Cinco de Why-o
Philadelphia Inquirer Sports Columnist Bob Ford writes about the Eagles, the Phillies, the Sixers and the Flyers.
Cinco de Why-o
Bob Ford, Inquirer Sports Columnist
Is it a rule, is it written somewhere, that if you are an elite wide receiver in the NFL -- or at least one rumored to be possibly, potentially, maybe joining the Eagles -- you also have to be nuts?
Or does it just seem that way.
We have no sooner gotten past the Plaxico-to-Eagles rumors (as opposed to the Plaxico-to-Attica rumors), have barely finished scraping the Terrell Owens residue from the clubhouse walls, and now we're supposed to hop up and down because Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson might be interested in joining the Eagles?
I don't think so.
The Eagles have a bunch of things they will have to deal with before the 2009 season begins, from a front office point of view. They're going to have to finesse the whole Donovan contract thing, which may exhaust their Distractions-R-Us patience.
Adding the Cinco man -- who has skipped the Cincinnati voluntary workouts for the second straight year -- sounds like about as much fun as spending time in a Waco motel.
Chad is 31 years old and is coming off his least productive season as a professional. Not having Carson Palmer to throw him the ball most of the season didn't help, of course, but Ryan Fitzpatrick wasn't that bad.
The idea behind trading for Johnson/Cinco -- upgrading the Eagles receivers -- is fine. But is the team really going to add a potentially disruptive force for short-term gain? The Eagles have tried that before and didn't much like it. They know that sometimes good intentions can go awry.
As for giving up anything like one of the first-round picks to get Chad, that's out of the question. Maybe the Eagles are hearing that McNabb would like to have him on the team. Maybe they are hearing it directly from McNabb. Maybe they are hearing it in a typical passive-aggressive manner from the quarterback's media moles. Maybe they have to play along with the rumors to keep things from bubbling over so early in the going.
Whatever the case, this should be a story headed nowhere, at least until the next prima donna, underappreciated, over-egoed wide receiver comes along.
Ocho Cinco? Absolutely! Fat Boy has always said he wants "good citizen" type players. So do I. But, I manage a sales office and I have to work with the eccentrics, who may be a pain in my arse, but they deliver! I just figured out "Big Red's" problem. He wants the "good boys" because they're easy to manage. If somebody's a bit out of the box, he can't handle it. Ocho is eccentric, but he ain't no TO. Open the wallet, Joey Nickles, sign him. If "Fat Boy" can handle him, get a Coach who can! I'm available. One crummy million guaranteed. If I can't do it, I'll split after a year and retire. You'll save a lot of money!— Nihilist
Bob, to your point that Chad Johnson has missed voluntary workouts for the 2nd straight year: Voluntary is NOT Mandatory - why is it that this aspect of an NFL club's annual process is so scrutinized? This article is essentially worthless - like I said in another dim-witted article much like this one: Johnson just wants to win, he's tired of losing in Cincy. Plus, wouldn't you want to be in a city where the delicacy is cheesesteaks and not spaghetti with chili on top?- After 32 comments, the results are 23 to 4 in favor of signing Ocho. Nuff said! Didn't count Bob Ford's comments or those who just spouted off. We need fun! We need entertainment! Joey Nickles! Write a check! If we're wrong, it's not like you've won a bunch of Lombardi's and can say "I told you so"! Besides, I'm still caught up in the REAL "Gold Standard" team across the street!— Nihilist
Ocho is 'oucho" and not even 'Groucho' . . . he's a turkey, not an Eagle. Patience is a virtue that most eagles fans lack . . . Let's se what the draft brings . . . if Moreno falls into our hands people will forget that 'dodo cinco' and be dancing in the streets. Thumbs down to that squirt ;-)— petergou- The dudes got talent and he'd fit right in and contribute . But who wants to put up with his shennanigans ?? Give him a 3 year deal contingent upon zero post TD comic routines.Ie act like a pro and not a clown..— MJPD345
- Johnson would make way more sense than TJ would have. He's a bigger receiver that would definitely command a defense's attention, and create more one-on-one matchups for D-Jax on the outside. Why not go get him? How awful could he possibly be other than the ridiculous name change?— jonnyb0916
- Is it just me or is the WR always the position of problem players?— bvl390
- Adding Moreno does nothing to upgrade the receiving corps. He's a running back and a rookie at that— jonnyb0916
- quiero ocho cinco— Will.i.Am
- bob ford is a moron,lets see, the lat time we had a talented wr we went to the superbowl— bdawkisgod
Comment removed.- "But Chad's never had any off the field issues! He's never thrown any teammates under the bus! All #1 receivers are crazy, anyways!" Is that really what I'm hearing from you guys? First, it's true Chad has never had any off-the-field issues, but neither has Terrell "Bridge Burner" Owens. Second, Chad has, in fact, tossed teammates under the bus, including his quarterback, Carson Palmer, last season during his whole "I want to be traded" rampage. Third, it's true there are plenty of top receivers with attitudes, but let's look back to fairly recent history...Larry Fitzgerald, Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Andre Johnson, Isaac Bruce, Derrick Mason, among others. Know what they have in common? All receivers who, during their primes (some still in their prime), were elite receivers who haven't had ANY attitude problems or off the field issues (I don't count Harrison because his incident happened well after his prime years) I don't know if I'd want Ocho Cinco or not, but don't immediately dismiss arguments against him coming.— moderndaymesh
- Here we go again with the receivers. When are the Eagle fans going to realize the Eagles do not need top notch receivers. Andy has been very successful with having numerous mediocre or just below average receivers and spreading the ball around. After all look at all the division championship and super bowls the Eagles have won. Oh yeah, only one divisional championship and no super bowl rings. Never mind!— mindstorms
- Bob, let me copy/paste your bio: "Bob Ford has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 1981, and is still trying to figure it all out." Oh how correct you are! He's 31, never disruptive, just wants to have chance to win....Lets help him out!— bonnerlou
- if you dont want him,, then please dont show him doing to a defender what no WR on this team can do!!!! get it right.— osi is hurt boohoo
