Drew Henson replies
April 10, 2006
NFL Europe
Last week we invited NFL Europe fans to send in questions to be answered by Rhein Fire quarterback Drew Henson. Dallas Cowboys allocated passer Henson received a huge amount of mail, and he has picked some questions to answer, including enquiries about the differences between NFL Europe and his other sporting experiences, how far he believes the Fire can go this season and what impact Terrell Owens will have in Dallas.
Henson and the Fire remain undefeated after defeating Hamburg 31-21 in Week Four to remain on top of the standings at 4-0. In that game Henson threw two touchdowns against the Sea Devils to take his total for the season to four. In Weeks Five and Six the Fire play back to back games against Amsterdam – currently NFL Europe’s second placed team behind Rhein – and Henson will have to be at his very best to keep their winning run alive.
I am pushing for you in 2006 to make more of an impact with the Cowboys. Is there another returning player on the Dallas roster that you feel will make a huge impact this year and have a breakout season?
Tom Depape, Farmington, NY
I think that DeMarcus Ware is an unbelievable athelete. If you give him another offseason to lift hard and run he’ll come back bigger and stronger which will be scary. I’m really excited to see him come back for his second year.
In your pro career you have played under Manager Joe Torre and Head Coach Bill Parcells, both are outstanding coaches in their sports. From who did you learn more during your career and with whom could you have a better relationship of the field.
Thanks and go FIRE!
Eiko Pate, Neuss, Germany
I’ve been at different stages in my career with both coaches. Baseball is a different game than football and coaches have to go about things differently as far as the mind set is concerned. Joe Torre is always preaching patience and professionalism. Coach Parcells is the same way. He wants to get the most out of players and that’s an area that both of them relate.
Three games in to your NFL Europe experience please assess your performance to date. Looking purely at the stats, it looks as if you had a rough game one; a fantastic game two; and, a successful but not spectacular game three. What can you tell us that the stats can not?
Douglas Weil, Nyon, Vaud, Switzerland
It takes all eleven guys working together for you to complete passes. Sometimes the offense may not execute and sometimes the defense makes some good plays. You really can’t tell the whole story from looking at any one guy’s stats. If you win the game that’s all that matters.
Did your confidence in yourself and your ability to play QB in the NFL ever waver last year?
Mark & Logan Hertelendy Easton, MD
No my confidence did not waver at all. I’m just trying to be patient, improve and be ready when my opportunity comes.
Has having played with Zuriel Smith before in the Cowboys help speed up the chemistry process while playing for the Rhein? You've already thrown a touchdown pass to him in the second game.
Zuriel Barron, Dallas TX
Having a little background with a guy before hand makes a big deal to me as far as confidence is concerned. After last week it shows that we’re on the same page most of the time and I have a lot of confidence in him to make plays especially in the red zone.
How big of a difference is there between the Fire and the Cowboys offensive system? Will it be difficult to ‘switch gears’ back to Cowboys mode when mini camps start, especially in light of the new assistant coaches in place?
Laurie Ryan Willard MO
There are a lot similarities in it, because there are a lot of basic schemes that everybody uses in football. We do have quite a few of the same pass plays and run plays that we do in Dallas. It may be worded different, but it’s essentially the same scheme.
Since you are getting the majority of the snaps in practice and the games can you tell how much of a difference it has made from just practicing here in the states and not getting any game time?
Thank you,
Ysaias Lopez
Actual games are the best way to evaluate yourself. You can practice all you want, but there are certain things that happen in games that you can’t practice for. You gain experience from being in those situations that you don’t get in practice.
I know last year you decided to stay in Dallas and work on your throwing mechanics and you threw a lot of balls, so I was wondering if the changes have stuck with you in game situations or if you revert to your previous mechanics. Good Luck we're pulling for you in Arizona!
Jeff Curl, Mesa, Arizona
I think the throwing mechanics issue was a little overblown. Eveybody works on small things and I did the same, but some how it developed into a huge story. Every thing feels good right now.
Drew, after the 3-0 start, what is the team's attitude like and are you guys going to the World Bowl?
Carl Faigle, Huntsville, TX
It’s the start that we wanted, but the team attitude is to take one opponent at a time. If we take care of our buisness during the week we’ll be there in the end, but that’s down the line. Right now this team is focusing on one day at a time.
At Michigan, they moved you around and used your athleticism more than sitting in the pocket as much as you do now. With the Fire and Cowboys do you feel that it would be in yours and their best interest to take that in consideration when designing and applying an offensive game plan?
Kevin Paperd, Southgate, Michigan
With the atheletes in the NFL you’re not going to run around quite as much, because everybody is so fast and things happen faster. You’re going to make your money being able to drop back and pass. You also need to be able to scramble around and make plays when you need to. I think the more you can play in a system the better.
Who is the best American at communicating in German on the Rhein Fire team?
Chris Elliott, Glasgow, Scotland
It’s probably our punter Travis Dorsch. He’s played here before and he has German heritage.
What did you think when you heard the Cowboys had signed Terrell Owens? What do you think his influence will be on the field and in the locker-room?
Steve Wright, Dallas
I think signing Terrell immediately improves the offense. He’s a big play receiver who can score anytime that he touches the ball. Terrell coming to Dallas is a realization that we are closer to where we want to be. He can help us get there and everybody is working on the same page for the same thing, I think we’ll be good.
