You shouldn’t talk trash if you can’t back it up, and so Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco says he’s not going to be talking much trash this week.
“I usually start the trash talking but the offense has been really stagnant so I have to back off of that a little bit until we pick up to where we’re supposed to be in and do some of the things that’s expected of us offensively,” Ochocinco said today, per Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “It’s me. No, I’m serious, everything is me. A lot of media from outside is pointing the finger. When things don’t go right with us offensively, it’s on me. It’s my fault when everything goes wrong. I like the pressure.”
Ochocinco said there’s nothing wrong with Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, although the stats -- a career-low 56.6% completion rate, with three touchdowns and three interceptions -- would suggest that Palmer isn’t playing particularly well.
For his part, Palmer says the offense just has to stop digging holes for itself with penalties.
“There’s been a handful of things that slow you down, but I think the biggest thing is always penalties,” Palmer said. “When you get in situations where it’s first and long, second and long, it makes third down really tough and we’ve definitely struggled on third down the last couple weeks. And third down’s what keeps you on the field. So if we can eliminate penalties and not beat ourselves in that way, then that will help out tremendously.”
Until the Bengals stop beating themselves, Ochocinco says he’ll be quiet.