Lewis Bolts from Presser
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis got up and left a few minutes into a press conference after reporters asked him to respond to fan anger over the re-signing of WR Chris Henry. Relays Lance:
"Question: What changed in the last month Marvin?Marvin: “At the end of the day the owner has the final say and Mike wanted us to give him this opportunity”As for the fans reaction…. “They can be frustrated all they want….it’s not going to do any good”Marvin spoke for about 4-minutes and left in a huff…..aggravated over having to explain any of it."
I guess if Mike Brown had just shoved Henry down my throat, I wouldn’t have much to say either.
As for Chris, he held a press conference earlier at PBS in which little but platitudes were relayed. I guess all I can do now is wish him the best of luck proving me wrong. I will post links to video and transcripts when/if they become available.
Update: The Chickster interviews Henry’s agent here. He also passes along contract details. Henry signed a two-year (not one-year as originally reported) deal for league minimum, about $1.2 million over the life of the contract, minus $140K for the four-game suspension.
Mark Curnutte has his own sit-down with Henry, which is about as revealing as Henry’s press conference.
"I had open arms for any team that was interest. The Bengals were the only team that gave me the opportunity."
Well, that certainly makes me feel better. Not.
Here is the full transcript of the Lewis presser. Sad.
"Marvin Lewis didn’t disguise his displeasure with the signing, saying it was Mike Brown’s decision to sign Chris Henry and he was doing what he was told."
He adds that Rudi Johnson “is taking a more active role” in helping Henry keep his nose clean.
Update 2: The official spin from Mike Brown’s Bobo.
Update 3: h/t to Matt1530Homer @ Bengalsjungle.com for the pic atop this post. Yes, that’s a real billboard in Covington, KY.
Update 4: C. Trent with the Henry presser transcript and a little more from T.J. Houshmandzadeh:
"T.J. Houshmandzadeh said it’s all up to Henry…“There’s not too much you can do, to be honest with you. He has to do it himself. That’s how I see it. I’ve talked to him. I talked to him a bunch of times yesterday. He has to do it himself. He knows what he needs to do, and hopefully he’ll do it.”Does Henry make the team better?“We’ll find out when he gets to play. I don’t know.”"
A-yup. And put NFL.coms Adam Schefter among the people who get it.
"Bengals coach Marvin Lewis on July 22 about the chances of Cincinnati re-signing wide receiver Chris Henry: “I’m not interested. I don’t think it would be productive for our football team. You have to be a productive part to be an NFL player, and there’s responsibilities to being an NFL player. It’s a privilege, it’s not a right. There’s a lot that comes with being an NFL football player.” Apparently someone in Cincinnati with more clout than Lewis disagreed. And so Henry already has caused division within the team."
Again: A-yup.