03-27-2006, 09:57 PM
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - It looks like weâve seen the last of Pylon Golf, Touchdown Proposals, and Cardio Pulmonary Laces if the NFL owners pass muster Wednesday on a celebration crackdown.
But Bengals Pro Bowl wide receiver Chad Johnson, known as much last season for his Night-at-the-Improv celebrations as for his touchdowns, says he can still keep his flair and not draw a flag.
The competition committee has recommended that the ball no longer be used as a prop, a player canât go to the ground, and he canât dance too long or excessively. In fact, no props at all can be used to celebrate a touchdown in the end zone.
âYou can still spike the ball, spin the ball, and dunk the ball over the goal post,â said competition committee co-chairman and Falcons president Rich McKay, but he said he enjoyed watching Johnson on the tapes and called him a âvery creative (USC) Trojan,â before catching himself and making it âa very creative Beaver from Oregon State.â
But, no matter. Those are now 15-yard penalties. Titans head coach Jeff Fisher, the other co-chair, said the plea to crack down on celebrations actually came from the NFL Players Association.
But Johnson isnât deterred, even though his head coach, Marvin Lewis, is the newest member of the competition committee.
âI donât follow the rules anyway,â Johnson said. âI donât think that affects what I do. Iâm not going to get a penalty. I donât use the ball for a prop.â
But he did in the Sunday night game last year in Jacksonville, when he performed CPR on the ball after scoring a touchdown to revive the Bengals in a game they trailed. But that would have been a penalty twice over because he went to the ground and used the ball as a prop.
âThe Tiger Hood,â act last season when he putted the ball with the pylon also would have been a 15-yarder twice over according to the new interpretation. And Fisher said when he went to one knee to propose to a Ben-Gal cheerleader that also would be a penalty even though he was on the sideline.
âHe went to the ground,â Fisher said. âAnd he wasnât far enough up the sideline (closer to the bench). If he wants to propose, he has to do it standing up.â
(The pushups in Chicago are also penalty fodder because of the ground.)
If it sounds like the committee has really studied this, they have. They apparently sat in a room in Indianapolis last month watching about 25 clips of the Best of Johnson, as well as Terrell Owens.
Although Bengals President Mike Brown enjoys Johnsonâs enthusiasm as much as anyone, it sounds like heâll vote for the crackdown when the owners convene Wednesday.
âChad is never offensive. But it does attract attention to one player and can be a distraction and I think our game needs to get away from that a little bit,â Brown said. âI enjoy it, but it depends on your perspective. When he did the River Dance (in Chicago), I thought that was great. When the guy from Pittsburgh (Hines Ward) did it, I didnât like it.â
WHO WHAT?: It sure looked like Lewis and Bill Cowher of the Steelers had buried the hatchet when the NFL head coaches gathered for their annual group photo here Monday at the league meetings.
Remember when the two traded barbs after the Steelersâ Wild Card victory over the Bengals back in January and Cowher rubbed it in by doing the Bengalsâ Who-Dey chant at the Super Bowl parade?
But the pair chatted easily and shared a couple of guffaws while they waited to be positioned.
âMarvinâs another guy in the wardrobe,â said Cowher, dressed in civies and looking for the coaches wearing team shirts.
Then Cowher sat in the front row in front of Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio while Lewis stood in the back row in the middle between Del Rio and new Packers coach Mike McCarthy.
âI told you. Thereâs nothing wrong,â Lewis said of the relationship between him and the man that gave him his first NFL job 14 years ago.
But Cowher admitted, âI kind of regretted what happened,â and that heâs going to have issues before this seasonâs first Bengals-Steelers game. He pretty much reiterated what he said at last monthâs scouting combine in praising Lewis and the Bengals while calling them the team they have to beat.
