Questions quickly poured regarding Chris Henry. Why wasn't he on the field? Where was he? Carson Palmer offered up a very diplomatic response, saying (sic) that Henry was sent mostly on seam routes and the Denver Broncos defended it well. Still, it wasn't often you had a Henry sighting -- though I did see him playing, at times, in two wide receiver sets in place of Laveranues Coles, who had the hands of Clifford Franklin without the sticky gloves.
During the preseason, Henry recorded 14 receptions for 224 yards receiving, including a seven-reception 100-yard effort against the New Orleans Saints. Henry recorded a touchdown receiving in all four preseason games this year. So naturally, we thought he'd have a much bigger influence starting against the Denver Broncos.
Instead, he caught an 18-yard pass to give the Bengals offense the first first-down of the game. After that, he wasn't targeted as an intended receiver until the Hail Mary seconds after the BS at PBS. While Henry only got in 18 of the team's 63 offensive snaps Sunday, the wide receiver dealt with a quad injury last week that set back his schedule.
...(Bratkowski) also said there was a reason Henry didn't get more work against the Broncos. Henry didn't practice last Thursday with a quad injury and there was concern about making his packages too extensive.
"We had a plan for him and he missed a day of practice," Bratkowski said. "If he wakes up Sunday morning and doesn't feel good, now he's inactive."
Alright. So maybe that makes sense. We're so used to injuries being such a factor to the team's success, why not this? However, even though he was limited against the Broncos, I still wouldn't be surprised if he's the team second starting wide receiver; especially if Coles doesn't rebound after an embarrassing first week. The first practice report was released on Wednesday and Henry's name was no where to be found; meaning he's not on the injury report... meaning he's not hurt... meaning that he's practicing.