Boomers: Does Derrick Henry remind you of Cookie Gilchrist?

[Nelius]

Not old enough to know if they had similar running styles but agree that it's tough to compare, Henry's in a different league entirely. I think we're watching something historic with Derrick Henry right now. The Earl Campbell and Jim Brown comparisons are probably closer. I've only personally seen AD and Terrell Davis do what he's doing in terms of being the clear dominant RB in the league for multiple years in a row.  He puts up another 2k this season and he leaps beyond even them as the most dominant RB I've ever seen. Might be tough to compare Cookie to that honestly.

[GreggTX]

Cookie was more powerful. Henry is faster. There's a lot of similarity though.

[Chandler#81]

On 10/19/2021 at 8:08 PM, Governor said:

Eddie George.

👍

On 10/19/2021 at 8:29 PM, BearNorth said:

Cookie was 6-2 at least 250, never played college ball.  Saw him run for 243 yards [5 TD's] in the Rockpile in 1963 on muddy field with puddles.  Cookie was also the placekicker at times, and played two ways in Canada.  He was bigger than most of the D-Lineman of that era. Jim Brown was a gifted multi-sport athlete, Football, basketball, lacrosse, track & field.  Played hoops, lax and ran track at 'cuse. Finished 5th in the 1955 AAU decathlon.  Actually had to change the rules in Lacrosse because of him, when he pinned the ball to his chest, impossible to get it away from him.

 

Gilchrest was an enigma. Huge, powerful, fast and nasty. He routinely threatened to “knock mutha******s out!” -including his own teammates! He was kicked off the team for walking out of a game before Saban relented and allowed him to return for the title game. He couldn’t keep a job, regardless of his phenomenal skills and talent. 
Nothing about DHenry resembles Gilchrist.

[LewPort71]

Jim Brown is the best comparison.

The stiff arm mention by others is a key factor .

 

[Governor]

16 hours ago, The Frankish Reich said:

Right. And RBs peak really early in the modern era and tend to wear down fast. Which is the only reason I wonder whether he'll make it to HOF numbers.

I don’t think there’s been a physical freak like Henry since Julius Peppers first entered the league. He could be around for quite some time.

Edited October 24, 2021 by Governor

[WideNine]

On 10/23/2021 at 9:17 AM, hondo in seattle said:

Oh, one more thought.  Jim Brown and Cookie played against defenses designed to stop the run.  Stout defenses with tough-as-nails linebackers like Dick Butkus and Sam Huff.

 

Henry plays against defenses that typically play nickel or dime and are manned with agile LBers who are good in coverage and quick DEs who are better at pressuring QBs than smothering RBs.  It's a different era.  It's easier for runners these days, especially for power runners.

 

Brown, Cookie, Earl Campbell, and some of the other old-time greats would run all over today's defenses.    

 

 

Great points, different era and a different kind of runner.

 

 

 

[BigAl2526]

Jim Brown seems like an apt comparison.  Players like Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson don't really set trends because they're unicorns.  It might be decades before another running back emerges who has both Derrick Henry size and athleticism.  Pittsburgh tried with Najee Harris, but while Harris is good, he neither has Derrick Henry size or speed.

Edited October 25, 2021 by BigAl2526

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

He reminds me of Bruce Smith, but as a running back

[maryland-bills-fan]

Wouldn't be nice to have a 260 pound fullback, who could get 7 yards a carry against dropping LB and scattered pass rushers, who were not protecting gaps?  Could this guy be playing TE in college?https://walterfootball.com/draft2022TE.php

 

[Supe]

On 10/22/2021 at 6:52 PM, tomur67 said:

i'd say Jim Brown. 

On 10/23/2021 at 11:09 AM, BearNorth said:

Brown famously would always get up slowly from the pile, same routine every time, never wanted the D to know if they had hurt him. “Make sure when anyone tackles you he remembers how much it hurts.”

 

Butch Byrd:

"Jim Brown was the great back during that era, but I have often said that I thought Cookie was every bit as good as Jim Brown. The Buffalo Bills weren’t the team that the Cleveland Browns were at that time, but taking nothing away from Jim Brown, man for man, talent for talent, Cookie was right there.”

To which Gilchrist once wholeheartedly agreed. “I told Jim Brown to his face that if I had stayed with the Browns nobody would have heard of him,” he said.

 

On 10/22/2021 at 6:52 PM, tomur67 said:

i'd say Jim Brown. 

On 10/23/2021 at 11:09 AM, BearNorth said:

Brown famously would always get up slowly from the pile, same routine every time, never wanted the D to know if they had hurt him. “Make sure when anyone tackles you he remembers how much it hurts.”

 

Butch Byrd:

"Jim Brown was the great back during that era, but I have often said that I thought Cookie was every bit as good as Jim Brown. The Buffalo Bills weren’t the team that the Cleveland Browns were at that time, but taking nothing away from Jim Brown, man for man, talent for talent, Cookie was right there.”

To which Gilchrist once wholeheartedly agreed. “I told Jim Brown to his face that if I had stayed with the Browns nobody would have heard of him,” he said.

 

[BearNorth]

In today's NFL, neither of these guys would be running backs.  With their combination of height, size, and speed, they would be linebackers. who get paid a lot more than most running backs these days.  Cookie actually played both defensive tackle and linebacker in the CFL, and also kicked FG's & XP's there and his first season with the Bills. Linebacker franchise tag is $15MM, running back is $9MM.