Thursday has been a difficult day. Including Henry, I've had a few friends that lost loved ones throughout the week. A day later and I still don't know what to say. What should I say? Does anything need to be said. I haven't thought about the Bengals upcoming game much. People have asked in passing how I think the Bengals will play against the Chargers. I guess they'll play inspired, but who knows. Everyone and every team reacts differently.
Chris Henry was a very frustrating player. We knew he was good. Very good. His talent was through the roof. Some compared his physical talents to a younger Randy Moss. We called him the league's best #3 wide receiver, a match-up nightmare for third cornerbacks, safeties and, if it worked out that way, outside linebackers. Then trouble hit him. A stigma attached. But he was misunderstood.
"Chris was a guy that I believe and our team believes was heavily misunderstood," Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer said. "There was a lot of speculation about who he was, but the only guys that knew Chris and knew how good of a heart he had, how kind he was, how gentle he was, how soft of a heart he had, were the guys in our locker room, the guys who were close to him, his family."
"We knew him in a different way than his public persona," Mike Brown said. "He was soft spoken, pleasant, comfortable to be around. We like him. He had worked through troubles in his life and finally seemingly reached the point where everything was going to blossom and he was going to have the future we all wanted for him. And he wanted for himself and then this tragedy cut him down. It's painful to us. We feel it in our hearts and we will miss him."
Now the Bengals have to put their grieving process aside this weekend and work towards beating the San Diego Chargers. Maybe they'll find motivation and use it to play for Chris. I hope so. That's the reality. Harsh reality. But reality nonetheless.
The NFL told the Bengals that Chad Ochocinco isn't allowed to wear #15 during this weekend's game against the San Diego Chargers, writes C Trent Rosencrans. However, the Bengals will honor Chris with a decal on their helmets. The picture courtesy of CNati.
And even though Chad can't wear Chris' number Sunday, he did wear it during practice Thursday. Big ups to C Trent for the pictures.
Former Bengals players react to Henry's death | details are coming out | the NFL reacts.