Bengals Reconsidering Re-Signing Henry

[fredtoast]

[quote name='mjm47' post='687209' date='Aug 13 2008, 09:21 AM']Why can't we just sign him & not depend on him?

We can just take him & accept the fact that he may not be around forever but, when he is, he makes the offense much better. What's wrong with that? He knows the offense, so we don't have to make any major adjustments to fit him in.

When he's in jail, he won't play. When he's not in jail, he'll play. What's so difficult about this concept?[/quote]

Because EVERY roster spot is valuable. We need to be using them to develope players. That is how teams maintain success. They develpoe young players to replace aging or injured players.

If you waste a roster spot you are making the team weaker. Then when Henry screws up again we would be in a WORSE positiuon than we were before.

Henry has dodged a few bullets recently, but he opbviously continues to make bad decisions and put himself in stupi situations. I knwo he hasn't been convicted of anything on his last two incidents, but there was enough to the story to get him suspended for four more games. the fact that he let his home get forclosed on is just more evidence that the guy can';t get his act together.

as I said before I am all in favor of giving guys second chances, but henry has proven that he is a lost cause. But most importantly he didn't do anything last year to impress me. He looked WORSE than he did his rookie season.

[Vol_Bengal]

Where are the other teams lining up to sign him if he's that much of a difference maker?

Hell, he's not even getting offers for visits from other teams and Peter Warrick was getting those even last season.

[mjm47]

[quote name='fredtoast' post='687226' date='Aug 13 2008, 09:07 AM']Because EVERY roster spot is valuable. We need to be using them to develope players. That is how teams maintain success. They develpoe young players to replace aging or injured players.

If you waste a roster spot you are making the team weaker. Then when Henry screws up again we would be in a WORSE positiuon than we were before.

Henry has dodged a few bullets recently, but he opbviously continues to make bad decisions and put himself in stupi situations. I knwo he hasn't been convicted of anything on his last two incidents, but there was enough to the story to get him suspended for four more games. the fact that he let his home get forclosed on is just more evidence that the guy can';t get his act together.

as I said before I am all in favor of giving guys second chances, but henry has proven that he is a lost cause. But most importantly he didn't do anything last year to impress me. He looked WORSE than he did his rookie season.[/quote]

The chance of Henry not being in jail and being able to play is more valuable than the 53rd man on a roster who's never going to play.

[fredtoast]

[quote name='mjm47' post='687238' date='Aug 13 2008, 10:25 AM']The chance of Henry not being in jail and being able to play is more valuable than the 53rd man on a roster who's never going to play.[/quote]

That is completely wrong. The 53rd man this year could be a starter in two years. That is how good teams remain good. They use roster spots to develope young players instead of wasting them on guys who are going to get suspended.

[Squirrlnutz]

[quote name='fredtoast' post='687240' date='Aug 13 2008, 11:28 AM']That is completely wrong. The 53rd man this year could be a starter in two years. That is how good teams remain good. They use roster spots to develope young players instead of wasting them on guys who are going to get suspended.[/quote]

Seriously. Guys like Housh and Adalius Thomas were once the 53rd player on their team. I'd rather have that spot for Angelo Craig or Eric Henderson who are situational pass rushers who could become starters one day.

[Nordman]

Consistency is key for winning in NFL. Very talented guys are losing jobs in this business because lack of consistency while less talented ones stick around because coaches can count on them on every game and every play. Every succesfull coach would tell you that, yet it seems to be thing that average fan just cant get.
Chris Henry is not even close in having this most important attribute NFL player must have. He has serious talent but talent alone will never win you a roster spot. It seems to me that Marvin has lost his trust to Henry and thats it...

[New Jersey Bengal]

[quote name='Squirrlnutz' post='687225' date='Aug 13 2008, 11:06 AM']Because every spot on the roster is valuable. 53 guys thats it. You can't hold a spot for someone with his past because he's likely to get suspended again and leave the team short handed. That doesn't seem too bad now, but after 2 serious injuries at 1 position, it will mean the world. Its the difference between keeping a guy like Blackstock who can play when Brooks and Jeanty are both injured or having to sign some practice squad guy to come in and START on 3 days notice.

