Showing that he’s still first and foremost a showman, receiver Chad Johnson (known as Chad Ochocinco during his time with the Patriots) told the Miami Herald that having his personality “controlled” while in New England last year contributed to his on-field struggles.

Signed by his hometown Dolphins shortly after his June release by the Patriots, Johnson, who legally changed his name back earlier this month, said, “I’m going back to my normal ways. My normal ways, when I was at my best, when I got fined, look at the production those years. Usually things don’t go right when you try to change the way you do things. I’m back to normal.

“My personality was controlled last year. You didn’t hear me at all last year. Zero. Zilch. When my mouth is running, it forces me to perform.”

Left out of his statement, of course, is that Johnson struggled with the playbook last year, never quite knew where he was supposed to line up, and never quite gained quarterback Tom Brady’s trust because of that.

When asked about his playbook problems, Johnson said, “The stuff that I do well, I do extremely well. The Pats know what I do well. You put that player in position to make those same plays he’s been making his whole career. It’s not rocket science.”

Johnson predicted that he’ll have a “monster” season with Miami regardless of who is playing quarterback — Miami has four on the roster, and it isn’t clear which will be the starter.

Which begs the question: Johnson believes he’ll have a huge season with a rookie (Ryan Tannehill) or a retread (David Garrard) but couldn’t have one with one of the greatest QBs of all time in Brady?