After ESPN’s Colin Cowherd made some upsetting comments on a recent radio show about Chad Ochocinco, the Bengals’ receiver unleashed a barrage of verbal attacks on the host via his Twitter page.
From the Huffington Post.com:
According to Out of Bounds, “Cowherd said something to the effect of ‘70% of NFL and NBA players are broke within 5 years of retirement,’ and used Ochocinco’s name as part of his point.” Ochocinco did not take the mention lightly.
In a series of tweets, Ochocinco urged Cowherd to “just say I don’t like this black guy!!” He proceeded to tell the host that “your girl is cheating on you” and suggested that Cowherd “try EXTENZE,” the “male enhancement pill” most recently pitched by former coach Jimmy Johnson.
Note to self: Never piss off Ochocinco because the man really knows how to use Twitter to make a point.
According to beat writer Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Bengals had a positive meeting with free agent receiver Antonio Bryant today and even went as far as to push Terrell Owens’ visit back to Wednesday.
“Why wouldn’t there be? I think this is the year of no salary cap, if I’m correct. Hey, why wouldn’t there be?,” said Ochocinco, who was also talking about his upcoming appearance on Dancing With The Stars. “Let’s load it up, you know! We can get back to that firepower offense we were back in ‘05 and ‘06, when we were throwing it all over the place. Even though that’s not the makeup of our team right now, I think it can help. Period.”
However when asked if he had to choose which one, Ochocinco said: “I mean, it’s whatever. Both of them can help us.”
Neither player was very productive in 2009, although at least Bryant has an excuse because he battled injuries for most of the year. He’s also seven years younger, can still stretch a defense and is still efficient when healthy. It’s no wonder why the Bengals prefer him over T.O.
If you listen to ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike In the Morning,” you know that former NFL defensive lineman Mike Golic is one half of the equation and the counterpoint to long-time “Sportscenter” anchor Mike Greenberg. While both share a passion for sports, Golic takes the role of the “man’s man” and frequently discusses his passion for food and in particular, his love for grilling out. Well, lucky for us, Golic recently teamed up with Kingsford Charcoal to promote their new and improved briquets (and their new flavors of KC Masterpiece sauce and marinade), as well as with chef Chris Lilly, who owns Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q and is an award winning barbecue chef. So we’ve got some of their special recipes on our Grub For Guys page on Bullz-Eye.com, but we also had the opportunity to interview Golic about ESPN, grilling out, and of course, football:
The Scores Report: Hey Mike, we know you love to eat and love to grill. What is your favorite KC Masterpiece new flavor and why?
Mike Golic: I’m an original flavor kind of guy – no bells or whistles needed for me. But, I’ve tried the new KC Masterpiece Smoky Bourbon Barbecue Sauce and the smoky, sweet taste gives the original flavor some good competition for best sauce.
TSR: What are your thoughts on the new briquets, and do you use your grill year round?
MG: I have a fairly busy schedule with “Mike & Mike in the Morning,” ESPN analysis, and my family, but I definitely try to keep my grill fired up year-round whenever I have down-time. There is no better way to bring family and friends together than over the smokey flavors of a charcoal grill. In fact, when my boys where in high school, I used to travel to their football camps in early-August and grill for their entire teams during two-a-day workouts.
Kingsford MatchLight is my go-to charcoal – it has lighter fluid built into the briquet formula so it lights quickly and easily – which is especially convenient when I’m tailgating. I’ve heard that Kingsford briquets now light easier and faster, which I can also appreciate since I’m always crunched for time with my busy schedule.
TSR: Do you have any go-to items you like to grill for Super Bowl Sunday, or are you usually too busy working to cook that day?
MG: I will be working the whole week leading up to Super Bowl in Miami, but I’m excited to be able to go home and watch the actual game with my friends and family. But, while I’m in Miami, I will be firing up the grill with my buddy, world champion pitmaster, Chris Lilly earlier in the week. Chris has taught me quite a bit about grilling over the years and has inspired me to create a few tailgate recipes of my own. I will be demonstrating my BBQ Blitz Chicken Wraps for a few TV interviews with Chris before sharing a little tailgate with the lucky winner of the “On the Grill with Golic” sweepstakes that took place earlier this year. The recipe is attached in case your readers want to try it at home. For more great grilling recipes become a fan of Kingsford on Facebook at Facebook.com/KingsfordCharcoal.
Chad Ochocinco shared an interesting nugget with FOX’s Jay Glazer down in Miami this week.
From Glazer’s Twitter page:
chad ochocinco just told me on The Jay Glazer Pre-Party on FSN that he thinks T.O. will be a Bengal next year. he said he’s sure of it
Owens is an unrestricted free agent and after spending one aggravating year in Buffalo, the chances of him re-signing with the Bills are slim to none. (Not that the Bills would want him back anyway.)
