SpeedBack ~ DeAngelo Henderson ~ Coastal Carolina Chanticleers ~ 5075/208
Regarding SpeedBacks
A couple Years ago, I dropped the term "FlexBack" and divided all HalfBacks into PowerBacks & SpeedBacks.
I've come to believe that any HalfBack that doesn't bring a Passing Game element to the BattleField is...incomplete.
Hence, the term "FlexBack" ~ although quite cool, I believe!! ~ short-circuits the Evaluation Process.
As to how I break them down, I expect that the terms are pretty self-explanatory:
PowerBacks ~ HalfBacks who do their best Work between the Tackles..
SpeedBacks ~ HalfBacks who do their best Work outside the Tackles.
The PowerBack prototype would be about 5115/220 or so.
The SpeedBack prototype would be about 5010/200 or so.
Those are gross oversimplifications, of course, and many HalfBacks will manifest Attributes of both styles. Indeed, Power and Speed ~ better yet: Agility ~ are crucial to the Success of either kind of HalfBack. But I believe that it advances the discussion and better serves my Fellow FootBall Fanatics if I make an effort to distinguish between types.
This is how I break things down, when evaluating all HalfBacks:
Power: Above all: Core Power. Upper body Power is important, but lower body Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. An HalfBack's Capacity to break Tackles is more about Core Power than anything else.
Agility: Launch Velocity, Fluidity, Acceleration, and Ricochet. Long Speed is all well and good, but at the end of the day, it is Gravy. What wins Championships is Moving The Chains. And Moving The Chains is accomplished far more consistently by the guys who exhibit the Agility ~ and the Focus ~ to consistently pick up 5 and sometimes 10 Yards at a time.
Processing Speed: Diagnostic Velocity. Field Vision. That ethereal Capacity to Rapidly Read & React to the Rapidly Roiling & Boiling Tactical LandScape...and to foresee and envision Lanes developing before they actually do.
Blocking: Having an HalfBack who doesn't Block effectively is like having 10 Men on the Field of Battle. Most HalfBacks just coming out'f College are mediocre Blockers, but this is a crucial Aspect of the Game that they'll need to master.
Receiving: Whether he be a PowerBack or a SpeedBack, an HalfBack that can effectively present a genuine Threat in the Passing Game dramatically increases his Team's Options on any given Play. The more dynamic the Threat, the more valuable to'is Team on the Field of Battle, whether he's just slipping out'f the BackField or splitting out Wide.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Power
* Core Power is most of it. Tyrannosaurus Rex would've made an Hell of an HalfBack.
* Torso Power doesn't hurt, though.
Agility
* Launch Velocity
* Fluidity
* Acceleration
* Ricochet
* Long Speed
Processing Speed
* That ethereal Capacity to foresee and envision Lanes developing before they actually do.
Blocking
* Power
* Agility
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
* Motor
Receiving
* Separation
* Catch Point Capacity
* Navigation
I've come to believe that any HalfBack that doesn't bring a Passing Game element to the BattleField is...incomplete.
Hence, the term "FlexBack" ~ although quite cool, I believe!! ~ short-circuits the Evaluation Process.
As to how I break them down, I expect that the terms are pretty self-explanatory:
PowerBacks ~ HalfBacks who do their best Work between the Tackles..
SpeedBacks ~ HalfBacks who do their best Work outside the Tackles.
The PowerBack prototype would be about 5115/220 or so.
The SpeedBack prototype would be about 5010/200 or so.
Those are gross oversimplifications, of course, and many HalfBacks will manifest Attributes of both styles. Indeed, Power and Speed ~ better yet: Agility ~ are crucial to the Success of either kind of HalfBack. But I believe that it advances the discussion and better serves my Fellow FootBall Fanatics if I make an effort to distinguish between types.
This is how I break things down, when evaluating all HalfBacks:
Power: Above all: Core Power. Upper body Power is important, but lower body Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. An HalfBack's Capacity to break Tackles is more about Core Power than anything else.
Agility: Launch Velocity, Fluidity, Acceleration, and Ricochet. Long Speed is all well and good, but at the end of the day, it is Gravy. What wins Championships is Moving The Chains. And Moving The Chains is accomplished far more consistently by the guys who exhibit the Agility ~ and the Focus ~ to consistently pick up 5 and sometimes 10 Yards at a time.
Processing Speed: Diagnostic Velocity. Field Vision. That ethereal Capacity to Rapidly Read & React to the Rapidly Roiling & Boiling Tactical LandScape...and to foresee and envision Lanes developing before they actually do.
