By: Michael Niziolek
Anthony Henry is one of the many new faces at Lions training camp this season, coming over from Dallas in the off-season for quarterback Jon Kitna. Henry has had some very successful seasons as a cornerback in the NFL – getting six interceptions two years ago and ten as a rookie in 2001.
Detroit makes Henry’s third stop in his career, he was drafted by Cleveland in the fourth round of the 2001 draft, and the nine-year veteran is ready to team up with Phillip Buchanon and try to rebuild one of the worst secondary units in the NFL.
In-Play! talked to the corner after Day 12 of Lions training camp….
IP: You were traded to the Lions in the off-season, were you nervous about coming to Detroit knowing how much they struggled last season?
AH: You never know what comes with a new situation. The whole trade thing was a shock to me, but I understand that my time was done in Dallas. I looked at it as a new opportunity to further my career and turn things around here, you know? That’s why they brought me in here, to be a part of this team to and be a key part of the puzzle.
IP: Did you have a sense a trade was coming in Dallas?
AH: They didn’t tell me, the trade just happened. I didn’t know it was going down.
Being here now though it’s good opportunity for us as a team to do something special and also for me to show what I’ve been able to do as a player - help lead some of the guys from last year’s team and some of the guys that are younger.
IP: Having gone through training camp with a couple of different teams and coaches, any big differences between your first camp with the Lions and camps with your previous teams?
AH: All of them had the same approach in being a successful team, hard work and stuff like that.
It’s different when you got a defensive coach that has a set philosophy on defense. In all the places the philosophy was different on defense so we had a different set of things we focused on.
IP: Within the secondary does it take long to develop chemistry on the field…
AH: You never know. Sometimes some guys hit it off right away, sometimes it takes certain things to happen for you to mix together.
IP: One of the guys you’ve been working with a little bit is rookie Louis Delmas. What have you seen from him and how much do you try and mentor a young player like that?
AH: Louis he’s a young guy, but he’s smart. He understands the defense well. Other stuff like the mental aspect – he hasn’t been in a game yet – I’m definitely sure that there’s going to be a situation where he’s going to have to understand things are different than they were in college whether at safety or special teams, but he’s a guy that learns quickly so I don’t think that will be a problem.
IP: First pre-season game coming up Saturday, what do you try and take away from the first exhibition game of the season?
AH: You go into a game and you want to have a plan. You want to go in there and stop the run and be a team that makes plays. Right now you play at a certain level, whether it’s pre-season or not, guys are trying to make the team and compete and you can get a glimpse of what you possibly could be. That’s our focus.
