Who'll Cover 85 in 2007???

Chad has already put a stash of loot away to dish-out to the league for the fines he's going to incur this season after his pay dirt celebrations. So we know he's poised to put up some numbers.

Last year he came out with his "Who Covered 85 in 2006" list, which assessed which DBs held him down, and more importantly, which didn't. Here's my analysis on how cornerbacks will fair in 2007:

• Sep. 16 @ Cleveland: Chad v. Kenny Wright & Leigh Bodden -- Who? No way this tandem holds down Ocho Cinco in the '07 season's first game, the day after Hispanic Heritage month kicks off. He goes off for 157 yards on 11 receptions and 2 touchdowns.

• Sep. 23 @ Seattle: Chad v. Marcus Trufant -- Trufant won't get torched like Wright and Bodden. He holds Chad to 89 yards on 6 receptions.

• Oct. 1 New England: Chad v. Asante Samuel -- The addition of Adalius Thomas makes the Pats very deep on D. They'll be able to rush Palmer and umbrella Chad with over-the-top coverage by Brandon Meriweather, who should be starting by the third game. Don't look for much out of Johnson this game. Prediction: 68 yards on 6 receptions.

• Oct. 14 @ Kansas City: Chad v. Law & Surtain -- After the bye week, Chad will be well rested. But the strong arm of the Law and Patrick my-name-is-pronounced Sir-tan, not Sir-tain, will make 85 put out his usual poor performance against the Chiefs. Look for no more than 55 yards on 4 receptions.

• Oct. 21 New York Jets: Chad v. Andre Dyson & Hank Poteat -- Okay, after two games of scaled down output, Johnson's pissed. And the Jets haven't seen him in the regular-season since the first game of the '04 season. Yikes. Chad definitely hits triple digits here. 111 yards on 7 receptions and 1 touchdown.

• Oct. 28 Pittsburgh: Chad v. Ike Taylor & Deshea Townsend -- Steel city has solid, if not spectacular, corners and maybe the best strong safety in the game. Last year C.J. averaged 32 yards against the Steelers in two games and look for them to contain him again. Prognosis: 48 yards on 3 receptions and 1 touchdown.

• Nov. 4 @ Buffalo: Chad v. Terrence McGee -- McGee is a good corner, but Nate Clements is better. Chad's going to show the Bills why they should have paid the money to keep Nate in town. He'll have his break out game, with a special end zone celebration to match. Watch him go for 174 yards on 13 receptions and 3 touchdowns.

• Nov. 11 @ Baltimore: Chad v. McAlister -- One of the NFL's best match-ups. Although the Ravens have the league's strongest secondary, a hot Johnson will hit the century mark and frustrate the talented bunch. Expect 101 yards on 7 receptions and 1 touchdown.

• Nov. 18 Arizona: Chad v. Antrel Rolle -- Sorry Antrel, this week's match-up has nothing to do with you. Chris Henry's in jail by now, so the media will question Johnson whether Arizona's 1-2 punch are better than he and Houshmandzadeh. Johnson will be fired up to prove C.J. and T.J. are the top twosome. In his first game against 'Zona since '03 He'll receive for 122 yards on 9 receptions.

• Nov. 25 Tennessee: Chad v. Nick Harper -- While Pacman's busy wrestling, Harper will be busy watching film. All that extra time, however, won't help. Chad will go deep and acquire 106 yards on 5 receptions and 1 touchdown.

• Dec. 2 @ Pittsburgh: Mike Tomlin will have his guys playing loose. The Steelers will stymie Johnson, ending his four-game streak of 100+ receiving games. Chad's only good for 61 yards on 5 receptions.

• Dec.9 St. Louis: Chad v. Fakhir Brown & Tye Hill -- The Rams better shadow C.J. with O.J. Atogwe in this game 'cause there is no way these two corners can stop him in a high-scoring game. I reckon he'll get 138 yards on 10 receptions and 2 touchdowns.

• Dec. 15 @ San Francisco: Chad v. Clements -- San Fran made Nate the league's highest paid defensive player for a reason. He'll stifle Johnson allowing only 74 yards on 4 receptions.

• Dec. 23 Cleveland: Chad v. Kenny Wright & Leigh Bodden -- Remember week 1? Good. Expect similar results as the Bengals look to secure a top seed. He'll get 120 yards on 8 receptions and 1 touchdown.

• Dec. @ Miami: Chad v. Will Allen -- Normally this would be a good match-up for Ocho Cinco, but expect tapered playing time as Cinci will have a playoff spot secured. In one quarter of work he'll have 41 yards on 2 receptions.

After all that Chad will have 1465 yards on 92 receptions and 12 touchdowns for his best season yet.