FOXBORO — At the outset, many of us thought Chad Ochocinco couldn’t miss as a Patriot. For the longest time, he had been dying to come here and play for a winning team. He loved Bill Belichick, and the feeling was mutual. As for his resume, it was in the ballpark of Hall of Fame worthy.
The only thing you worried about when it came to Ochocinco was his occasional fits of outrageous behavior. That was the only issue that might have stunted his time as a Patriot.
In the end, Ochocinco’s flair, charm and charisma might have been the only things that kept him afloat with Patriot fans, and as it was, those qualities were incredibly muted since he walked through the doors at Gillette Stadium.Ochocinco, released by the team yesterday, conformed to the Patriot Way. He did everything possible to blend in and keep his flamboyant personality in check. He just couldn’t learn the playbook to save his life.
And that didn’t change with the dawn of a new year, especially with new coordinator Josh McDaniels putting his stamp on the offense.
If anything, that made it worse. Even at the Super Bowl, Ochocinco, who didn’t have the benefit of an offseason to learn the playbook and get in sync with Tom Brady [stats], still was uncomfortable with the plays and the offense. He couldn’t be used during the two-minute offense. That’s how bad it was.
“Anything is different, when you’ve come from something you’re used to for so long. It’s like being married,’’ Ochocinco told the Herald in an exclusive interview in late January when asked why he was still having trouble. “If I’m married to Halle Berry for 10 years, and her and I break up, and I marry Scarlett Johansson, there are going to be some things I have to adjust to based off what I’m used to. That’s just the way life is in general.”
However, that theory can be disproved by just looking at Jabar Gaffney [stats]. Gaffney first signed with the Pats in October 2006 and somehow managed to not only learn the system and plays on the fly with the season in progress, but also established an incredible rapport with Brady. So it’s not like it’s completely impossible to do or rocket science.
The sum total of Ochocinco’s existence last season was this: 15 catches for 276 yards, one touchdown, zero chemistry with Brady.
As a comparison, Gaffney practically trumped that in three playoff games alone his first season, catching 21 balls for 244 yards and two touchdowns. His relationship with Brady became special almost immediately. And yesterday, Gaffney said the magic he has with the quarterback hadn’t been lost over the last four years away.
So if you look at the big picture, the deck became so stacked against Ochocinco, there was no way he was going to beat out Gaffney, Donte Stallworth, another returning player, or even incumbent Deion Branch for a final roster spot.
All of these guys are 30-something, but they all have Brady’s trust, get to the places they’re supposed to be, and don’t have to be told where to go, which was still happening during this season’s OTA workouts for Ochocinco. On at least one occasion, Branch still had to point him to the right spot. Even newcomer Brandon Lloyd seems to be in more sync with Brady than Ochocinco ever was.
Ochocinco was certainly dedicated and willing. It just never happened for him. He didn’t have the kind of football intelligence you need to adjust to all that goes on with the Patriots [team stats] offense, then read the defense, and be where Brady expects you to be. He just never got it.
Couple that with the fact that at age 34, he wasn’t quite as explosive as he was in his prime. That’s not a recipe for survival in this Pats offense. Ultimately, that cost the Pats $5.75 million and a pair of draft picks.
“I bought into the Patriot Way, and it paid off. Maybe not the way everybody thought it would. I don’t know,’’ Ochocinco said in January. “Sometimes you work at something and you don’t always get results. Some people quit, some people keep grinding. I’m one of those who keeps grinding. And that’s it.”
In the end, all the grinding in the world wasn’t going to help him in the battle against receivers Brady trusted.
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