Game Plan vs. Titans: Stopping Derrick Henry

[Buffalo Bills Fan]

37 minutes ago, Real McNasty said:

Here are the following total rushing yards:

 

Jets - 52 yds on 15 runs - 3.5 yds per carry

Dolphins - 99 yds on 22 runs - 4.5 yds per carry

Rams - 167 yds on 32 runs - 5.2 yds per carry

Raiders - 87 yds on 23 runs - 3.8 yds per carry 

 

Bills have done ok. I'd like to see the average below 4yds a carry every game. 

 

Ya Bills done ok. Rams have a great rushing and passing attack, with a great scheme.  Not worried for now.

[IgotBILLStopay]

33 minutes ago, ICanSleepWhenI'mDead said:

Henry is fast, but I don't think anybody gets to 21 mph by their 4th step.

 

That post tells me you do understand the significance of reaching 21 mph in 4 steps. Here is one source:

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nfl/you-might-be-able-to-tackle-derrick-henry-but-youre-not-going-to-like-it/2020/01/16/9514d9e8-38ba-11ea-9541-9107303481a4_story.html

 

Quote

By his fourth step, the 6-foot-3, 247-pound Tennessee Titans running back is moving at an estimated 21 mph

 

It is behind a paywall - but this nugget is in the first para and can be seen without subscribing.

Edited October 12, 2020 by IgotBILLStopay

[BillsFan130]

Biggest concern I think is going to be the Play action pass.

 

TEN is very good at that and with Milano out, could see some big gaps in the middle of the field 

[Niagara Dude]

6 hours ago, IgotBILLStopay said:

Most RBs fit a physical profile - small 5-9 to 5-11 and tip the scales at a muscular 215 lbs. But Derrick Henry does not fit that mould - he is a legit 6-3 and about 250 lbs. That size doesnt make him slow however. I read somewhere that he gets to 21 mph (typically an elite RB speed) by the time he gets to his 4th step. And each step of his covers 7.5 ft (2,5 yeards) - which means he covers 10 yards in 4 steps. Derrick Henry in modern football is what Usain Bolt is to track - a physical anomaly.

 

The guy had 370+ yards in consecutive games during the 2019-20 playoffs, something no one else had done. And he likes contact - it is what sets him off. Oh and did I forget to mention that he has the endurance of an Alaskan Husky. At Alabama, he would get his most carries in the 4th quarter since he was never gassed. Even in the NFL, he is the back with the best third and fourth quarter stats. Quite simply, HE IS the engine that drives the Titans.

 

Fortunately, unlike track, football is a team sport and good teams have  managed to stop the Titans by stopping Henry. But, without Lotuleilei, it will not be easy. Also, the conditioning of our defenders the first few games has been suspect. They were so gassed against the Rams in the second half. Our run defense has been gashed a lot this season though the second half against Jacobs (oh he is a typical 5-10 220 lb back) and the Raiders was sublime. I rewatched the Chiefs limit Henry to 69 yards in the Conference Championship game and here are some lessons from that.

 

1. We may have to play the traditional 4-3-4 instead of our preferred 4-2-5. No way Taron Johnson can handle a guy Henry's size.

2. Frazier's first pet phrase: Gap Integrity - you have to stay disciplined - cant bite on fakes and leave your running lane open. While one defender can rarely take down Henry,  you slow him down till the help gets there

3. Frazier's second pet phrase: Tackling - The Chiefs made a conscious attempt to tackle him low below the waist. You cant just bring Henry down by wrapping the arms around his upper torso since he is big and strong and his legs keep on churning. 

4. Dont worry about giving up  a few big pass plays - With Humphries and Davis out even those will be few. But trust the secondary to do their job. After all, this is Tannehill throwing the ball.

5.Last, but not the least, the best defense is a potent offense - run up the score early so that the Titans are forced to go to the air in the second half when Henry is at his strongest. The Chiefs limited Henry to maybe 5 touches and 7 yards in the second half since the Titans had to play catchup.

 

Here is my prediction: Henry gets 150+ yards, we lose. He gets less than 100 yards, we win. Somewhere in the middle, we got ourselves a game.

 

 

The key is getting a early lead on them,  you cannot let them control the clock

[machine gun kelly]

6 hours ago, 1ManRaid said:

 

Initial instinct was to say elephant turd, but I've seen those at African Lion Safari in Southern Ontario.  Rhino was just my best guess, but on second thought it is probably similar to elephant.  

 

I would wager it is probably legal to grease your hair, but would probably be impossible to wash out of a knotted mess like his.

 

Or you can do something radical and tuck it into you’re helmet.  They have hairnets and all that stuff if any player is concerned with tugging of their hair.

[Don Otreply]

The game plan is to kick they azs.

 

Go Bills!!!

[3rdand12]

35 minutes ago, Don Otreply said:

The game plan is to kick they azs.

