ALLEN PARK -- Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco said he wants his team to throw 50 passes Sunday when his 8-3 team hosts the 2-9 Detroit Lions at Paul Brown Stadium.
"I just want to relay that message,'' Ochocinco said.
If Ochocinco doesn't have a lot of faith in the Lions' secondary, Detroit rookie safety Louis Delmas said he doesn't blame him.
"To be honest with you, I wouldn't trust us, either,'' Delmas said. "Not with the touchdowns we've given up in the back end. That's a challenge for us and an opportunity for us.''
The Lions have the league's worst pass defense in yards allowed and they've given up a league-worst 30 1/2 points per game.
Not that Delmas is backing down, though. Ochocinco is known for his trash talking, but Delmas said he hopes to keep up with Ochocinco, in terms of defense and talking smack.
"He's that guy, he likes to get you out of your game. Everybody knows me, I like to chatter, too,'' Delmas said. "I think it'll be a battle, I guess, with the lip-poppin' "
Ochocinco, who is Cincinnati's leading receiver with 53 catches and five touchdowns, said Delmas is making a big mistake in trying to out-talk him.
"C'mon, tell him to sit down,'' Ochocinco said. "Don't do that. Don't do that, because he'll end up having a bad day. He's not going to beat me at my game.''
Both players said they'll prepare some zingers for the other, and Delmas said he'll also make fun of Ochocinco's name. Formerly Chad Johnson, the Bengals receiver changed his name to reflect his No. 85 uniform number.
"How? He'll probably say Ochostinko,'' the former Chad Johnson said. "But what he fails to realize is that stink part basically says that I'm the (blank). That's the lamest line that I get, but they fail to realize that they're paying me respect.''
Lions safety Marvin White, who likely will start against the Bengals, played for Cincinnati in 2007 and '08 and knows Ochocinco very well.
"That's just Chad being Chad,'' White said. "I definitely expect Chad to jibber-jabber a little bit. He's a great guy and I respect him, but that's nothing new.''
"The (Detroit) secondary is beautiful. A very good friend of mine is there: Marvin White,'' Ochocinco said. "(Lions cornerback) Phillip Buchanon is there and he's a very, very good friend of mine. He's a good cover corner. I've worked with him before.
"Other than that, I haven't had a chance to watch everybody else on film. But what I've seen so far is that the record shows 2-9 but they're not playing 2-9. I'm sure when they come in here, they're going to give us their best shot. I respect them.''
Ochocinco normally has taken good-natured shots at opposing defenses in the week leading to the game, but he seems to be playing nice with the Lions.
"Coach (Marvin) Lewis told me tone it down a little bit,'' Ochocinco said.
Lewis added: "The thing that I caution him about all the time is just to understand the integrity of what we're doing and what the NFL is all about and don't ever cross that line.
"Some of the things he's done have crossed that line a little bit and he's gotten his fingers nipped at a little bit and scorched with that, because a lot of people don't know Chad and they want to lump Chad in with some of the other people who do things that they don't appreciate.
"For the most part, Chad is not that way. That's all I try to (tell him) -- be careful with what you're doing, this is a very serious game for serious people and you have to respect the people that have come before you and will come after you so be conscious of that in the things that you do and say.' "
As he wrapped up his conference call with the Detroit media Wednesday, Ochocinco couldn't resist temptation.
"Enjoy the game Sunday,'' he said. "I have something very special planned.''