Cincinatti ? Chad Johnson’s demeanor these days – no boasts, no guarantees, no trash talk whatsoever – matches the Cincinnati Bengals’ mundane offense. And the Pro Bowl receiver says it’s time for both to change.

His solution: Throw caution to the wind and throw the ball long.

Johnson was practically demur Wednesday, flat-out refusing to bait the Carolina Panthers who will cover him this weekend, or make any predictions how things will turn out.

Given the state of Cincinnati’s offense, he couldn’t even bring himself to brag.

“Stuff is not going the same way it did last year, to where I can come out and be bold,” he said. “We’re not playing bold. We’re not playing aggressive. So I can’t be aggressive. I’ve got to feel it.

“I can’t come up and say, ‘Man, we’re going to go out and torch these guys,’ and we go 75 plays in the game and have one explosive play. We’re just not the aggressor right now.”

Johnson thinks it’s a matter of choice.

An offense that was one of the league’s best last season has lost its bite. Cincinnati (3-2) has scored 13 points in each of its last two games, both of them losses. Johnson has scored only one touchdown in five games.

A lot of factors figure in: injuries to the offensive line; a receiving corps depleted by injury and Chris Henry’s suspension; Carson Palmer still working back into form after reconstructive knee surgery.

Johnson suggested for the first time Wednesday that play-calling is part of the problem. Johnson, who led the AFC in catches and yards last season, thinks the Bengals have allowed defenses to take away what they do best.

“We have to call it and they have to trust us as receivers,” Johnson said. “The quarterback has to trust his receivers to make the plays for him, regardless of what they line up in. We can’t allow teams to dictate what we can do. We need to start dictating what we want to do.”