was a lock for a high first round draft pick in the NFL draft (6'3" 220 lb sure handed receiver who ran a 4.3-4.4 40) and chose baseball. I have to imagine he doesn't look back on his choice with many regrets. Just because Henson's baseball career didn't work out doesn't mean it wasn't a good decision. I would have to guess that injuries like Antonio Bass', and having your brain bounced about your skull like Aikman and Young doesn't happen nearly as often in baseball. It was a safer sport with better longevity and millions of dollars in his pocket. Hard to pass up unless you are a monday morning quarterback spewing anonymously on a sports blog.
It wasn't a good decision at the time, either. And I don't really hold any grudges against Henson. I wasn't thrilled at his timing (Spring ball, throwing Navarre to the wolves too early), but he's been a pretty loyal Wolverine since.
But even then, he let the lure get to him, and his love of baseball clouded his best judgement. It was a power play by Steinbrenner, pure and simple. He stays, worst case he gets an insurance policy that probably comes close to his baseball money. Best case, he is what he would have been, the #1 pick in the NFL draft, before Vick, and his signing bonus alone is 3 times what he got guaranteed from the Yankees. That's not even considering the actual unguaranteed contract money he would have been up for in the NFL.
And if his love was really baseball, he could have used the NFL love to pull a better contract out of the Yankees or whoever is rights were traded to.
His life, he made his choice, no hard feelings, good guy. But financially, he actually did himself no favors.
What did Bass run the 40 in?
Scout says he ran a 4.4 40 yd, so I would bet his 40 in was way faster.
Lloyd said Bass was the best athlete he's seen since Charles Woodson, and we all know you don't just throw around those words.
Yeah I remember that, that's why I was curious what his 40 was. Man wish he didn't get injured.
Henne smoked Henson's best as a true freshman.
- Henson (2000): 61.6%, 2146 yds, 18 TDs
- Henne (2004): 60.2%, 2743 yds, 25 TDs
The only thing Henson did better was avoid Int's but, again, Henne was a true freshman. Henson is not the answer to this question.
Henson did miss some games...
You are aware that Henson racked up those numbers in 8 1/2 games, aren't you?
Um, no. No I wasn't. I had forgotten about that.
pretty sure Navarre threw for 4 or 5 touchdowns in the opener against BGSU. Henson missed 2 creampuffs and a key nonconference game, as well as the first half of that Illinois game.
Henne's freshman year was made to look better than it actually was by arguably the most talented WR group in Michigan football history. Henne's Junior season overall was definitely better.
David Terrell, Marquise Walker, Bennie Joppru and Ronald Bellamy weren't chopped liver either...(with senior Anthony Thomas instead of freshman Mike Hart to take pressure off the passing game...).
I'm not comparing Drew Henson and any of Chad Henne's years. I was responding to the guy above who used Henne's freshman year against Henson's. I was arguing that Henne's best year was his junior year.
It really wouldn't be right for me to say who was better (Henne/Henson/whoever) since I never watched any of Henson play.
Interceptions are in the QB rating, and I think a clear indicator of a failure to score on a drive.
Also how about comparing attempts? Weren't we heavier on the running plays when Henson started?
I guess my memory is that Michigan was more frequently behind on scoring with Henne's seasons over Henson's seasons. Meaning we have more "kill the clock" running plays with Henson than Henne.
Honestly, I'll take Henne's junior year over Henson's senior year.
Henne= 61.9 completion percentage, 22 tds, 8 ints, 2508 yards 11-2 record
Henson= 61.6 completion percentage, 18 tds, 4 ints, 2146 yards 9-3 record, but we beat ohio state.
i guess its very close to me. but wow that 2000 team was loaded on offense.
Keep in mind two things. First, Henne played a full 13-game season while Henson played only 8 1/2 games in 2000 (he was inserted just before halftime of the conference opener), so it's not really a fair comparison. Second, when comparing won-loss records, don't forget that our 2006 defense was way, way better than our 2000 unit. It's tough to fault Henson when we lost 32-31 and 54-51, with Henson racking up huge stats both times.
Whether or not it was the best season for a QB, I don't know, but at the end of the season Henson was playing at an incredibly high level. His 2000 OSU performance might well be one of the best single games by a U-M QB ever.
When you have a poor defense, you generally need to score more points and are often playing catch-up. As a result, you often need to throw more. When you have a good defense, you are often ahead and can play more conservatively. You run the ball more, particularly if you are significantly ahead late in the game. Moreover, if the other team is signficantly ahead, they are more likely to play a prevent defense and allow more short passes to prevent longer ones.
I have no way to know how you might be able to adjust for this, but maybe you could look to see how many yards Henson threw for (and other stats) in games in which the opponent scored more than 30 points versus games in which the opponent scored less than 30 points. If there is a substantial difference, having a poor defense actually may have enhanced his stats.
But the larger point is that attributing won-loss records to QBs can be misleading. They don't have control over everything that goes on. I don't fault Henne for never beating OSU, either. It's not his fault our defense collapsed in the fourth quarter of '05 and never showed up in '06.
"Honestly, I'll take Henne's junior year over Henson's senior year."
Umm....Henson didn't have a senior year. That's a big part of the conversation. He put up pretty solid numbers as a junior while only playing 8 1/2 games. He was all set up to have a huge senior season before he took the Yankees money.
For my money, Michigan's best QB is still Jim Harbaugh. The team finished # 2 in the country after his junior year and # 8 in his senior year. He beat OSU both seasons.
Henson might have gotten into the picture if he had played his senior season. Henne had lots of pluses and minuses along the way. He's in the mix but I don't think that I could call him "the best ever."