âIâm sure the first time we play next year, I will have to relive everything I did and I will regret that and I will apologize at the time,â Cowher told the Pittsburgh media contingent. âIt wasnât done with disrespect, it probably was done out of respect. What do they say? Imitation is the (highest) form of flattery? Thatâs the boat Iâm in.â
Cowherâs problem is that he sunk himself when he parodied Who-Dey not once, but twice. Once in the locker room after the playoff game in a gig captured by cameras, and then at the parade.
âAt the parade, I kind of got caught up in that. The locker room thing is kind of the locker room,â Cowher said. âI have a lot of respect for Mike Brown and for Marvin, and the fact is that they won our division.
âTheyâre the team we have to beat in our division because theyâre the ones on top. Marvin has done a fantastic job of turning around the whole mindset and the whole culture of the Cincinnati Bengals. Thereâs a lot of pride when they walk on the field and they have an expectation of winning.â
In the weeks since the Steelers won the Super Bowl, Lewis has appeared perplexed at Cowherâs actions and has treated the subject warily. But all seemed forgotten Monday in the Florida sun between two guys who spent four years working together and shared an AFC title, not to mention childhood memories of playing against each other in Greater Pittsburgh.
âI have a lot of respect for Marvin. We go way back. Like I said before, hey listen, in the heat of battle sometimes you do things and say things you donât mean personally,â Cowher said. âLike I said, heâs done a great job and heâs very well respected around the league, which is why you see him in his position he has on the competition committee, as it should be. Heâs a good, young, up-and-coming coach. We talked, but when it comes down to compete, weâll compete against each other but it will not affect the respect I have for him or the entire organization.â
NOT NATIONAL YET: The NFL announced its national television schedule for the opening weekend and Thanksgiving Day, and the Bengals are missing. But Brown isnât discouraged even though the Bengalsâ high-octane offense is coming off a division title that featured just one prime-time game.
âI donât think itâs saying anything against our situation,â Brown said. âThere are 17 weekends. The Thanksgiving game isnât something weâve ever looked for. Playing in Dallas and Detroit on that day is tough. Of course, theyâve got an extra game now, and it would be nice to get on NFL Network later in the season (on Thursdays). That would be different.â
There were reports that the NFL would have pitted the Bengals against the Steelers to open the season on Thursday, Sept. 7 in Pittsburgh if it knew quarterback Carson Palmer was going to be healthy. Instead the Dolphins come to Pittsburgh for the 8:30 p.m. game on NBC.
The opening Sunday night double-header matches Dallas at Jacksonville in a 4:15 game on FOX, and the Mannings duel in the first NFL game ever between starting quarterback brothers when the Colts go to the Giants for NBCâs 8:15 p.m. game.
Then ESPN makes its Monday night debut in another double-header. The Vikings play at Washington at 7 p.m. and San Diego goes to Oakland for a 10:15 p.m. game.
On Thanksgiving, Dallas (Tampa Bay at 4:15 on FOX) and Detroit (Miami at 12:30 p.m. on CBS) host their annual games, to be followed by Denverâs 8 p.m. game at Kansas City on NFL Network.
The rest of the NFL schedule gets released next month, but there is some speculation the Bengals could start this season where they ended the last one: In Kansas City.
Because of the Royalsâ baseball schedule, the Chiefs have to be on the road in Weeks Two and Three. Four of their home opponents are already taken. The Chargers and Raiders play Opening Weekend, the Broncos play at Kansas City on Thanksgiving, and the Jags are at home against Dallas for their opener.
Theoretically, that leaves the Bengals, Ravens, 49ers and Seahawks to open the season at Arrowhead.
NO PICKS: The NFL said Monday the Bengals are one of 13 teams to receive no compensatory picks in the April 29-30 draft. A team losing more or better free agents than it acquires in a year is eligible. They and the Browns came up empty in the AFC North because, howâs this for re-loading? The Steelers, who lost wide receiver Plaxico Burress and linebacker Kendrell Bell, among others, and still won the Super Bowl, picked up two fourth-rounders. They also got a fifth, while the Ravens picked up a NFL-high four with a fourth, fifth, and two sixes.
