Henderson hangs on to job
 

COUNTDOWN TO MONDAY NIGHT

By LARRY HOLDER
lholder@sunherald.com

METAIRIE, La. --Dr. Henderson and Mr. Hyde are back again.

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Devery Henderson outplayed almost everyone during training camp and easily secured the team's No. 2 spot opposite Marques Colston.

His sketchy play on Sunday in the 31-14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers landed Henderson on the bench as the Saints turned into a one-dimensional pass attack after going down by four touchdowns.

Henderson dropped a would-be touchdown pass in the first half and the drive led to a missed field goal by Olindo Mare. He failed to catch a pass against the Bucs and said his poor play could have been the reason for his lack of time.

"Maybe so, but whatever the reason was for it, the coaches are out there trying to win the game," Henderson said. "Obviously, I want to win. I trust what he's doing. Me not being out there is disappointing to me, but it is what it is. I've got to live with it."

Colston, Terrance Copper, David Patten and Lance Moore lined up in the four wide-out sets during the Saints' comeback attempt.

Saints coach Sean Payton wasn't shy about pointing out Henderson's issues hanging onto the football. But he also said he hasn't contemplated any sort of position changes going into the Saints' game against the Tennessee Titans on Monday night.

"He struggled early on, and then he had a missed assignment," Payton said. "I wanted to get Lance (Moore) some work. One of the things I told C.J. (wide receiver coach Curtis Johnson), with the weather, was to rotate those guys. We brought guys in and out. He struggled early, and some of those other guys have been playing pretty well.

"But my expectation of how I think he should play, and I think his as well is much higher then what we saw. But he is not the only one."

Henderson significantly led the NFL in yards per catch last season, averaging 23.3 yards per reception, but had issues hanging onto the ball during training camp. Overcoming those issues took him nearly half of last season.

"I'm not worried about it, to be honest with you," Henderson said. "I'm not going to let it get to me. Everybody drops balls. I'm not going to let it get me down. If anything I'm going to go out there and work harder and have a chip on my shoulder."

Hexing proposition

Sports Illustrated picked the Saints to win the Super Bowl. So far, the prediction appears to hold the same clout as the Madden video game curse. The battle of the hexes will be in full effect as Madden '08 coverboy Vince Young faces SI's champ on Monday night in the Louisiana Superdome.

Young hasn't had the same injury fate as others who graced the video-game cover.

SunHerald.com : Henderson hangs on to job

Re: Henderson hangs on to job
 

... maybe Lance Moore should get a shot...

Re: Henderson hangs on to job
 

I would not put too much stock in Henderson right now. The dude is playing out of position and it's costing the Saints dearly. He is a roll player, who can get open and catch bombs. Despite what was said about him, I seriously doubt he will start against the Titans. If he does start, there will be a replacement for him very shortly. Henderson has the potential to be a great number 3 or 4 guys, not a 2. I would not be surprised if he is inactive for the Titans game. On another note, there is no way Henderson will be with the Saints in 2008.

Re: Henderson hangs on to job
 

Henderson blows. It's starting to look like we should have traded up and gotten Calvin Johnson.

Re: Henderson hangs on to job
 

Henderson better hang on to the ball