Cowboys' Owens, Giants' Burress catch flak for antics

Oct. 30--IRVING -- Chad Johnson says it's hard for people to understand the personalities of wide receivers.

The Bengals wide receiver knows something about bizarre behavior. Before the season, he legally changed his named to Chad Ocho Cinco.

When the Cowboys and Giants meet Sunday, two of the biggest offensive threats in the matchup will be receivers Terrell Owens and Plaxico Burress.

Both have been described as playful, petulant and misunderstood.

Or diva like, if you will.

"Only we understand us," Johnson said.

Former Cowboys wide receiver and Hall of Famer Michael Irvin agrees that it takes one to know one.

"We claim strong independence in being different and all of those things," Irvin said of wide receivers in general. "We claim it because the very nature of our position says dependent."

Owens' petulant behavior has taken center stage the last two weeks. He's refused to answer questions from an ESPN reporter because he's upset at the network's coverage of him.

When the reporter asked a question about injured tight end Jason Witten, Owens said, "next question."

He has also referred most questions about why he's not a bigger part of the offense to offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Owens has not caught a touchdown pass the last three games and is tied for 36th in receptions in the NFL.

While Owens agrees with Johnson about wide receivers being misunderstood, the Cowboys receiver did say he's frustrated about his lack of success on the field.