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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The Patriots released Chad Ochocinco today, but they should have no fear of the Jets signing him to steal secrets about their playbook. For one, Chad Ochocinco doesn’t actually know it, which is why he was cut. Two, the Jets have no interest in the veteran receiver despite being thin at the position with the mercurial Santonio Holmes, the rookie Stephen Hill, the injury prone Chaz Schilens, and the unproven Jeremy Kerley. This is according to ESPN New York.

Ochocinco will probably be picked up by a team, but he’s unlikely to make a 53 man roster, at least in my opinion. He could be greeted by the same problem on the open market that has caused players like Plaxico Burress, Terrell Owens, and Braylon Edwards to go unsigned. Bad teams don’t want to sign veteran receivers because they’re not going to compete anyway and they just want to get their young guys reps, while good teams don’t need any more receivers.

One possible landing place could be Dallas, based off nothing but speculation. They need a 3^rd receiver, they’re in contention, and Ochocinco is the type of big name they look to take a chance on. They’ve already been linked in Braylon Edwards earlier this offseason, but did not sign him. Other teams who have shown interest in veteran receivers are Houston and Cincinnati, though he’s probably worn out his welcome with the latter.

Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator is Bob Bratkowski, who was his offensive coordinator in Cincinnati and they need receiver help, but they fit in the category of bad team who wants to get their young players playing time. Miami has an incredibly thin receiving corps, but they also are in that bad team category.

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On the same day that the Patriots released Chad Ochocinco, ESPN Boston reported that Deion Branch is on “solid footing” with the Patriots, in terms of his roster spot. With Anthony Gonzalez and now Chad Ochocinco gone, things look a little clearer at wide receiver for the Patriots. Behind Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, and Jabar Gaffney, virtual locks to make the roster, Branch has Donte Stallworth, Julian Edelman, and Matt Slater to with compete for a roster spot.

Branch and Stallworth are the veteran receivers, while Edelman and Slater are younger players who can play on defense and special teams as well. At least one of each bunch will likely make the roster and it’s possible that 3 of those 4 could make the roster if the Patriots decide to carry 6 receivers. Given that, Branch has a very good chance to make the roster as the 4^th receiver. 7^th round rookie Jeremy Ebert will probably begin his career on the practice squad.

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A day after it was reported that the Saints and Drew Brees are about 2 million dollars per year apart on a long term deal and that Drew Brees wants 20.3 million per year, it is now being reported that the Saints have made another official offer to Brees. This comes on the same day that there was some buzz that a deal between the two sides was imminent ahead of next week’s mandatory minicamp and that one could be struck as soon as Friday, though multiple sources refuted that.

I don’t see a deal as imminent, but the fact that they made him another offer is a good sign. They know what he wants and they wouldn’t give him an official offer they didn’t think he would accept. The two sides are apart on yearly salary and guaranteed money, but this is a good step in the right direction for the two sides even if Brees rejects it. I still predict that the two sides will agree to a deal before Training Camp that makes Brees the highest paid player in the league (more than Peyton Manning’s 96 million over 5 years) with about half or more guaranteed. That will come just short of the 20.3 million Brees wants, but not too much short and both sides will likely have to budge on their stances anyway.

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What I already assumed, after the 49ers used a 2^nd round pick on LaMichael James and signed Brandon Jacobs in the offseason, was confirmed today by 49ers running back coach Tom Rathman. Rathman admitted that one running back would not carry the load for the 49ers this year, which makes sense because the 49ers have 4 running backs, Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter, LaMichael James, and Brandon Jacobs, who are all capable of carrying the ball in different situations.

Gore is heading into his age 29 season with 1653 career carries and has only played all 16 games twice in his 7 year career. He’s highly unlikely to match the 282 carries he had last season, even if he does play all 16 games, which, based on history, is highly unlikely. Gore is one of the players I’ve slapped a “stay away” tag on for fantasy purposes this season, unless he falls really far in the draft. I’d let him be someone else’s problem, especially at his current average draft position in the 3^rd round.

