NO BULL: Falcons could reunite Bratkowski, Ochocinco
Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco attempts to ride a bull named Deja Blu during an intermission at the Professional Bull Riders' Lucas Oil Invitation bull riding event in Duluth, Ga., Saturday, May 14, 2011. (By John Bazemore, Associated Press)
The Falcons could have the inside track to land six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Chad Ochocinco if he becomes a free agent.
He’s currently under contract to the Cincinnati Bengals, but they could release him when the lockout is lifted.
The Falcons hired Bob Bratkowski, the Bengals former offensive coordinator, to be their new quarterbacks coach in February.
According to Ochocinco, Bratkowski has been a longtime supporter.
Former Cincinnati offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski is the Falcons new quarterbacks coach. (Associated Press)
“Coach Bratkowski is the reason why I’m with the Bengals,” Ochocinco said after riding a bull at the Gwinnett Arena on Saturday. “He was my coach at the Senior Bowl when I was coming out. He went to bat for me. They weren’t going to take me. But from what he saw at the Senior Bowl before the draft is the reason why he stood on the table for me and that’s why they drafted me.”
Ochocinco would not say if he wants to become a Falcon if, as has been widely speculated, his days in Cincinnati are indeed numbered.
“It’s a lockout, man,” Ochocinco said. “I’m riding bulls. I don’t want to talk about football.”
Ochocinco nearly had his legs stomped on by a 1,500-pound bull named Deja Blu. However, he didn’t consider riding the bull as a risky proposition.
“Every down is a risk to my career,” Ochocinco said. “Every time that I wake up in the morning, it’s a risk to life in general. I don’t live life like that. One of the things about me is that I’m extremely interesting. I’m unpredictable and I am willing to do anything. If God said it was OK to ride, which he did, he said ‘I got you.’ I went out there and rode.”
If Ochocinco stayed on the bull for eight seconds he was going to rename he bull “Marvin Lewis.” That probably would not have gone over well with Falcons coach Mike Smith, who is friends with Lewis.
“I’m sure my coaches were probably pissed,” Ochocinco said. “I would be too. I’m sure the NFL was pissed, but I don’t follow their rules anyway.”
His bull riding days are over.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Ochocinco said. “One and done.”
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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187 comments Add your comment
FalconUGAFan
May 17th, 2011
5:25 am
Doesn’t seem to fit the personality mold that the Falcons look for, so it would be a surprise. But who knows…
Falcon James
May 17th, 2011
5:32 am
As intriguing as it is that he may be available. This cat is way too big a risk. We just drafted a play maker, who in my opinion, probably would not decide to ride a bull if he knew his legs were his only means to make a living. Pretty sure the Falcon know this too. Anyway, nice publicity stunt. Now get your head out of the bulls butt.
Singletary
May 17th, 2011
5:50 am
Please, TD, stop this meaningless speculation now. This is worse than the birther AND deather movements (think recent successful military intervention in Pakistan) insofar as ripping asunder the team. You got your Julio Jones with a lot of picks. That is enough on offense until we bolster the D. Respectively signed, A Fan
Steve
May 17th, 2011
5:57 am
The Falcons certainly don’t need that head ache besides, if they sign him what was the purpose of moving up so far to take JJ???
Fin
May 17th, 2011
6:02 am
I don’t know guys, let’s sit and think about this. As flamboyant as Chad is off the field, you can’t dismiss his hard work. He is wild, but you have NEVER heard a coach, teammate, etc say he doesn’t work his butt off. As good as Roddy has been, Chad could possibly teach him, HD and Julio some tricks of the trade. Let’s not write this off so fast
StatesBurr
May 17th, 2011
6:08 am
Usual stuff… man o man.
TommyP
May 17th, 2011
6:15 am
Give me a break. The Falcons aren’t even going to THINK about bringing in Ochocinco.
NOOOOOO
May 17th, 2011
6:19 am
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
robert
May 17th, 2011
6:23 am
no way
robert
May 17th, 2011
6:24 am
april first was last month man. good joke. chad JOHNSON wont ever be a falcon.
Ellabell 1
May 17th, 2011
6:26 am
Great player with a “me” attitude. Falcons don’t need this bad apple.
Maurice
May 17th, 2011
6:28 am
Enter your comments here
tom
May 17th, 2011
6:34 am
not happening!
