One day after the Patriots cut Chad Ochocinco, the Boston Globe is reporting that multiple sources tell them that Ochocinco didn’t have the “football IQ” to succeed with the Patriots. It’s been known for a while that Ochocinco had trouble learning the playbook, but this report goes in depth on how much he struggled. The Patriots would tell him to run a route one way and he’d run it a different way a minute later. He couldn’t tell the difference between zone and man coverage in recent OTAs.

Apparently, Ochocinco’s lack of “football IQ” dates back to his Cincinnati days. According to Bengals.com, Ochocinco would frequently free lance his routes, rather than learning the playbook. Carson Palmer and Bob Bratkowski, the offensive coordinator, let it slide a lot more than Belichick did because the Patriots’ offense relies so much on crisp routes, precision, and timing with Tom Brady. The Bengals’ report also said that Ochocinco relied on TJ Houshmanzadeh to tell him where to line up.

These reports do not help Ochocinco’s value on the open market and make it even more likely that he doesn’t get snatched up. With guys like Braylon Edwards, Plaxico Burress, and Terrell Owens, veteran receivers known for causing headaches, still on the open market, Ochocinco could have to wait a long, long time before the phone rings. Even if he gets signed, his chances of making a team are very slim unless he can learn the playbook in a short period of time, which seems unlikely after today’s reports. Perhaps Bratkowski, who is now the offensive coordinator in Jacksonville, will give him a shot.

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