Frustration mounts for Cincinnati’s Chad Ochocinco

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco went out of his way to call attention to himself during a 27-21 loss to Pittsburgh on Monday night, wearing bright gold cleats in a look-at-me gesture that caught everyone’s eye. He also vented his frustration as the game went along and he got shut down, exchanging words with quarterback Carson Palmer and Coach Marvin Lewis.

Lewis yanked him from the game briefly to help him cool down. Ochocinco finished with only one catch, while Terrell Owens had 10 catches and two more touchdowns.

“Yeah, he was upset,” Lewis said. “But we’ve got to play football. If he’s not going to get it done right, he’s got to come take an opportunity to freshen up his mind and get right back in the game.”

Right now, Ochocinco’s mind seems to be about as out of sorts as his team’s season. The loss dropped the defending AFC North champions to 2-6, essentially scuttling their season at the midpoint. They have got two more months of playing it out, eight more chances for everyone to see how Ochocinco handles his season of being a nonfactor.

“It’s been like that all year,” Ochocinco said. “Teams are taking me away. It’s very frustrating. They’re not allowing me to be available to help this team out. I was emotional, but in no way did it affect what we were doing out there on the field.”

Ochocinco has only 40 catches for 473 yards and two touchdowns, subpar numbers for the six-time Pro Bowl player. He hadn’t complained about his lack of catches — all the defensive attention helped Owens get open — until he became an afterthought in the national spotlight Monday night.

He made his first catch late in the third quarter for an eight-yard gain, then slammed the ball to the ground in emphasis. The gesture was flagged for delay of game, and the reception was nullified by right tackle Andre Smith’s holding penalty earlier in the play.

Ochocinco’s increasing displays of frustration prompted Lewis to pull him from the game for a sideline chat.

“It was just him telling me to keep my head up, that’s all,” Ochocinco said.

Palmer threw to Ochocinco six times without success, trying to get him the ball on deep routes and short ones as well. The two of them also had words as the frustration mounted. In the locker room after the game, Palmer spent time talking to the receiver privately.

“It’s just a frustrating thing for him,” Palmer said. “He wants to catch the ball and he wants to make an impact in the game. Unfortunately, he was unable to do that. He’s an emotional player and I’m an emotional player. That’s part of what happens in this game. I love his competitiveness.”

Steelers lose three to concussions

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Will Allen and running backs Mewelde Moore and Isaac Redman sustained concussions during Monday night’s game in Cincinnati and must pass post-concussion tests before being cleared to play.

The tests measure a player’s cognitive skills before and after a concussion. A player is allowed to return only after his tests return to normal and he shows no signs of having had a concussion.

If either Moore or Redman can’t play, rookie Jonathan Dwyer might be needed Sunday night against New England (6-2), which won the last two times it played in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers (6-2) had numerous injuries during their 27-21 victory in Cincinnati, with left guard Chris Kemoeatu’s sprained right knee apparently the most serious. He could be limited in practice.

“We’ll see if we can get him going, get him enough snaps in preparation to be available to us,” Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday.

Plea deal possible in Edwards case

Prosecutors say they are discussing the possibility of a plea deal in New York Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards’ drunk-driving case, but it’s not clear whether anything will result.

Edwards said nothing during a brief appearance Tuesday in a Manhattan court. Defense lawyer Peter Frankel says he’s talking with prosecutors, but, for now, he’s preparing to file paperwork to keep fighting the charges.

Prosecutors say Edwards had a blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit after being pulled over in September. He was already on probation after pleading no contest to aggravated disorderly conduct in a dustup outside a Cleveland nightclub.

Rice says he gave autograph after warning

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice received a warning for the tinting on his windows and signed an autograph for a police officer.

He insists that’s the order in which those events occurred Monday night, contrary to a misleading post he put on his Twitter account.

Rice insisted Tuesday that he only offered the officer an autograph after being issued a warning.

Rice deleted the post on his Twitter account that made it sound as if he got out of the ticket because of the autograph. He later said he wasn’t granted special treatment because of his status as an NFL player.

Baltimore County police say Rice was stopped Monday about 6:45 p.m. at the Garrison Forest shopping center.

Spokesman Lt. Rob McCullough says Rice was given a warning to put a lighter tint on his car’s windows. He said there was no paperwork or police report generated from the incident.

Rice deleted the following tweet from his Twitter account last night: “Just got pulled over for my tints. Smh, but gave the officer an autograph for his son and he let me go.”

Etc.

Kicker Dave Rayner signed with the Lions, two days after Jason Hanson hurt his right knee in a 23-20 overtime loss to the New York Jets. Rayner was drafted in 2005 by Indianapolis. He’s played for five NFL teams, not including the Lions. He was released by Cincinnati in September. The Lions also released cornerback Jonathan Wade…. The Tennessee Titans have added defensive tackle Marques Douglas to the roster. The Titans added the 11-year veteran and waived defensive tackle Amon Gordon to make room…. The Jacksonville Jaguars signed offensive tackle Adam Terry and cornerback Terrence Wheatley, and released quarterback Todd Bouman, defensive tackle Landon Cohen and offensive tackle Erik Pears. The team also activated receiver John Matthews from the practice squad…. The New York Giants put center Adam Koets on injured reserve and activated offensive lineman Kevin Boothe off the physically unable to perform list.