Notice I have not predicted Travis Henry will take the AFC rushing title. I think Ricky Williams stands a good chance to repeat. What I said is that Travis Henry could give him a run for his money. I think Henry will raise his total yards for the season to something in excess of 1700. Maybe Ricky will raise his output too. We'll see.
I think that Henry has the best chance of any back in the AFCE to unseat Williams. At 30 I don't think Curtis Martin has enough left to do it, and I don't think Antowain Smith ever had enough ability to do it. Again, I'm not predicting Henry will win the title, but if he doesn't beat out Williams, no one else will.
BTW, Buffalo brought in Olandis Gary not because of any premonition that Henry can't handle the load. They gave up on Shawn Bryson and didn't feel they had anyone on the roster they were comfortable with in a regular backup role to replace him. It is true that Tom Donahoe is cognizant of Henry's fumbling problem last year. If it reappears, then all bets about what Henry could do are off. I don't think the drafting of Willis McGahee has anything to do with Buffalo's assessment of Henry's abilities though the fumbling may have crossed Donahoe's mind. That was more a matter of Donahoe deciding that McGahee, with his gamebreaking ability represented a better value where Buffalo picked than the players at need positions who were left in the draft even with his injury situation.
I think that Henry has the best chance of any back in the AFCE to unseat Williams. At 30 I don't think Curtis Martin has enough left to do it, and I don't think Antowain Smith ever had enough ability to do it. Again, I'm not predicting Henry will win the title, but if he doesn't beat out Williams, no one else will.
BTW, Buffalo brought in Olandis Gary not because of any premonition that Henry can't handle the load. They gave up on Shawn Bryson and didn't feel they had anyone on the roster they were comfortable with in a regular backup role to replace him. It is true that Tom Donahoe is cognizant of Henry's fumbling problem last year. If it reappears, then all bets about what Henry could do are off. I don't think the drafting of Willis McGahee has anything to do with Buffalo's assessment of Henry's abilities though the fumbling may have crossed Donahoe's mind. That was more a matter of Donahoe deciding that McGahee, with his gamebreaking ability represented a better value where Buffalo picked than the players at need positions who were left in the draft even with his injury situation.