But Bengals Pro Bowl wide receiver Chad Johnson, known as much last season for his Night-at-the-Improv celebrations as for his touchdowns, says he can still keep his flair and not draw a flag.
The competition committee has recommended that the ball no longer be used as a prop, a player canât go to the ground, and he canât dance too long or excessively. In fact, no props at all can be used to celebrate a touchdown in the end zone.
âYou can still spike the ball, spin the ball, and dunk the ball over the goal post,â said competition committee co-chairman and Falcons president Rich McKay, but he said he enjoyed watching Johnson on the tapes and called him a âvery creative (USC) Trojan,â before catching himself and making it âa very creative Beaver from Oregon State.â
But, no matter. Those are now 15-yard penalties. Titans head coach Jeff Fisher, the other co-chair, said the plea to crack down on celebrations actually came from the NFL Players Association.
But Johnson isnât deterred, even though his head coach, Marvin Lewis, is the newest member of the competition committee.
âI donât follow the rules anyway,â Johnson said. âI donât think that affects what I do. Iâm not going to get a penalty. I donât use the ball for a prop.â
But he did in the Sunday night game last year in Jacksonville, when he performed CPR on the ball after scoring a touchdown to revive the Bengals in a game they trailed. But that would have been a penalty twice over because he went to the ground and used the ball as a prop.
âThe Tiger Hood,â act last season when he putted the ball with the pylon also would have been a 15-yarder twice over according to the new interpretation. And Fisher said when he went to one knee to propose to a Ben-Gal cheerleader that also would be a penalty even though he was on the sideline.
âHe went to the ground,â Fisher said. âAnd he wasnât far enough up the sideline (closer to the bench). If he wants to propose, he has to do it standing up.â
(The pushups in Chicago are also penalty fodder because of the ground.)
If it sounds like the committee has really studied this, they have. They apparently sat in a room in Indianapolis last month watching about 25 clips of the Best of Johnson, as well as Terrell Owens.
Although Bengals President Mike Brown enjoys Johnsonâs enthusiasm as much as anyone, it sounds like heâll vote for the crackdown when the owners convene Wednesday.
âChad is never offensive. But it does attract attention to one player and can be a distraction and I think our game needs to get away from that a little bit,â Brown said. âI enjoy it, but it depends on your perspective. When he did the River Dance (in Chicago), I thought that was great. When the guy from Pittsburgh (Hines Ward) did it, I didnât like it.â
WHO WHAT?: It sure looked like Lewis and Bill Cowher of the Steelers had buried the hatchet when the NFL head coaches gathered for their annual group photo here Monday at the league meetings.
Remember when the two traded barbs after the Steelersâ Wild Card victory over the Bengals back in January and Cowher rubbed it in by doing the Bengalsâ Who-Dey chant at the Super Bowl parade?
But the pair chatted easily and shared a couple of guffaws while they waited to be positioned.
âMarvinâs another guy in the wardrobe,â said Cowher, dressed in civies and looking for the coaches wearing team shirts.
Then Cowher sat in the front row in front of Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio while Lewis stood in the back row in the middle between Del Rio and new Packers coach Mike McCarthy.
âI told you. Thereâs nothing wrong,â Lewis said of the relationship between him and the man that gave him his first NFL job 14 years ago.
But Cowher admitted, âI kind of regretted what happened,â and that heâs going to have issues before this seasonâs first Bengals-Steelers game. He pretty much reiterated what he said at last monthâs scouting combine in praising Lewis and the Bengals while calling them the team they have to beat.
âIâm sure the first time we play next year, I will have to relive everything I did and I will regret that and I will apologize at the time,â Cowher told the Pittsburgh media contingent. âIt wasnât done with disrespect, it probably was done out of respect. What do they say? Imitation is the (highest) form of flattery? Thatâs the boat Iâm in.â
Cowherâs problem is that he sunk himself when he parodied Who-Dey not once, but twice. Once in the locker room after the playoff game in a gig captured by cameras, and then at the parade.
