Bengals In for An Emotional Battle

It will be a long flight to San Diego for the Cincinnati Bengals following the tragic death of WR Chris Henry. Although Henry was placed on season ending Injury Reserve following a dislocated forearm in the win over Baltimore, his presence on the team will be missed both on the field and in the locker room. By all accounts, it appeared as though Chris had finally gotten his life straightened out after multiple arrests and being cut by the Bengals. A tragic end to a life full of potential.

One thing has been clear since the Nov 8th game when Henry broke his arm: the Bengals offense greatly under-estimated it's ability to function without Chris Henry in the lineup. Even though Henry had only caught 12 balls on the year, his ability to stretch the field must have had a large impact on the way opposing defenses gameplan for the Bengals. Last week against Minnesota, the Bengals looked like a pee-wee team, only throwing the ball a maximum of 12 yards (give or take) not because they chose to, but because it appeared they physically couldn't get it any further than that. With word on the street that Jerome Simpson will be active and playing for the first time in a meaningful game, the Bengals seem ready to open up the downfield passing playbook again. Simpson should be plenty excited after having to wait his turn for almost 2 full seasons of busting his backside during practice and having nothing to show for it come Sunday.

The biggest question for Sunday is obviously the mental mindset that the Bengals will be in after Henry's passing. They will either come out 1 of 2 ways: 1) focused, angry, superhuman - the way they did after D-coordinator Mike Zimmer's wife suddenly passed prior to an important Raven's game., or 2) still caught up in the Henry tragedy and not fully focused and ready to get back to playing a game. You can't really blame them if they do come out downhearted. But seeing as they were preparing mentally for Henry's passing on Wednesday, I think it gives them a few days to cope, grieve, and bond together as a team. Had the accident happened Friday or Saturday before a Sunday game, in no way can I see a team being ready to go on Sunday. The team has since devoted the remaining season to both Henry and Zimmer's wife, thus leading to a very emotional ending to the season in the next few weeks. Personally, I think the Bengals will come out strong and united and ready to play for their fallen comrade.

No matter the Bengal's mindset, they are in for a tough Sunday against a team that hasn't lost a game in December since New Years Eve 2005. That is quite an impressive streak and shows they are a team that clearly knows how to finish the season strong. No one needs to be reminded of the importance of this game: 2nd seed in the playoffs and first round bye (Chargers will clinch if they win Sunday, Bengals will most likely still need to beat Chiefs and Jets). With the way the Bengals have been playing of late, the first round bye could be more important for the Bengals than any other team in the NFL right now.

Plain and simple, this game IS the Bengal's season. Can you imagine the mindset of this team if they lose to the Chargers? Coming off an embarrassing loss to Minnesota, having been hearing concerns from Bengaldom since the Raiders loss, losing a teammate mid-week to tragedy, and then losing their most important game of the season to the Chargers? If that happens, they will be lucky to wimper into the playoffs, with zero expectations following.

Here's to hoping the team comes out united Sunday

-Greg "Jerome Simpson go-route" Richter