War of Words

It's a damn good thing Paul Bown Stadium is an open-air venue for the week #2 matchup between the 1-0 Cincinnati Bengals and the 0-1 Minnesota Vikings, as the Bengals often outspoken Pro Bowl WR Chad Johnson issued a verbal sparring match challenge to the Vikings CB Fred Smoot earlier this week:

"How good is he? He's a good talker," Johnson said. "He's a real good talker. He's a solid corner. As a matter of fact, can we send Fred a message?"

Johnson leaned forward and said: "Smoot, let's go. That's it. That's the message for this week."

So who is the better trash talker, Chad or Fred?

"That's a good question," Johnson said. "I don't know. We have to ask him. Smoot, who talks better trash? Make sure he gets that."

Smoot, who's known for both his ability as a cover corner and for his sense of humor, had already built quite a career quote portfolio upon being selected out of Mississippi State in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins. While under contract as a Redskin, teammates named an award after him in training camp - being the "Fred 'Silky Johnson' Smoot Award", which was also referred to as the "You're Nothin' Award." During his time in Washington, when a player recorded a big play, Smoot would smile and tell him simply, "You're nothin."

Some excerpts from his time at Mississippi State:

On covering SEC wide receivers: "It's like this, 64% of the Earth is covered by water and the rest is covered by Smoot!"

On Kentucky's home field grass: "That's the worst field I've ever played on. I don't know if they spray painted it or what but it was slippery. It was real thick, too. And I don't know much about cutting grass, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

On Rodney Daniels pre-game talk before the Auburn game: "Yeah, I read in the paper earlier in the week (Rodney Daniels) said he couldn't wait. This was his 'breakout game'. He broke out, alright, what, with five catches for seven yards? It must have been a rash he broke out with."

On a BYU Touchdown on him: Heard outside the locker room after the BYU game, "They got one on you, Fred," said a fan. Smoot just smiled and said, "Yeah, I allow one a year."

On getting snubbed by the Outback Bowl: "Man, we went 9-2. Georgia went 7-4. They might as well have put us playing on BET on Christmas Eve in the We Got Screwed Bowl."

To Vanderbilt's WR Todd Yoder: "If you do my homework, I'll let you catch a pass."

Johnson and Smoot originally date back to the 2001 Senior Bowl, when Smoot lined up for the South team across from Johnson, donning his Oregon State helmet for the North team. After the game in which Smoot earned Defensive MVP honors for the South squad, his brimming confidence was in full display.

"You know all I was going to do was play the way I can play," Smoot said. "If I got the MVP or not, you know I was going to think I was MVP."

Johnson, who last year mailed bottles of Pepto Bismol to members of the Cleveland Browns secondary claiming "they'd get sick of covering him", has been told several times by coach Marvin Lewis to tone it down.

"This is the year of entertainment," Johnson said. "I no longer play football. Most of all, we've got to get a win and make it as exciting as possible."

"If you put them in this room, you couldn't tell them apart because they're both the same," Lewis said. "They both feel very good about themselves, and they're talented. ... They're both a lot of fun."

...and isn't having fun is what's it all about?