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While he didn’t wear Chris Henry’s number 15 jersey, Chad Ochocinco found a way to pay tribute to his fallen teammate after scoring a touchdown against the San Diego Chargers yesterday. While the Chargers escaped with a last-second win, courtesy of Nate Kaeding’s accurate leg, the Bengals — after the needless loss of Henry — played with a great deal of pride and determination. There was a lot of speculation about who the Bengals would honor Henry, specifically Ochocinco. After informing various NFL insiders he wouldn’t be wearing jersey because of distraction issues, Ochocinco found another way to pay tribute to Henry’s memory.

Even though the Chargers wound up winning the game, which resulted in them clinching the AFC West, the Bengals are in a good position going into their final stretch of games. Sunday, the Bengals host the Kansas City Chiefs, and their final game of the season is an away game against the New York Jets. Finishing the season at 11-5 or 10-6, combined with their first playoff appearance in three seasons, is an entirely reachable achievement.

If you would’ve asked a Bengal fan back when the season started if they thought such a result was possible, there’s a strong chance you would’ve been laughed at.

How quickly we are reminded that life goes on. If you need an direct example of that, check out the teammates of Chris Henry (RIP), who are committed to honoring his memory, even during the day-to-day grind of practice. Despite the unfortunate news, the Bengals continued with their preparation for Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers. Granted, I have little doubt they would appreciate a day or two to mourn their teammate, but the NFL season stops for no man — rarely, anyway.

The face of the franchise, Chad Ochocinco, has not been shy about his feelings for his fallen teammate, so much so, he donned Henry’s jersey during today’s practice session:

There’s also video of teammate Bobbie Williams sharing his thoughts on Henry:

And then there are the helmet stickers of Henry’s number 15 the Bengals will be wearing. All in all, it’s been a tremendously sad day for the Bengals franchise as they mourn a lost teammate, one who seemed to be finally making the most out of his fantastic physical gifts and the opportunities they gave him.

H/t to CNati for the updates and the images (via The Sporting News).

I’m not here to discuss any of the negativity that followed Chris Henry in the past, things that I’ve even posted on. I firmly believe Henry was on his way towards being the person us Bengal fans hoped he would be. Godspeed, Chris. You were taken entirely too soon. A h/t to my boy Josh Kirkendall over at Cincy Jungle. Josh has been providing great coverage in this tragic time for the Bengals and their fans.

RIP, Slim. You’ll be missed.

Memo to the troubled NFL star trying to stay out of trouble: Don’t try to fight your bodyguard, privately or otherwise, under Roger Goodell’s watch. Just ask Adam “I’m not Pacman” Jones. The commissioner suspended Jones indefinitely, which adds a great deal to the steadily growing list of problems facing everybody’s sexy choice to win the Super Bowl, the Dallas Cowboys.

So what about his boss, Jerry Jones. Is the Pacman version of Jones done in the eyes of his employer? It certainly does not look that way:

More Pacman Jones fun after the jump >>

Being a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals is never an easy proposition. The decade-long struggles, the bad draft picks, the list goes on. Occasionally however, even a moribund franchise like the Bengals can collect just enough talent to be interesting again. Such was the case when Carson Palmer, Chad “Don’t Call Me Ocho” Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh came to town.

These three represented a hope that even a team like the Bengals could be relevant in the NFL again.

More Houshmandzadeh mishandling after the jump >>

This makes absolute perfect sense coming from the Cincinnati Bengals: It was recently announced they were the winners of the Cedric Benson sweepstakes.

That’s right, the Bengals just signed Benson. In case you might have missed it, the Bengals have trying to distance themselves from perceived problem children — well, at least Marvin Lewis has — and despite whatever misunderstandings there might have been at the boating incident that got Benson released from the Chicago Bears, he still has an air of misbehaving around him.

But desperate times call for desperate measures and a quick look at the Bengals roster reveals their running back situation is indeed desperate.

The Benson signing comes on the heels of Chris Henry — Marvin Lewis’ favorite player — officially being eligible to play this Sunday against Dallas. Considering the timing, I wouldn’t expect to see Benson take the field against the Cowboys, but like we’ve established, these are desperate times for the Bengals.

Meanwhile, Mike Brown still hasn’t offered an extension to T.J. Houshmandzadeh and it’s doubtful he will, compounding the never-ending brilliance on display from the man in charge of the Bengals franchise.

Just when you thought it was finished, they pull you right back in and throw you for a loop… Here at IF, we’ve been pretty vigilant on the Chris Henry, will they/they won’t odyssey, so when Mike Brown seemingly torpedoes head coach Marvin Lewis in order to bring back someone who could politely be called a malcontent for some misguided reason, it makes you sit up and take notice.

The reason I say misguided is because the thought is, with Ocho Cinco being hurt, along with T.J. Houshmandzadeh’s hamstring issues, Henry is a necessary evil in order to solidify the receiver position. Hogwash, says I and the unhappy fellows at Cincy Jungle:

The Reason: He’s signed because of injury at wide receiver.

Myth-buster: No, he’s not. T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chad Johnson and Andre Caldwell are hurt right now. Henry won’t be available until the fifth game of the regular season, which is played against Dallas on October 5th; far enough time for all three receivers to be healthy. Unless, of course, we’re being lied to. Knowing this organization, we’re the biggest suckers for their promoted bull crap in professional sports history.

So how, exactly, does signing a player who will be suspended for the first four games of the season actually help bolster a receiving corps dealing with injuries again? Aside from the stinking levels of hypocrisy coming from the Bengals front office, a move like this essentially castrates head coach Marvin “I Don’t Want Chris Henry Back On My Team” Lewis.

How in the world can he be discipline his team when he has an owner doesn’t seem to respect his position? If Lewis tells Player A he’s suspended and Player A doesn’t agree with the punishment, it seems like all Player A has to do is go complain to Mike Brown and if Brown thinks the player is valuable, he might just overturn Lewis’ punishment decree — further emasculating his head coach in the process.

And even if that won’t happen in other situations, how can the players think otherwise? They see a teammate screw up time and time again and an owner who keeps bailing him out, even if it goes against the head coach’s wishes. That presents a situation where every player who disagrees with a Lewis decision can simply run to the owner and get it reversed.

Is that any way to run an NFL team — one that has had so many issues with players in the past? With all of that in mind, I think we have an answer to the Who Dey chant — the Bengals, as always, will beat themselves.

Now that the charges have been dropped from Chris Henry’s latest run-in with the law, there was talk the paragon of maturity might return to Cincinnati to ply his receiver trade. But, thanks to Marvin Lewis, you can close the door on that idea.

“I’m not interested,” Lewis said when asked if he wanted Henry back. “It would not be productive for our football team. To be an NFL player, you have to be a productive player. It’s a privilege, not a right.”

While the idea sounded good from a sports blogger point of view (easy news outlet), can you really blame Marvin Lewis and the rest of the Bengals front office for feeling this way? How many chances does on get before these save chances are extinguished? For Henry, the answer seems to be about five — not quite to Steve Howe’s level but much more than you would expect from an NFL team.

It’s been a long and winding offseason for the Bengals in regards to their receivers. First you had the unnecessary Chad Johnson silliness and then Chris Henry’s return to grace. Again, is it any surprise Marvin Lewis wanted to put this whole business to bed? They finally got Ocho-Cinco to be shut up and play. Why on earth would they want to deal with any potential Chris Henry mishaps.

In other news, the Bengals are auditioning for a third receiver. The prerequisites for the position are speed, hands and the ability to stretch the field. Glenn Holt, are you up to the task? If not, Antonio Chatman is ready to give it a try.