OT: Why Didn't Chad Ochocinco/Johnson Work Out Here??

[Patstastic]

Frankly, I thought he was going to be Moss 2.0 here. Maybe my expectations were too high. Was this a case of a guy who couldn't grasp the playbook? Was he injured? I do remember him catching a catch in Super Bowl 46. Otherwise, I don't remember any contributions he made.

Sorry for bringing up such a random topic. I was always a fan of Chad's. And it's unfortunate what happened in his personal life when he left here.

 

[VectorPrime]

I remember EVERY SINGLE WEEK going “this is going to be his breakout game, this is when it’ll finally click.”

And it never did.

 

[Vatahala]

My understanding he was never an astute playbook guy even with the Bengals.

 

[Wheelman]

He couldn't grasp the offense.

 

[IcyPatriot]

It's called intelligence .......... it was lacking.

 

[BradytoMosstoGronk]

Without the Denver game, he had virtually nothing to show for ever having existed here.

 

[Patstopia]

Yup, what they said!

 

[Vatahala]

He had a great personality though, one of my all time favorite players featured on Hard Knocks.

 

[Bruins29]

All the great things going on this PS and we bring up this twat?

 

[JayNM]

bc he dumb

 

[XLIX]

 

[PatsDeb]

I think it's pretty common knowledge that he couldn't learn the playbook. Once he lost a step and could not rely on pure talent/speed, he didn't have the brains to morph into a "senior receiver."

 

[maust]

He a great personality though...

Just curious, how many times back when you were dating was that phrase the kiss of death?

As to the OP's question, let's just say Ol' Ochostinko wasn't exactly anybody's 'phone a friend' lifeline. Even if the question was about football

 

[Nehalem]

Frankly, I thought he was going to be Moss 2.0 here. Maybe my expectations were too high. Was this a case of a guy who couldn't grasp the playbook? Was he injured? I do remember him catching a catch in Super Bowl 46. Otherwise, I don't remember any contributions he made.

Sorry for bringing up such a random topic. I was always a fan of Chad's. And it's unfortunate what happened in his personal life when he left here.

Chad Johnson was 33 when he came to the Patriots.

Even Randy Moss 1.0 couldn't hack it as a Patriot when he was 33.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Everyone is saying playbook/IQ....

Another thing that should be mentioned & has by tons of former Pats. New England is different. A lot different than Cinci. For some guys its a huge shock. Not easy after being told how great you are & you basically running the show until coming up here. Some guys just cant handle it. I mean Bill is literally still poking at Brady after 6 SB W's.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

I thought he was not listening to me.
He was and he just couldn't do what I asked him to do.

 

[Patjew]

Child please... he just stunk.

 

[WinstonSmith]

One of the few Belichick acquisitions that I would have vetoed...if I was a billionaire who enjoyed massages. He was an older receiver on the decline who lacked discipline...horrible combination.

 

[jmt57]

The Patriots have a different offensive philosophy than most teams.

Receivers are given a route, bit they are then expected to adapt that route based on the defensive alignment and coverage. Because of this adjustment-on-the-fly it is critical that the route runner and QB are on the same page. If not, the result is not just an incomplete pass - it can very easily be an easy pick-six the other way.

It is a different offensive philosophy than most teams utilize. Some players (Moss, Gronk, Josh Gordon, Wes Welker, etc.) grasp it immediately.

Others don't ever get it: they need a specific route, period; they can't adjust on every snap that way. Chad Johnson and Joey Galloway are two that come immediately to mind, though I'm sure with a bit of effort we can think of many others.


The challenge for a coaching staff/executive office is trying to figure out which receivers, tight ends and running backs fit into the first category, and which fall into the latter group.

 

[brdmaverick]

I remember EVERY SINGLE WEEK going “this is going to be his breakout game, this is when it’ll finally click.”

And it never did.

haha, yes, those were the days.......just never came.

I think his game high in receptions was 3.

He was lucky to get 1 TD to at least be on Brady's list of TD receivers.