In the football gospel according to Chad Johnson, selfish is good - even if it rubs teammates the wrong way.  The Cincinnati Bengals' wide receiver broke seven days of silence on Tuesday in an interview with ESPN Radio's Stephen A. Smith.  Johnson called himself an easy target for the club's 2-5 start and said he doesn't regret anything he's said or done this season, including the apparel he used on opening night of the season when he donned a yellow jacket promoting himself as a future Pro Football Hall of Famer.

The flamboyant wideout also said he's happy in Cincinnati and doesn't expect to be traded.  "Everybody loves to use that selfish word and make it a negative," Johnson said. "Man, it's very much so a positive.  "You've got to want it. You've got a different type of breed that plays this game. I'm a different type of breed and I approach it differently from everybody else. I'll let you know I want it, and I'm going to let you know I'm going to go get it. That might rub off the wrong way and put too much pressure on those around me. If they don't have any selfishness to 'em, then that's part of the reason why we are 2-5."

Head coach Marvin Lewis ripped the team for being selfish after its 34-13 Monday night home loss to New England on Oct. 1, and Johnson knows the message was aimed at him.  "Of course," Johnson said. "Who else are you going to point at? I'm the outgoing one. I'm the one who's celebrating. I'm the trash-talker. I'm the one that people love to call self-promoting.   "You know what I do? Every time I touch that field, I think about one thing - playing this game and having fun like you're in the schoolyard when you were a kid. That's what you see. Therefore, when coach Lewis says something about selfish, it's pointing back to me. My take on the word selfish? If you don't have any selfishness about you, you're not going to win at what you do. You've got to want it."

In the interview, Smith suggested Johnson is getting an unfair rap for the team's slow start and myriad problems, especially on defense. How's Johnson holding up with his feet held to the fire?  "I'm lovin' it," Johnson said. "I'm an easy target because of the way I play the game. I'm a very easy target when things aren't going right. I'm very lovable when things are going right, and I'm easy to hit when things are going wrong. I understand that. We're going to have our ups and downs as a team and right now we're down, and we're trying to find a way to pull ourselves out of this hole."

Johnson, who has 44 catches for 731 yards (16.8) and three TDs, refused to finger the Bengals' porous defense as the reason why the club is losing.  "We've just got to find a level of consistency in order to compete the way we want to - like we did in '05 (when the 11-5 Bengals reached the playoffs)," Johnson said. "We'll be fine on the other side of the ball. All I can do is focus on football. If we're 2-5, that means there are five games that we didn't score enough points to win."

What about the "Hall of Fame" jacket that he wrapped around his shoulders like a heavyweight prize fighter?  "When I put that yellow jacket on, that wasn't no joke," he said. "Ain't nothing funny about that. I will get there by any means necessary. A lot of people look at that and say, 'Oh, there he goes again.' No. I was just trying to say it in a nice way in a nice gesture. I might have said a couple of things where, you know what, I'm sorry. And when I walk off that stage (in Canton someday), I'll be sure to apologize again."

As a spokesman for Degree Antiperspirant & Deodorant, Johnson raises money for the "Feed the Children" organization when fans visit his Web site - www.trashtalk85.com.  What he won't fuel is trade talk ... and any speculation about embattled coach Marvin Lewis' future.
"This is a business," he said. "Randy (Moss) left Minnesota. T.O. (Terrell Owens) left San Francisco. They had issues. I have no issue where I am. I have none. I'm happy where I'm at. I'm happy I'm a big part of the reason why the Bengals are a contender.  "I don't feed into (speculation on Lewis' future). All I worry about is me and my offense. That's it."

Dayton Daily News

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