Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson likes to talk.
And if you’re smart, you won’t talk back. Minutes before kickoff at Solider Field last Sunday, Chicago Bears safety Mike Brown thought otherwise.
“He should’ve kept his mouth shut. I’m coming after him today, boy,” Brown said.
No, Mr. Brown, you should have kept your mouth shut.
On the Bengals’ first play, Johnson hauled in an 18-yard touchdown reception after running a route that left Brown and cornerback Jerry Azumah scrambling to stay on their feet.
Riverdancing ensued. With Cincinnati leading 17-7 in the fourth quarter, Johnson personally put the game out of reach with a 40-yard touchdown grab to preserve a 24-7 Bengals win.
Chad Johnson is one of many reasons why the Cincinnati Bengals are off to their first 3-0 start since 1990 -and it all has to do with attitude.
As a Cincinnati native, I have to admit that the Bengals used to be very bad. Embarrassing is more like it. Between 1991 and 2001, Cincinnati was 53-123, averaging less than five wins a season.
In 2002, the Bengals had their worst record in franchise history, finishing at an abysmal 2-14.
That same year, ESPN The Magazine ranked the top 128 teams from the four major professional sports in America (baseball, basketball, football and hockey). The Bengals came in at number 128.What a difference three years makes.
After consecutive 8-8 seasons, Cincinnati appears poised to make the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.
Head coach Marvin Lewis has led the Bengals’ transformation from the laughingstock of professional sports to a respectable team on the rise to a contender with Super Bowl aspirations.
Since becoming head coach, Lewis has been assembling pieces on offense and defense-and the puzzle is coming together.
The Bengals possess one of the most explosive offenses in the league, and it all starts with quarterback Carson Palmer, the first overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.
After sitting out his rookie season, Palmer replaced Jon Kitna, the defending Comeback Player of the Year, as the starting quarterback.
In this young season, Palmer has emerged as the NFL’s most promising pocket-passer; he has a QB rating of 114.0 and has completed 71.1 percent of his passes.
Also, his eight touchdown passes are matched only by the Philadelphia Eagles’ Donovan McNabb.
While Palmer’s eight touchdowns have been thrown to five different receivers, his favorite target is Chad Johnson, the Pro-Bowler who always talks the talk and never ceases to walk the walk.
Johnson has led the AFC in receiving yards each of the last two seasons, compiling over 2,600 yards and 19 touchdowns. Johnson also has the second most receiving yards in the NFL since the 2003 season.
He is without question one of the top five receivers in the league.
Hanging near his locker is a sign that reads “Who covered 85 [Johnson’s number] in 2005?”
It lists the “shut-down” cornerbacks that he will face this year, and Johnson checks either a “yes” or a “no” box after each game (meaning “yes, that cornerback shut me down,” or “no, he did not”).
All of the “yes” boxes are blank. Johnson certainly isn’t shy, but he does give the Bengals a swagger-and the Bengals haven’t had much to swagger about over the last decade.
Losing Corey Dillon before the 2003 season was not nearly as bad as it could have been; Rudi Johnson has developed into a dependable workhorse and one of the league’s top 10 backs. Last season he rushed for 1,454 yards, scored 12 touchdowns and averaged 4.0 yards per carry.
The trio of Palmer, Johnson and Johnson is an up-and-coming group comparable to the Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James.
The Bengals, however, have something that the Colts haven’t had in years-a defense.
The Cincinnati defense is leading the league with 16 takeaways and 12 interceptions and they became the first team in 34 years to have at least five interceptions in consecutive games.
Led by Deltha O’Neal, Tory James and Keiwan Ratliff, the Bengals have given opposing offenses fits and have allowed just 9.3 points per game.
Talk to anyone from Cincinnati about the Bengals, and you’ll see their eyes widen.
Once a hotbed for professional sports, Cincinnati has been reeling since 1990, the last time the Bengals made the playoffs and the Reds won the World Series.
Since then, the two franchises have had one playoff appearance between them (the Reds in 1995).
Cincinnatians have been waiting for years to embrace a team that will show that there is more to the Queen City besides Pete Rose, Bob Huggins and race riots.
Marvin Lewis has taken a team embedded in failure and made them believe that they can win.
Whether the 2005 Bengals can survive the Steelers, Colts and Patriots in the stacked AFC and make it to the Super Bowl remains to be seen.
But this season there is reason for hope-and with Chad Johnson talking the talk, look for the Cincinnati Bengals to walk the walk.
