TheLoop21.com

By: Raechal Leone (Add to your loop)
Fri, 08/14/2009 - 00:00

Chad Ochocinco signs autographs at the Cincinnati Bengals' training camp.

HBO's series Hard Knocks is back, this year following the Cincinnati Bengals during grueling training for the upcoming NFL season. One episode in, and people are loving watching probably the most notorious collection of players in the league.

In honor of the show and Michael Vick signing with the Philadelphia Eagles, here's a look at just a few of the NFL's current and former players — as well as those somewhere in between; we're looking at you, Plaxico Burress — who bring the drama on and off the field.

Ochocinco (aka Ocho Cinco ... or Chad Johnson)
OK, so Ochocinco's by far the best behaved of the bad boys on this list. But the Bengals' #85 has caused quite the stir by throwing temper tantrums and, you know, inexplicably changing his legal name. He's not at all about following the rules, which makes him really fun to watch (as evidenced by the video below).

Chris Henry
Hmm, where to start? Accusations of driving under the influence? Involvement in sex crimes and providing alcohol to minors? All that and more is on the rap sheet of my fellow Louisiana native Henry. He swears that after the Bengals ditched him last year, then took him back, he's changed. We'll get a firsthand look at whether that's true on HBO.

(Read about other troublemakers claimed by the Bengals.)

Michael Vick
We'll always think of dogfighting when we think of Vick, no matter how many years he's around. He's back in the NFL now, but whether anyone will cheer for him in public — let's just say those animal rights activists aren't the most forgiving people — is another thing completely.

Donte' Stallworth
Another hardcore bad boy with an undetermined NFL future, after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ruled Stallworth is out for the season. The Cleveland Browns wide receiver is in trouble, of course, for killing a man while driving drunk in Miami. Another NFL player, the St. Louis Rams' Leonard Little, found himself in the same situation in 1998.

Plaxico Burress
The former New York Giants wide receiver isn't even in the running for the worst on this list. His most infamous offense is shooting himself in the thigh, which might land him in jail. He's also without a team, after the Giants released him in April.

Adam "Pacman" Jones
The former Dallas Cowboy is singlehandedly responsible for bringing the phrase "making it rain" into the mainstream.  Besides his role in a Las Vegas strip club shooting, Jones has also been linked to a shooting outside an Atlanta strip club. Must be something about West Virginia University, since Jones and Chris Henry were teammates there back in the day. (Warning: It's obvious this video was taken in a strip club.)

Blast from the past: Bill Romanowski
So many NFL players with criminal records to choose from, but I couldn't resist adding this former Oakland Raider. He was classy enough in 2003 to punch one of his teammates in the eye so hard the guy was forced to retire. The number of people surprised when Romanowski later admitted to using steroids — zero.

What do you think? Who else should be on this list? Let us know in the comments!

Raechal Leone is TheLoop21.com's senior editor and content manager. She writes the Inside the Loop blog.

Will you watch Michael Vick's reality show on BET?

Yes!

Maybe

Absolutely not

I don't know yet