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Santonio Holmes ended last season on a negative note and there was some talk that the Jets could cut him to avoid all of the headaches he causes after a down season in which he caught just 51 passes for 624 yards and 8 touchdowns. The Jets kept him and so far he had been rewarding them, standing out in practice, putting in a lot of work, saying all the right things, and putting in extra time to work on his chemistry with Mark Sanchez.

However, “good Santonio” was nowhere to be found today as “bad Santonio” reared his ugly head. Holmes had what was described by ESPN New York as a “meltdown” towards the end of practice today with the Jets. Holmes pulled himself out of practice because he felt he was being overworked, even though he only had 25 reps. Holmes hadn’t attended voluntary OTAs yet because he was otherwise occupied and apparently was not in shape enough to go through a full practice, which he told the coaching staff, and then blew up when they made him go through one anyway. This is obviously not a good sign.

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Earlier in the day, there was what looked like a false alarm involving Chad Ochocinco’s release from the Patriots. Ochocinco left OTAs after 10-15 minutes and removed all affiliation to the Patriots from his Twitter bio. However, it was then reported that Ochocinco left because he had an eye appointment. Regardless of whether or not that is true, what is true is that Ochocinco is now no longer a member of the New England Patriots.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Patriots have released Ochocinco after desperately trying to trade the receiver during the day. It’s possible the eye appointment story was fabricated by the normally tight lipped Patriots as not to kill any trade value Ochocinco had left. However, at age 34 after a career worst season in which he caught 15 passes for 276 yards and a touchdown, Ochocinco probably didn’t have any trade value no matter what.

The Patriots acquired Ochocinco last offseason in a move that generated a lot of fanfare and possibly flashbacks of the Patriots trading for Randy Moss before the 2007 season. However, Ochocinco struggled to learn the playbook and barely saw the field at all down the stretch as the Patriots went to the Super Bowl. He continued to struggle with the playbook this offseason and with tons of depth at wide receiver, Ochocinco’s fate was sealed, even after he restructured his contract down to a 1 million dollar salary this season.

As for the rest of the Patriots’ receivers, Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, and Jabar Gaffney are locks to make the roster. Deion Branch is a veteran receiver who could stay on the roster. Julian Edelman and Matt Slater are also possibilities to stay on the roster because of their versatility and ability to play special teams and defensive back. It’s possible the Patriots could keep all 6.

As for Ochocinco, he could easily be done at age 34. If no one wanted him in a trade at the salary of 1 million dollars, he probably won’t generate much interest on the open market, even for the veteran’s minimum. If he is, in fact, done, Ochocinco would retire with 766 catches for 11059 yards and 67 touchdowns in 12 seasons. He is 26^th all-time in receiving yards and would have to wait and see if the Hall of Fame calls. It’s possible his “antics” could keep him out, but statistically he would appear to possibly deserve it.

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Less than a week after Roddy White admitted he’d be seeing less of the ball this year, running back Michael Turner admitted today that the Falcons will be passing more and running less this season. Turner has carried the ball 300 times in 3 of the last 4 years, but he’s now 30 years old and on his last legs. Head Coach Mike Smith has said that he’ll have a reduced role this season, in favor of 2011 5^th rounder Jacquizz Rodgers.

Now that even he is admitting the Falcons will be running less under new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, Turner should have a major “stay away” stamp in fantasy football leagues. Let him be someone else’s problem. Meanwhile, Matt Ryan could easily have the best season of his career statistically. Julio Jones’ emergence will increase his statistical production, as will more pass attempts. He’s undervalued in fantasy football leagues, along with Julio Jones and Jacquizz Rodgers. Turner and Roddy White are overvalued.

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Head Coach Jim Harbaugh singled out Vernon Davis today as someone having “an outstanding offseason.” This is just a continuation of what Davis did down the stretch last year. In his last 5 games, including playoffs, he had 28 catches for 536 yards and 5 touchdowns. Davis struggled with the playbook earlier in the season, which he himself admits. However, before last year when he caught 67 passes for 792 yards and 6 touchdowns, Davis had 78 catches for 965 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2009 and 56 catches for 914 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2010. He’s definitely a nice buy low candidate in fantasy leagues.

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