Fans Should Not Bail Now, Team is Just Getting Started

After this past Sunday’s loss to the San Diego Chargers, the Cincinnati Bengals have now fallen to 9-5 and now control the third seed of the AFC. The team has now lost three of their last five games and will no longer receive a first round bye in the playoffs. After facing the Minnesota Vikings the week before, the Bengals nation was rocked to the core with the death of wide receiver Chris Henry on Wednesday morning.

Although the game and rest of the season had been dedicated to Henry, a win for the Bengals was bleak and not very promising. After trailing 24-13 in the fourth quarter, the “Cardiac Cats” scored a touchdown, two-point conversion and a field goal to tie the game with a little over 50 seconds left in the game. Those 50 seconds proved too much for Philip Rivers, as he drove his team downfield for the game-winning field goal.

Following the loss, fans started believing what they had been hearing all season long on ESPN. That the Bengals weren’t a legitimate team and couldn’t hang with the big boys (Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers or Minnesota Vikings). Have no fear Bengals fans, because a loss to the Vikings and Chargers doesn’t write the ship off yet.

If we think about the game against the Vikings, there were five specific targets in cornerback Leon Hall’s direction. Of those five throws, Brett Favre completed four of them for 30 yards and an interception. On the other side, there were six throws towards Jonathan Joseph in which Favre went one-for-six for seven yards. Problem here is that J-Jo and Leon can’t cover every target on every play. This goes to show that the problem is with covering the tight ends or even the number three or four receivers, not the top two receivers of a team.

Granite, Leon didn’t have a great game in San Diego, but Vincent Jackson has been on fire lately, and with a receiving core of 6’3” or 6’4” guys, the Chargers have one of the better passing games in the entire NFL.

Bengals fans should not be worrying about this team folding under the pressure or being a one and done in the playoffs. The Bengals will clinch this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs at Paul Brown Stadium. The following week, in New York against the Jets, I have a feeling the defense will put Mark Sanchez on the ground on more than one occasion.

The offense, which has been on the receiving end of criticism as of late, showed signs of life on Sunday when Carson Palmer connected with eight different targets and throwing for two touchdowns on 314 yards. Finally, someone other than Chad OchoCinco was able to step up and have a big game as tight end J.P. Foschi and wide receivers Laveranues Coles and Quan Cosby had good games catching the ball. Hopefully this game is a wake up for the Carson’s elbow and the receivers’ hands, as we’ll need a big game from Carson, Cedric Benson, Chad and more to win more than one ball game in January.

After two straight losses, now is not the time to get off the bandwagon. After coming from two possessions behind in the fourth quarter, on the road in a hostile stadium after the loss of a teammate, the Bengals lost. In the process, the Bengals have gained something, and that something is what it’ll take to beat the Chargers on the road again in the playoffs. A rematch is likely, and I expect the Bengals to come through in the clutch like they have earlier in the year when it really matters most.

With Loss of Henry, Bengals Could Go Two Different Ways

For the third time this season, the Cincinnati Bengals have been devastated and rocked to the core. The first tragedy came in the form of an earthquake in the nation of Samoa which triggered a tsunami. The Bengals have four players on their roster that are from Samoa or have family ties to Samoa. They are Domata Peko, Jonathan Fanene, Fui Vakapuna and Rey Maualuga. The second tragedy occurred early in the season, when Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer’s wife Vicki passed away. The third tragedy, the one that will and has hit the hardest, is the sudden loss of wide receiver Chris “Slim” Henry.

With the ups and downs of an NFL season, players sometimes become on edge and fatigued. Towards the end of a season, when tragedy strikes, sometimes players become overcome with everything that has happened, and are unable to stand firm under the pressure. They become physically and mentally exhausted and struggle to complete what is left of the season. That is the one thing that I’m worried about with the three remaining games, especially Sunday’s. One of two teams will show up in orange and black on Sunday, and it’ll either be the “burnt out, emotionally and physically unable” Bengals, or the “filled-up with emotion, jacked up to beat the San Diego Chargers for Slim and Vicki” Bengals.

After the loss to the Brett Favre-led Minnesota Vikings, the Bengals have been up and down answering questions about what the problem on offense was and if Carson Palmer’s elbow was healthy. Now they have to answer questions about what type of person Chris Henry was and how much he had changed. I’m positive they’d rather be answering questions about they’re performance than who Slim was.

Hopefully the Bengals will ride the emotional high this season has been to the end. A win against the Chargers would greatly increase their chances of winning the second seed in the AFC and receiving a first round bye. The win could utterly continue to Paul Brown Stadium next week when the Bengals face off against the Kansas City Chiefs. The last game on the schedule is against the New York Jets, and two straight wins heading into that game against a game desperately trying to make the playoffs would definitely help with momentum. What the Bengals will do, or who they’ll sign/draft/trade for, to replace Henry remains to be seen. That is something that needs to, and will be addressed in the off season by Head Coach Marvin Lewis and Owner Mike Brown & Co.

The task at hand is more important than finding his replacement. It’s finishing what he helped start. After a 7-2 start, the Bengals have lost two of their last four games and are now struggling to win that first round bye. Bengals wide receiver Chad OchoCinco has asked for permission for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to wear Henry’s jersey Sunday. This has since been rejected, but “Jungle” fans know Chad, and it sounds as if Chad may break the rules, AGAIN! What should happen is that Goodell should allow it to happen, auction off the jersey, and then take the proceeds and put it towards Slim’s kid’s college funds.

With the loss of Henry, the rest of the Bengals season could go in two different directions. This season will either up in flames, or straight to the bye week. We will see where they go starting Sunday, but a bye week in the first round of the playoffs would definitely help this team heal up and ready themselves for the biggest fight since Marvin Lewis’ tenure began.

Chris Henry: Too Young with Lots of Promise

Reports all morning are that Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry has passed away this morning at 6:36. The news comes one day after he and his fiancé were involved in a domestic dispute. Visiting the Charlotte area where his fiancés parents live, Henry’s fiancé started to drive in a pick-up truck when Henry jumped into the bed of the truck. About a half mile from the home, Henry was found in the road and rushed to the hospital. It is not known exactly what injuries Chris was suffering from, but reports are that it was a “very serious head injury.” At this point, all that’s known is that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are reporting that Henry “came out of the back of the vehicle” at some point during the dispute. Henry, who was 26, was in the final year of a two-year contract with the Bengals. He has been on the Injured Reserve List since November 8th when he broke his forearm, requiring season-ending surgery.

Henry, who was drafted in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft has dealt with on and off the field issues, as he has been arrested a total of five times since December of ’05. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has suspended Henry on two different occasions, and his fifth arrest led to his departure from the Cincinnati Bengals in 2007. Owner Mike Brown did give him a second chance, as since his return, Henry has done nothing but work his butt off and prove that he can be a deep threat for Carson Palmer. Since his fifth arrest, Henry has stayed out of trouble and straightened his life out. In an on-air interview/segment with Cincinnati Radio Personality Lance McAlister, Henry stated that without his fiancés help he would not be where he is. McCalister stated that after the interview, when Henry walked out, he was “surprised at the improvements and strides he has made to be a better person and right the ship.”

Henry, although his season was cut short, had 12 catches for 236 yards and two touchdowns. During the season, Henry was the Bengals main deep threat, as his longest catch of the year was 73 yards. He also recorded 11 first downs. It remains to be seen how the Bengals will improve the passing game without Henry, as since his departure it has been very dismal. It is worth noting that since he changed his life around, he had garnered a lot of popularity with the fans in Cincinnati.