BROWNS Henry gets call against Owens
The low-key DB downplayed his matchup with the Eagles wideout.
BEREA (AP) -- No Sharpies. No situps. No pom-pom shaking. No spikes.
Those are the rules the Cleveland Browns would love to make Terrell Owens abide by this Sunday.
It's up to cornerback Anthony Henry to enforce them.
Henry's assignment on Sunday will be to cover Owens, Philadelphia's mouthy wide receiver as famous for creative end zone celebrations after scoring a touchdown as his gaudy stats or opinions.
"I'm looking forward to it," Henry said. "But it's nothing special or anything."
Even going against Owens, whose personal attacks on Browns quarterback Jeff Garcia have added spice to this week's matchup?
"I look at each week as a challenge no matter who I play," Henry said. "Every receiver out there is a talent. I can't look at him [Owens] any different."
Henry's low-key approach is typical of the easygoing fourth-year back from South Florida, who had a club record and league-high 10 interceptions as a rookie in 2001.
Strong play
Quietly, Henry has been playing the best football of his pro career this season. He enters Sunday's game between the Browns and Eagles with three picks, tying him for the league lead and matching his combined total of the past two seasons.
In addition to blanketing wide receivers -- he held Cincinnati's Chad Johnson in check a week ago -- Henry has been more aggressive against the pass and run.
He's fast and physical, a combination needed to cover some of the NFL's bigger wideouts like Owens, Pittsburgh's Plaxico Burress and Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald.
"That's something [being physical] the coaches told me they wanted me to focus on, and I've kind of taken that approach," Henry said. "I didn't tackle as well last year. I did a decent job covering but I could have done better."
Did fine
Henry did fine in his matchup against Owens last season when the Browns won at San Francisco.
Owens caught eight passes for 90 yards but didn't score a TD as the Browns held the 49ers to four field goals. Henry had help on Owens as Cleveland's defense mixed their coverages to confuse Garcia, then San Francisco's QB.
Surprisingly, Owens did very little trash talking a year ago to Henry or the Browns.
Henry isn't counting on Owens staying silent this time, not with the buildup to his first game against Garcia. And there's always the chance that if Owens does score, he could pull a pen out of his sock and sign his autograph.
"If he scores and makes plays, he's going to do what he does," Henry said. "You can't stop him from doing that or we'll get penalized ourselves.
"Whatever he does, that's his personality and that's a part of his game. But that's not a part of mine."
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