By Tom E. Curran
CSNNE.com Patriots InsiderFollow @tomecurran
FOXBORO -- The Patriots' locker room can be a desolate place during the media access period even when things are going well.
When things go badly, players tend to turtle even more. So when Chad Ochocinco strode into an otherwise empty locker room Monday afternoon, it seemed agood time to get a State of the Ocho address. He'd been ducking interviews for going on two weeks, ever since he was torn a new one by Tedy Bruschi over an innocuous tweet. Ocho had courteously explained he needed to get his playbook down before he held court. The media respectedthateven though players are contractually obligated to make themselves available at least once a week. After all, Ochocinco seems to bea good enough guy and he's promised that when he gets going he'll give us all we need. Give him a break, right?But after Sunday's loss in which his inability to make plays figured prominently, questions needed answering. He did so halfheartedly. On Monday, as he leaned into his locker with about 30 media members creeping closer, I asked if he had time for an interview. "Are you going to ask me every day," he asked. "Just doing my job like you're doing yours," I answered. "Great sarcasm," Ocho answered. I told him I didn't mean it the way he took it. "Great sarcasm," he repeated. He escaped to the equipment room, returned and turned down the group. Whether it's Bruschi, ESPN or any of the local entities, criticism of Ochocinco's performance here has clearly made its way to his ears. And now he's hearing it even in normal exchanges where it isn't intended. Heaven never felt so cold.Tom E. Curran can be reached at tcurran@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Tom on Twitter at http:twitter.comtomecurran