At least on paper, a T.O.-Bengals marriage works. Cincy needs to boost their passing game in the offseason and could stand to add a receiver opposite Ochocinco. That said, at 36, Owens isn’t exactly the playmaker he used to be. He’s slow getting off the line of scrimmage and doesn’t always work back to the ball, although he still uses his size and speed to his advantage in one-on-one match ups and he’s still an excellent all-around athlete. And it’s not like the Bengals have to worry about him destroying a locker room that has already been destroyed countless times before.
Granted, I think Marvin Lewis’ head just exploded thinking about the possibility of having to deal with the Ocho and T.O. in the same locker room.
New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals
4:30 pm ET
TV—NBC
Last Sunday night, the Jets closed out the actual regular season history of “old” Giants Stadium the way the Giants wanted to the week before, turning a win-and-in situation into a rout against the Bengals, 37-0. The Jets and their # 1 pass defense held the Bengals to zero passing yards for the game. That’s right, ZERO passing yards. That’s not likely to happen again today, when the Jets visit the Bengals for a rematch that will determine who goes home and who moves on to the divisional round of the playoffs. Bengals’ head coach Marvin Lewis held RB Cedric Benson out of the Week 17 game, and only let QB Carson Palmer play a few series before letting some bearded guy named J.T. O’Sullivan take over. Lewis didn’t want to show too much, but what he may have shown in the process was that his team is fading fast and may have won games early in the season with smoke and mirrors. The Bengals’ defense is also solid, ranked #7 against the rush and #6 against the pass, but if they allow Thomas Jones and the Jets’ running game to control the clock again, this could very well be another dominant performance by the Jets. And don’t forget the way Jets’ all-world CB Darrelle Revis shut down WR Chad Ochocinco on the field and then on Twitter. The hotter Jets should prevail again, but either way, this is a game featuring two of the NFL’s best defenses, so it’s likely to be ultimately determined by who makes the least mistakes. THE PICK: JETS 17, BENGALS 13
Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
8:00 pm ET
TV—NBC
For as surprising as the Jets’ thrashing of the Bengals was last weekend, the fact that the Cowboys shut out the Eagles may have been the biggest surprise of Week 17. Sure, the Cowboys have been on a roll since handing the Saints their first loss of the season a few weeks back, and haven’t given up a point since then. But the Eagles had won six in a row and were (insert cheesy line here like “flying high” or “soaring”). Despite having Brian Westbrook back, the Eagles have fallen to 22nd in the NFL in rushing offense and have been living by the big pass play most of the season, with second year WR DeSean Jackson changing games by himself on offense and special teams. The Cowboys, however, have beaten the Eagles twice this season, and their only losses came to the Giants twice (in games that could have gone either way), Denver, Green Bay and San Diego. They can run the ball (7th overall), pass with Tony Romo, Miles Austin and Jason Witten (6th overall) and they can stop the run (4th overall). The only blemish for the Cowboys is they are prone to big pass plays, but they seem to have remedied that recently, and with DeMarcus Ware coming off the edge, Donovan McNabb has to have eyes on the side and back of his head at all times. This game will certainly be close, and maybe come down to a field goal. And in that case, would you rather have David Akers or (gulp) Shaun Suisham as your kicker? That’s what I thought. THE PICK: EAGLES 27, COWBOYS 24
Chad Ochocinco couldn’t extend his knee this morning after suffering an injury before the Bengals’ game against the Jets on Sunday night. He’s scheduled to have an MRI today, but is still expected to play against the Jets this Sunday in Cincinnati’s Wild Card game against the Jets.
Via his Twitter account, Ochocinco blamed Giants Stadium for his injury:
@Lizz_Lockeroom-its fat, it was a mini ice skiating rink outside the hashes during warm ups-I bust my ass-MRI at noon-can’t extend my knee
It sounds like Ochocinco will play, but who knows how the injury will respond throughout the week. If for some reason he can’t go, the Bengals would be without their top receiver for their most important game of the year. That said, the Jets have the best secondary in the league and Ochocinco would likely be shutdown by Darrelle Revis anyway.
Would Cincinnati be better off with Ochocinco in the lineup? Of course, but they’ll have to beat the Jets by establishing the run and playing good defense. Ochocinco won’t/isn’t going to be the X-factor come Sunday.
The Bengals haven’t gotten as far as they have this season by accident. They’ve won nine games by not killing themselves with mistakes, by running the ball and by playing solid defensive.
But are they relying too much on their running game?
On Sunday in Minnesota, the Bengals attempted 24 runs and 28 passes. That’s a nice, balanced offensive approach but it got them nowhere in a 30-10 loss to the Vikings.
