Trash is returned to garbageman
FOXBOROUGH -- One day after Bengals receiver Chad Johnson took some playful jabs at Patriots defenders, coach Bill Belichick and safety Rodney Harrison delivered a humorous counter punch.
On Wednesday, Johnson said that ``Mr. Belichick" would never play him with a single defender. Yesterday, Belichick had some fun at Johnson's expense.
``Tell him we'd cover him one on one all the time, but he pushes off more than any receiver in the league," Belichick joked. ``He must be paying off the officials not to call it. We're going to have to double-cover him some, not that he can get open. As much as he pushes off, we have to do something to protect ourselves."
Johnson also said he plans to knock Harrison's helmet off in Sunday's game at Cincinnati.
Yesterday, after joking that Johnson couldn't knock the helmet off a mosquito, Harrison said he's willing to put his career on the line.
``If he knocks my helmet off, I guarantee you I will retire," Harrison said.
Harrison also fired another zinger at Johnson, linking his trash talking to what the Patriots heard from underachieving Eagles receiver Freddie Mitchell before Super Bowl XXXIX.
``This is kind of similar to the Freddie Mitchell gig, but Chad is not on that level of receiver," Harrison said. ``He's not as good as Freddie."
Turning serious for a moment, Harrison said Johnson's trash talk is a lot different than Mitchell's. Asked how Johnson can get away with such banter, Harrison said, ``Chad is a baller, Freddie is not. Freddie is a bum.
``[Chad] doesn't say it in a [bad] way, it's all humorous," Harrison said. ``Just look at the antics that go along with it. He's not meaning to hurt anyone's feelings, he does that to motivate his team, himself, and maybe get a little spotlight on himself. It's all good. That's what the NFL is about, right?"
Belichick believes the playful chatter is reflective of Johnson's personality.
``He's really an entertaining kid, he has a good sense of humor," said Belichick, who remembers working out Johnson prior to the 2001 draft on Southern Cal's campus and chuckled when recalling that Johnson drove on campus with the flag of his alma mater -- Oregon State -- on his car. ``I think he's just a playful type of guy. That's just Chad being Chad."
Prior to the 2004 exhibition game between the Patriots and Bengals, Harrison and Johnson spent time on the field chatting it up.
``We'll talk and kind of laugh and joke, and he'll give me a hard time and tell me some stories about how he grew up, and I'll give him a little wisdom and knowledge," Harrison said. ``It's all fun, until we step on the field, and he's out there ducking balls and not wanting to get hit."
Harrison also responded to Johnson's claim that Harrison was the original trash talker.
``I used to really be bad, back in the day when I played in San Diego," Harrison said. ``But now, I think he just took over my lead and he's the king of trash talk."
Harrison said Patriots defenders must remain patient.
``You look at some of the games and see balls flying around, going right into guys' hands and you say, `Why can't that happen to us?' But you can't get yourself so anxious where you're out of position, and now all of a sudden you're giving up a touchdown. So I think the main thing is just being patient and just continue to focus on getting the ball out."
Inside linebacker Junior Seau has a slightly different perspective as someone who plays closer to the line of scrimmage.
``We need to inflict more pain, so they can't hold onto the ball," he said.
``I think guys can understand that you can't win many ballgames playing like that," said Koppen, who starts alongside guards Stephen Neal and Logan Mankins and tackles Matt Light and Ryan O'Callaghan. ``That being said, you have to put last week behind you and move on to the next week. The attitude has been good from the start -- guys seemed like they moved past it."
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