Chad Ocho Cinco Ruining a Hall of Fame Career?

On September 11, 2007 Chad Johnson performed his Future HOF touchdown celebration. At the time Chad was one of the top 5 wide receivers in the league and in the midst of his sixth consecutive 1,000 yard receiving season. While the gimmick was silly it was also seemed possible. Flash forward 20 months and Chad has lost his last name (for the silly Ocho Cinco) and many are questioning whether he has also lost his game after a 520 yard season. The Hall of Fame possibility is on the brink of flaming out thanks to a case of "me" instead of "we". In 2008 he attempted to complain his way out of town when the team called his bluff, he showed up out of shape and out of sync. With his legacy on the line, one would expect him to re-dedicate himself and rebuild his reputation. Instead, he has avoided the team's phone calls like the plaque while costing himself $250,000 in workout bonuses for the 2nd consecutive season. Former teammate Eric Ghiaciuc (now with Kansas City) stated what we already knew but the team refuses to say with the following: As much as you try to focus on football with your day-to-day routine of meetings, lifting, walkthroughs, practices, games, you can focus but it's still there behind you. I think we were doing our best to focus on what we needed to be focused on in our profession, but it was there and it was a problem. This on top of Carson Palmer's comments a few weeks ago regarding Chad and you know all is not right in Bengal-land. In an off-season of optimism, Chad remains the poison pill which could spoil it all. One could view the presence of "Hard Knocks" is either a blessing or a curse. On the plus side, Chad might actually want to work hard and hog the spotlight. On the negative side, Chad's poor practice habits and distractions could also be available for all to see. At this stage, Chad may need to realize he needs the team as much if not more than the team needs him. After all, the team appears to have some depth at wide receiver but Chad's legacy not to mention Hall of Fame hopes are on life support (Art Monk barely made it). The sooner Chad learns that the better it is for not only the Bengals but himself.