Champ Bailey says he enjoys Chad Ocho Cinco’s trash talk but will reply with play, not words

Bailey to Ocho Cinco’s prediction: bring it on

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Champ Bailey chuckled at Chad Ocho Cinco’s proclamation that he was eager to embarrass the Denver Broncos and their star cornerback in Cincinnati this weekend.

The Bengals superstar receiver’s tweet Thursday telling Bailey “storms coming!!!!!!!!!!” drew a roll of the eyes from the Broncos’ perennial Pro Bowler, who doesn’t check his Twitter account all day like Ocho Cinco does.

“I used that thing one time, or my brother did, just to promote our football camp and you know (Ocho Cinco) uses it daily so that’s his way of trash talking,” Bailey said. “I’m all for it, whatever he wants to do.”

Bailey said he enjoys Ocho Cinco’s trash-talking and looks forward to getting his best shot.

“Yeah, I love the way he talks,” Bailey said. “The funny thing is he has respect for me and I have respect for him and he knows what he’s capable of and I know what I’m capable of. So, it’s not like he’s talking to belittle you. He’s a guy that he’s an entertainer and he knows it and he uses that ability to talk to the fullest.

“And he gets to some people, but he knows he can’t get to me.”

Ocho Cinco has embarrassed Bailey before, though.

Although he was held to three catches for 32 yards the last time these teams faced each other, in 2006, Cincinnati’s superstar got the better of Bailey in a game in 2004 — when he was still known as Chad Johnson and caught seven passes for 149 yards and a score.

“The funny thing is it wasn’t a bad game, it was a couple bad plays,” Bailey said. “It was like maybe two or three plays that I wish I could take out and then I had a pretty good game, because I know I had a pick in that game, and I never lost my confidence over that.

“I just know when you play a player like that and a quarterback like (Carson Palmer), you’ve got to be on top of your game every single play. You know, I slipped up a few times.”

The Bengals are expecting Bailey to match up with Ocho Cinco on Sunday no matter where he lines up.

Bailey wouldn’t give away the game plan but said he would love to match up with him all day long.

Both Bailey and Ocho Cinco are coming off frustrating seasons and what better way to kick off a bounce-back year than by facing each other in Week 1?

“Well, every year you’re trying to prove yourself, trying to make the team and you know I set my levels so high as far as what I want to be, I want to be the best ever,” Bailey said. “And I’ve got to do that every week, every game, so I’m always out there trying to prove something.”

Bailey acknowledged that he ponders his legacy from time to time.

“I mean, that’s not all I think about. I want to win a Super Bowl first and foremost,” he said. “But you know along the way I want to perfect my craft and for people to look at me and say, ‘He was the best ever.’ You know, I’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Asked if he still thought he was the best cornerback in the NFL after missing about half of last season with a groin injury, Bailey said: “Well, I don’t get hung up on it much. I always try to go out there and be the best at what I do. That is something I learned when I was little, was try to be the best at what you do and not just the best you can be.

“And whatever people say, that’s up to them.”

Including Ocho Cinco.