dragondawg
09-03-2007, 04:24 AM
He expects booing on Sunday, but he holds no ill feelings
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News
September 2, 2007
ENGLEWOOD - You're supposed to shuffle off to Buffalo, not from it.
And after Travis Henry put up a career-best 1,438 rushing yards for the Bills in 2002, there was no chance of him leaving, was there?
He was going to be a building block, a cornerstone at running back for years to come.
At least, that was his thinking.
"I thought I was going to be the franchise," Henry said.
Two years later, he was gone. His career path eventually brought him to the Broncos, for whom he'll make his regular-season debut Sunday back in his old stamping grounds.
"It couldn't be written no other kind of way," Henry said. "Starting off the 2007 season playing my former team - I like it."
It's actually the second time Henry has gone back to play the team that selected him in the second round of the 2001 draft. He ran for 135 yards on 25 carries for the Tennessee Titans on Dec. 24 at Ralph Wilson Stadium. He admittedly was "geeked" for that game, one in which Bills fans reacquainted themselves with Henry by booing him.
He's a little more level-headed this time.
"Last year, I was pumped to go down there, just because it was against my own teammates. But a lot of guys that were there when I was were gone," Henry said. "I appreciate the Bills giving me an opportunity. But I'm here. I'm happy. And that stuff in Buffalo stays in Buffalo."
Henry's time with the Bills took an irrevocable turn in spring 2003, just after he became the first Buffalo running back to make the Pro Bowl since Thurman Thomas in 1993. The team selected running back Willis McGahee with the 23rd pick of the draft, despite other needs on the roster. Buffalo thought McGahee was too special a talent to pass up.
Henry initially reacted by calling the selection "a slap in the face" before toeing the line publicly. And there was no immediate threat to his status, because McGahee was recovering from reconstructive left knee surgery suffered at the University of Miami and wouldn't be ready to play his rookie season.
Henry remained the featured back in '03 and ran for 1,356 yards to join Thomas and O.J. Simpson as the only Bills players in history with consecutive 1,300-yard rushing seasons. He accomplished that while playing the final six games with a hairline fracture in his right fibula.
Things got more complicated the next season when McGahee came back fully from his injury. Henry called it "a lot of built-up tension."
He was left to deal with a possible tandem situation. And, truth was, he wasn't in a sharing mood.
"Everybody likes to say they like to have a two-back system, and it works sometimes in the right situation, I agree," Henry said. "But Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, those guys toted the load and did their thing."
Henry grumbled during summer '04 that, faced with sharing the load, he'd rather go elsewhere.
"I didn't allow it to ruin our friendship," Henry said. "Because he's a Florida boy, I'm a Florida boy. There was no need for us to be beefing. I thought I was better than him. He thought he was better than me."
Henry kept his starting job for the short term. But six games into the '04 season, he hurt his foot. McGahee replaced him and ended up cracking 100 yards seven times on his way to a 1,128-yard season with 13 touchdowns. Buffalo won nine of 12 to end that year.
Henry had difficulty processing the turn of events, given his previous contributions.
He claimed that then-coach Mike Mularkey and then-general manager Tom Donahoe never gave him a clear explanation as to why he was benched.
A recent call from the Rocky Mountain News to Donahoe was not returned.
"The only thing they would say is, 'Everything's going to work out.' They never had an answer for me. They never came out and told me, 'You lost your job.' It was, 'We're going to play him this week. It'll be all right.' It was weird."
To make matters worse, he ended up fracturing his right leg and missing the final five games that season. When the Bills wrapped up their schedule, Henry again went public with his dissatisfaction. Buffalo gave him permission to seek a trade, and he was dealt to the Titans on July 18, 2005, for a third-round pick.
Henry finished his four-year Buffalo career with 3,787 yards on 948 carries and 27 touchdowns.
McGahee carried the torch the next two seasons, rushing for 1,247 and 990 yards. But he opted to sign with the Baltimore Ravens as a free agent in March.
"So now we're both gone," Henry said, adding with a smile, "And I've still got more yards."
Henry noted he's no longer the "angry running back" he was returning to Buffalo last season with the Titans. And while it's his expectation he'll again be booed, he claims to hold no ill feelings toward Buffalo fans.
"They were great . . . and loved me and wanted me to do good, because a lot of them (knew the Bills) could have handled things in a different way," he said.
Henry also acknowledged those same fans could get on him more this time, given recent headlines about his personal life that have come to light regarding the number of children he has fathered, as well as child-support issues.
"It is what it is," he said. "I just know one thing - I'm going to be focused, loaded and ready to shoot. So whatever they do, whatever they say, it ain't going to stop me from doing what I'm going to do that day. . . . I'm not looking for anything but going down there and helping my team win by any means necessary."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_5688809,00.html
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News
September 2, 2007
ENGLEWOOD - You're supposed to shuffle off to Buffalo, not from it.