NFL Europe
Last week we invited NFL Europe fans to send in questions to be answered by Rhein Fire quarterback Drew Henson. Dallas Cowboys allocated passer Henson received a huge amount of mail, and he has picked some questions to answer, including enquiries about the differences between NFL Europe and his other sporting experiences, how far he believes the Fire can go this season and what impact Terrell Owens will have in Dallas.
Henson and the Fire remain undefeated after defeating Hamburg 31-21 in Week Four to remain on top of the standings at 4-0. In that game Henson threw two touchdowns against the Sea Devils to take his total for the season to four. In Weeks Five and Six the Fire play back to back games against Amsterdam – currently NFL Europe’s second placed team behind Rhein – and Henson will have to be at his very best to keep their winning run alive.
I am pushing for you in 2006 to make more of an impact with the Cowboys. Is there another returning player on the Dallas roster that you feel will make a huge impact this year and have a breakout season?
Tom Depape, Farmington, NY
I think that DeMarcus Ware is an unbelievable athelete. If you give him another offseason to lift hard and run he’ll come back bigger and stronger which will be scary. I’m really excited to see him come back for his second year.
In your pro career you have played under Manager Joe Torre and Head Coach Bill Parcells, both are outstanding coaches in their sports. From who did you learn more during your career and with whom could you have a better relationship of the field.
Thanks and go FIRE!
Eiko Pate, Neuss, Germany
I’ve been at different stages in my career with both coaches. Baseball is a different game than football and coaches have to go about things differently as far as the mind set is concerned. Joe Torre is always preaching patience and professionalism. Coach Parcells is the same way. He wants to get the most out of players and that’s an area that both of them relate.
Three games in to your NFL Europe experience please assess your performance to date. Looking purely at the stats, it looks as if you had a rough game one; a fantastic game two; and, a successful but not spectacular game three. What can you tell us that the stats can not?
Douglas Weil, Nyon, Vaud, Switzerland
It takes all eleven guys working together for you to complete passes. Sometimes the offense may not execute and sometimes the defense makes some good plays. You really can’t tell the whole story from looking at any one guy’s stats. If you win the game that’s all that matters.
Did your confidence in yourself and your ability to play QB in the NFL ever waver last year?
Mark & Logan Hertelendy Easton, MD
No my confidence did not waver at all. I’m just trying to be patient, improve and be ready when my opportunity comes.
Has having played with Zuriel Smith before in the Cowboys help speed up the chemistry process while playing for the Rhein? You've already thrown a touchdown pass to him in the second game.
Zuriel Barron, Dallas TX
Having a little background with a guy before hand makes a big deal to me as far as confidence is concerned. After last week it shows that we’re on the same page most of the time and I have a lot of confidence in him to make plays especially in the red zone.
How big of a difference is there between the Fire and the Cowboys offensive system? Will it be difficult to ‘switch gears’ back to Cowboys mode when mini camps start, especially in light of the new assistant coaches in place?
Laurie Ryan Willard MO
There are a lot similarities in it, because there are a lot of basic schemes that everybody uses in football. We do have quite a few of the same pass plays and run plays that we do in Dallas. It may be worded different, but it’s essentially the same scheme.
Since you are getting the majority of the snaps in practice and the games can you tell how much of a difference it has made from just practicing here in the states and not getting any game time?
Thank you,
Ysaias Lopez
Actual games are the best way to evaluate yourself. You can practice all you want, but there are certain things that happen in games that you can’t practice for. You gain experience from being in those situations that you don’t get in practice.
I know last year you decided to stay in Dallas and work on your throwing mechanics and you threw a lot of balls, so I was wondering if the changes have stuck with you in game situations or if you revert to your previous mechanics. Good Luck we're pulling for you in Arizona!
Jeff Curl, Mesa, Arizona
I think the throwing mechanics issue was a little overblown. Eveybody works on small things and I did the same, but some how it developed into a huge story. Every thing feels good right now.
Drew, after the 3-0 start, what is the team's attitude like and are you guys going to the World Bowl?
Carl Faigle, Huntsville, TX
It’s the start that we wanted, but the team attitude is to take one opponent at a time. If we take care of our buisness during the week we’ll be there in the end, but that’s down the line. Right now this team is focusing on one day at a time.
At Michigan, they moved you around and used your athleticism more than sitting in the pocket as much as you do now. With the Fire and Cowboys do you feel that it would be in yours and their best interest to take that in consideration when designing and applying an offensive game plan?
Kevin Paperd, Southgate, Michigan
With the atheletes in the NFL you’re not going to run around quite as much, because everybody is so fast and things happen faster. You’re going to make your money being able to drop back and pass. You also need to be able to scramble around and make plays when you need to. I think the more you can play in a system the better.
Who is the best American at communicating in German on the Rhein Fire team?
Chris Elliott, Glasgow, Scotland
It’s probably our punter Travis Dorsch. He’s played here before and he has German heritage.
What did you think when you heard the Cowboys had signed Terrell Owens? What do you think his influence will be on the field and in the locker-room?
Steve Wright, Dallas
I think signing Terrell immediately improves the offense. He’s a big play receiver who can score anytime that he touches the ball. Terrell coming to Dallas is a realization that we are closer to where we want to be. He can help us get there and everybody is working on the same page for the same thing, I think we’ll be good.
posted by The Gryphon at 6:34 PM
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