Just say no on Henry.

Plus someone brought up what if Housh leaves next year..."would you be comfortable with Caldwell and Simpson?" If you bury them behind Henry for 6 games until he's suspended again thats not going to help the cause. The team comitted to them and they don't need the rug pulled out from under them in their second month by bringing in Henry. Just let them play and we'll know better by next year how well off we are with Simpson and Caldwell. BTW, with Utech and Perry grabbing passes Caldwell and Simpson are going to be placed in situations where they can excell rather than placed in situations where we NEED them to be good.

Just say no to Chris Henry[/quote]
[b]Simpson is going to be a player..He has a huge chip on his shoulder being that he came from a small school program. He has elite talent and is a goog hard working player...Same goes for Caldwell..he is going to be a complete WR one day...he isn tough as nails[/b]

[bgwilly31]

[quote name='Bengalnutt' post='687077' date='Aug 12 2008, 07:47 PM']....Haven`t we all lived through enough with Henry. He is an IDIOTE and will never get it. He will screw up again. He is an embarrasement to the team he plays for and the city he represents. He is his own worst enemy. Let another team have some fun...[/quote]


Bengals will always be referenced back to JAIL STRIPES>




I WANT TO WIN>

Henry Helps this team win. And for cheap.

I say resign him.

[SoCal.BengalFan]

Imagine Slim lined up at Left ,Chad at right, Housh at Slot, Utecht At TE and Perry in the backfield CAN YOU SAY UNSTOPPABLE, Ill take him w cant shake off our damn image anyways

[steggyD]

[quote name='bgwilly31' post='687249' date='Aug 13 2008, 11:39 AM']Bengals will always be referenced back to JAIL STRIPES>




I WANT TO WIN>

Henry Helps this team win. And for cheap.

I say resign him.[/quote]
But he doesn't.

However, let us use your logic. If he's gone for 4 games, then we could possibly lose the first 4 games, which would put us back to the best 12-4. Then it could take a couple games to get back in synch with the rest of the offense. And if the best he could do is 5-3 in his last 8 games of last season, which is 62.5%. 62.5% of the remaing 12 games is 7.5, maybe we can round that up. So there you go, we won 8 games, because we re-signed Henry. Congrats!

[mjm47]

[quote name='fredtoast' post='687240' date='Aug 13 2008, 09:28 AM']That is completely wrong. The 53rd man this year could be a starter in two years. That is how good teams remain good. They use roster spots to develope young players instead of wasting them on guys who are going to get suspended.[/quote]

It's not "completely wrong." You think that the potential that the hypothetical 53rd man could possibly develop, in one or two years, into a player who is as good as Henry is right now is worth more than his immediate value?

Let's analogize to money - everybody knows about & likes money, right?

Great, so, what's more valuable - a $100 dollar bill in your pocket right now or a lottery ticket that you can cash in in one or two years and that might be a winner or might be trash? Remember, most lottery tickets are trash and most hypothetical 53rd guys on the roster don't turn into Adalius Thomas.

[globetrotter]

The short, troubled career of Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry came to an end Thursday morning when the club released him just hours after he turned himself in on an assault arrest.

Henry, who endured two NFL suspensions following his four arrests from December of 2005 to June of 2006, said just last week that he was looking forward to finally having a full season with his teammates. He has been charged with assaulting a University of Cincinnati freshman in a Monday night incident in the Clifton section of Cincinnati.

[b]Bengals president Mike Brown issued the following statement:

"Chris Henry has forfeited his opportunity to pursue a career with the Bengals. His conduct can no longer be tolerated.


Henry
"The Bengals tried for an extended period of time to support Chris and his potentially bright career. We had hoped to guide him toward an appropriate standard of personal responsibility that this community would support and that would allow him to play in the NFL. We acknowledge those fans who had concerns about Chris; at the same time we tried to help a young man.

"But those efforts end today, as we move on with what is best for our team."[/b]

According to Channel 12 in Cincinnati, Gregory Meyer claims Henry threw a bottle, shattering his car window and punched him in the face outside his apartment complex. The station said Henry told police it was a case of mistaken identity.

