This is a locker that is full of items that are eye catching. Resting on a shoe rack there’s even a pair of shiny gold cleats. Sweet Revenge, written in Spanish on a laminated list, is tacked up and names all the cornerbacks that the Cincinnati wide receiver intends on burning this year.

The contents in Chad Ochocinco’s locker make one thing clear. There’s a diva at work.

Andre Caldwell, two lockers down, stores his gear. There’s no bling, no list, nothing fancy. As he stops to talk he has two rosaries around his neck. He has on regular gym shoes, blue jeans and a sleeveless t shirt to show off all of his tattoos, which includes one of Jesus’ face that is on his left bicep.

Caldwell’s ego? He checked that at the door.

Caldwell said, I just leave mine aside so I can focus on the team. In just his second year Caldwell is becoming a major contributor for the Bengals, one of the surprise teams this year in the NFL. He improvised his route and caught a touchdown pass of four yards from Carson Palmer during the final seconds of Sunday’s 23-20 victory over the Steelers, the defending Super Bowl champions.

The first NFL touchdown for Caldwell broke the Steelers eight game winning streak in Cincinnati. It also gave the season for the Bengals some hope. With a record of 2-1 and an upcoming game in Cleveland, Cincinnati is a lot better off now than they were last season when they lost eight games in a row to start the season.

A lot of the attention in the offseason focused on Cincinnati signing Laveranues Coles to replace T.J. Houshmandzadeh who they lost to free agency. However, Caldwell probably has the bigger burden. The former third round draft pick out of Florida is taking over Houshmandzadeh’s place at slot receiver and expected to make the tough catches up the middle.

Palmer said, he is playing in T.J.’s spot so he will get lots of those kinds of plays. After the first three games, Caldwell and Ochocinco are tied with 14 catches and one touchdown each to lead the team. Facing the Steelers Calder had six catches, a team high. Three of the catches came on the Bengals’ winning touchdown drive.

His last catch demonstrated he is starting to develop a similar rapport with Palmer that Houshmandzadeh did. On the play Caldwell was intended to get behind linebacker James Farrior. However when Farrior dropped back deeper than what was expected Caldwell made an adjustment to his route. With just 14 seconds remaining in the game, he turned and ran in front of Farrior and caught the touchdown pass to win the game.

Caldwell said, it was like playing backyard football. I just turned and got in front. Carson was able to read it and got the ball to me. On the play we were thinking the same thing. He hit me right on time. You have to be able to read the other guy’s mind out there. Sometimes on the run you have to make adjustments that are not part of the game plan.

As a rookie Cincinnati had wanted to be able to break Caldwell into their offense. However he was limited to only 11 catches in seven games due to foot injuries. During the offseason, Caldwell and Jerome Simpson, Cincinnati’s 2008 second round draft pick, went to California and stayed in a hotel to work out with Palmer so they could develop that passing bond.

Palmer said it was a big commitment and I appreciate that. It has paid off. You love having a guy like Andre on the team. He doesn’t have a lot to say, just goes out to do his job. If he is asked to block a linebacker, he does it. If he is asked to run a certain type of route against a certain type of coverage, he just does it without complaining or whining.

He never says, I blocked the whole game and the ball wasn’t thrown to me. He understands how he’s part of the team. He is the ultimate when it comes to being a team player, Palmer added.

Caldwell was given the starting job after Houshmandzadeh left to go to Seattle. He was able to learn a lot watching Houshmandzadeh for a year running his precise routes and catching the ball while he was getting clobbered.

Caldwell said he incorporated Houshmandzadeh’s game into his. That was very big. What I learned was how to be a player in the NFL, to be a man, and how I should carry myself as a receiver. Without all of that, I might not be where I am now.

Carson Palmer says he expects that teams are going to start paying a lot more attention to Caldwell. That will free up Ochocinco occasionally from double coverage which he has been facing in every game.

Palmer said, that hopefully as more teams started to fear Andre that it would open Chad up a bit more.

The first big moment for Caldwell in the NFL gave him streams of congratulations from all over the country.

Caldwell said he got lots of texts, tweets, phone calls. It has been very exciting how people have been happy for me. I am blessed that I get to be in the situation I am in right now.

When Caldwell was asked if any famous people had given him well wishes he just smiled and said that he didn’t know a lot of big names. It was lots of small time, Friends and family.