ESPN KC Joyner: Eight Most Underrated Players (Anthony Henry)
Can't blame Warren, Wilfork for Pats' porous run D
By KC Joyner
ESPN Insider
(Archive)
Updated: February 20, 2008
Because last week's article was devoted to the eight most overrated players in the NFL, it seems only fair to devote this week's article to the eight most underrated players in the league.
• Glossary of terms
Bobby Engram, WR, Seattle: After I listed Donald Driver as one of the most overrated players last week, I received a number of e-mails from Packers fans demanding to know who deserved the Pro Bowl spot over Driver. Engram certainly would have been an excellent choice. His 94 receptions, 1,147 yards and six receiving touchdowns were all better than Driver's totals, as was his 9.3 yards per attempt. He isn't thought of as a top 10-15 wide receiver, but his numbers say he was one in 2007.
Anthony Gonzalez, WR, Indianapolis: If the speculation is correct and Marvin Harrison does end up being let go by the Colts, it probably will have more to do with the fast development of Gonzalez than Harrison's knee injury. Gonzalez's 11.2 yards per attempt last season would be extremely impressive for a veteran wide receiver, but Gonzalez did it in his rookie campaign.
E.J. Henderson, LB, Minnesota: Pat Williams and Kevin Williams tend to get all of the press for the Vikings' stout run defense, but Henderson's phenomenal 36.5 defeated block percentage shows he deserves a lot of credit for his abilities to stuff the run as well.
Anthony Henry, CB, Dallas: Terence Newman is a dominant player whose presence would overshadow just about any cornerback in the league. Henry is something of a forgotten man because of this, but his 2007 metrics were quite similar to Newman's. Newman did beat Henry in YPA (6.8 to 6.1), but Henry's success percentage was much higher (46.4 versus 37.9). If Henry can keep up with Newman again in 2008, these two would be able to make a strong argument for possibly being the best NFC cornerback tandem.
Cory Redding, DT, Detroit: It is hard to get an NFC Pro Bowl berth at defensive tackle, because those spots tend to go to the aforementioned Williams duo in Minnesota and/or Tommie Harris. Even so, Redding's 30 defeated run blocks and 32.3 defeated block percentage were both Pro Bowl-caliber numbers. I believe a strong argument could be made that Redding should have taken Harris' Pro Bowl spot (which he vacated because of injury) instead of Darnell Dockett.
Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork, defensive linemen, New England: The Patriots had a lot of strengths last season, but run defense was not one of them. Their 4.4 YPA ranked tied for 26th in that department. However, Warren and Wilfork were certainly not part of the problem, their 3.5 and 3.7 YPAs on point-of-attack runs clearly states. Add those metrics to Warren's 20.6 and Wilfork's 15.5 in defeated block percentage against POA runs, and it shows they are two players New England can rebuild its run defense around.
Roddy White, WR, Atlanta: White's 9.0 YPA on 83 receptions went almost unnoticed in most circles because of the many negative stories in Atlanta last season. His 1,202 receiving yards tied for eighth in the NFL and were more than Torry Holt or T.J. Houshmandzadeh gained. If White put up this level of performance with a revolving door of backup quarterbacks, one can only imagine the kind of numbers he could post with a solid passer in the Falcons' backfield.
By KC Joyner
ESPN Insider
(Archive)
Updated: February 20, 2008
Because last week's article was devoted to the eight most overrated players in the NFL, it seems only fair to devote this week's article to the eight most underrated players in the league.
• Glossary of terms
Bobby Engram, WR, Seattle: After I listed Donald Driver as one of the most overrated players last week, I received a number of e-mails from Packers fans demanding to know who deserved the Pro Bowl spot over Driver. Engram certainly would have been an excellent choice. His 94 receptions, 1,147 yards and six receiving touchdowns were all better than Driver's totals, as was his 9.3 yards per attempt. He isn't thought of as a top 10-15 wide receiver, but his numbers say he was one in 2007.
Anthony Gonzalez, WR, Indianapolis: If the speculation is correct and Marvin Harrison does end up being let go by the Colts, it probably will have more to do with the fast development of Gonzalez than Harrison's knee injury. Gonzalez's 11.2 yards per attempt last season would be extremely impressive for a veteran wide receiver, but Gonzalez did it in his rookie campaign.
E.J. Henderson, LB, Minnesota: Pat Williams and Kevin Williams tend to get all of the press for the Vikings' stout run defense, but Henderson's phenomenal 36.5 defeated block percentage shows he deserves a lot of credit for his abilities to stuff the run as well.
Anthony Henry, CB, Dallas: Terence Newman is a dominant player whose presence would overshadow just about any cornerback in the league. Henry is something of a forgotten man because of this, but his 2007 metrics were quite similar to Newman's. Newman did beat Henry in YPA (6.8 to 6.1), but Henry's success percentage was much higher (46.4 versus 37.9). If Henry can keep up with Newman again in 2008, these two would be able to make a strong argument for possibly being the best NFC cornerback tandem.
Cory Redding, DT, Detroit: It is hard to get an NFC Pro Bowl berth at defensive tackle, because those spots tend to go to the aforementioned Williams duo in Minnesota and/or Tommie Harris. Even so, Redding's 30 defeated run blocks and 32.3 defeated block percentage were both Pro Bowl-caliber numbers. I believe a strong argument could be made that Redding should have taken Harris' Pro Bowl spot (which he vacated because of injury) instead of Darnell Dockett.
Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork, defensive linemen, New England: The Patriots had a lot of strengths last season, but run defense was not one of them. Their 4.4 YPA ranked tied for 26th in that department. However, Warren and Wilfork were certainly not part of the problem, their 3.5 and 3.7 YPAs on point-of-attack runs clearly states. Add those metrics to Warren's 20.6 and Wilfork's 15.5 in defeated block percentage against POA runs, and it shows they are two players New England can rebuild its run defense around.
Roddy White, WR, Atlanta: White's 9.0 YPA on 83 receptions went almost unnoticed in most circles because of the many negative stories in Atlanta last season. His 1,202 receiving yards tied for eighth in the NFL and were more than Torry Holt or T.J. Houshmandzadeh gained. If White put up this level of performance with a revolving door of backup quarterbacks, one can only imagine the kind of numbers he could post with a solid passer in the Falcons' backfield.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:51 PM
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