Before NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Henry for the first eight games of the 2007 season, Henry caught 67 balls that included 15 touchdowns. He had two last season on just 21 catches. He may never play again since Goodell informed him he was giving him one more chance.

Henry's departure thins out the Bengals wide receiving corps even more. The next player behind Pro Bowlers T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson is Antonio Chatman with just 22 Bengals catches in two injury-marred seasons.

Johnson has been demanding a trade, but indicated in an ESPN interview Wednesday that he'll report to mandatory activities. Agent Drew Rosenhaus had no comment on the interview.

Wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said he spoke with Johnson on Thursday and that Johnson told him he was "misunderstood" in the interview.

"But Chad could be back. I'm not sure what he's going to do. It's so far away," Houshmandzadeh said.

With no veteran receiver on the market, the Bengals' third receiver for 2008 may not even be on the team yet. Certainly it looks now like two of the 10 picks in the April 26-27 draft are going to be wide receivers, but many mocks say No. 9 is too high for Oklahoma's Malcolm Kelly, the consensus top receiver.

Marvin Frazier, one of Henry's representatives, said he'll continue to try and help Henry get his life together. With Goodell's statement hanging over his head as well as Thursday's court appearance, football may not be a part of it.

Frazier expressed his appreciation to Brown as well as head coach Marvin Lewis and Bengals vice president Troy Blackburn for their support. Henry hadn't been arrested since a June 2006 DUI, but he was evicted from Newport on the Levee for five years last year after an alleged incident with a parking valet.

"The Lord knows the Bengals went above the call of duty to try and help him," Frazier said. "They really are a wonderful organization. Believe me, they did everything they could to try and help him. It started with Mike Brown, and also Marvin Lewis. Troy Blackburn. They were all great. It should come from us how much we appreciate it."

Frazier said he didn't know what's next for Henry and doesn't know if he'll stay in Cincinnati or return to his hometown of New Orleans.

"We're taking it one day at a time, one step at a time," Frazier said.

The first steps were extremely difficult. According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, Henry pleaded not guilty to assault and criminal damaging before Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Bernie Bouchard. Henry's lawyer, who disputed the police report, called the $51,000 bond "outrageous."

The newspaper said Bouchard, observing Henry's unemployment status, put Henry under house arrest and ordered an electronic ankle bracelet and global positioning system for him that will monitor his whereabouts every 30 seconds

The 6-4, 210-pound Henry, a third-round pick out of West Virginia in 2005, arrived with baggage. But he slipped out of the first round not because of legal problems but because of anger issues and a personality that drew the ire of his coaches. The Bengals opted to select him after a pre-draft visit to Paul Brown Stadium and his 22 touchdowns in 23 games for the Mountaineers that came courtesy of his speed and jump-ball ability.

Right tackle Willie Anderson, the dean of the Bengals as he heads into his 13th season, called it "sad," and realized how hard it was for the club to cut him.

"When you've got a guy that catches the eye and heart of an owner and he does everything to help that guy and it still doesn't happen, it's sad to see that talent go to waste," Anderson said. "I know Mike Brown and Marvin and (assistant strength coach) Ray Oliver did so much to help him."

Anderson also found himself thinking not only about Henry's young children, but the extended family that came to live with him at the beginning of his rookie year in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

"We all know that there were more people depending on him than the Bengals," Anderson said. "It's just sad."

As for the suddenly thin receiver depth, Anderson recalled the glory days of 2005 in which "Kevin Walter was the fifth and we had five legit receivers."

"I think Chad loves football too much to sit out," Anderson said. "If he's disappointed with the losing, we're with him on that. I can't blame him there. We're all upset. Hopefully he'll be back and he'll be himself."

Houshmandzadeh, who led the NFL with 112 catches last season while looking for more deep balls, says he's ready to pick up the slack.

