When T.J. Houshmandzadeh played for the Cincinnati Bengals, we never really thought that he was that full of himself. Aside from throwing his helmet out of frustration because a defensive pass interference wasn't called late in the game, Houshmandzadeh kept a low-profile; a shadow of Chad Johnson's "uniqueness". When the idea of being tagged surfaced, Houshmandzadeh said, "oh, hell no".

"I don’t want any part of the tag," [T.J.] told the Dayton Daily News. "The more I think about, I don’t think I’ll be franchised. It’s a lot of money. If you franchise somebody what are you saying about the player? Obviously, you think he is that type of player, and if you think he’s that type of player then you’re franchising him."

I argued at the time that no player should complain about being franchised while the declining economy is impacting more Americans everyday. At least keep the complaint private; you won't get an ounce of sympathy from fans and they're likely going to turn against you.

He was never tagged.

Houshmandzadeh also said that he didn't even hear from the team about a new contract. That was false. And to just alienate the good citizens that live in Cincinnati, Houshmandzadeh says:

"It’s so different from Cincinnati, where I played for eight years. When you’d go out there, there were always people stopping you to take your picture or get your autograph. In Seattle, you can just go about your business. There are so many millionaires out there that they couldn’t care less who you are."

The question becomes: Is Houshmandzadeh's head inflating as much as the contract he signed with Seattle? It's not over. Inflation continues. ESPN's Mike Sando writes:

• Houshmandzadeh, an avid Madden video-game player in the past, is boycotting "Madden NFL 10" over what he considered low ratings for himself.

Houshmandzadeh said during the interview:

"I understand I averaged 10 yards a catch, but it's the offense, not me. I'm not playing Madden no more until they get my rating right. ... I used to be the best in the world at Madden. I'm going to miss not playing it, but until they do me right, I'm not playing it any more."

You read that right. Houshmandzadeh is actually blaming the offense because he only averaged ten yards a catch. Hopefully the Inflated One knows that those ten yards picked up first downs. That matters, right? Hello? Anyone?

It does make you sit and pause for a minute while you think to yourself, "maybe not signing Houshmandzadeh was a good thing." Chad Johnson is more than enough for us to handle.

Someone griping about Madden? Are you mad?