The Chad Johnson of today is only a fraction of the show boater that he was just a season ago. Johnson seems to be trying to be more humble when it comes to touchdown celebrations and T.V. interviews. During the 35-6 victory over the Tennessee Titans Johnson had 12 receptions, 103 yards and 3 touchdowns. Now the old Chad Johnson would of had many touchdown celebrations ready to go but instead he only had one.
He commandeered a television camera behind the end zone, swung it around and aimed it at the field as part of a touchdown production. He drew a flag for excessive celebration. Yes this penalty helped the Titans put 3 pionts on the bored with a field goal, but in the words of the Bengals defensive captain John Thornton, "He deserved it." "He's been working hard. I told him to keep it up. I told him if he needs a penalty to get himself going, go ahead."
You have to remember that he scored 3 times and only celebrated once becuase he was having a great game. The other two times he did what ever other NFL player does when they score a touchdown, keeping it old fashioned with hugs and high-fives. So the question is why is Johnson toaning it down? There were many questions about his "look-at-me antics"such as the "Ocho Cinco" stunt , hurting the Bengals, so Johnson the very chatty reciever stopped talking to the media for a month and when he finally had something to talk about after the impresive game he chose to stay silent. He simply shook his head at interviewers and went into the locker room when he was questioned about the game.
"He doesn't care about that, he'll probably reflect on it later," said teammate and fellow receiver T.J Houshmandzadeh. The way that Chad Johnson is acting lately reminds me of the way Terrell Owens acted after his "Suicide Attempt." He was very hunble talking to interviewers during preseason interviews and games. I would like to think that Johnson is turning over a new leaf and becoming more humble, but he can't lose it all becuase that's what makes the NFL entertaing and that's part of his persona.
3 comments:
Maybe johnson had a moment of clarity when he played Buffalo and was taken off the field in a stretcher. The hit and resulting actions by the first aid personnel made it look as if Chad might not come back this season. Maybe he is just thankful to be playing the game.
I would say Chad Johnson has toned down his excessive celebrations because overall this season, the Bengals have been embarassing to watch.
I can't say the old Ocho Cinco is gone yet. The reason he was silent was becasue he went 8 games without scoring a touchdown. It's hard to celebrate without scoring. He needs to thank Chris Henry for coming back and opening things up for him again.
Post a Comment