[Stardust]

By Joe Reedy • [email]jreedy@enquirer.com[/email] • March 29, 2009



The offseason conditioning program for the Bengals begins Monday at Paul Brown Stadium, which means we're close to answering everyone's favorite question - will Chad Ocho Cinco be there?


The short answer, at the moment, is we don't know.

"I plan on everyone to be here until I hear that they're not," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "Now, there are some guys in weddings or classes who won't be here the first week but will the second, and vice versa. We should be at 90 percent or better in terms of attendance."

If Ocho Cinco adheres to his word, he should be at PBS on Monday. During Super Bowl week, the wide receiver said he would participate in all offseason activities, which would be a complete change from last year. Ocho Cinco did not show up until minicamp in June after demanding to be traded for much of the offseason.

As with most of the Bengals, the ninth-year receiver has a lot to prove this season. He had just 53 receptions for 540 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games, his worst season production-wise since he was a rookie.

Ocho Cinco was not healthy for most of the season. In the second preseason game, he separated his shoulder, which nagged him most of the year, and then he missed the last two games with a hamstring injury.

And then there was a missed meeting prior to the Nov. 20 game at Pittsburgh, which resulted in him being made inactive, ending a string of 113 consecutive games played.