CINCINNATI -- Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has put the kibosh on the condiments.
Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco tweeted this week that he would send mustard to the Pittsburgh Steelers before their game Sunday at Heinz Field, a way of whipping up interest in the teams' AFC North showdown.
But Ochocinco backed down Wednesday. No mustard will be headed up the Ohio River.
"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to send anything this week, thanks to Marvin Lewis," Ochocinco said. "That's the way to spoil the fun, boss man. I guess I have to talk trash to motivate myself this week."
One of Ochocinco's most publicized stunts came in 2004, when he sent Pepto-Bismol to some of the Cleveland Browns' defensive backs before a game, warning them they would need the stomach medicine when they were done trying to cover him. Lewis didn't like it, and the Browns beat the Bengals 34-17.
Ochocinco had been on good behavior this season while the Bengals (6-2) moved into a first-place tie with the Steelers (6-2). He kept the trash talk to a minimum and didn't do anything that could incite an opponent.
Most of Ochocinco's free time was spent communicating with fans through Twitter, his iPhone application and his Ustream shows. He did nothing out of the ordinary leading up to games -- until last week.
Ochocinco sent deodorant to some of the Baltimore Ravens, who came to Cincinnati and lost 17-7 on Sunday. He planned to make another shipment to Heinz Field -- named after the ketchup maker headquartered in Pittsburgh -- and played off the condiment theme.
"I got a nice present for the Steelers -- sending them some mustard since they'll never ketchup when we play Sunday," Ochocinco tweeted earlier this week.
The Steelers were looking forward to it.
"He'd better send us something," safety Ryan Clark said Wednesday in Pittsburgh. "He sent something to the Ravens, so that shows he respects them. So he'd better send something to us.
"I hope he does because I've got three kids to feed. That's one less trip to the grocery store I need to make."
Instead, Ochocinco had to limit himself to putting up a laminated sign in his locker that proclaimed him "still the most uncoverable receiver in the league."
Just no condiments.
