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Johnson lets the quotes pour out
Thursday, August 24, 2006
CINCINNATI — Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson — Mr. Golden Hair Surprise — can keep quiet for only so long.
Then he speaks. And everything that emanates from "No. 85" is, well, quotable.
Extras
You name it — his botched end zone celebration in Buffalo; his blond Mohawk hairdo; his quarterback, Carson Palmer; and his rivalry with Green Bay cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson — Johnson touched 'em all as he prepared to face the visiting Packers in a nationally televised preseason game on Monday night.
Surely, he's eager to see Packers quarterback Brett Favre.
"No," Johnson said. "I'm excited to see Al and Charles. It's going to be a good one. I'm going to be talking."
So what happened after your 9-yard TD catch at Buffalo?
"I was playing around when I scored," he said, "I was asking the ref to celebrate with me, but I really didn't have anything planned. It's preseason. I can't waste the material. Monday I might do something."
The game marks the season debut for Palmer, who had left knee surgery on Jan. 10.
"We will put on a show for his return," Johnson said. "He won't talk like that, but I'll talk like that for him. He's a lot better than last year, a lot smarter. He's in a comfortable stage right now — with the system and the receivers. With the people he has around him, Big Willie (Anderson) and the line, us, it makes his job easy."
Johnson said the fan response to his golden locks has been phenomenal.
"They love it," he said. "There are shirts being made right now (that) I'm sure everyone's going to grab. They look real nice. The last home game, they had some shirts that are all black. Black and gold (hair) and gold (teeth) is all you see."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2253 or cludwig@daytondailynews.com.
