September 27, 2006
Chad speaks out
Bengals receiver Chad Johnson, on a conference call with New England reporters, asked the media to pass on the following messages to Patriots defenders:
"You tell 37 [Rodney Harrison], I'm going to knock his helmet off. Tell Asante [Samuel] that he should continue to have help for all four quarters, or his 22 will be 55; isn't that what it is upside down? Tell Junior [Seau], when I'm done with him ... never mind, I'm not going to pick on Junior. Tell Eugene Wilson, if he hits me across the middle, we'll probably have to fight and get thrown out of the game right there on the spot. My last hit I was going to take this year was in Cleveland. If anyone hits me like that again, they're going down."
Asked if the Patriots had a trash talker like Pittsburgh's Joey Porter, Johnson said: "No. Yeah. What am I talking about? Rodney. He's the original, old-school trash talker. He hits you and still talks trash. Punch you on the bottom of the pile, and talk trash. He's the original."
Johnson, who was clearly having fun, did say that he and Harrison speak before games.
"He's one of those guys I sit down and talk to every pre-game, for 20 to 25 minutes, on keeping my head clean and staying focused. More of a father-son talk every time I talk to Rodney. We did it two years ago when we played in the preseason. He gave me some great advice about staying on a straight line and staying focused, and staying out of trouble, and if I'm in the headlines make sure it was something positive."
Posted By: mreiss | Time: 12:18:40 PM
