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.

Bengals keep winning; Owner keeps rolling

Very interesting is the fact that the first place AFC North Cincinnati Bengals are 6-2, and so far 4-0 in the division.  Next Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers is the most important game of the year.  If the Bengals win in the Steel City, we're 5-0 in the division, and will have swept the season series with not only the Steelers, but the Baltimore Ravens also.  It's worth noting that last year, the Bengals went 4-11-1, and the Ravens and Steelers faced off  in the AFC Championship game.  The Bengals are winning, and are two games away from sweeping their division. The last time the Bengals were 6-2? Try 1988, when they went to the Super Bowl.  The last time the Bengals swept their division?  Never.  Since their inception into the NFL in 1968, the Cincinnati Bengals have never swept their division.  This year sounds like and looks like a good year to change that. 

The sad part?  The economy combined with the outrages prices at Paul Brown Stadium, fans either can't afford to go to the games, or don't want to spend that much money.  All the while Cincinnati Bengals Owner Mike Brown is rolling in his money while others struggle.  The way it seems, Brown doesn't care about the fans and never has.  That's gotta change.  Correct that, that's GOING to change.  If he wants to look better to the Bengals Faithful, Brown has to change the way he's running not only the football team, but the ticket office also.  Before the season started, a large number of season ticket holders had to sell their tickets or not purchase them, because along with the economy, it wasn't affordable.  With the Bengals pushing for a playoff run reminiscent of the 2005 season, most fans should be buying tickets like crazy.  But they aren't.  Thus, we've had to settle for a few close blackouts, only to be saved by the likes of Kroger, Chad OchoCinco and Motorolla.  Don't expect to see either of the last three games on tv, as frugal fans don't want to see the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns or the Kansas City Chiefs. 

What should be done?  Owner Mike Brown should get the fans back.  Fans in Cincinnati loath the owner, and what better way to get the fans storming into PBS with second thoughts about Mike Brown than by giving the season tickets back to the former season ticket holders.  Whether they left because of last year's debacle, or because of the recession, the fans still watch their Bengals, and should be compensated.  I'm not saying let the fans buy the tickets back at half price, I'm saying that for Mike Brown to gain a little bit of trust back from the fans, he needs to give back the season tickets to the former season ticket holders.  This will save us from not only blackouts, but also save our Cincinnati Bengals from playing in front of a weak crowd when they are winning. 

It is our job as fans to fill the seats, winning or losing, but it's Mike Brown's job to make sure we never leave.  Well Mikey, we left, and if you want us back, YOU have to come crawling back.  You have to show us support and dedication like we showed you.  It's a two way street.  We met in the middle for years, but you were no where to be found.  Now it's time for us as fans, and you as the Owner of the Cincinnati Bengals to meet in the middle, and root, cheer, and watch our Bengals to a Super Bowl. 

The Easy