When talking to Cincinnati Bengals WR Chris Henry after Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals. I couldn't help but feel that the eight-game suspension handed down by the league did the young receiver some good both as a player and a person.

In the locker room, Henry was focused and all about business. He took a professional approach when speaking showing signs of maturity — something that has been questioned as of late. It was obvious that time away from the game gave the third-year player a better perspective of what was important to him and that is playing football.

"Those eight games took forever and I can't explain how good it feels to be back," Henry said. "I feel pretty good about being back. I love to play ball and being out there on the field. I play a big part in the offense and with me being back helps us that much more. But we still have a lot of things we need to correct."

No doubt Henry is an integral part of the team's offense. In two games back, since being reinstated, Henry has caught 12 passes for 180 yards and touchdown. QB Carson Palmer has seemly developed a comfort zone with the receiver, and it showed on Sunday when the two hooked up on a 37-yard touchdown strike. Henry, who is best known for his ability to stretch the field, beat Cardinals CB Eric Green on the play blowing by him as if he was hailing a cab. Taxi!

Despite an eight reception 81-yard touchdown performance Henry had a major let down during crunch time.

"Late in the fourth quarter I had a couple of drops and we can't have that during a big game like that," he said. "It was a total lack of concentration on my part. I took my eye off the ball. It is as simple as that. I was trying to locate the defender and tried to make a move and catch the ball at the same time and just dropped it."

Henry didn't hide from the mishaps but showed maturity and took his share of the blame in the team's loss. He was quick to own up to his mistakes and vowed to rebound from it.

"I'm coming back to work tomorrow and getting back on my grind just like I do every week. I'm going to keep on pushing and help the team get this next win. Take it one week at a time," he said.

Henry knows that the team is depending on him to make play in clutch situations, and let me tell you, he's more than ready to oblige.

One could easily argue that Henry's head hasn't always been on football, but like any child you grow up and the receiver is doing just that with a positive outlook on the game of football.