Oakland Raiders

Let's play name that rising big-timer.

In December, he shut down esteemed pass rushers Richard Seymour, Mario Williams and Gaines Adams, all in a three-game swoop.

He recently signed with a sports super agent, Drew Rosenhaus. He even has his own Web site, complete with a personal blog.

One more hint: former Raiders coach Lane Kiffin wouldn't have guessed it in a million 4-12 seasons.

"Aw, man, I had nothing to do with the Web site," said Raiders left tackle Mario Henderson, a bit embarrassed to be the correct answer. "I didn't even know how to log in or e-mail or none of that stuff."

Don't let the aw-shucks act fool you.

The days of playing Kiffin's kick toy are over. Henderson is nothing less than the Raiders' best chance to keep the back gate closed behind quarterback JaMarcus Russell this upcoming season.

Teammates love him, coaches praise him, fans adore him. Who knows? Maybe one of these days, Henderson, too, will believe the hype.

"No, not yet, not at all," Henderson said. "That's the kind of guy I am. I don't like all the publicity and all that."

Truth is, Henderson has gotten nothing but unsolicited pub since the day he arrived.

The Raiders didn't just draft him in the third round in 2007. They traded a future pick to the Patriots to do so. That immediately made him a person of interest in the wake of the lopsided Randy Moss-to-New England switcheroo.

Soon enough, Kiffin questioned his ability and desire to play the game. Asked if Henderson would ever get off the inactive list, Kiffin said "no chance" every which way during the season.

"I guess they were trying to make him tougher, because you've got to be a tough dude to play left tackle," said tight end Zach Miller, adding that he hardly recognizes the "totally different guy" next to him in the huddle. "He was just nervous and afraid to mess up."

It got worse at training camp last year. When declaring Henderson would start a preseason game at Tennessee, Kiffin smirked and said, "That'll be interesting." Henderson then needed three in-season chances to replace Kwame Harris, the most penalized offensive lineman in all the league.

So, if anyone wonders why Henderson had a self-esteem complex, that's as good a place to start as any.

"I'm not going to say it was too harsh," Henderson said. "I'm going to take the blame. Maybe I wasn't doing what they were expecting of me. But, of course, I took that as motivation.

"If I didn't play here, I was going to show them that one day I can play in the league."

Now, that attitude is more like it.

Remember when the Raiders signed Jaguars left tackle Khalif Barnes a few months back? Henderson said that, though the competition was welcome, he would make it unnecessary, because the job was his.

Barnes went down with a preseason-ending ankle injury last week, but no matter. Henderson was well on his way to an Opening Day assignment against Shawne Merriman and the Chargers.

In camp last week, Henderson brushed off defensive end Trevor Scott, last year's sack leader, in every pass-rush drill. He'd roll into the second level and blast unsuspecting linebackers. He'd pull inside and knock back nose tackle Terdell Sands.

In short, he acted like a legitimate NFL tackle, and when is the last time the Raiders had one of those? (Answer: Barry Sims, the four-coaches-ago version).

So, if Kiffin has anything else to add, Henderson would love to hear it. All the public flogging kind of grew on him.

"I'm still a little nervous because I haven't played a full season," Henderson said, because someone's got to put him down. "I'm really ready to see what I can do."





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