Throughout his second training camp in the NFL, Mario Henderson
was the frequent target of criticism from both his head coach and
position coach with the Oakland Raiders
ALAMEDA
Throughout his second training camp in the NFL, Mario Henderson was the frequent target of criticism from both his head coach and position coach with the Oakland Raiders.
A third-round pick in 2007, Henderson barely made it onto the field as a rookie and didn’t appear to have improved much at all early in his second year. But as this year comes to a close, Henderson is showing signs of being an NFL tackle with his performance the past two weeks.
Given a chance to start at the crucial left tackle spot in place of the ineffective Kwame Harris, Henderson has held his own the past two weeks in matchups against former Pro Bowler Richard Seymour and current Pro Bowler Mario Williams. Henderson allowed no sacks and to either player and committed no penalties either while protecting JaMarcus Russell’s blind side.
“It helps my confidence a lot,” Henderson said. “That’s the main thing for me. I just have to get confidence and be able to trust in myself that I can play. With games like that, when you’re going up against two of the best Pro Bowlers, that’s a good feeling.”
It’s a far cry from training camp, when Henderson was poised to match up with Tennessee star Kyle Vanden Bosch in an exhibition game and former coach Lane Kiffin sarcastically quipped “that will be interesting.”
Kiffin frequently criticized Henderson in public and line coach Tom Cable, who eventually replaced Kiffin as head coach, wasn’t much easier on Henderson in practice and the meeting room.
The mild-mannered Henderson, who started only one year in college at Florida State, said that served as motivation for him to become a better player. But the barbs also took a toll on Henderson’s psyche before veteran right tackle Cornell Green tried to bolster his confidence.
“Even during bad times, he’ll be like, ‘Mario, I’ve been through this before. Don’t listen to what people say. Just keep your head on straight and working,'” Henderson said. “He really helped me out, especially in training camp. I really wasn’t doing too good. He was always there making sure I kept my head up. It’s always good to have somebody like that because it makes things a lot easier for you.”
Green, who has had his own struggles this year with six false starts and 7½ sacks allowed, said Henderson reminded him of himself when he was a young player, which is why he took him under his wing.
“He went through a lot being a young guy, having a lot expected from him being drafted,” Green said. “He just took everything in and kept working. That’s a positive to see, a guy that can take negativity and still go out there and play. That’s real big.”
Henderson started two games early in the season when Harris was hurt. He played fairly well in the first against Kansas City, although the Raiders frequently shifted help his way or ran the ball to the other side of the field. He slipped back in his second game and went back to the bench when Harris was healthy.
But with Harris struggling with penalties, Henderson got a chance to share time at left tackle last month. He played the entire second half against Miami, but went back to the bench after Cable described his performance as poor.
With the Raiders (4-11) once again eliminated from playoff contention, Henderson moved back into the starting lineup against New England two weeks ago. He held his own against Seymour in his first game and then helped Oakland control Williams and the line of scrimmage in last week’s 27-16 win over Houston.
“I’m very proud of him,” Cable said. “That’s what I was hoping for going into that game, if he could back it up with another good effort like that and he did it. To me, that’s a breakthrough. I’ve got to believe that his confidence can take off from here.”
Henderson hopes to follow that up with a third solid performance this week against Tampa Bay to give him even more confidence heading into the offseason.
Despite the accolades he has received recently, Henderson knows he has plenty of distance to go to reach the level he expects from himself.
“I still have a lot to work on,” he said. “You never can say it’s always good because there’s still a lot of stuff I have to work on.”
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Story by Josh Dubow, AP Sports Writer