And after Travis Henry put up a career-best 1,438 rushing yards for the Bills in 2002, there was no chance of him leaving, was there?
He was going to be a building block, a cornerstone at running back for years to come.
At least, that was his thinking.
"I thought I was going to be the franchise," Henry said.
Two years later, he was gone. His career path eventually brought him to the Broncos, for whom he'll make his regular-season debut Sunday back in his old stamping grounds.
"It couldn't be written no other kind of way," Henry said. "Starting off the 2007 season playing my former team - I like it."
It's actually the second time Henry has gone back to play the team that selected him in the second round of the 2001 draft. He ran for 135 yards on 25 carries for the Tennessee Titans on Dec. 24 at Ralph Wilson Stadium. He admittedly was "geeked" for that game, one in which Bills fans reacquainted themselves with Henry by booing him.
He's a little more level-headed this time.
"Last year, I was pumped to go down there, just because it was against my own teammates. But a lot of guys that were there when I was were gone," Henry said. "I appreciate the Bills giving me an opportunity. But I'm here. I'm happy. And that stuff in Buffalo stays in Buffalo."
Henry's time with the Bills took an irrevocable turn in spring 2003, just after he became the first Buffalo running back to make the Pro Bowl since Thurman Thomas in 1993. The team selected running back Willis McGahee with the 23rd pick of the draft, despite other needs on the roster. Buffalo thought McGahee was too special a talent to pass up.
Henry initially reacted by calling the selection "a slap in the face" before toeing the line publicly. And there was no immediate threat to his status, because McGahee was recovering from reconstructive left knee surgery suffered at the University of Miami and wouldn't be ready to play his rookie season.
Henry remained the featured back in '03 and ran for 1,356 yards to join Thomas and O.J. Simpson as the only Bills players in history with consecutive 1,300-yard rushing seasons. He accomplished that while playing the final six games with a hairline fracture in his right fibula.
Things got more complicated the next season when McGahee came back fully from his injury. Henry called it "a lot of built-up tension."
He was left to deal with a possible tandem situation. And, truth was, he wasn't in a sharing mood.
"Everybody likes to say they like to have a two-back system, and it works sometimes in the right situation, I agree," Henry said. "But Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, those guys toted the load and did their thing."
Henry grumbled during summer '04 that, faced with sharing the load, he'd rather go elsewhere.
"I didn't allow it to ruin our friendship," Henry said. "Because he's a Florida boy, I'm a Florida boy. There was no need for us to be beefing. I thought I was better than him. He thought he was better than me."
Henry kept his starting job for the short term. But six games into the '04 season, he hurt his foot. McGahee replaced him and ended up cracking 100 yards seven times on his way to a 1,128-yard season with 13 touchdowns. Buffalo won nine of 12 to end that year.
Henry had difficulty processing the turn of events, given his previous contributions.
He claimed that then-coach Mike Mularkey and then-general manager Tom Donahoe never gave him a clear explanation as to why he was benched.
A recent call from the Rocky Mountain News to Donahoe was not returned.
"The only thing they would say is, 'Everything's going to work out.' They never had an answer for me. They never came out and told me, 'You lost your job.' It was, 'We're going to play him this week. It'll be all right.' It was weird."
To make matters worse, he ended up fracturing his right leg and missing the final five games that season. When the Bills wrapped up their schedule, Henry again went public with his dissatisfaction. Buffalo gave him permission to seek a trade, and he was dealt to the Titans on July 18, 2005, for a third-round pick.
Henry finished his four-year Buffalo career with 3,787 yards on 948 carries and 27 touchdowns.
McGahee carried the torch the next two seasons, rushing for 1,247 and 990 yards. But he opted to sign with the Baltimore Ravens as a free agent in March.
"So now we're both gone," Henry said, adding with a smile, "And I've still got more yards."
Henry noted he's no longer the "angry running back" he was returning to Buffalo last season with the Titans. And while it's his expectation he'll again be booed, he claims to hold no ill feelings toward Buffalo fans.
"They were great . . . and loved me and wanted me to do good, because a lot of them (knew the Bills) could have handled things in a different way," he said.
Henry also acknowledged those same fans could get on him more this time, given recent headlines about his personal life that have come to light regarding the number of children he has fathered, as well as child-support issues.
"It is what it is," he said. "I just know one thing - I'm going to be focused, loaded and ready to shoot. So whatever they do, whatever they say, it ain't going to stop me from doing what I'm going to do that day. . . . I'm not looking for anything but going down there and helping my team win by any means necessary."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_5688809,00.html