Look. Neither you or I know if it's hurting team chemistry or not. I admit it's subjective. It's all in the eyes of the beholder. And no one who disagrees with Johnson's behavior has stated it's the reason why the Bengals are 4-7. Show me where it has been stated? Blame can be aimed in many other areas that is for sure.
I personally could care less if he wants to wear a Mohawk haircut, walk around with his Ocho Cinco or Future HOF jackets on, or his excessive antics after a TD catch.
I never said those particular types of behavior was bad for the team. I just stated, IMHO, that it shows him to be an egotistical player, and yes, at times, a distraction that this team doesn't need right now. That's all. It is not a reflection on his work ethic or talent.
And again - it's not just other team's fans who have been saying that. Do you ever listen to Dave Lapham? What did you think of Boomer's comments at halftime this past weekend over the camera stunt? Both have been pretty harsh/critical.
But you're in denial if you think, and this even goes back to last year and the locker room confrontation after the Pittsburgh loss, to the confrontations he has had this year on the playing field/sidelines with Palmer and Lewis, that it's not having any type of adverse effect. I don't care what you believe, but that "meltdown" in the locker room at halftime was all about Chad upset because he wasn't getting the ball enough. And in that New England game Palmer was running down the field ready to confront Chad. The only thing that stopped him was one of his own lineman grabbing him.
When Chad wore the Ocho Cinco label over the back of his jersey, who went over, while on the sidelines, and ripped it off, while not looking to pleased about it? Carson Palmer.
Who is debating statistics? T.O. and Keyshawn are/were top receivers in the NFL also, while being complete horse's patoots. Again - if CJ was wearing any other uniform you'd probably be saying the same things many others are.Chad Johnson is a top receiver in all of the NFL. While a poster above might not want him on their team, any coach/gm/owner/etc. in the NFL would want him on their team. We are a bad team with very few bright spots, and he happens to be one of them. Sorry you guys don't see it that way. This situation is exactly like Adam Dunn's. People want to hate him, but you won't find a statistic or situation where he has hurt his team. Adam Dunn strikes out too much, and Chad Johnson talks too much. I love them both, if i'm exaggerating or not.
Have you ever seen the Keyshawn interview of Chad on ESPN NFL Countdown? Quite tense. I will say that I thought it was pretty hypocritical of Keyshawn, being the maverick that he was, to call Chad out and even say he was being a distraction and hurting the team. But Chad responds that he acts the ways he does because that is how KJ used to be.
And the Dunn analogy is a terrible one. Sure, there are those out there that don't care for Dunn because they say he strikes out too much, doesn't hit in the clutch, or whatever. Again - we're not talking about performance/talent; but character/behavior. Dunn isn't out there on that field trying to draw attention to himself and carrying an attitude of "it's all about me."