"If one truism from the Terrell Owens-Chad Ochocinco pairing has been confirmed this season, it's that hype in this overhyped age doesn't always equal results.

Oh, and it helps to have a quarterback who isn't regressing and a coach who doesn't have one foot out the door.

Bringing together two aging, prima-donna wide receivers -- both of them with their own reality-TV shows -- hasn't produced anywhere near the fireworks or drama that so many observers expected this season.

Unfortunately for the Bengals, who come to the Meadowlands tonight to face the cardiac Jets, "T-Ocho" hasn't produced much success, either.

The much-anticipated combination has been such a dud, in fact, that 2-8 Cincinnati is on pace for one of its worst finishes in years -- which is saying something -- and lame-duck coach Marvin Lewis is headed for the unemployment line.

The lesson? Big buzz can be just that and nothing more, especially when both players are well over 30.

"My whole expectations were, if I could get someone of [Owens'] caliber here, the sky's the limit for us as a team," Ochocinco said yesterday. "The [results] . . . it didn't go so well."

That would be an understatement. Owens is having a respectable season at age 36, tied for third in the league with 62 catches to go along with eight touchdowns, but that appears to have come at Ochocinco's expense, while the Bengals crumble around them."