William Henderson - Old Reliable
William Henderson: bruising blocker, nimble receiver.
William Henderson would never be confused for a brilliant runner. His career stats are hardly eye popping, although his receiving numbers are actually quite good for his position (he ranks 10th all time in receptions for the Packers at the time of this writing). And of all 19 of his touchdowns, I don't think any of them would be confused for anything worthy of the Top 10 on SportsCenter. Still, I think there's exactly one stat line that perfectly sums up William Henderson's career.
The date was September 8, 2002 and Michael Vick was making Week 1 of the NFL season his personal coming out party. Lambeau Field witnessed a pretty high scoring affair that day as the Packers and Falcons traded scores. Believe it or not, even Rondell Mealy (he of the 73 career rushing yards) got in on the scoring festivities with a two yard run for six.
With about eight minutes to go in the game, the Packers trailed 31-27. After a long drive, the Packers faced first and goal from the four yard line. Three rushing attempts later, the Packers were unfortunately only three yards closer to the goal line. With fourth and goal to go, the Packers had a decision to make. Let Brett Favre have a shot at winning the game through the air, or hand the ball to soon-to-be All-Pro running back Ahman Green?
Well, turns out it was neither. Winning the game fell on the brawny, neck-rolled shoulders of William Henderson. And thanks to a second and third effort, he plunged into the end zone and gave the Packers the lead. Final rushing stat line? One carry for one yard and one touchdown. (He also had two catches for 23 yards, but including that in the stat line makes it a lot less neat and tidy. Bear with me.)
It's a rather long winded explanation, but my point is that whether it was gaining one yard or blocking for some of the best runners in Packer history, William Henderson always did what needed to be done. And also he jumped over people from time to time, which was pretty sweet. And he definitely has to be one of the top 5 players to ever wear a neck roll for the Packers, but that's a post for another day.
