Bengals WR Johnson is ready for 'DeAngelo Fall'

CINCINNATI -- Chad Johnson's face is on the cover of a national sports magazine. His life story is on the racks of local bookstores. When it comes to ink and paper, the Pro Bowl receiver is everywhere.

Not on the field, though. No matter how he cuts his hair or runs his mouth, the Cincinnati Bengals' man-on-the-cover can't find his way into the end zone.

That's about to change. He guarantees it.

Four days after he moped that coach Marvin Lewis had put a lid on his self-promoting routine, Johnson was back to talking himself up on Wednesday. He promised at least two touchdowns -- and two memorable celebrations -- against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

"I'm taking a risk," Johnson said, more energized than he had in weeks. "I'm coming out. Coach Lewis has told me to tone it (down). He's told me to be quiet. I've been quiet all year. I haven't said much. I'm back. I'm going to let it rip."

Why the change? It has a lot to do with the guy who's guarding him.

When cornerback DeAngelo Hall had the nerve to talk back to Johnson at the Pro Bowl, a strange bond was formed. The tormenting had begun.

Chad Johnson has been searching for the end zone since his last TD, back in Week 2. (Getty Images)

"Chad actually pulled me aside and said I was the first guy to say something back to him in two years," Hall recalled on Wednesday. "I guess I earned some respect from him for that."

Since they first exchanged not-so-sweet-nothings in Hawaii, they've kept up the banter from a distance. They call each other regularly to see how the other is doing, wish them well and get in a few jabs about their looming matchup.

The one that's finally about to happen.

"It started in Hawaii," Johnson said. "He told me he was the best defensive back ever. I said, 'How can you proclaim yourself the best ever when you haven't been against the best?'"

To make his point, Johnson took a marker to his "Who Covered 85 in 2006" list on Wednesday -- the one with the Falcons game highlighted in red -- and marked the "no" box, a way of saying Hall had already failed. Then, he scrawled in the defender's name, rendering it: DeAngelo Fall.

Once the game is over, Hall will be looking for a job at teammate Willie Anderson's restaurant in Atlanta, Johnson suggested.