 

Go Bills!!!

exactamundo !

if they run a 4-3 ? Klein had better play downhill in the correct gap in run or pass defense.   Just do this please. Forget about covering anyone . and be sure to get yur hands up AJ. That would be good.
 

as mentioned. Bills offense will make or break the game.
and i expect they will do just that

 

Go Bills !!

[Big Turk]

Bills did a good job against him the last 2 times we played them...

 

He combined to have 31 carries for 134 yards in the games.

[Mat68]

I think in traditional run sets Buffo will be fine.  Buffalo will play 4-3 and handle the run.   No Humphries and Davis most likley plays into heavier sets.

[TigerJ]

Tennessee ordinarily uses a fullback as a blocker in a lot of plays, but their starting fullback may not be available due to injury.  If the Titans are using a fullback as per their usual practice, going with 3 linebackers is a no brainer, but it changes things if he's not in that much.  They're shorthanded on WRs too, so that may mean we'll see a lot of 2 tight end sets.  That would mean using the three linebackers and 4 DBs.  The availability of Tre White also has a potential impact on what Buffalo can do.  If White is out, I would expect Norman to be on AJ Brown.  Norman is pretty slow for a CB, but fortunately AJ Brown is also on the slow side.  Brown is strong and physical, but so is Norman, so it looks like it will be strength against strength at WR.  When it comes to the opponent's run game, Coach Frazier keeps harping on gap integrity.  If it is as simple as that, containing Derrick Henry is more a matter of discipline than anything else.  We'll see.

[97bills]

8 hours ago, 1ManRaid said:

 

With our luck, we'll get called for a bogus horse collar tackle.  But seriously, what the hell is that thing?  It looks like a dried rhino turd electrical taped to the back of his head.

Lol omg dude I read that and busted out laughing dang that’s funny because win I saw that black tape before I read that I was like what the heck is that. 😂

[formerlyofCtown]

16 hours ago, 1ManRaid said:

 

With our luck, we'll get called for a bogus horse collar tackle.  But seriously, what the hell is that thing?  It looks like a dried rhino turd electrical taped to the back of his head.

Whatever he has wrapped around it makes it look like it's still getting pushed out.

[IgotBILLStopay]

https://www.nfl.com/news/derrick-henry-credits-chiefs-game-plan-following-loss-0ap3000001097894

 

Quote

The Chiefs sold out to stop Henry, and it worked. Even when Henry compiled 62 yards on 16 first-half carries with a score, the Titansnever consistently gashed K.C. Henry's longest run of the game went for just 13 yards.

 

Quote

The Chiefs cut the heart out of the Titans offense both by stymieing the run and putting points on the board when Mahomes had the ball. That combo thwarted an upstart Tennessee squad.

 

[JohnNord]

21 hours ago, Kwai San said:

 

WD40.....Bills seriously need to stack box and force Tanny to throw and get an interception or two.

It all goes back to stopping the run.  If they don’t stop the run, then Tannehill is going to use ply action to complete short passes underneath which could go for big gains.  This should be a concern because Edmunds, Dodson, and Klein all were vulnerable to play action vs Miami and LAR

[MJS]

Honestly, I think it's fine if Henry has a big game. Contain Tannehill, sack him, intercept him, hit him. We'll win this game regardless of what Henry does (within reason). This sport comes down to the QB.

 

Last week we contained Josh Jacobs, but the game got a little iffy because we couldn't really contain Carr.

[Kwai San]

1 hour ago, JohnNord said:

It all goes back to stopping the run.  If they don’t stop the run, then Tannehill is going to use ply action to complete short passes underneath which could go for big gains.  This should be a concern because Edmunds, Dodson, and Klein all were vulnerable to play action vs Miami and LAR

 

Yes he will and yes they were.  Now the key word in that last sentence is were.  I have faith that LF and SM will dial up a D that will mitigate past failures.  If not........long long nite tonite.

 

[CBennett]

They cant this run D especially is HORRID..i bet they could stick 10 guys in the box and they would still get run on they are THAT bad Vs the run..this game will be decided on..if the Bills can score enough to win and if the Titans are rusty or off because of all this Covid stuff they did... but if its just our D vs their Run and say Allen was off or the O had a brain fart..they can and would win our D is just not that good anymore/or at least this year. 

 

Titans win IF: Bills O is stale, has a bad game or just doesnt do well(aka they cant score like they have been scoring aka 30+) because Bills D cant stop ANYYONE

 

Bills win IF: they score more than 30 and Allen has another decent to great day..and if somehow this "layoff" has been bad for and effects the Titans poorly...aka since they couldnt practice they look bad

 

The WOW I didnt think they had it in them scenario would be: Bills shut down the run and win going away.....and I think this is a 5% or less sceanrio...as they have shown the ability to shut NO ONE down yet this year.

