METAIRIE, La. (AP) - Devery Henderson again works through the early days of Saints training camp with uncertainty surrounding his place on the roster.
And again, teammates are singing his praises, saying he adds more to the team than meets the eye.
Maybe people have misjudged him,'' cornerback Jabari Greer said.He's a player. We value Devery and what he does for our offense. He has definitely had a big part in our offensive success.''
The Saints' passing game ranked third in the NFL in 2010, a year after it was fourth during the team's Super Bowl-winning season.
But individually, Henderson had a down year.
After a career-high 804 receiving yards in 2009, Henderson's 2010 was, statistically, one of his worst. His 13.6 yards per catch average and one touchdown were his lowest since his rookie season, when he played in only one game.
I just went out there and played ball and really didn't pay no attention to that,'' Henderson said.I'm not one of those guys who tries to lead in this or have so many catches. I just try to go out and do my job.''
Still, while Marques Colston, Robert Meachem and Lance Moore appear locks for roster spots, Henderson's lack of production and penchant for inconsistent play a season ago left some wondering if his place on the team was secure.
Henderson is one of eight receivers fighting for what could be two roster spots in addition to Colston, Meachem and Moore.
Greer, who practices against Henderson daily, believes numbers don't tell the whole story for the receiver, who stretches the field with his speed.
He's not the type that demands balls,'' Greer said.But he opens up a lot of opportunities for Lance (Moore) or (Marques) Colston and he's a guy that we truly value on this team. He has been having a good camp.
``And believe me, as a guy that has to guard him, I realize how much progression he has gained this year.''
The Saints selected Henderson in the second round of the 2004 draft. After playing in only one game in his rookie season, he hasn't played in fewer than 13 since.
Henderson's 18.6 yard-per-catch career average is tops in Saints history for anyone with 100 or more catches, and three of his seven seasons rank in the top five in the team's record book.
Henderson isn't paying attention to anyone who is betting against him, though. He knows what he has to do.
The main thing is just whenever I get those opportunities, take advantages of them,'' Henderson said.You're not going to get every ball thrown to you. We have a lot of weapons in the offense and the ball gets spread out pretty well.
``All I can do is whenever I get a chance to do something and make something happen, take advantage of it.''
