"Everyone had something to say for 16 weeks in house. I don't know where all those voices are now. I seem to be the only one speaking out. All those voices that talked for 16 weeks."

At this point, his voice began to crack. "Now is the time to let it out."

I'm calling shenanigans. Johnson can talk about being scapegoated, but he just wants more money. His second contract in the NFL was well below market value, and he's been trying to catch up since. Drew Rosenhaus once called Johnson's third deal "historic," but the reality is that Johnson is locked up through 2011 at team-friendly salaries. He will demand a new contract and signing bonus if he gets traded; one that isn't going to happen with the Bengals.

"There's a man that sits high," Johnson said. "There's a man that looks low. And I think he's going to take care of everything the way it's going to be taken care of."

As a wise man once told me, it's always about the money. And the Bengals are going to pay T.J. Houshmandzadeh this offseason, which is going to enrage Johnson further. Barring Johnson taking public shots at Carson Palmer, I don't think the Bengals will bat an eye. They will let him talk, and they will keep him on the roster. Another team could offer a few high picks to attempt to obtain him, then give him a big contract, but I doubt that is going to happen.

"I've handled my business in my way, like Frank Sinatra, in my way," Johnson said. "I've done it very well, I've done it consistently at a high level ... I get out of line every now and then, but what great one doesn't?"

Well, great ones that Drew Rosenhaus represents.