Chad Ochochinco To New England: Is Bill Belichick Interested in the Pro Bowl WR?

Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco playing in New England? Really? Could this be true? 

One problem: Aaron Hernandez is No. 85. 

There have been several reports that Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco is on the verge of legally changing his name back to Chad Johnson.

Could this be because he wants to become a Patriot? 

Rumors have been swirling around Bill Belichick and Ochocinco ever since the Patriots were knocked out of the playoffs, and they're certainly interesting. 

Just a couple of months after trading away diva wide receiver Randy Moss, is Belichick willing to bring in another diva? 

Well, it's been made clear that Ochocinco has nothing but the utmost respect for Belichick, and they reportedly already have a strong off-field relationship. 

After a devastating loss to the Jets, it was made clear that New England has a weakness: Spreading the field. 

First off, let me make this clear, I am not saying New England should have never traded Moss. 

They made the right move. New England would have never gotten to 14-2 with Randy Moss on the roster, and he would not have made a difference in the Jets playoff game. He would have rolled up in the fetal position and alligator-armed nearly ever pass thrown to him.

But New England does have a clear weakness. If defenses play press coverage and jam the receivers at the line, quarterback Tom Brady will have a difficult time finding the open receiver.

The Patriots thrived at finding the open receiver in 2010. They would shred defenses and just run holes in the opposing team's zone coverages, or set up criss-crosses against the team's man-coverage.

Well, the Jets stopped that and played very tight man-to-man coverage with a mix of zone. New York focused on the middle of the field due to there being no deep threat presented by the Patriots offense.

Ochocinco would not only be a deep threat receiver who could spread the field, but he'd be a possession receiver as well.

No. 85 caught 67 passes for the Bengals last season while missing two games. He went on to record 831 yards and four touchdowns, somewhat of a down year.

It's hard not to admit that Ochocinco has talent, no matter how big his ego is.

But, like I said, he has so much respect for Belichick that he would be kept in check during his possible time in New England.

Ochocinco will become a free agent in 2012, so he's got one year left with the Bengals. But after admitting to his desire for playing in New England with Belichick earlier this week, Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis took a small shot at Ochocinco.

"Belichick's smarter than that," Lewis told reports at Senior Bowl Monday.

Despite all of these growing rumors of Ochocinco playing in New England, he has recently said he loves the city and fans and doesn't want to go.

Either way, Ochocinco could be a nice fit in an already high-powered offense in New England.

Former New England Patriot Troy Brown has come out and said that Ochocinco will be a Patriot next season. You never know, he does have a close relationship with Belichick. Also, don't forget that Brown also predicted the trade for Moss back in 2007.

But the likelihood of a deal happening isn't so good. Although, Belichick has done it before by bringing in Moss, and there's no reason why he wouldn't trade for Ochocinco.  

NOTE: This article was first seen at PatriotsPlus.net.

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