Updated: 2:30 p.m.
Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, drenched by beer when he leaped into Cleveland's Dawg Pound following a 2007 touchdown, pledged to do the more famous "Lambeau Leap" Sunday if he scores a touchdown at Green Bay's storied Lambeau Field.
"Those fans - Wisconsin, right? - please, in no way am I disrespecting you," The Ocho said before Wednesday's practice. "Just embrace me. All 31 teams have to deal with it, so do you.
"It's just entertainment for the fans. It makes it more exciting to watch knowing if I'm able to get across the line ... there's no need to throw me out or throw beer on me because I love you guys."
The Ocho called his spot two years to the day he got soaked in Cleveland when the Bengals drowned in Derek Anderson's five touchdown passes during a 51-45 loss. It was his last mega game with 11 catches for 209 yards and two touchdowns, one in each end zone.
Ochocinco is coming off his best game since 2007 with five catches for 89 yards last Sunday against Denver, but he felt three of his mishaps contributed to the 12-7 loss. Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey knocked away an intended pass for him that turned into an interception and his holding call negated a 14-yard Cedric Benson run and his offensive pass interference penalty when he pushed off on Bailey wiped out his own 23-yard catch.
"Those are three plays in the game I could have played better," The Ocho said. "I think they affected us in that loss with the game being that close and those types of drives that could have kept on probably (and) would have got points, would have got in field-goal range. There were great things we really did as far as moving the ball at will up and down the field, but not being able to score more points."
Ochocinco says he's never had a problem pushing off and believes it's the first time it's been called on him in his 122-game career. He says it has nothing to with the NFL's emphasis this season on making that particular call.
"I did blatantly push off. I was off-balance," he said. "It's common sense. It's something I shouldn't have done."
Ochocinco also allowed that Carson Palmer's sprained ankle isn't hurting the cause: "There's nothing wrong with his arm. He could probably drop back in a wheelchair and probably get the ball to us."
SLANTS AND SCREENS
» Also Wednesday, guard Nate Livings (knee) was not practicing while cornerback David Jones was on the field for the first time since suffering a foot injury in training camp but he was without his helmet and apparently not practicing. Also not on the field was defensive end Jon Fanene. His agent, David Lee, said Fanene's wife is due to give birth Wednesday.
» Fanene had a good game Sunday logging a sack while he rotated with Robert Geathers at left end. It kept Geathers fresh to take all the third-down snaps.
» With a question prefaced by only two of the last 78 teams making the playoffs started 0-2, Palmer was asked if Sunday is the obligatory must game.
"Every game is a must win when it comes down to it," he said. "If at some point in the year you don't make the playoffs, or if you don't get home-field advantage in the playoffs, or if you don't win a Super Bowl, you look back on one game or two games or three games or four games and say, 'We had to have that game,' or 'We should have won that game.' In the grand scheme of things we're not looking at statistics as far as how many teams made the playoffs or won a playoff game or starting with certain records. We're looking at it that we have to win every week."