Blocking: Having an HalfBack who doesn't Block effectively is like having 10 Men on the Field of Battle. Most HalfBacks just coming out'f College are mediocre Blockers, but this is a crucial Aspect of the Game that they'll need to master.
Receiving: Whether he be a PowerBack or a SpeedBack, an HalfBack that can effectively present a genuine Threat in the Passing Game dramatically increases his Team's Options on any given Play. The more dynamic the Threat, the more valuable to'is Team on the Field of Battle, whether he's just slipping out'f the BackField or splitting out Wide.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Power
* Core Power is most of it. Tyrannosaurus Rex would've made an Hell of an HalfBack.
* Torso Power doesn't hurt, though.
Agility
* Launch Velocity
* Fluidity
* Acceleration
* Ricochet
* Long Speed
Processing Speed
* That ethereal Capacity to foresee and envision Lanes developing before they actually do.
Blocking
* Power
* Agility
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
* Motor
Receiving
* Separation
* Catch Point Capacity
* Navigation
DeAngelo Henderson ~ Scouting Report
Power: Mediocre. Marginal Drive Power but solid Anchoring Strength. Won't Push Piles, but can take a Hit or two.
Agility: Impressive. A Study in Contrasts, Henderson brings both mediocre Fluidity yet impressive Ricochet, outstanding Acceleration, and excellent Speed to the Field of Battle. Projects to Feast or Famine at the next level.
Field Vision: Shaky. Inconsistent, both Syncing with his Blocking, and in quickly and effectively reading the LandScape.
Blocking: Mediocre, but that's meant as a Compliment. He's Short, but not Weak, and his Tenacity is good.
Receiving: Excellent. An impressive Route Runner with impressive Agility. Mediocre Instincts for Seams and Zones, and a marginal WingSpan at the CatchPoint, but impressive Tracking & Timing and Vertical Agility.
Agility: Impressive. A Study in Contrasts, Henderson brings both mediocre Fluidity yet impressive Ricochet, outstanding Acceleration, and excellent Speed to the Field of Battle. Projects to Feast or Famine at the next level.
Field Vision: Shaky. Inconsistent, both Syncing with his Blocking, and in quickly and effectively reading the LandScape.
Blocking: Mediocre, but that's meant as a Compliment. He's Short, but not Weak, and his Tenacity is good.
Receiving: Excellent. An impressive Route Runner with impressive Agility. Mediocre Instincts for Seams and Zones, and a marginal WingSpan at the CatchPoint, but impressive Tracking & Timing and Vertical Agility.
DeAngelo Henderson ~ Prospectus
Not as Compact as MoJo Drew ~ same Weight, but a full Inch Taller ~ but more Compact than Danny WoodHead ~ same Height, but 10/12 Pounds meatier ~ DeAngelo Henderson is yet another HalfBack who, being Short, is confused with being Weak by most'f The Masses...'tain't so!! He's no Bull ~ no Bull!! ~ but Henderson can take a Hit or two.
He's raw, in terms of Reading & Reacting Quickly & Effectively to the Tactical LandScape, he's 24 ~ 25 in November, for the Love of God!! ~ which punches a large Hole in his Value to'is prospective Team, his Fluidity is mediocre, which is an enormous Red Flag, and he played younger Guys in Division 47...so I'm not Pounding the Table, here.
But I love Buying Low in Prospects who're Quick and Short, because they tend to get substantially undervalued, and I'm a big Fan of Hybrids who can scrape by as Blockers and are accomplished Receivers, as Henderson is.
I see'm as having a legitimate Chance to make an Impact as a Spread Formation & Passing Down SpeedBack. Chances of a FacePlant are substantial, but so are'is Chances of tremendous Success for the next several Years!!
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
He's raw, in terms of Reading & Reacting Quickly & Effectively to the Tactical LandScape, he's 24 ~ 25 in November, for the Love of God!! ~ which punches a large Hole in his Value to'is prospective Team, his Fluidity is mediocre, which is an enormous Red Flag, and he played younger Guys in Division 47...so I'm not Pounding the Table, here.
But I love Buying Low in Prospects who're Quick and Short, because they tend to get substantially undervalued, and I'm a big Fan of Hybrids who can scrape by as Blockers and are accomplished Receivers, as Henderson is.
I see'm as having a legitimate Chance to make an Impact as a Spread Formation & Passing Down SpeedBack. Chances of a FacePlant are substantial, but so are'is Chances of tremendous Success for the next several Years!!
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
Yank Rank: Contender ~ SemiSleeper
| Market Value #203 | Yankee Grade 4th/5th Round |
Please do Note: This and all Evaluations issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women of Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!
None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!!
None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!!
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