Bengals should trade Chad Johnson? Hold on... wait.

by Josh Kirkendall on Oct 4, 2007 7:40 PM EDT in Analysis

Maybe the Bengals should trade Chad Johnson.

Muhahahahahahahahaha...

...

Hold on.

Muhahahahahahahahaha...

OK, I'll bite for the progression of expanding intellectual boundaries. I won't bite hard. Just a nibble. And to Ryan's credit, he's expanding the possibilities of idle discussion.

Anyway -- and this is strictly me making stuff up -- does anybody think trading Johnson is a good idea from Cincy's perspective? T.J. Houshmandzadeh had 10 catches last night -- good for 39 on the year -- and hasn't had fewer than 73 receptions in a season since 2003.

Of course, there are complicating issues -- the Bengals would be without a legit No. 2, there's not guarantee Houshmazilly would be as successful as a No. 1, and Chad Johnson, warts and all, is one of the league's best wideouts.

Still, last night (Monday) was the first time I'd ever seen Palmer get flustered on the sidelines, and it looked like a lot of his frustration was due to Johnson's antics. There is some concern that Lewis has lost his team -- of course, you could've made that case last year, when there were double-digit arrests -- and getting rid of Johnson might send a message to the rest of the troops.

The thing is, I like Johnson, and think he's (mostly) good for the NFL. He stays out of trouble, is very charismatic, and seemingly likes everybody, but he's also a handful. Which is no problem if you're running a daycare center. But it's kind of a pain when you're trying to win football games. Maybe the Patriots can work out a deal for Mr. Cinco. Winning seems to cure a lot of ills.

I really don't need to argue that the benefits overwhelmingly outweigh the drawbacks of leaving Chad Johnson's residential address alone. And this isn't the first time that Carson Palmer has gotten on Chad Johnson, or vice versa. The argument can, and will, be made that a majority of T.J. Houshmandzadeh's success is based on the defense's game plan and preparation defending Chad Johnson. With Chad's deep threat, T.J. is typically left with linebackers defending him underneath with corners -- the opposing team's second best cornerback I might add -- defending over top while defenses role to Chad's side.

I like Ryan's outside-the-box thinking. I really do. And he doesn't deserve the reaction from the comments on his post -- I've read his stuff and it's good. Note: to prevent you from leaving here on a daily basis, I put out better stuff. OK, I'm not that arrogant and totally kidding.

But I would make the point, instead of trading him, that Chad Johnson continues to fail to show up during big and must win games. He puts up great numbers, no doubt. Does he help the team win when they need to win? You decide.

TV Guide, watching too much television and thus becoming lazy -- I blame pot -- have renamed the New England Patriots, the New Egland Patriots. I like mine scrambled. But I'm also a sucker for poached. Homer Simpson voice: Mmmmmm, poached.

Does anyone take Canadian publications on NFL teams and games seriously?