Cincinnati Bengals
More reaction to Henry's death
By C. Trent Rosecrans, CNATI.com Posted December 17, 2009 11:12 AM ET
* Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who lost his wife earlier this season: "I don't think anyone knows how to deal with it," Zimmer said on Thursday. "Like I told somebody, the world's not going to stop, that's how it was with me. That's the one thing I learned from this whole deal, the world ain't stopping. People still get up and go to work. Everyone's got to deal with different issues and unfortunately we're dealing with this one."* Offensive guard Bobbie Williams: "The main thing is for us to maintain a steady focus and keep everything in a positive light," said guard Bobbie Williams. "He wouldn't want us to walk around sad and just be down and depressed, he'd really want us to give it our all. We just want to channel it in the right way."
* Marvin Lewis: "Since last August when I had a talk with Chris before he was brought back to our football team, and then filled Mike in on the details of our meeting and the couple hours that we spent together _ he, I and Loleini and the kids, actually _ there was a different man that was sitting across from me and a different person. And so from that point on, we've seen pretty much a continual growth of Chris in things and a degree of responsibility, expanding his role here, learning all three positions and our 3-wide receiver sets or 2-wide receiver sets and both positions in the regular sets, so quite an expansion of both football on the field and off the field. I shared with Mike this story early in the season, when he asked me about getting the ticket to the Moeller-Elder football game so that he had enough tickets for his entire family. So things like that. To me, it's a minor thing but it talked about the level of growth that Chris had had."
* Bengals owner Mike Brown on his favorite memory of Henry: "For me, it's an odd memory. We had our Christmas party here a few years ago and he was there and I had a chance to talk to him. Anymore I don't get around the players like I did once upon a time, but in this situation it was just the two of us talking. And my impression, the impression he left me with, was altogether different than how he's been portrayed. He was gentle, alert, well-spoken, interesting to talk to, and he won me over. When I think of him, I will think of him at that moment. I'll think of him catching the pass against Pittsburgh. I'll think of him in practice sessions just out there on the field running around the way he did. I'll have a picture in my eye with Loleini and the children, the young children. What I saw was a good person at heart. Sometimes he wasn't described that way, but that's how I knew him."
* Minnesota Vikings safety and former Bengal Madieu Williams: "We had our rivalry, but I had a lot of respect for him as competitor and a football player. More recently, just seeing the changes he made in his life off the field. He was heading down the right path and then to hear something like this, it's tragic. It's unbelieveable how short life is. ... The guy had a good heart, even though he didn't always use the best judgement. He always had a good heart. He was a guy who loved life, loved his family, loved his kids. He was an extremely hard worker and loved the game of football. It's sad to see that he won't get to see his kids again."
* San Francisco 49er defensive end and former Bengal Justin Smith: "It's sad. He was a talented guy. When I played with him he was a good guy, quiet in the locker room. He kept to himself for the most part. From everything that it sounded like, he was getting back on track and this happens. My feelings go out to him and his family."
* San Francisco 49er linebacker and former Bengal Ahmad Brooks: "I was sad to hear. You hate to see somebody go. He was a good guy. We've all made bad decisions throughout our life, but he grew from it, he learned from it and he had a family, so I'm definitely sad to hear that happen. I knew him very well. I'm just sad to hear that and I'll pray for him, I'll pray for everybody."
* New England Patriot practice squad quarterback and former Bengal Jeff Rowe: "It's just sickening. Chris was such a wonderful guy to be around. I know everyone in that locker room absolutely loved him. It's just disheartening. It's terrible. I knew pretty decent. He was just so pleasant to be around, so easy to be around. It's just so sad. I know he went through a lot of trouble in his life and he's just such a good person, even all the trouble he went through, it sucks this is when it happened."
* New England Patriot cornerback Leigh Bodden: "He was a great talent. I used to tell all my friends, that was the best three-wide receiver [set] in the whole league when they had Chris Henry, Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. It's just amazing. He was a great talent. It's just very sad to see something like that happen to a guy like that. He's had his problems but he was a good kid and a great talent. It's just sad to see."
* Buffalo Bills quarterback and former Bengal Ryan Fitzpatrick: "Just how talented he was. He really didn't have much of a chance to show it. He was such a talent. Carson likes to call him 'The next Randy Moss.' That's what he called him. The way he played on the football field, the passion that he played with, how much he loved the game and really the chance that the Bengals gave him because they knew what kind of person that he was and the talent he possessed. I'm still trying to grasp what really happened because it's such tough news and a shock to hear. "It definitely makes you stop and think. Everybody in this locker room is affected by it, even the guys that didn't know Chris on a personal level. When the news broke, everybody was gathered around the TV, watching. It's always something you never want to see happen, especially somebody in the NFL brotherhood. It affects everybody more than people realize."
* Seahawk wide receiver and former Bengal T.J. Houshmandzadeh: "I don't know how many people were close to Slim. I still talked to him. I talked to him after he broke his arm. He would just call me and ask me certain questions about certain things. He's just call me and ask me what i thought and I'd give him my opinion. He'd always say, "T, I'm going to be a family man like you." I think once he got released in April and nobody signed him and the Bengals re-signed him in August I think that was the beginning of him realizing 'I've got to change my life' and he did and now this happens. It's crazy. "I miss that about the locker room. it's hard to explain. we've got a ... I can imagine what everyone is feeling because everyone liked him. Everyone liked him. Carson really took a liking to him, the owner, who matters the most, really liked him, talked to him and realized that he was a real good person and gave him multiple chances and he was starting to make him look good. He was going to stay out of trouble and for your life to end like this is unbelievable."
Categories: Cincinnati Bengals, Featured Stories, News
Tags: Ahmad Brooks, Bobbie Williams, Chris Henry, Jeff Rowe, Justin Smith, Madieu Williams, Marvin Lewis, Mike Brown, Ryan Fitzpatrick
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