National Football League

Defending the Divas

Published Oct. 20, 2010 10:16 p.m. ET

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Ochocinco and Owens are multimedia celebrities, but the veteran receivers can still get it done on the field and the Bucs will have their hands full today.

By ROY CUMMINGS

rcummings@tampatrib.com

CINCINNATI - Joe Namath had nothing on these two guys. Come to think of it, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady don't have anything on them either.

When it comes to self promotion and celebrity status, no NFL player has ever been in the same league as Bengals receivers Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens. These guys don't just have their own string of TV commercials and TV guest appearances. They have their own national TV shows. And more.

Ochocinco has been a contestant on "Dancing With The Stars" and once beat a thoroughbred race horse in a staged foot race by 12 lengths.

Owens, meanwhile, has written his own children's book, developed his own iPhone app and created his own cereal, T.O.'s Honey Nut Toasted Oats.

They're everywhere, these guys. They're on your TV, your computer and your cell phone. They're at their best, though, when they're on a football field.

Ochocinco is the only player in league history to lead his conference in receiving yards for four straight seasons. Owens, meanwhile, is one of six players with 1,000 career receptions, 100 touchdown receptions and 14,000 receiving yards.

"That's why I don't mind those guys' personalities one bit," said Bucs coach Raheem Morris, whose team comes off a bye week to take on Owens, Ochocinco and the Bengals today at Paul Brown Stadium. "They've been good for the league.

"I know all about some of the incidents and the TV shows and everything, but look at T.O. He's the second-all-time-leading receiver in the National Football League. I'll take that every day of the week."

Funny, but Morris and the Bucs probably wouldn't have had to deal with Owens on this particular day of the week had one of their castoffs from a year ago not come up lame during the preseason. It was only after former Bucs wideout Antonio Bryant began to struggle again with a sore knee that Cincinnati felt the need to sign the 36-year-old Owens.

Once they did, expectations in Cincinnati rose immediately. After all, the only thing the Bengals seemed to be missing during their 10-6 run to the playoffs a year ago was a competent complement to Ochocinco.

With Owens on board and assuming that role, opponents such as the Bucs now have to decide how to defend against a dynamic duo that Ochocinco quickly dubbed "Batman and Robin."

"It's difficult for any team," Ochocinco said. "You definitely have to pick your poison."

Morris' antidote may be to throw something at the Bengals he has more or less stored away in a closet - the old Tampa 2 defensive scheme that he learned from former Bucs coordinator Monte Kiffin. At its heart, the Tampa 2 is designed to eliminate big plays, particularly in the passing game, by aligning the linebackers and defensive backs in a zone scheme with one of their goals to keep the ball in front of them.

In a scheme like that, the ability to quickly rally to the ball and tackle becomes more important than the ability to cover a pass catcher, and with the Bucs' youthful secondary, it might be their best option.

"Most definitely, tackling will be important," said second-year cornerback E.J. Biggers, who is one of three regulars in the Bucs' secondary with less than three years of NFL experience.

The others are third-year starting cornerback Aqib Talib and rookie starting safety Cody Grimm. Morris' hasn't ignored the possibility that one or all of them could be blinded today by Owens' and Ochocinco's star power.

To combat that, Morris said he has leaned on veteran cornerback Ronde Barber and veteran safety Sean Jones to remind his young players that what they do is more important to the Bucs' success than what Owens and Ochocinco do.

"You can't get caught up so much with who those guys are, because then you kind of lose who you are," Morris said. "The fact that Ochocinco and Terrell Owens are on their team almost has to become gray matter.

"There are certain things at certain times in a game where you have to do certain things and take them away or take away their best attribute, but for the most part it's about us. It's about what we want to do."

As you might expect, what opponents have done against Owens and Ochocinco so far is struggle. Owens goes into today's game ranked fifth in the league in receiving yardage, while Ochocinco is ranked 14th.

But despite the duo's 47 combined catches and 670 combined receiving yards, they have only accounted for two touchdowns as the Bengals have gotten off to a 2-2 start that has left Owens a little disgruntled. You see, records don't mean much to him anymore. With his career seemingly winding down, what Owens wants more than anything is another shot at a Super Bowl.

"Of course the numbers were there," Owens said of his 10-catch, 222-yard, one-touchdown performance during Cincinnati's 23-20 loss to Cleveland. "But that doesn't really mean a whole lot when you lose.

"That wasn't my point in coming here. I came here to help this team with the opportunity of getting to the Super Bowl. When you lose like that, especially to a team you're supposed to beat, it doesn't sit well with me."

What doesn't sit well with Ochocinco is the fact the Bengals have yet to hit their stride offensively. He said they need to get their running game going to spark the passing game and the offense overall.

"We're sputtering," he said. "We're having flashes of brilliance. We have to get the running game going. That's how we were last year, we were a run-first team and that really hasn't been our makeup this year."

What may not sit well with Morris is the fact that, despite what Owens says, Owens' performance last week is an indication he and Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer are starting to develop a good working chemistry. Palmer has long had chemistry with Ochocinco, so it will only make it tougher to defend the Bengals' dynamic duo if Palmer has a similar relationship with Owens.

The Bucs, though, may have an advantage of their own in all that youth they'll throw at the Bengals. At least that is how Palmer, now in his eighth season, sees it.

"They're fast, they're quick and they're explosive," Palmer said. "And what they lack in some leadership roles, they make up for in athleticism. They really run around the field well.

"They're very aggressive, so we need to use our vets in this game, especially our vets on offense. They're going to be a little bit quicker off the ball, so we need to use our experience to help us win this game."

The Bengals' most experienced veteran on offense is Owens, now in his 15th season. Their third-most experienced veteran on offense is Ochocinco, in his 10th season. It's apparent, then, who the Bengals will lean on.

Not that the Bucs expected anything different. Sure, the Bengals talk about running the ball and playing defense, but at some point you have to shut down their dynamic celebrity duo.

"Yeah, you watch them on TV and now all of a sudden you're playing against them," the veteran Jones said. "All you can do is just remind yourself that they put their pants on the same way we do. If you take that approach, play the best you can, that's really all you can ask for."

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979.

(CHART) DYNAMIC DIVAS

Here is a look at the stats for Bengals receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco so far this season:

REC YDS AVG TD

Owens 24 374 15.6 1

Ochocinco 23 296 12.9 1

Photo Credit: Getty Images / Staff illustration

Photo: Bengals receivers Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens have combined for 47 catches and 670 receiving yards in the team's first four games.

Photo: Terrell Owens had 222 receiving yards last week, but he was not happy after the loss to the Browns.

Photo: Raheem Morris

Copyright ? 2010, The Tampa Tribune and may not be republished without permission. E-mail library@tampatrib.com

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