Monday, August 21, 2006

Ouch! Henderson Out 3-6 Weeks

The Green Bay Press-Gazette is reporting that FB William Henderson might be out 3-6 weeks as a result of a knee injury sustained in Saturday night's game against the Falcons. The injury was hardly noted during the broadcast, and wasn't really even mentioned until after the game.

According to the report, they are still waiting for the swelling to go down so they can make a better determination as to the extent of the injury. At this time, they believe it may be cartilage and perhaps ligament damage. At age 35, no one seems sure how quickly Henderson will recover.

Henderson has been nearly as much of an iron man on the Packers as Favre, missing only two games in his 11 seasons. Wow. Henderson has also been an undisputed fan favorite because of his do-whatever-it-takes-for-the-team attitude, his blocking and his great ability to catch passes out of the backfield.

The likely replacement for Henderson until he returns is Vonta Leach, who has the size of a classic fullback (6-foot-0, 250 lbs.) but perhaps lacks the skills needed in the new Packers offense. He is a good blocking back, but as demonstrated on at least two occasions Saturday night he has trouble catching the ball. The other two true fullbacks on the roster are undrafted rookies Ben Brown (6-1, 246) and A.J. Cooper (6-1, 240).

Let's hope Henderson has a speedy recovery. He may be an old warhorse these days, but he still can have a positive impact both on the field and in the locker room.