The Twitter chatter between Darrelle Revis and Chad Ochocinco has been going on since early this season — even though their respective teams weren’t scheduled to meet until the regular-season finale.
Finally, on Sunday night at Giants Stadium, where the Jets and Bengals will play in the NFL’s final regular season game of 2009, Revis, the Jets’ Pro Bowl cornerback, and Ochocinco, the Bengals’ leading receiver and self promoter, can take their fun rivalry from Twitter to the field.
Though the players, who are friends, have been delivering playful digs at each other via Twitter all season, Ochocinco dropped this latest salvo yesterday: “I’m coming to the Big Apple to give NY what they’ve never seen, an escape inmate gone wild on Revis Island . . . try and cover me!’’
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Revis, thoroughly amused by the Tweet yesterday afternoon upon emerging from a team meeting, said he’ll have a creative response, but only after he assesses Ochocinco’s latest chirp.
“I’ll see where it’s going,’’ Revis said. “I’m sure it’s probably going to escalate. This is only the start. We’ll have fun with it this week with a little back and forth. This might be an entertainment week.’’
Here’s a sampling of some Ochocinco rants at Revis via Twitter:
On Sept. 28, after Revis tweeted about having finished a workout, Ochocinco tweeted: “You gone need more than core and abs in December, son, I’m gonna burn you so bad you gone wish you played lacrosse!!!’’
On Oct. 8, Ochocinco tweeted: “Y’all better focus until I come to town, I will be taking over the big apple for a 3 hour period, 1-4, please don’t try to cover me!’’
On Nov. 18, as the Bengals were getting ready to play the Raiders and their top cornerback Nnamdi Asamugha (who wears No. 21), Ochocinco tweeted: “Bruh I’m as serious as Obama stimulus package , #21 will be wearing #12 when I’m done with Sunday.’’
Also on Nov. 18, Ochocinco tweeted: “Master Lock I’m getting ready to destroy Nnamdi Sunday, either he gone get benched or somebody gone get fired.’’
“We’ve been doing this since like Week 5,’’ Revis said of the Twitter tete-a-tete. “It’s going to be good competition. Yeah, we’re friends off the field, but on the field we’ve got a job to do. It’s two elite guys going at it. There might be a little bit extra this week because we know each other so well and with the Twitter stuff going on. It’s all in fun.’’
Asked if his goal is to silence the chatty Ochocinco, Revis said, “That’s my job, to try to silence all of these big-time playmaking receivers.”