[keepthefaith]

On 10/12/2020 at 12:20 PM, IgotBILLStopay said:

Most RBs fit a physical profile - small 5-9 to 5-11 and tip the scales at a muscular 215 lbs. But Derrick Henry does not fit that mould - he is a legit 6-3 and about 250 lbs. That size doesnt make him slow however. I read somewhere that he gets to 21 mph (typically an elite RB speed) by the time he gets to his 4th step. And each step of his covers 7.5 ft (2,5 yeards) - which means he covers 10 yards in 4 steps. Derrick Henry in modern football is what Usain Bolt is to track - a physical anomaly.

 

The guy had 370+ yards in consecutive games during the 2019-20 playoffs, something no one else had done. And he likes contact - it is what sets him off. Oh and did I forget to mention that he has the endurance of an Alaskan Husky. At Alabama, he would get his most carries in the 4th quarter since he was never gassed. Even in the NFL, he is the back with the best third and fourth quarter stats. Quite simply, HE IS the engine that drives the Titans.

 

Fortunately, unlike track, football is a team sport and good teams have  managed to stop the Titans by stopping Henry. But, without Lotuleilei, it will not be easy. Also, the conditioning of our defenders the first few games has been suspect. They were so gassed against the Rams in the second half. Our run defense has been gashed a lot this season though the second half against Jacobs (oh he is a typical 5-10 220 lb back) and the Raiders was sublime. I rewatched the Chiefs limit Henry to 69 yards in the Conference Championship game and here are some lessons from that.

 

1. We may have to play the traditional 4-3-4 instead of our preferred 4-2-5. No way Taron Johnson can handle a guy Henry's size.

2. Frazier's first pet phrase: Gap Integrity - you have to stay disciplined - cant bite on fakes and leave your running lane open. While one defender can rarely take down Henry,  you slow him down till the help gets there

3. Frazier's second pet phrase: Tackling - The Chiefs made a conscious attempt to tackle him low below the waist. You cant just bring Henry down by wrapping the arms around his upper torso since he is big and strong and his legs keep on churning. 

4. Dont worry about giving up  a few big pass plays - With Humphries and Davis out even those will be few. But trust the secondary to do their job. After all, this is Tannehill throwing the ball.

5.Last, but not the least, the best defense is a potent offense - run up the score early so that the Titans are forced to go to the air in the second half when Henry is at his strongest. The Chiefs limited Henry to maybe 5 touches and 7 yards in the second half since the Titans had to play catchup.

 

Here is my prediction: Henry gets 150+ yards, we lose. He gets less than 100 yards, we win. Somewhere in the middle, we got ourselves a game.

 

 

 

Good thread and some great points but Henry gets nowhere near 21MPH in 4 strides.  Usain Bolt requires about 1.8 seconds from the blocks to the first 10 meters (more than 10 yards) and his velocity at 10 meters is about 7.5M/s or 16+ MPH.  Henry is fast but he's not Bolt-in-tights-out-of-the-blocks fast and he's not getting to 10 meters in 4 strides. 

 

http://www.eclecticon.info/index_htm_files/Kinematics of Usain Bolt.pdf

 

 

[IgotBILLStopay]

20 minutes ago, keepthefaith said:

 

Good thread and some great points but Henry gets nowhere near 21MPH in 4 strides.  Usain Bolt requires about 1.8 seconds from the blocks to the first 10 meters (more than 10 yards) and his velocity at 10 meters is about 7.5M/s or 16+ MPH.  Henry is fast but he's not Bolt-in-tights-out-of-the-blocks fast and he's not getting to 10 meters in 4 strides. 

 

http://www.eclecticon.info/index_htm_files/Kinematics of Usain Bolt.pdf

 

 

thanks for the link.

 

But Bolt is starting from 0 m/s - a RB typically is already moving when he gets the ball. 

 

also there is self selection - they become RBs since they are the twitchiest - so I wouldnt be surprised if the elite RBs have greater initial acceleration than Bolt but a lower peak.

 

I just cite another source (see the post link above)  - haven’t really measured it 😀. But actually looking at the great link you provided, I find the 21 mph number quite believable, no?

[keepthefaith]

8 minutes ago, IgotBILLStopay said:

thanks for the link.

 

But Bolt is starting from 0 m/s - a RB typically is already moving when he gets the ball. 

 

also there is self selection - they become RBs since they are the twitchiest - so I wouldnt be surprised if the elite RBs have greater initial acceleration than Bolt but a lower peak.

 

I just cite another source (see the post link above)  - haven’t really measured it 😀. But actually looking at the great link you provided, I find the 21 mph number quite believable, no?

 

If they're talking about 4 strides after the LOS and he's accelerating hard before the LOS then maybe.  Maybe close to that.  Now if we calculate the guy's mass and speed compared to lighter less north and south backs, the answer for sure will be he's a load.