A lot of talk after the New England Patriots torched the Miami Dolphins Monday night was about wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. Specifically, where the hell was he?
Ochocinco wasn’t a part of New England’s first drive, he was only on the field for a total of 18 snaps in the game and finished with one catch for 14 yards.
Reasons for optimism
Considering the thickness and potential complicatedness of the New England playbook — plus the fact that training camp and preseason were incredibly short — it’d be impossible for most anyone to be up to speed by Week 1, especially with a highly-capable and experienced receiving corps.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick doesn’t seem too worried, either.
“I think he's good,” Belichick told the media this week when asked if he thought Ochocinco was understanding the offense. “I think he understands it. He understands what we're doing.”
There’s no question that Ochocinco is more than capable himself, and in perfectly good shape.
Bruschi not impressed
Some questions, though, have been about his commitment to the game of football — not just this week, but throughout his career. And after Monday night’s win in Miami, the questions continued to fly. Most notably, by former Patriot captain, three-time Super Bowl champion and future NFL Hall of Famer Tedy Bruschi.
After Ochocinco tweeted: “Just waking up after a late arrival,I’ve never seen a machine operate like that n person,to see video game numbers put up n person was WOW,” Bruschi, appearing on WEEI radio Tuesday, had some harsh words for the veteran wideout. Then, after being asked why he responded so aggressively, Bruschi stood by his point and elaborated.
“The big deal with me is the mentality of the tweet,” Bruschi explained Thursday. “This mentality reflected of being in wonderment, that statement of ‘Wow, I cant believe what I just saw’ is a statement that should be made by a media member or an analyst, a fan, almost an admirer of the Patriots system … not one that should be of an aspiring contributor, someone that wants to be a part of that record-breaking performance. Chad, the mentality is what bothered me ... Eliminate the ‘I'm happy to be here’ type of attitude and have more an attitude of wanting to be a part of it and do your work so you can be more a part of it.”
Moving forward
Expect Ochocinco to take the next step at doing just what Bruschi asked. And if you have him on your fantasy team, be ready to give him another shot very, very soon. Don’t believe me? Well, maybe you’ll believe Tom Brady (who through for a franchise-record 517 yards vs. Miami).
“I don't know when he said that (that tweet) or what he said, but I know that we're counting on him to be a huge contributor,” Brady said. “And he expects that too. He expects to be out there making plays.”
Oh, yeah. Ochocinco has tweeted only ONCE since his “awe” tweet. Think he’s ready?
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