Ochocinco hasn't only struggled in New England. (US Presswire)

When the Patriots released receiver Chad Ochocinco on Thursday after an uneventful season in New England, the prevailing thought was that the biggest reason for the transaction was because Ochocinco still couldn’t grasp the entire offense.

It wasn’t because he was a problem child in New England, and it wasn’t necessarily because he’s lost much of his skills as he enters his mid-30s. Instead, the biggest issue was that quarterback Tom Brady still couldn’t trust him. Mostly because Ochocinco still wasn’t always sure where to line up on offense.

As Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson writes, that’s not an entirely new problem for Ochocinco. According to Hobson, former Bengals receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh was the one, at times, who had to tell Ochocinco where to line up in Cincinnati’s offense.

Hobson also writes that some people in Cincinnati believe that he hasn’t been the same player since he got smacked by Browns safety Brian Russell in the 2006 home opener (I was in the locker room after that game, and Ochocinco was still out of it when trying to talk to reporters).

Those offensive confusion problems lingered into this offseason. As the Boston Globe writes, “That he was still having some difficulties was evident during the first OTA session reporters were allowed to watch May 24: Ochocinco was the only player forced to run a penalty lap -- for jumping offside -- and at one point Deion Branch was spotted waving him into the proper position on the line of scrimmage, something that had to be done frequently last season.”

But Houshmandzadeh also brought up an interesting point in March. Though he didn’t refer to Ochocinco by name in the following quote, it’s clear to whom he was referring.

"If I went with Tom Brady and didn't produce, I'd hang it up," Houshmandzadeh said. "Are you kidding me? Tom Brady? If you go with a Peyton Manning or a Drew Brees, or an Eli Manning, or Aaron Rodgers, and you don't produce?"

For now, though, the unemployed Ochocinco is continuing to have fun on his Twitter account.


And perhaps a preview of breaking news?

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