"I always want to do more. You need a guy to go deep, here I am. I can go deep," Houshmandzadeh said. "It's hard to feel sorry for a guy that doesn't feel sorry. I mean, I feel bad for him. He's got a family and everything. But he must have known he was running out of chances. He would do something and he'd get another chance and then you'd say that's going to be it. Then he'd do something else and get another chance."

Also Thursday, the Bengals released punter Danny Baugher.

[ccartman2]

[quote name='Squirrlnutz' post='687244' date='Aug 13 2008, 10:33 AM']Seriously. Guys like Housh and Adalius Thomas were once the 53rd player on their team. I'd rather have that spot for Angelo Craig or Eric Henderson who are situational pass rushers who could become starters one day.[/quote]

Well I don't think Slim would take Craig or Henderson's spot. Realistically, the Bengals will carry 6 WRs. 4 of those are locks in TJ, Chad, Simpson, & Caldwell. That leaves two slots for Chatman, Holt, Maxwell, or other two rookies no one talks about (Purify & Urethia?). It is likely that those two are practice squad at best, so realistically, the person Henry would bump is Chatman, Holt or Maxwell. If you have Oneal returning punts, then Chatman can go as he isn't developing like TJ or Thomas. If Cladwell can return Kicks, it's buy buy Glen Holt. then you carry Henry and Maxwell with Maxwell being your 53 man opportunity at the position. What ever they do, they are not carrying less then 6 WRs on less they plan on using a CB or RB as the 6th WR and that isn't going to happen.

[USN Bengal]

Henry has not helped us win the last two years. He has also NOT shown that he is intelligent enough to change the behaviors that will continue to cause him to be suspended/banned in the future.

Since we can't reasonably count on him, then he is a detriment to this team.

Addition by subtraction as far as I'm concerned, and I think we'll be a better team with Perry & Utecht instead of using Henry... the locker room will question itself and ownerships/Marvins word if Henry is allowed back in IMO.

Hell no... keep Henry where he is... out of Cincinnati football.

[globetrotter]

[quote name='ccartman2' post='687260' date='Aug 13 2008, 11:21 AM']Well I don't think Slim would take Craig or Henderson's spot. Realistically, the Bengals will carry 6 WRs. 4 of those are locks in TJ, Chad, Simpson, & Caldwell. That leaves two slots for Chatman, Holt, Maxwell, or other two rookies no one talks about (Purify & Urethia?). It is likely that those two are practice squad at best, so realistically, the person Henry would bump is Chatman, Holt or Maxwell. If you have Oneal returning punts, then Chatman can go as he isn't developing like TJ or Thomas. If Cladwell can return Kicks, it's buy buy Glen Holt. then you carry Henry and Maxwell with Maxwell being your 53 man opportunity at the position. What ever they do, they are not carrying less then 6 WRs on less they plan on using a CB or RB as the 6th WR and that isn't going to happen.[/quote]

I was with you until TJ and Thomas? Who is Thomas? then you start falling apart completely....bye bye not buy buy. Unless you want to keep Glenn Holt. Maxwell and Holt have the same kind of body, but Maxwell does not return kicks. If we are looking at versatility Maxwell seems to be the odd man out. If we are looking at WR ability then Holt is out.

[ccartman2]

[quote name='globetrotter' post='687270' date='Aug 13 2008, 11:49 AM']I was with you until TJ and Thomas? Who is Thomas? then you start falling apart completely....bye bye not buy buy. Unless you want to keep Glenn Holt. Maxwell and Holt have the same kind of body, but Maxwell does not return kicks. If we are looking at versatility Maxwell seems to be the odd man out. If we are looking at WR ability then Holt is out.[/quote]

Sorry, I was referring to him saying TJ and Adaleus Thomas as being 53rd men at one point in their career.

[BengalBeotch]

[quote name='Dan_Bengals_NJ' post='687078' date='Aug 13 2008, 12:53 AM']You can never live through enough Chris Henry.

He is an idiot. No doubt. Probably always will be.

But he catches TD and hits the deep routes like no other.

He makes the Ravens and Steelers CBs and safties wet their pants on Saturday night as they have nightmares about covering him.