Marvin Lewis had to have known that the Bengals weren’t going to line up and just run the ball at will against the stout Minnesota front four. Granted, Cincinnati did manage to gain 119 yards on the ground, but Carson Palmer threw for just 94 yards despite completing 15-of-25 pass attempts. The Bengals had zero vertical passing game whatsoever.
Following the loss, Chad Ochocinco hit the nail on the end when he summed up his team’s offensive game plan coming into Sunday:
“I am not sure if we were really focused on getting the passing game going today,” Ochocinco said. “I think what we wanted to do was establish the run like we have been doing all year. We wanted to pass, as needed.”
The Bengals shouldn’t change their identify based on their opponent, but that doesn’t mean that they also shouldn’t make adjustments in order to win the game. Yes, they had some success running the football against the Vikings. But it was apparent that the running game alone wasn’t going to help them beat Minnesota and yet Lewis and his coaching staff never adjusted.
The Bengals are a damn good team and they played a great opponent in a tough environment. But in order for them to become elite, they need to find a way to beat teams through the air or else they’re going to have a tough time advancing in the post season.
Thanks to Kyle Orton’s terrific Monday night performance against Pittsburgh and Green Bay’s outstanding effort in Tampa, I took one on the chin last week to go 2-3. Law of averages says I get things right this week, right? Right?!
Here are my top four plays for Sunday.
Bengals (6-2) at Steelers (6-2), 1:00PM ET
I don’t see the Bengals sweeping the Steelers this season, but Cincinnati isn’t getting enough respect. Their defense is legit and they have the secondary to matchup with a team like the Steelers that likes to put the ball in the air. Carson Palmer, Cedric Benson and Chad Ochocinco have played well this season and should be able to keep the Bengals in the game. For as good as the Steelers are and as much as they’ll get up for a division rival like the Bengals who have already beaten them once this season, Pittsburgh is coming off a short week after earning an emotional win in Denver. In the end, I think the Steelers defense won’t wilt like they did in the fourth quarter of the first contest, but this game is going to be closer than the odds would indicate. Odds: Steelers –7. Prediction: Steelers 20, Bengals 16.
Saints (8-0) at Rams (1-7), 1:00PM ET
The Saints haven’t covered in two weeks as double-digit favorites and while some bettors might think now is the perfect time to back a Rams team coming off a bye and getting 13.5 points at home, I would caution them. The Falcons and Panthers played the Saints tough because they’re familiar with New Orleans and divisional games are always closer than people think. It’s about time Drew Brees touches another opponent up for three or four scores and this is the perfect weekend to do going against a suspect St. Louis secondary. Actually, the Rams defense isn’t as bad as many think and they might be able to hang with New Orleans in the first half. But the Rams’ offense is putrid and the Saints’ defense has preyed on their opponents’ mistakes all season. I fully expect Sean Payton’s team to romp and I’ll gladly eat the chalk. Odds: Saints –13.5. Prediction: Saints 37, Rams 10.
The impish Cincinnati Bengals receiver playfully tried to bribe an NFL official today during his team’s game with its division rival, the Baltimore Ravens. With the Cincinnati Bengals up 14-3 in the third quarter, Ochocinco caught a 15-yard Carson Palmer(notes) pass near the sideline. The side judge ruled it a catch, but the Ravens contended that Ochocinco’s foot was out of bounds. While the ref was under the hood looking at the replay, Ochocinco borrowed a dollar bill from an assistant and playfully tried to hand the one-spot to another official.
It’s funny, but not to his fantasy owners. They’re just hoping that this doesn’t result in anything more than a fine.
According to the Baltimore Sun, Ochocinco sent gift baskets containing deodorant to the Ravens’ secondary and to linebackers Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis.
Chad Ochocinco, the Bengals’ flamboyant wide receiver, said today on 105.7 FM that he sent gift baskets containing deodorant to the Ravens’ secondary and to linebackers Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis.
“I not only sent them gift baskets, but I sent them something they could use so they don’t sweat,” Ochocinco said.
The Ravens and Bengals meet at 1 p.m. Sunday in Cincinnati.
Ray had this to say in response:
Not to take the fun out of this post, but I don’t think it was wise for Ocho to poke an angry dog with a stick. Considering the source, I’m sure Baltimore won’t get too riled up over the gift baskets, but the Ravens already have revenge on their minds after the Bengals beat them a couple weeks ago at their home turf and will desperately be seeking a win this weekend.
I think this is the week the Bengals start missing what Antwan Odom brought to the field. They didn’t need him in their Week 7 trouncing of the Bears, but the Ravens’ offense has been firing on all cylinders and just routed a good Denver defense last Sunday. Even for how good Cincinnati’s defense is, they still need the front four to generate some pressure or else Joe Flacco will pick them apart.
