Editor's Note: This article was conceived as a "deviil's advocate piece" to Paul's article in which he shares the exact opposite views of Chad Ochocinco that will be published published at 8:30 p.m.
My sister once defended her addiction to Jersey Shore by telling me that the awful human beings that exist on that show make her feel better about herself. That never made sense to me, though. My sistr is going to be a doctor... well, a dentist actually, but you get the idea. She shouldn't need to use a terrible show to make herself feel better.
And while I criticize her TV watching habits, I know that I'm not much better.
My hypocrisy is brought to light by Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. While the football and writer part of my brain doesn't care for Ochocinco's off-field exploits because it (I) feel it takes his mind off what he's being paid millions to do, the other side, which is the side that can't look away from a wreck when I pass it on the highway, causing me to slow down (yes, I'm one of those), was so excited to see Ochocinco ride a bull that it was ridiculous. That side of my brain can't wait to see what he does next.
For that side of my brain's sake, the Bengals should part ways with Ochocinco. Not only would it help me, but I think it would be best for them too.
Here's why:
Andy Dalton is the offense's new leader and he shouldn't have to deal with Chad. Even though Carson Palmer took the blame for every interception he threw in every game he played in, it was widely speculated that many of those interceptions were the result of Ochocinco running the wrong routes or breaking off a route too early. In the NFL, the pass rush can be so fast that a quarterback can't watch and see where his receivers are going. Because of that, they sometimes throw the ball where the receiver should be.
Well Palmer isn't going to be on the team in 2011 and Dalton will be the quarterback that is taking his place as the future face of the franchise's offense. He will be under an even heavier pass rush than Palmer because he's unproven on an NFL field. He shouldn't have to deal with his receivers changing their routes on the fly.
A.J. Green should be the No. 1 receiver in 2011. There hasn't been a receiver selectec in the NFL Draft that had Green's extraordinary skill set since the Lion's selected Calvin Johnson is 2007. Green is faster than Chad, he's got better hands than Chad and he's more focused on football than Chad has been in years. Since Green is going to be the No. 1 receiver of the team's future, why not make him the No. 1 receiver right now.
The Bengals should give Jerome Simpson a chance. Simpson is entering into the final year of his contract. In the three years that he's been on the team, he's only had two good games (by good I mean great). However, before those games, which came at the end of the 2010 season, he literally has done almost nothing. Maybe that's because he had a hard time making the transition from a small college to the NFL; that could easily be true. However, Simpson's inability to produce may also stem from his inability to get on the field. In 2008 he was stuck behind Ochocinco and T.J. Houshmandadeh. In 2009 he was stuck behind Ochocinco and Laveranues Coles. Then in 2010, he was stuck behind Ochocinco and Terrell Owens.
If the Bengals want to really see what they have in Simpson, they need to let him actually play instead of being stuck behind Ochocinco again.
The Bengals could use some extra scratch. If the Bengals release Ochocinco, they'll save about $3 million that they could use to help re-sign some players they really need, like Johnathan Joseph and Cedric Benson. I know that in the context of the NFL, $3 million isn't a lot, but it may be enough to bring back at least one of the veterans that the Bengals could really use in 2011.