The Time Is Now

There are no more excuses for Chad Ocho Cinco. No longer can it be said that he’s going through an adjustment period. If he is going to perform at all for the Patriots, it will happen next week, or it will not happen at all.

Let’s put aside the sarcasm for a moment. Stop with the Ocho Stinko and the NoCatchO jokes. It’s time to face facts. First, Ocho Cinco did not have a full offseason to learn the playbook, the routes, and to get extra tutelage from Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. His offseason began at training camp; his first six weeks were his preseason. Quite simply, he had not had the time to adjust from being on the Bengals to coming to a perennial playoff team like the Patriots.

Also, expectations of what Ocho Cinco can be for the Patriots have to be tempered. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are major targets in the passing game. Wes Welker is the third down possession guy. Deion Branch is Brady’s favorite receiver, and always has been. So, in all seriousness, Ocho Cinco is, at best, the fifth target in the passing game. How many receptions can he realistically be expected to get?
However, the bye week has come at a fortunate time for Ocho Cinco. He has obviously gotten frustrated with his lack of performance. All he really wants is to be a contributing member of a championship caliber team, which he had never had the opportunity to be a part of.

Come Week 8 in the NFL? The excuses end. Either Ocho Cinco gets it, or he doesn’t. He has had his opportunity, and he must now seize it. If he doesn’t? Well, he will be nothing more than an afterthought, a forgotten man on a deep team that looks like it’s going to have a deep playoff run. And for Ocho Cinco, to be forgotten is worse than not being productive.

The time is now for Ocho Cinco, or it will never come.