The Earnest Discourse Between Chad Johnson and DeAngelo Hall

Chad Johnson and DeAngelo Hall talk on the phone every week. But they don't talk like you or me. Sports Illustrated's Michael Silver asked 85 who he was most looking forward to playing this year, and this was part of his answer:

Other than the Steelers, who are the obvious answer, all I can think about is Atlanta [on Oct. 29], when I get to play DeAngelo Hall. He and I talk every week, but they aren't regular conversations. We're talking trash and going at it the entire time -- both of us talking at once, neither one of us listening. Then, when we're about to hang up, we tell each other, "Stay blessed. Stay healthy." That's the only decent part of the whole conversation.

I would pay to listen to those conversations. I'm not kidding, I would give actual money to hear a recording of one of those. And it sounds like a hell of a lot of fun to just call someone that you know and like, verbally abuse them, hear them verbally abuse you, and then just forget it ever happened at the end of the conversation. Kind of like Fight Club, but purely verbal.

Johnson also recounts the incident at halftime of the playoff game against the Steelers last year, where it was reported that he and Marvin Lewis got into an altercation of some kind. Johnson acknowledges that he did pop off, but it was never at his head coach.

Michael Silver is probably better than anyone else at getting NFL players to open up and say things that the public might actually be interested in hearing. Sometimes it's poignant and revealing, sometimes it's just fun. His "Rollin' With" feature every week is always worth a read.