In the last month, Chad Johnson has fought with his quarterback on the sideline. He was labeled “the Flavor Flav of the gridiron.” And he has been the subject of trade rumors.
But the often-controversial Bengals receiver is going nowhere. Why would anyone trade arguably the best pass catcher in football?
“Ocho Cinco” may be high-maintenance, but at least he has not been an embarrassment off the field, as some of his teammates have been. On the field he has accounted for more receiving yards than any player in the league except Randy Moss, and he has an incredible first-down percentage of 92.3.
“Chad is playing better than ever, faster than ever,” coach Marvin Lewis said.
Lewis said Johnson, and the Bengals, had grown from the recent controversies. Nine days ago, team veterans called a meeting and decided to take charge.
“All the criticism brought our team closer together,” Lewis said. “Guys realized they needed each other. We quit badgering each other. Chad has been 10 times better.”
Johnson was upset about how he was being portrayed, and his coach has gone out of his way to defend him — which tells you how he feels about Johnson. It has become Internet gospel that Johnson took a swing at a coach at halftime of a game last year, but Lewis says that never happened.
“He would never do that,” Lewis insisted. “He would be afraid the coach might swing back.”
There is a better chance the Bengals could part ways with receiver Chris Henry than with Johnson. Henry returned to practice last week but must sit out two more games to complete an eight-game suspension for numerous violations of the NFL’s personal-conduct policy.
“So far he’s doing things the right way,” Lewis said of the player who has scored 15 touchdowns over the last two seasons as a third receiver. “But he has to be in compliance around here as well.”
The Norv effect
The folks in San Francisco are expressing shock and dismay that the 49ers’ offense is suffering a downturn in the absence of Norv Turner, their former offensive coordinator who left to become head coach of the Chargers.
But it should not be a surprise at all, if you study history. Turner had run the offense for six NFL teams before this year. Each time he has left a team, the offense became worse.
We looked at where Turner’s offenses ranked in yards, passing yards and points scored, and we found they declined after he left in every category with two exceptions. In 2004, the year after Turner left the Dolphins, the passing game improved from 26th to 21st. And in 1994, the year after he left the Cowboys, they ranked second in points scored, as they had in ’93.
%% TEAM YEARS YARDS PASS YDS POINTS
49ers 2006 26 29 24
2007 32 32 31
Raiders 2005 21 10 23
2006 32 31 32
Dolphins 2003 24 26 17
2004 29 21 27
Chargers 2001 11 11 14
2002 16 22 20
Redskins 2000 11 10 25
2001 28 30 28
Cowboys 1993 4 7 2
1994 8 12 2
%%
Underrated Illini
Pierre Thomas is proving he can slip through the cracks in a defense as well as he slipped through the cracks in the draft.
Thomas, who went to Thornton Fractional South, was a three-year starter for Illinois and rushed for 2,545 yards, sixth most in Illini history. He owns the school record for career kickoff-return yards and is second in Illinois history in all-purpose yards.
Yet he was not drafted in April. The Saints signed him as a free agent, in part because assistant special-teams coach Greg McMahon vouched for him. McMahon had recruited Thomas to Illinois when he was an assistant under Ron Turner.
The Saints are glad they listened to McMahon. Thomas beat out Antonio Pittman from Ohio State, whom the Saints had traded up to pick in the fourth round. Thomas had a 24-yard touchdown run against the Falcons a week ago, and with Deuce McAllister out for the season there is a chance Thomas’ role in the Saints’ offense could continue to grow.
“We thought he would be good on special teams, but he has done well in all phases as a running back,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said. “He has some elusiveness, and he’s pretty strong for his size (5 feet 11 inches, 210 pounds). He’s better than we expected.”
Thomas apparently is better than anyone expected, or he would have been drafted. Why wasn’t he drafted? He ran a 4.61 40-yard dash and teams were concerned because of his minor injuries in college. Thomas still needs to prove he can take an NFL-style pounding.
SCOUT TALK
Fans at Soldier Field on Sunday will have an opportunity to watch one of the best groups of receivers in the NFL when the Lions suit up Roy Williams, Mike Furrey, Calvin Johnson and Shaun McDonald. We asked five front office executives to rank the top receiving groups in the league. Here are the results.
1. Patriots. Last year the Patriots’ receivers might have been ranked in the bottom five, but the addition of Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth makes the Patriots’ receivers the clear favorite of every front-office man with whom we spoke. What makes these players even better is their contrasting skills make them a versatile group.
2. Colts. They have three first-round picks in Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Anthony Gonzalez, and Peyton Manning brings out the best in each. All three have excellent quickness.
3. Cardinals. They have two players who would be No. 1 receivers on almost any other team in Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. And the third receiver, Bryant Johnson, was a first-round pick. Boldin is the most physical receiver in the game and Fitzgerald may have the best hands.
4. Lions. Williams was the seventh pick in the 2004 draft and Johnson was the second pick in the 2007 draft. No twosome has more ability. All Furrey did was lead the NFC in receptions last year. Furrey and McDonald provide the quickness on underneath routes, whereas Williams and Johnson use size and speed to make big plays down the field. And the Lions are not afraid to put all four on the field together.
5. Bengals. They have missed suspended third receiver Chris Henry, but when he returns he will give the Bengals a supremely talented trio. The other receivers are Chad Johnson, who catches the long ball as well as anyone, and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who ranks second in the NFL with 51 catches.
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dpompei@tribune.com