That makes it worth it.[/quote]

He drives me absolutely crazy but I don't want him in any other uniform...you are absolutely right Dan, he is
the nightmare for the Steelers and that makes me giddy...

SIGN HIM BACK...I DON'T CARE!

[Squirrlnutz]

I'm stunned so many people have these images of Henry circa 2005 stuck in their heads. Do you guys not remember Henry in 2006? Do you not remember him giving up/alligator arming it on the deep route at the end of the Ravens game that resulted in a pick and sealed the loss?

The reason Henry was able to use his talent (hieght and deep speed) so well was because our run game worked in 05. Safetys were never too deep and he always saw 1 on 1 matchups. Since 05 teams have played us almost entirely cover 2 and been able to stop the run with the DL. The safetys have played back and we haven't been able to fool teams into the long ball.

Henry did squat when he came back, because our team couldn't run the only patter he's good at. We drafted two guys who have his speed, and one guy who has his athleticism and both were former captains. Let these kids play. They are better than him and will perform that way once they get the chance.

Having Utech to catch balls in the middle of the field, and Perry to catch balls out of the backfield will open up the 9 route for Caldwell or Simpson and you guys will all forget Henry's name real quick.

[ThurmanMunster]

[quote name='globetrotter' post='687270' date='Aug 13 2008, 11:49 AM']I was with you until TJ and Thomas? Who is Thomas? then you start falling apart completely....bye bye not buy buy. Unless you want to keep Glenn Holt. Maxwell and Holt have the same kind of body, but Maxwell does not return kicks. If we are looking at versatility Maxwell seems to be the odd man out. If we are looking at WR ability then Holt is out.[/quote]
did you read what he wrote? like 3 lines earlier he was talking about TJ and Thomas. It was part of his point. Those were guys who developed later in their careers. Chatman is past that. Either holt or maxwell could still develop so he would be more inclined to let Chatman go.

[Jamie_B]

Im only on board with it if Marvin is, I dont want him here if its going to cause Mike Brown to pull rank on Marvin that is the last thing we need.

[fredtoast]

[quote name='mjm47' post='687256' date='Aug 13 2008, 11:10 AM']Great, so, what's more valuable - a $100 dollar bill in your pocket right now or a lottery ticket that you can cash in in one or two years and that might be a winner or might be trash? Remember, most lottery tickets are trash and most hypothetical 53rd guys on the roster don't turn into Adalius Thomas.[/quote]

Henry is the lottery ticket.

He has been susspended for THREE straight years. He is still getting into brushes with the law every few months. He has had his home foreclosed on and his car repossesed. He is a complete idiot who can not make an intelligent decision or stay out of trouble.

Finally he looked much worse on the field last year than he did his rookie season. he just is not that great of a player.

[mgbrown66]

FREE SLIM!

[Squirrlnutz]

Since everyone is riding the 2005 train why don't we bring in Shaun Alexander. He was fantastic then and hasn't done squat since...sounds like he's right up everyone's alley!

[Jamie_B]

[quote name='Squirrlnutz' post='687323' date='Aug 13 2008, 02:56 PM']Since everyone is riding the 2005 train why don't we bring in Shaun Alexander. He was fantastic then and hasn't done squat since...sounds like he's right up everyone's alley![/quote]


Oh give me a break already, Henry is a talented WR and he knows the system and frankly is better than the guys that we brought in to replace him.

HOWEVER

Marvin has said he cant count on him, and unless Marvin changes his mind on that I dont want him here.

[New Jersey Bengal]

[quote name='Jamie_B' post='687329' date='Aug 13 2008, 04:12 PM']Oh give me a break already, Henry is a talented WR and he knows the system and frankly is better than the guys that we brought in to replace him.

HOWEVER

Marvin has said he cant count on him, and unless Marvin changes his mind on that I dont want him here.[/quote]
[b]Develop Simpson and Caldwell and go from there..We're fine without him and would have alwys been had we had d decent pass catching TE...I wish we have drafted Heath Miller in 04 but I was happy with Pollack at the time...We had all the bad breaks that a team could get..and now with Utecht we'll be fine...dude can play![/b]