Charles
May 17th, 2011
6:38 am
Please, dear God NO! It goes against everything this team and its success is all about.
Maurice
May 17th, 2011
6:40 am
Chad Johnson made Palmer who he is. Then Palmer became irrelevant by blasting Chad Johnson. Wide receivers have been divas since the beginning of time. I remember once when most people on this site were blasting Roddy White for supporting MV. Now he’s everyone’s best friend! Hey, I like Roddy and MV, but I’ve always liked them. If they both worked as hard as they do now, we wouldn’t have had to worry about dogfighting or drafting Matt Ryan. It’s the past. Sure Chad has been a clown this off season, but he’s the only one pushing the envelope to get the league to notice that they ( the players) can do what ever they want and the owners can’t do a thing about it. Lift the lockout and he wouldn’t have to ride bulls, play soccer, or climb Mt. Everest. Sorry the mountain climbing is my idea. I think they, the players and coaches, should all go on a mountain climbing expedition and see how quickly the owners lift the lockout. It’s a shot in the dark, but it has better lighting than fighting over billions of dollars when most of them are millionaires.
Larry
May 17th, 2011
6:48 am
Mr. Ledbetter,
I have have to know…are you serious?
There is absolutely nothing about this illiterate, self-absorbed, self-centered, arrogant buffoon that would interest the Falcons, they just traded their first born for Jones, every remaining available dollar needs to go toward the defense, and Chad (I refuse to acknowledge his stupid nick-name) is in the beginning stages of regressing as a WR.
Please make me feel better by admitting that you’d just downed a few shots before writing this and what you typed came from the alcohol and not your brain?
NOOOOOO
May 17th, 2011
6:50 am
Most of them are NOT millionaires.
Great Falconi
May 17th, 2011
6:56 am
This ain’t happening !
How about free agent & Georgia native Ronnie Brown ?
Jim
May 17th, 2011
6:57 am
Just say `NO`!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sam The Swami
May 17th, 2011
7:16 am
Ocho works hard and would be a great #2 or #3 WR for us, depending on the pace of Julio’s development. Very few WRs enter the league as rookies and contribute.
While Ocho likes the spotlight and has complained about the Bengals, he hasn’t screwed up the locker room or on field chemistry. Heck, Palmer wants out of Cincy just like Ocho does. The place is miserable…terrible owner, terrible coach, terrible city.
I think he’d be a good fit here!
Dan
May 17th, 2011
7:20 am
He had a couple of above average seasons, he is faaarrr from a great player, great talker, but a washed up mediocre receiver
McNasty
May 17th, 2011
7:23 am
Way to go DLED, stirring the pot on something you know will never happen (I guess thats part of your job) unless there is an injury and by then he will have been snapped up. But thanks for the controversy starter, it got everybody hyped up and shows their real side.
AtlantaDude
May 17th, 2011
7:25 am
“One of the things about me is that I’m extremely interesting.”
Says it all
David
May 17th, 2011
7:33 am
In a word—–NO
Section242
May 17th, 2011
7:34 am
One of the worst chemistry guys ever. He is up there with T.O. It is all about Chad not the team. One of the LAST guys the Falcons would want. Fortunately, we have Roddy & Julio and don’t need another receiver.
Lets talk Defensive End when Free Agency starts (hopefully) and sign our 3 OL who are eligible.
John falcondawg
May 17th, 2011
7:37 am
Please do not let this happen a big fan since day one would be gone
jlew
May 17th, 2011
7:39 am
great #3 for the falcons roddy #1 julio #2 ocho#3 u betta hav a good secondary
truth
May 17th, 2011
7:40 am
Yes,
He can be the 2nd WR while Julio matures. and if he works hard why not?
no WR is good in his 1st season.
jlew
May 17th, 2011
7:41 am
stop jgbirds giv it a chance
Let's Go
May 17th, 2011
7:41 am
Why not sign him if he’s available. 1 year deal and he could provide a spark in 3 receiver sets. The guy may be a headache to mangement but for one year he could help this team out and would probably be a model teammate since he would be playing for a long term deal after that.
Jgsbirds
May 17th, 2011
7:41 am
hahahahahahahaha–no way in the world would they bring in this cat. no way!
