Ochocinco shows he's got a long way to go

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By Tom E. Curran
CSNNE.com Patriots InsiderFollow @tomecurran

TAMPA BAYThat Chad Ochocinco scored a touchdown Thursday night on his first reception as a Patriots shouldnt cloud the fact that hes a long way from being a trusted piece of this offense. It will cloud it, though. Youll see the 8-yard reception replayed a few dozen times over the next week. The insinuation will be that this was just the first of many touchdowns in what will be a blissful marriage. Fact is, you and I both could have made that touchdown catch because of the way Tampas defense sucked up when they saw a play-action fake to BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Ocho was all alone. But on the three other throws that targeted the celebrated wideout in a Patriots rout, Ocho and Tom Brady had a miscommunication, Ocho leaped and got clobbered on a deep in-cut and he caught a slant. He got hauled off the field by Bill Belichick on the Patriots first drive, apparently for not getting downfield on a 29-yard run by Danny Woodhead. And he spent a good chunk of one drive watching with receivers coach Chad OShea from the sidelines. Its like a machine out there and Im that one part thats not up with anybody else, Ocho admitted. I got a long way to go, personally.The Patriot offense ran roughshod over Tampa Bay, but there were more than enough missteps to leave Tom Brady shaking his head over the rust that still needs to be knocked off. We expect to go out there and score, Brady said when asked if this was his best performance. We had six drives, four of them ended in touchdowns . . . There was some good, there was plenty of bad. Im sure Ill see the film tomorrow and be disappointed with some of the things that I wish I could have done better. I think theres a lot of things we need to do better out there. A lot of things I need to do better. Too many things where we need to do a better job. We missed a lot of time, Brady explained. "Thats the reality of whats happened this offseason. We missed a lot of time. Six months we couldnt really do what we wanted football-wise. A lot of it is trying to continue to talk and communicate.In an offense like New Englands, where there is so much reading and reacting on the fly after the snap, precision is job one. And the precision between the games best quarterback and a player as decorated and productive as Ocho doesnt just appear. Its a hard sport, man, said Brady. Theres nothing easy about it. Dropping back and finding the right guy to throw to and those guys running the right route and the right depth at the right time, theres a lot of work that needs to be put into it. Its not something that you just magically, Hey, lets talk about it and now were good at it! You gotta put the work in, you gotta practice, you gotta make the mistakes so you can make the corrections. Thats what were trying to do.The tempo the Patriots offense operates at is rare. As Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy explained, Rookie defensive end Adrian Clayborn came to me and was like, Oh my god, it was so fast! I said, I know! Thats what Ive been trying to tell you! It was a reality check, we needed that. They came out, theyd turn around huddle, snap, oh, 'Theres the Mike, go!' I was like, Dang! Um, Mr. Brady, can we line up? He didnt care. He was like, Youre not going to line up. When we turned around one time I checked back around and my hand was going to the grass and they were like, Hut! And I said, Noooooooooooo! Despite all his years in the game, its a very different situation for Ochocinco to be the one whos confused. I have to get to the game tempo, he lamented. Im behind the 8-ball tremendously. This is different from practice, being in the game. Its a start, I got a feel for it. Its like being married. As time goes on you get comfortable and gel and I want to hurry up and get that feeling so I can be me. I gotta get there now. Shoulda been there yesterday.Ocho is going to be demanding. He knows theres focus on him, focus that he helped bring because of who he is. I need them to stay in my ear constantly, especially during the preseason, he declared. The more I hear, the more I can absorb and become a sponge. The more relaxed I am, the better I play.Bradys fine with that, he said. When were in the game, when were out of the game on the practice field, in the meeting room . . . were always communicating so that when it does come to game time everyone is really confident in one another and when it comes to game time, youre really confident in him, he explained. The confidence Ocho normally has in himself isnt there yet. Nor is Bradys confidence in Ocho. It remains very much a work in progress. And the clock is ticking. Tom E. Curran can be reached at tcurran@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Tom on Twitter at http:twitter.comtomecurran.

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