This week's Samsonite Make Your Case will tackle an issue that has been all the rage lately.
The Twitter-verse was all aflutter this week after former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi took Chad Ochocinco to task following a message the wideout sent out Tuesday afternoon. After the Patriots racked up 622 yards of total offense, 517 of which came through the air via Tom Brady, Ocho tweeted: "Just waking up after a late arrival, I've never seen a machine operate like that n person, to see video game numbers put up n person was WOW."
Bruschi caught wind of the tweet and was immediately disturbed, issuing the following rant during a radio appearance.
"You're not someone who's on another team or watching TV. You're not an analyst. You're a part of it. They want you to be a part of it. So get with the program because obviously you're not getting it and you're tweeting because you're saying, 'It's amazing to see'? It's amazing to see because you don't understand it. You still don't understand it and it's amazing to you because you can't get it.
"Wake up! If you're just waking up now -- I don't know when this was, six minutes ago? -- get out your bed and get to the stadium and watch some film if you still think it's amazing. If you're in it and you know what you're doing and you execute out there, you don't think it's amazing. You know why? Because it's what you're supposed to do."
So the question is, was Bruschi's assessment of Ochocinco's situation is off base?
Andy Hart says yes ...
Apparently you can take the Patriot out of the locker room, but not the locker room out of the Patriot. I think Bruschi's reaction to Ochocinco's tweet was honest, passionate and real. I just think it was off base. While I'm guessing No. 54 would have said the same thing to No. 85's face were he still part of the team, he would likely have had a better understanding of the situation if that were the case. I think Ochocinco was trying to do the right thing when he tweeted about the offense's great performance in Week 1. "Wow," was just his way of expressing his team-first view of the game. Would we rather he was tweeting about having just one catch? By all accounts Ochocinco has worked as hard as he can and has done everything he's been asked in the short time he's been in New England. That's the important factor here, it's been such a short time for Ochocinco to learn the offense and learn what it means to be a Patriot. I think he's done an admirable job of the latter as he tries to get up to speed with the former. And I still think he's focused on being a productive part of this offense as the year wears on. It just takes time.
--AH
Paul Perillo says no ...
It's a little disconcerting to have a player new to the system reacting to his new surroundings with apparent astonishment at this stage. When Ochocinco first arrived it was understandable that he was thrilled to be out of Cincinnati and with a winning program. But that was weeks ago. At this point the thrill should have worn off and it should be business as usual. The fact that the wideout wasn't a big part of the offense doesn't bother me much, but him being "wowed" by the events that took place on opening night doesn't sit well. Like Bruschi said, if he understood what was expected of him, and of everyone else, he wouldn't feel such wonderment by even a record-setting performance. It's time for Ochocinco to get with the program and stop acting like an outsider with an all-access pass.
-PP
Now it's the fans turn to cast their vote in this week's Samsonite Make Your Case poll.
http://polldaddy.com/poll/5509359/
