All great players want the ball because they believe they have the ability to help their team win. The problem is you have to know the right and wrong time to voice a complaint. Memo to Chad Johnson Ochocinco: the 4th quarter when your team is trying to make a comeback is the wrong time to bitch at your quarterback.
Ocho was conspicuously missing from the team’s gameplan on Monday night, double-teamed constantly by the Steelers. While Terrell Owens was going off for 10 catches, 141 yards, and two touchdowns, Chad was dealing with the extra coverage and hardly targeted by Carson Palmer. Carson targeted Chad seven times but he didn’t record his first and only catch until the 4th quarter.
In the 3rd quarter, Chad actually caught a pass but it was negated because of a holding penalty. Ocho was so pissed after making the play that he spiked the ball causing a delay of game penalty that was declined. Then early in the 4th quarter with his team down 27-7, Chad was overthrown on a short post over the middle and immediately started going off on his quarterback. One of the lineman had to push Chad away from Carson, and after Palmer completed the first of three straight passes to T.O., Ocho headed straight to the sidelines in anger. The Enquirer says Marvin Lewis pulled Chad for those plays, but it’s hard to know exactly what happened.
Now don’t get it wrong — Chad was happy to see T.O. have success as we saw in this celebration — but he wanted some love too. Owens addressed the issue after the game saying they need to find a way to get 85 the ball while Carson said the double-coverage played a big role in Chad’s lack of action. I understand Chad’s frustration because he wants to help his team win, but bitching towards the end of the game only makes things worse, and he’s hurting the team when he’s not in the game. He has to have much more composure than that.
Photo Credit: The Enquirer/Jeff Swinger