I like Chait, but this is one more example of stats not telling a whole story. Best of any QB in Michigan history is a bold statement for a QB that had the A train to hand the ball to. Henson was solid, but not even declared all Big 10 in 2000.
rather than let objective statistical measurements tell the story, let's point to the fact he didn't win a voted-on award from underinformed coaches/media and had a good running back (which, by the way, is kind of a slight to Morris, Hart, Perry, Biakabatuka, Wheatley, Floyd/Howard combo).
Not to mention that Henson was considered, by many, to be the front runner for the Heisman if he had stayed. Henson was a phenom that people hate because he left early and hate retroactively because he took time away from Tom Brady. When people get over it they see that he was a top notch Michigan quarterback, and he should get his due.
I believe Henson was a lot of peoples favorite to win the Heisman, and considered the probable #1 draft choice ahead of Vick going into what would have been his senior year.
Henson was a real stud, I wish he would have split between football and baseball--if only to see if he could hit a curve ball. However, I can't blame him for following his dream.
I have a man crush on the idea of Drew Henson as Quarterback. Hell, I even thought he was going to be a man in the NFL after he gave up baseball and came back to football.
I don't think the stats tell the whole story. The offense in 2000 was good enough to win every game, the D came up short. Furthermore, Henson won in his only trip to Columbus (he was a stud in that game), and Henne was 0-4 vs. tUOS. Greatest ever? That is a stretch, but maybe the most talented ever?
* I will make a disclaimer - I was a huge Henson fan, and continually frustrated by Henne after his freshman year.
Some other solid seasons by Michigan QBs...
Elvis Grbac (JR.) 1991: 25 TDs, 6 ints, 2085 yards, 65% compl
Tom Brady (SR.) 1999: 20 TDs, 6 ints, 2586 yards, 62.8% compl
Jim Harbaugh (JR.) 1985: 18 TDs, 6 ints, 1976 yards, 63.9% compl with 139 yards rushing, and 4 TDs
Jim Harbaugh (SR.) 1986: 11 TDs, 10 ints, 2729 yards, 65% compl with 118 yards rushing, and 8 TDs
Brian Griese (SR.) 1997: 17 TDs, 6 ints, 2293 yards, 62.9% compl
John Navarre (SR.) 2003 : 24 TDs, 10 ints, 3331 yards, 59.2% compl
and all those stats are nice, but Rick Leach is still the man in my book. He was the heart and soul of the team I grew up watching and will forever hold a special place in Michigan QB history because of it.
guts, leadership, taking hits, beating OSU.......tough to come up with a modern era M QB who did more.
I sometimes wonder what the 2001 season would have held for UM had he stayed. A 3 pt. loss at UCLA, a 2 pt loss at MSU and a 5 pt loss at home to OSU. It's tough not to think UM wins all three of those with Henson and is playing Miami for the NC.
Plus, isn't the general consensus that David Terrell would've come back in 2001 if Henson hadn't left? The run D in 2001 was pretty sick (ignoring TJ Duckett); they just lacked an offense.
Terrell went pro in January 2001, while Henson announced he was staying. Henson then signed with the Yankees in March.
UCLA game was in 2000. Navarre played as a RS Frosh while Hesnon was out. The loss in '01 was the bonkers turn-of-events game vs Washington. UM probably does win that game with Henson though.
I was at that UCLA game, incredibly frustrating game. Also ridiculously hot, over 100 degrees. I just remember Navarre playing horribly while Anthony Thomas ran all over the place until our defense wilted in the heat.
and watching an incredibly terrible call in the fourth quarter (I can't even remember the play, but I think it was called a UCLA interception when it was clear it was not an interception). All these years later, I only remember the anger.
Because Washington was so close, MSU could have easily avoided the screw job with a few more points (and people discount how much that took out of the team the rest of the season), and OSU was perhaps Navarre's worse half even in the 1st half...and we still almost won the game (how could you drop that ball Marquise??).
But man, we could play that game forever....and just might...(99....how'd we lose to MSU and Illinois? Win one, and we're playing for the championship...).
I think Henson also had some ridiculous 9 YPA that season. By the stats, I don't think there's any question that Henson had the best season.
But my eyes told me something different. Henson had the chance to beat Purdue, but didn't play well in the 4th. Henson tore a fingernail against MSU, and folded. Henson led us to 51 against NU, but played soso in the 4th.
Part of being the best is being great under adversity. That's why Ali is considered the greatest; that's how Brady, Montana, and Elway are considered the among greatest.
Drew Henson under adversity was not the greatest.
was 1999, different season.
there is no excuse to lose the game in my opinion.
NW would have been saying the same thing, except about 54.
UM players, but you're trying to lay the Northwestern game at Drew Henson's feet??
Anthony Thomas has a first down that will end the game, with hardly a defender within 2 yards of him and acres of grass in front of him, and essentially drops the football.
I feel like this is an "A-Rod isn't clutch" type of argument. You can pick games and say "he underperformed in this example," and skip over the counter-examples that don't fit the argument. But against Illinois we were dead halfway through the second quarter. Without Drew Henson (and some friendly fumble/non-fumble calls) we don't win that game.
Well I think the defense had something to do with that loss, guys (talking about the 51-54 NU loss). I do recall Henson simply not playing well against MSU ( in '99?) and Brady almost rescuing us from a loss. Almost.
I remember that NU game, watching in mixed awe and disbelief as NU moved the ball at will, our defense seemed lost. I remember Gary Danielson, who supposedly doesn't like the spread offense, saying something along the lines of " at some point you have to credit the scheme " for NU's offensive production in that game.
I think that was the first year NU ran the spread, wasn't it?