âAt the parade, I kind of got caught up in that. The locker room thing is kind of the locker room,â Cowher said. âI have a lot of respect for Mike Brown and for Marvin, and the fact is that they won our division.
âTheyâre the team we have to beat in our division because theyâre the ones on top. Marvin has done a fantastic job of turning around the whole mindset and the whole culture of the Cincinnati Bengals. Thereâs a lot of pride when they walk on the field and they have an expectation of winning.â
In the weeks since the Steelers won the Super Bowl, Lewis has appeared perplexed at Cowherâs actions and has treated the subject warily. But all seemed forgotten Monday in the Florida sun between two guys who spent four years working together and shared an AFC title, not to mention childhood memories of playing against each other in Greater Pittsburgh.
âI have a lot of respect for Marvin. We go way back. Like I said before, hey listen, in the heat of battle sometimes you do things and say things you donât mean personally,â Cowher said. âLike I said, heâs done a great job and heâs very well respected around the league, which is why you see him in his position he has on the competition committee, as it should be. Heâs a good, young, up-and-coming coach. We talked, but when it comes down to compete, weâll compete against each other but it will not affect the respect I have for him or the entire organization.â
NOT NATIONAL YET: The NFL announced its national television schedule for the opening weekend and Thanksgiving Day, and the Bengals are missing. But Brown isnât discouraged even though the Bengalsâ high-octane offense is coming off a division title that featured just one prime-time game.
âI donât think itâs saying anything against our situation,â Brown said. âThere are 17 weekends. The Thanksgiving game isnât something weâve ever looked for. Playing in Dallas and Detroit on that day is tough. Of course, theyâve got an extra game now, and it would be nice to get on NFL Network later in the season (on Thursdays). That would be different.â
There were reports that the NFL would have pitted the Bengals against the Steelers to open the season on Thursday, Sept. 7 in Pittsburgh if it knew quarterback Carson Palmer was going to be healthy. Instead the Dolphins come to Pittsburgh for the 8:30 p.m. game on NBC.
The opening Sunday night double-header matches Dallas at Jacksonville in a 4:15 game on FOX, and the Mannings duel in the first NFL game ever between starting quarterback brothers when the Colts go to the Giants for NBCâs 8:15 p.m. game.
Then ESPN makes its Monday night debut in another double-header. The Vikings play at Washington at 7 p.m. and San Diego goes to Oakland for a 10:15 p.m. game.
On Thanksgiving, Dallas (Tampa Bay at 4:15 on FOX) and Detroit (Miami at 12:30 p.m. on CBS) host their annual games, to be followed by Denverâs 8 p.m. game at Kansas City on NFL Network.
The rest of the NFL schedule gets released next month, but there is some speculation the Bengals could start this season where they ended the last one: In Kansas City.
Because of the Royalsâ baseball schedule, the Chiefs have to be on the road in Weeks Two and Three. Four of their home opponents are already taken. The Chargers and Raiders play Opening Weekend, the Broncos play at Kansas City on Thanksgiving, and the Jags are at home against Dallas for their opener.
Theoretically, that leaves the Bengals, Ravens, 49ers and Seahawks to open the season at Arrowhead.
NO PICKS: The NFL said Monday the Bengals are one of 13 teams to receive no compensatory picks in the April 29-30 draft. A team losing more or better free agents than it acquires in a year is eligible. They and the Browns came up empty in the AFC North because, howâs this for re-loading? The Steelers, who lost wide receiver Plaxico Burress and linebacker Kendrell Bell, among others, and still won the Super Bowl, picked up two fourth-rounders. They also got a fifth, while the Ravens picked up a NFL-high four with a fourth, fifth, and two sixes.