Thoughts on Henry, draft, Chad, Rudi

Back at it after a couple of much-needed days off:

Item 1: Chris Henry. Henry is out of jail and back at his downtown apartment, under home incarceration. He is unemployed and will almost certainly face stiff NFL discipline under the league's personal conduct policy, which was the reason for 10 games of suspension the previous two seasons. Another team could pick him up off waivers, but that is unlikely. But you never know. A lot of NFL coaches have messiah complexes, that they can save a player that no one else could.

Though there is a general sadness among many Bengals fans about Henry squandering his talent and opportunity, the Bengals' decision to waive Henry is seen as addition by subtraction. Now the team is likely to spend a higher draft pick on a wide receiver, not necessarily in the first or second rounds, but they do have two third-rounders. Productive NFL receivers can be found in Round 3, for sure. The Bengals would favor a receiver with kickoff-return experience in college.

Back to Henry: He always was polite and soft-spoken with me in the locker room. I never dealt with him away from the stadium, though his legal-system exploits ate many days and nights chasing down details. I talked by phone the other day with T.J. Houshmandzadeh about Henry. He said my observations of Henry were his, as well. Polite, professional in the building. But unable to handle himself away from the stadium. I credit the Bengals for sticking the Chris Henry, the person, for as long as they did. They can't be criticized for cutting ties for the betterment of the team.

Item 2: Chad Johnson. When all is said about Henry, and it almost is, the key to the offseason will be Marvin Lewis' management ability as head coach to get Johnson back in the fold and pointed in the same direction as his teammates -- toward the goal of postseason play. Whether Lewis can reel Johnson back in will be the defining action of his tenure as Bengals coach.

Item 3: Sedrick Ellis. Many mock drafts have Ellis, the talented Southern Cal defensive tackle, falling to the Bengals with the ninth overall pick. The Bengals, including defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, were at the Southern Cal pro day workouts last week, according to USA Today. An astounding 25 NFL prospects worked out. Linebacker Keith Rivers stole the show, according to the paper.

But Ellis outdid his workout performance at the NFL scouting combine in February. He was 11 pounds lighter, down to 297 pounds.

The Bengals and Saints, who pick at No. 10, already have arranged for Ellis to make pre-draft visits for a closer medical look.

Item 4: NFL regular season schedule. It is likely to be released this week or early next week by the NFL. Opponents already are known, but the schedule will provide times and dates of any prime-time games.

Home: Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Kansas City, Philadelphia and Washington.

Away: Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Houston, Indianapolis, Dallas, New York Jets and New York Giants.

Item 5: Rudi Johnson. I was impressed by the serious tone and message coming from Rudi Johnson in a phone conversation I had last week with the tailback. He is determined to regain the form that made him a 1,400-yard runner in 2004 and 2005. The hamstring that forced him to miss five games in 2007 is healed. There's a chip on his shoulder, though, which is a positive sign for Bengals fans.