Big Dawg
May 17th, 2011
7:53 am
No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No and No
The Rock
May 17th, 2011
7:56 am
The Rock says not no but Hell NO!!!!!!!!
Old Flatulent Dawg
May 17th, 2011
7:58 am
Lord No…..Roddy White is half way to being a nut case now…add Chad and watch Roddy blow up from learning from a master nut case.
IceFan
May 17th, 2011
8:04 am
Same answer as when you posed the same question about T.O. last year:
Hell No!
suwaneefalcon
May 17th, 2011
8:05 am
I would rather bring Jerry Rice out of retirement then land this guy. At least Rice would be a great role model for the likes of Julio and Roddy and has the great numbers to go with it. I know Rice will not be here and neither will Ocho. THANK GOD!
The Joker...
May 17th, 2011
8:10 am
WhooHooo!!!!! Let’s bring him in and sign T.O as well, We would be an offensive machine, no need to sign much needed Defensive help, our one and only strategy would be to just outscore our opponents!!!!
Shannon
May 17th, 2011
8:11 am
I second that…..Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Booooooooooooooooooo
Tommy
May 17th, 2011
8:11 am
Thats exactly what the team needs a RAVEN idiot to be a FALCON
Paulitik
May 17th, 2011
8:14 am
So, we get rid of Meier, Douglas, Jenkins or Weems to bring this guy in? Sorry I don’t see it.
HJones
May 17th, 2011
8:15 am
This article makes me question the hiring of Bob Bratkowski.
mountain_jim
May 17th, 2011
8:15 am
DLed just stirring up the pot, and page views…. Nothing to this at all.
smoore54
May 17th, 2011
8:17 am
I like Ochocinco. He is incredibly gifted on the field even if he is a bit of a showboat. If he can get the job done, I have no issues UNLESS Roddy White has issues. If there becomes a personality conflict among WR then I’m Team Roddy. Always.
Tana
May 17th, 2011
8:18 am
I’ll start by saying that this is probably not going to happen given the move we made to get Julio Jones in this year’s draft. You have to assume any money spent on free agency will be spent on th OL and Defense.
However, before the move for Jones, I was always wondering if Johnson was Falcons bound. I follow him on Twitter, and the man loves this city. He works out here, he runs at the Marist School. On days where I’m pretty sure he had a game earlier that day or the day before he was at Falcons home games. He was seen at the Braves game not to long ago. On Twitter he is always in Atlanta doing something.
Character issue? I don’t think Chad Johnson is a diva. I think he is a free spirit. Quite frankly I think he would be a great fit. He would bring some smile to the ever monotonous, robotic offense that is the Falcons. Our organization is a great one, but characteristically they are all very bland from top to bottom, never answering questions, never stepping outside the predetermined circle. The fact is that the man is a career 10,000 yard reciever with 66 TDs whether you think he is bad news or not.
Jackets21
May 17th, 2011
8:18 am
Stupid article by a stupid writer. Everyone knows this team began valuing character after the dog murdering qb incident and coincidentally, the TEAM has advanced exponentially. No way this clown is invited anywhere near this organization, couldn’t hold a position as head cheerleader. Besides, he’s talentless.
I'm Shocked
May 17th, 2011
8:20 am
Oh yea !!!! Just what the Faconn’s need, another DUMB MASS, I’m sure the law enforcement crowd is gonna be happy about this. Hey Mike Smith, why don’t u just go on down to the Atlanta Penn and check out the talent there– Go Falcons, this is the exact reason why I would NEVER, EVER, spend a dime on them.
mrzizzle
May 17th, 2011
8:21 am
I guarantee Ocho-oh no will never be a falcon
Sanjeev
May 17th, 2011
8:22 am
Slow news day? Arthur Blank won’t sign him. Moot point.
Atl fan
May 17th, 2011
8:27 am
I’m sure my coaches were probably pissed,” Ochocinco said. “I would be too. I’m sure the NFL was pissed, but I don’t follow their rules anyway.”
- He will not be a Falcon..
RGO67
May 17th, 2011
8:29 am
Sidestepping questions… http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/05/15/ochocinco-offers-few-clues-about-his-future ?
Regardless of his “Showmanship” you can’t question his Playmaking ability. The New England Patriots acquired Corey Dillon / Randy Moss who were problems but once they were on a team with a chance to win every Sunday they were very productive.