LenDale White (1 Viewer)

[packersfan]

Full disclosure: I am a LenDale White owner so I have some vested interest here. So I could be guilty of seeing things through some rose-colored glasses. On paper, things look pretty bleak for the Titans' running game at Jacksonville this week. After all, this is the same Jags' defense that last week dismantled a very good Philly offense with ease.

However, this is also the same defense that two games ago had all sorts of problems with the Texans. And in that game, it wasn't the starting RB who did the damage against them - it was the No. 2 RB, Wali Lundy. Moving ahead to this week and the Jags' defensive line has all sorts of injury issues. Marcus Stroud and Brent Hawkins are both out. Marcellus Wiley will play but he's not 100 percent. So while there aren't many reasons for the Titans to have optimism this week, this is one. A weakened Jags' defensive line could help the Titans run the ball more effectively. If that happens, could White be the RB who benefits the most? Last week, Travis Henry looked pretty bad and it was White who ran the best in the Titans' win. The one constant the past several games has been White getting 7-9 carries a game. He's also ran pretty well for the most part when given an opportunity. If Henry falters again, could this be a week for White to get more carries and show he deserves a larger role in the offense?

It seems to me at some point the Titans have to find out what they have with White. They need to give him 15-20 carries a game and see if he can be their starting RB or if they have to address the position in the off-season. The question is when. I'm wondering if the "when" could be expedited after this week's game.

The smart money this week is on the Jags dominating the Titans and nobody on Tennessee doing much of anything. But the smart money three games ago said the same thing was going to happen to the Texans and the next thing you know they had found their starting RB when Lundy went off. I'm not predicting White is going to do that but after seeing him outperform Henry last week and looking at the Jags' injury issues up front this week, I'm wondering if maybe this is the week where White ends up getting more of an opportunity than anybody envisioned.

Again, as a White owner I have plenty of bias here and I fully acknowledge that. But I keep going back to that Texans game and I'm wondering if something similar in terms of the backfield could repeat itself this week for the Titans. Thoughts - other than "you're nuts"

 

[ExtraPoint]

There's NO RUSH to see what they have in White. 2 or 3 15+ carry games between now and the end of the season plus the number 2 role plus practice time is all the team needs to evaluate him as a potential starter for next year. A running back doesnt need a bunch of game time like a QB does in order to develope their skills. The reward for Tennesee starting White right now is small as White has not seperated himself from Henry nor Brown and it comes with a risk of injury. On the other hand, Henry is proving himself a fantastic value by running well, earning his time against the competition, and providing veteran experience at a cheap price and almost no long term risk to the team. I believe my pre-season prediction had White starting around week 15. If anything, Henry's strong play might set White back a little farther.

 

[packersfan]

There's NO RUSH to see what they have in White. 2 or 3 15+ carry games between now and the end of the season plus the number 2 role plus practice time is all the team needs to evaluate him as a potential starter for next year. A running back doesnt need a bunch of game time like a QB does in order to develope their skills. The reward for Tennesee starting White right now is small as White has not seperated himself from Henry nor Brown and it comes with a risk of injury. On the other hand, Henry is proving himself a fantastic value by running well, earning his time against the competition, and providing veteran experience at a cheap price and almost no long term risk to the team. I believe my pre-season prediction had White starting around week 15. If anything, Henry's strong play might set White back a little farther.

I agree with that for the most part. However, I wonder if another poor game from Henry could expedite the process a bit - especially if White continues to run well. That's pretty much the genesis of my post. If Henry falters again, could this open the door for White? I think it's very possible Henry has another bad game this week. Now it's also very possible that White has a bad game as well. But the one constant in recent weeks for the Titans' running game has been White. Brown flopped; Henry had two huge games and then a dud. Meanwhile, White has gotten 7-9 carries and has done pretty well with them. If Henry struggles again this week and White continues to do well with his carries, could we see an expansion of his role as the game goes along? That's all I'm speculating and it wouldn't surprise me at all if (and this is a pretty big if I realize) White has some success running against Jacksonville.

