Most NFL running backs are usually slowing down once they turn 30, but Yulee High product Derrick Henry looks like he might defy the odds about how players age at his position.
Through seven games this season, the Baltimore Ravens star has never looked more potent. With the threat posed by quarterback Lamar Jackson as a runner, Henry is killing NFL defenses with a league-leading 873 yards on 134 carries, a robust 6.5 yards per carry.
Henry’s previous seven-game best was 869 yards in 2021, a season that got cut short by a foot injury that denied him a third consecutive league rushing title.
As things stand now, Henry’s rushing total is more than 200 yards ahead of the next-best backs, the San Francisco 49ers’ Jordan Mason (667 yards) and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Saquon Barkley (658 yards).
Sunshine State struggles: Billy Napier’s football program surprisingly looks in better shape than FSU with Norvell
If Henry can stay reasonably healthy for another two or three seasons, he could very well move into the conversation among the NFL’s all-time greatest backs. Henry is already 30th all-time among NFL rushers with 10,375 yards, but he could squeeze into the top 20 and surpass Corey Dillon (11,241) by averaging 86.7 yards in the Ravens’ last 10 games.
Given Henry’s track record of durability, it’s not inconceivable he could join Emmitt Smith, John Riggins and Marcus Allen as one of five rushers to eclipse 4,000 rushing yards after the age of 30. Henry already has 1,026 yards, counting the 153-yard game he had on Jan. 7 against the Jaguars, three days after turning 30.
Can Henry possibly threaten Smith’s all-time rushing record of 18,355 yards? Probably not, but if he plays until age 35 like Smith did, Henry has a legitimate shot to become the fifth back all-time to hit 15,000 yards.
So Henry is on pace to make all kinds of history, including a third NFL rushing crown, a feat accomplished by just eight players and none since the Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson in 2015.
If Henry wins the 2024 league rushing title, he would join Cleveland Browns fullback Marion Motley (1950) as the only 30-year-old to achieve that distinction and would be the oldest NFL player to do it.
By the end of his career, health permitting, Henry might compel NFL historians to put him on the Mount Rushmore of running backs.
Armstead has been no bargain
When the Jaguars signed free agent defensive lineman Arik Armstead to a three-year, $43.5 million contract, it created the expectation that he would fortify the trenches in a significantly impactful way.
So far, the evidence suggests the 31-year-old veteran is highly overpaid.
Through seven games, Armstead has one sack, two quarterback hits and 10 tackles, all numbers that project below his averages over nine seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.
Armstead, who needed offseason surgery to repair a torn meniscus, is averaging just 33.0 snaps per game (48 percent). It’s easily the lowest of Armstead’s career since his rookie season in 2015 when he logged 23.5 snaps.
It’s understandable the Jaguars don’t want to overload him, but for a player who was guaranteed $28 million, that’s not a lot of bang for the buck.
Jaguars’ Gaziano misses dream sack
Nobody was happier about being elevated from the practice squad for the Jaguars’ game last week against the New England Patriots than defensive lineman Joe Gaziano, a Boston native who was stoked to play against his hometown team.
Gaziano, an undrafted free agent playing for his third team, had a dream scenario unfold in the fourth quarter. He correctly read a Patriots play and broke free from his end spot, chasing after Drake Maye for what would have been his second career sack. But the rookie QB wisely flipped the ball at running back JaMycal Hasty’s feet to avoid a loss.
“I really wanted that one,” said Gaziano. “i have a lot of friends from high school who are Patriots’ fans. I know they were watching the game. My family made it out to the game, so it would have been cool to get that sack at Wembley Stadium.”
Gaziano, who grew up a Patriots fan, savored the victory and an opportunity to see his first NFL action since a January game suiting up for the Atlanta Falcons.
Now in his fifth NFL season, the Northwestern career sack leader (30 sacks) and three-time, All Big Ten performer went undrafted, mostly because he was a ‘tweener player. Teams couldn’t decide whether to play him as a big end or a three-technique tackle, and Gaziano played all those spots during his first three years with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Under Ryan Nielsen, his coordinator with Atlanta, he plays the big end. If the Jaguars elevate him to the 53-man roster for two more games, Gaziano would earn a fifth accrued season and gain full NFL pension benefits.
