Ex-Vols poised to takeover Bills offense

by James Boswell Publisher of ProFootballFanatics.com

During the 2001 NFL Draft the Bills struck paydirt by picking up one of the most underrated running backs available this year, Tennessee's Travis Henry (2nd round, 58th overall).

Travis Henry is Tennessee's all-time leading rusher, breaking the previous Vols rushing record of 2,890-yards set by James Stewart. During his career at Tennessee, Henry racked up a total of 3,078-yards rushing, 26 touchdowns and 14, 100-yard games (5.5-ypc).

Being from Florida and playing college ball at Tennessee, you might think Henry will have difficulty adjusting to the "frozen tundra" of Buffalo. "I think I can stand the cold," said Henry. "Once I'm playing and my adrenaline gets flowing, it really doesn't matter."

Just go back and look at his performance last January in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl. Against a veteran Kansas State team, in sub-freezing temperatures, Henry put up 180-yards on 17 carries (10.58-ypc). Although the Vols got beat soundly, as the game wore on, Henry just got better. The Vols last game of the regular-season last year in Vanderbilt is another prime example of the resilience of Henry. Travis made the difference against a tough Vanderbilt defense as he ran for 184-yards on 33-carries (5.57-ypc) and two touchdowns.

Buffalo Bills new head coach Gregg Williams spoke about Henry: "Competition makes all of us better. And all of those running backs just got better. The best one will play. Henry is a very productive player, and I've been impressed with our similar philosophies that the group had before Tom and I got here. If a guy can produce at the high level, he will produce at the next. We'd like to have Travis come in and be a better Jamal Lewis. One of the best short-yardage backs at Tennessee for many years. Competition makes everyone better. We'll keep as many backs as we think we can keep, but it does make a hungrier group of guys when they come in for off-season workouts."

As far as how things will eventually work out for Henry in Buffalo, he was quoted as saying: "The best man will win."

Henry is expected to compete for the tailback spot with former Tennessee fullback Shawn Bryson, who led the Bills in rushing last season with 591-yards.

Bryson was selected in the 3rd round (86th overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft, one pick before his former teammate and roommate, Peerless Price. After drawing rave reviews at the Bills 1999 training camp, Bryson suffered a season-ending knee injury. After tireless rehab, Shawn made a strong return during the 2000 season.

At Tennessee, Bryson was the starting fullback his junior and senior season's, which made him Henry's lead blocker during 1998, when the Vols went undefeated and won the National Championship. As the starting fullback, Bryson was team captain, had 200-yards rushing on 21 carries (9.5-ypc), Four touchdowns and 19 receptions for 167-yards (one of those receptions being a 63-yard touchdown against Houston). Bryson finished his career as a Vol with a four-yard touchdown run against Florida State that tilted the game in the Vols favor in the Fiesta Bowl.

The X-factor: Sammy Morris.

In my eyes, Bryson is probably the better of the two when it comes to playing as a pure fullback. I don't say this out of disrespect for Morris, but only because Bryson is a bit bigger than Morris and because that's mainly what Bryson did at Tennessee.

As a rookie last season, Morris started eight games and rushed for 341-yards. Although Morris has experienced setbacks at Texas Tech and during his rookie season in Buffalo due to an injury, the Bills coaching staff are excited about his ability as a receiver.

"He's much more accomplished as a receiver than we realized, I mean, he can really catch the ball" said Bills President and General Manager Tom Donahoe.

As the West Coast offense is being installed in Buffalo, these skills will no doubt make Morris a valuable asset to the team.

All three of the above mentioned backs are tremendous talents and it looks as though the Bills plan on utilizing their skills to the fullest. A possible scenario that could unfold in Buffalo would have Henry as the tailback, Bryson as the main fullback and Morris as the "specialty" or "situational" back. The great thing about this for the Bills is that they'll have their "bread and butter" man in Henry, plus they'll also be able to "mix it up" in the backfield due to the versatility of Bryson and Morris. By season's end, the Bills should have one of the more productive backfields in the league.

Peerless Price is third man on the Bills roster who helped lead the Vols to their 1998 National Championship. Price left Knoxville as the Vols 3rd all-time leading receiver (147 rec., 2,298-yards and 19 touchdowns). If you're an SEC football fan, you know Price all too well. In the SEC Championship game against a tough and well coach Mississippi State team, Price brought a in nice sideline pass from Tee Martin and took it down town 41-yards for what was the game winner against the Bulldogs. In the Fiesta Bowl against Florida State, Price set a Fiesta Bowl record (4 rec., 199-yards and a 71-yard touchdown) as the Vols went on to beat Florida State for the 1998 National Championship.

With the Bills, Price is just getting stated. Now that their quarterback controversy is settled, and Moulds has re-signed to a $42 million, six-year deal, look for Price, Moulds and the Bills to be dominate forces in the AFC East this coming season.

James Boswell owns and runs ProFootballFanatics.com, where he covers the NFL as well as the Tennessee Titans.