LAKE FOREST, Ill. – While Chad Ochocinco has been playfully trash-talking with a handful of Bears veterans on Twitter the past few days, the Bengals receiver had only good things to say about Chicago players during an entertaining media teleconference Wednesday morning.

Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco dives into the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown reception in a 2005 victory over the Bears at Soldier Field.

Ochocinco, the wide receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson, praised cornerback Charles Tillman, quarterback Jay Cutler and the Bears defense in advance of Sunday’s game in Cincinnati. The Pro Bowl receiver also asked Chicago reporters to tell Johnny Knox that he likes his game and is looking forward to meeting the Bears rookie this weekend at Paul Brown Stadium.

The conference call was a departure from Ochocinco’s “tweets” on Twitter this week in which he vowed to “run circles around” the Bears defense, “embarrass the secondary” and take “Tillman to school.”

Asked what he thought about Tillman’s impressive performances against the Lions’ Calvin Johnson and the Falcons’ Roddy White in the Bears’ past two games, Ochocinco said: “Beautiful. Beautiful.

“I’ve been studying film on Peanut since training camp actually. He’s really, really good. I know I’ve been playing around on Twitter and going back and forth with the nonsense—it’s the way I play the game—but he looks really good. He’s put some shut-downs on some pretty good top receivers, so it’s going to be a fun, interesting match-up come Sunday.”

Ochocinco joked late Tuesday night on Twitter that he was partially responsible for Cutler receiving a two-year contract extension from the Bears.

“I was just having fun,” Ochocinco said Wednesday. “You guys know how I am. Congrats to Jay. It’s much deserved. He’s one of the best in the game regardless of what other people think. I’ve seen him play and I see some of the things he can do on the field, and trust me, it’s deserved.”

At one point during the conference call, Lance Briggs walked into the media room. Asked what he thought of the Bears linebacker, Ochocinco said: “That’s a very good friend of mine. You guys pass the message: If he’s thinking about hitting me, I’ll sue.”

Told that Briggs was in the room, Ochocinco said: “Lance, is that you? LB, what’s up baby? What’s going on? Hey, keep your head on a swivel; I’m head-hunting. See you Sunday.”

In his only previous game against the Bears, Ochocinco caught touchdown passes of 40 and 18 yards as the Bengals cruised to a 24-7 victory on Sept. 25, 2005 at Soldier Field. 

The 6-1, 192-pound receiver celebrated one of his scores with a “Riverdance.” Should he get into the end zone Sunday, Ochocinco said he will do a Samba dance in honor of his friend, Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho.

This season Ochocinco ranks sixth among NFL receivers with 455 yards and is tied for 15th with 29 receptions. The nine-year veteran from Oregon State, who has been voted to five Pro Bowls, is Cincinnati’s all-time leader in receptions (641) and receiving yards (9,360).

Ochocinco is playing for a resurgent Bengals team that won four straight games before suffering a 28-17 home loss to the Houston Texans last Sunday that dropped Cincinnati’s record to 4-2.

“The city is on fire. The team is on fire,” Ochocinco said. "Our confidence level is really high.

“You want to be as perfect as possible throughout the entire season, but we hit an obstacle last week with the loss on Sunday. That doesn’t do anything but make you work even harder this upcoming week for a defense that is clearly one of the best in the league regardless of what the numbers say. They’re a very physical, aggressive defense, so it’s a challenge to all of us. It’s going to be fun.”