Valenzuela was MLB rock star
What a bittersweet week for Major League Baseball, having a dream World Series matchup between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, yet losing iconic pitcher Fernando Valenzuela at 63 to a reported battle with liver cancer.
More than any foreign-born player, the southpaw Valenzuela brought instant star power when he broke into MLB with the Dodgers, creating Fernandomania with his unique pitching style of looking skyward before delivering the ball to the plate.
As the only pitcher to win a Cy Young and Rookie of the Year in the same season (1981), the Mexican-born Valenzuela, a six-time All-Star through 1986, quickly became an instant sensation by uniting the Mexican community in Los Angeles with the baseball world.
Though he’s not in the Hall of Fame, it’s impossible to have a conversation about the greatest international stars in baseball history without including the fabulous “El Toro.”
Despite not being as accomplished as the likes of foreign-born players like Roberto Clemente, Mariano Rivera, Ichiro, Albert Pujols and Shohei Ohtani, there’s no debating what Valenzuela did for baseball was every bit as impactful as those international stars. His level of popularity.during his prime years (1981-86) with the Dodgers was massive.
Valenzuela came along at a time when MLB was starting to lose its grip to the NFL as America’s most visible sport. Nobody created more fan fervor during a windup than “El Toro.” RIP, Fernando.
WNBA officiating hurts credibility
I’m rarely critical of officiating because it’s a tough job and close judgment calls in games often go both ways. Despite what fans think, the people in stripes rarely decide outcomes.
However, what happened in the final seconds of the WNBA winner-take-all championship game with the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx was unconscionable.
As Liberty star Breanna Stewart started driving into the lane with five seconds left in regulation — her team trailing by two points in a game it eventually won 67-62 in overtime — she clearly shuffles her feet in a way that made it an easy call for traveling.
Instead, the officials allowed play to continue and Stewart was subsequently awarded two free throws on a borderline foul call against Lynx forward Alanna Smith. She made both free throws to send the game into overtime.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve minced no words after the game, saying the WNBA title was “stolen from us.” Even Lebron James felt compelled to post this on X: “I’m sorry but that wasn’t a foul! Let the damn players dictate the outcome of a close battled tested game.”
The foul call wasn’t nearly as egregious as the mind-blowing lapse in judgment by officials to not whistle Stewart for traveling. It’s a shame a great WNBA season — buoyed by the star power of Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark and record TV ratings for the Finals Game 5 — ended with such a damaging blow to the league’s credibility.
Quick-hitting nuggets
In case you wondered where the 96-yard punt return touchdown by the Jaguars’ Parker Washington last week against New England ranked in NFL history, only 10 other TDs off punt returns were longer. The record is 103 yards by the Los Angeles Rams’ Robert Bailey in 1994. …
Condolences to the University of South Florida athletic community on the shocking news that men’s basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, 43, passed away Thursday from surgery complications. Abdur-Rahim was a rising star in college basketball, taking Kennesaw State to the 2023 NCAA tournament after enduring a 1-28 record in his first season. He also led USF, which is scheduled to face Florida on November 4 at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena, to a school-record 25 wins in his first year and the AAC regular-season title. …
With Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson out for the season with a ruptured Achilles, it means his only win in 2024 will be an 18-13 victory over the Jaguars in Week 2 at EverBank Stadium. For that $230 million guaranteed contract the Browns gave him, Watson has delivered 19 TD passes in 19 games and a 9-10 record.
World Series forecast
Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees in 7 games. At some point, you have to win it all with Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman on the same lineup card.
Pigskin forecast
Jaguars over Green Bay Packers by 3 (season-saving coupons); Houston Texans over Indianapolis Colts by 4 (Anthony Richardson rough patches); Detroit Lions over Tennessee Titans by 14 (knee caps); Cincinnati Bengals over Philadelphia Eagles by 3 (wild-card survival kits); Miami over Florida State by 24 (cold dishes of revenge); UCF over BYU by 1 (dramatic finish); Boise State over UNLV by 4 (Ashton Jeanty Heisman campaign buttons). Last week: 5 right, 2 Tom Brady conflicts of interest.