 

[ExtraPoint]

A good or bad game by fantasy standards is not a good or bad game by football standards. The Titans dont give a rat's A about Henry's statistics. He could run 10 times for 25 yards against the Jag's defense and have the coaches think he played well.

 

[packersfan]

A good or bad game by fantasy standards is not a good or bad game by football standards. The Titans dont give a rat's A about Henry's statistics. He could run 10 times for 25 yards against the Jag's defense and have the coaches think he played well.

I'm aware of the difference between fantasy and real NFL standards. But the Titans should care about Henry or any other player's production if it becomes poor. I'm pretty sure Kerry Collins might say that they do. It's not like Henry is a superstar RB or their clear RB of the future. He's pretty much a stopgap. The question is how long will he continue to be the starter? If he performs well I completely agree he'll likely keep the job for the bulk and possibly the remainder of the season. But he looked like garbage last week (and I'd say that even if I had no vested interest in this situation) and if he continues to look like garbage and the second-round pick continues to look better it's likely the Titans will give more of a role to the second-round pick. It would be silly not to given how this team is going nowhere and needs to make plans for its future.

 

[2banalias]

On the other hand, Henry is proving himself a fantastic value by running well, earning his time against the competition, and providing veteran experience at a cheap price and almost no long term risk to the team. I believe my pre-season prediction had White starting around week 15. If anything, Henry's strong play might set White back a little farther.

I remember hearing something about a clause in his contract where if he scored a certain amount of TD's he gets a big pay raise the next season. I believe he hit that TD mark and unless they cut him he won't be cheap to keep. Someone should verify this info before putting stock into it though. I think it was my brother that told me about it.

 

[Gandalf]

On the other hand, Henry is proving himself a fantastic value by running well, earning his time against the competition, and providing veteran experience at a cheap price and almost no long term risk to the team. I believe my pre-season prediction had White starting around week 15. If anything, Henry's strong play might set White back a little farther.

I remember hearing something about a clause in his contract where if he scored a certain amount of TD's he gets a big pay raise the next season. I believe he hit that TD mark and unless they cut him he won't be cheap to keep. Someone should verify this info before putting stock into it though. I think it was my brother that told me about it.

He hit the TD mark by scoring 3 TDs this season? That doesn't sound correct. Maybe he hasn't hit that incentive mark yet?

 

[2banalias]

On the other hand, Henry is proving himself a fantastic value by running well, earning his time against the competition, and providing veteran experience at a cheap price and almost no long term risk to the team. I believe my pre-season prediction had White starting around week 15. If anything, Henry's strong play might set White back a little farther.

I remember hearing something about a clause in his contract where if he scored a certain amount of TD's he gets a big pay raise the next season. I believe he hit that TD mark and unless they cut him he won't be cheap to keep. Someone should verify this info before putting stock into it though. I think it was my brother that told me about it.

He hit the TD mark by scoring 3 TDs this season? That doesn't sound correct. Maybe he hasn't hit that incentive mark yet?

rotoworld

Travis Henry will have to re-negotiate his contract with Tennessee after this season or become a free agent.

When Henry scored a touchdown this season, he triggered a ridiculous $8 million option in his contract that the Titans have no intention of paying. They will have to renegotiate with him or let Henry test the free agent market. With LenDale White around, Henry could get a decent payday elsewhere if he keeps playing well.

Source: ESPN.com Insider

 

[Gandalf]

Interesting. From reading that clip it sounds like the Titans are prepared to let Henry leave in free agency.

 

[raor]

Interesting. From reading that clip it sounds like the Titans are prepared to let Henry leave in free agency.

Now, I'm certainly not an NFL GM. But, from the layman's perspective, I would think thisonly increases Henry's value. There would be no concern about his future production triggering more incentives, unless he becomes good enough to start longterm; so, whynot give him a ton of carries (as long as he keeps producing, of course). Injury shouldn't be a concern, unless an injury would make cutting him in the offseason even more expensive? At worst I would think triggering this clause does not effect Henry's value for 2006 in any way whatsoever.Just my 2 cents ....