Henry, rush-block system might prove perfect match

[Billy Barooooooo]

Henry, rush-block system might prove perfect match
By Mike Klis Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 05/18/2007 12:37:18 AM MDT


Matches may be made in heaven, but rarely do they instantly mesh down here on football fields.

Look at new running back Travis Henry and the Broncos' old rush-block system. Henry is so good, he gained at least 1,200 yards for the mediocre likes of Buffalo and Tennessee in the three seasons in which he played at least 14 games.

He joins a Broncos blocking system so consistently good, it helped turn the likes of Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell into 1,000-yard rushers.

On paper, Henry and the Broncos figure to pair like peanut butter and jelly, Andretti and asphalt, Manning and Harrison. And maybe they will, although not yet. Not after two mini-camp sessions at Dove Valley.

"The No. 1 thing I've noticed is we're running outside zone and inside zone and that's my forte, but what I have to do is trust the linemen," Henry said as he came off the field Thursday. "I know they're going to be there, but this is my second day and you can tell I'm kind of timid on certain runs. The No. 1 key is to get in the flow with the offensive linemen."

In other words, on plays when Henry starts right and makes the Broncos' famous one-cutback to the left, he shouldn't be waiting to see the block before shifting into a higher gear. He has to explode off the cut knowing the block will be there.

"It's going to be there," Henry said. "Once I get that down and get it out of my head, I can go and 'boom,' play my game."

Not so Big Money

The pay cut. It's a humbling exercise most veteran players find unavoidable in today's salary cap system. Gerard Warren just went through it. The defensive tackle was set to collect more than $5 million in bonuses this offseason, but agreed to give some of it back after two damaged big toes affected his 2006 performance.

Teams and agents and the media call it a contract restructuring. A pay cut is what it is.

"Hey, man, I'm a company guy," Warren said. "I did it to benefit the team, now I want to see the benefits come back. If we don't win the Super Bowl, then I got the short end of the deal. If we win the Super Bowl, then it was a heckuva business opportunity for me."

Traded from the Cleveland Browns to Denver two years ago, Warren was so superb in his first season with the Broncos, he was rewarded with a six-year, $36 million contract extension that included $10 million in bonuses.

But before he could earn his money, Warren dislocated one big toe in training camp and missed the entire preseason. He then tore ligaments in his other big toe early in the season's sixth game vs. Cleveland and missed the next week's game against Indianapolis.

Warren said the bum toes left him playing at roughly 70 percent of his physical capability last season.

"It ate at me," Warren said. "Here, Coach (Mike) Shanahan just rewarded me with this big contract. And all I wanted to do is show him he didn't make a mistake. Then I get injured and it was a less-than-subpar performance. I still played 80-some snaps against Cincinnati (in game 15) on two hurt toes. But at the end of the day, the performance level wasn't where it needed to be."