Owens and Ocho Show!

Is it true? Did that really just happen? Did Terrell Owens, the badboy of the NFL that ruins every team he goes to, sign with the Cincinnati Bengals and their own badboy, Chad Ochocinco? Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a team with a top ten offense. Welcome to a team that will go farther than just the first round of the playoffs. And welcome to a team that will attempt to take the endzone celebration to a whole new level. I give you, the Terrell “No Comment” Owens and Chad “Who’s Johnson?” Ochocinco!

Lets make one thing clear:  I do not like Terrell Owens. I think he is a selfish self-promoter who is out for himself and himself only…if his team is losing. He is a disease that plagues any team he goes to…in the long run. He doesn’t seem to play with the passion he once had…after a couple of seasons. Lets face it, Terrell Owens is a great receiver…when he catches the ball…in the open field. He has multiple stigmas, most of them negative, which have made other teams turn the shoulder and not even give him a chance. I applaud all teams that have done that. But we have to make another thing clear:  He is a play maker who demands attention. He is going to a decent Cincinnati team, and I think it is a great move for a team with little to lose and a lot to gain.

The Bengals belong to two players: Carson Palmer and Ochocinco. They run the show, and they have been in the league long enough to make T.O. understand it is not his team. If that can happen, it will be the first time in T.O.’s career that he has been the second fiddle, and been okay with it, and he, along with the rest of the Bengals, will reap the benefits.

The Bengals have great potential to have a brilliant passing attack that will give opposing defenses fits. I mean, just think about it…T.O. on one side, Ocho on the other. You can’t double team one without leaving the other in single coverage, or even just wide open, and hope they will get overlooked by Palmer who, at 6’5″, newsflash, sees the entire field just fine. If these two can stay dedicated to their routes, and the Bengals offensive line can cohese, it could be a record setting year in terms of passing (they have Jermaine Gresham the best pass catching rookie tight end in the 2009 draft, and Antonio Bryant, who will get less balls his way, but has the experience and talent to still shine).

By adding T.O., the Bengals are saying they will commit a bit more to the pass. But, by having both T.O. and Ocho on the same team, they will keep the linebackers and secondary honest, which should open up even more lanes for Cedric Benson, who had over 1,200 yards and led the Bengals to the ninth rated rushing offense in the league last year. His backup? Bernard Scott, who stepped in admirably when Benson went down last year and had over 200 yards on the ground in two games. By bringing in T.O., the Bengals will not afraid to throw the ball downfield, and will do so more often, but will use him to vault the running attack to near the top of the NFL…potentially.

Team offense in 2009? Twenty-second out of 32 teams. Passing offense? Twenty-sixth, with only 2,890 passing yards and 21 touchdowns. Rushing offense? Ninth, with nine TDs and a 128.5 yards per game average. Scoring? Twenty-first, with a mere 329 points. Quarterback rating? A low 82.7, barely over the 81.5 average in the league. Why do I throw these numbers out? Because you won’t see them this low after the end of next season. The Bengals finished on top of the AFC North in 2009. Baltimore will be their main competition this year, with Pittsburgh in near ruins and the Browns…well, being the Browns. The Bengals had the sixth best rated defense in the league last year, so I’m not worried about that side. T.O. may drop a lot of balls, but he still commands a lot of attention. Their potential to have an outstanding passing attack alone with allow their ground game to flourish.

I am looking for Cincy to make it to the playoffs again this year, but don’t count on them to be a one and done. One person doesn’t make the team, but one person can make the team much better, and I believe that in Cincy, T.O. is the right person for the job.