Browns bench their leading receiver

[4xchampncountin]

I know the Cleveland Browns have done some really stupid things before but this is an excellent example of doing something even if it is wrong...

from clevelandbrowns.com

Browns Head Coach Butch Davis announced Monday that Kelly Holcomb will start at quarterback and Andre’ Davis will start at wide receiver in place of Kevin Johnson when the Browns visit Kansas City Sunday.

Andre’ Davis is slated to make his first start of the season and the fifth of his young career. He has 18 catches for 196 yards and three touchdowns on the season.

“This move is a combination of things,” Butch Davis said. “Part of it is that we want to give Andre’ Davis an opportunity, and this will give him a chance.”

Johnson, the team’s leading receiver with 40 catches for 378 yards and two scores, has started 71 of 72 career games.

“There are some things that we feel (Johnson) is capable of doing better,” Butch Davis said. “And we’ll find out if he can respond and do those things better.”

???????????????????????????????????

 

[bowtie]

maybe thats why they are still not winning.

 

[Happy29]

Thank god, I thought he was on drugs or something, whew.

 

[TexasRaceLady]

Maybe the Browns feel if they shake up the pot, good things might happen.

 

[steveluvs3]

Well it aint gonna work browns, you are going down like the previous 8 teams

Cleveland Browns

to the 9-0 chiefs

 

[stridsberry]

Chiefs are 8-0, bud. And they're not home-free just yet, not if the Patriots have anyhing to do with it.

 

[steveluvs3]

Duh, I know they are 8-0, I am predicting 9-0.

Patriots :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[4xchampncountin]

The Browns are nothing if not unpredictable. They have lost to teams like the Bengals, Chargers, etc. (all teams they were supposed to beat easily), but have beaten the 49ers, Raiders and Steelers. (All teams they were sussposed to lose to). You just never know.

 

[steveluvs3]

49ners-streaky,raiders-suck,steelers-a little better than the raiders,bengals-are a better team than years past. I look forthe bengals to give the chiefs a better game than the browns

 

[Parkfan]

He's no longer a Cleveland Brown.
ESPN

 

[4xchampncountin]

That is totally assinine. I never was a huge fan of Kevin Johnson as a person myself, but he is obviously a very talented reciever who just plain caught every ball thrown to him. How you can release him to give guys like Andre King (who wouldn't even have made the team if he hadn't played for Butch Davis at Miami) more playing time is beyond logic.

This is not going to play well in the locker room. Butch has upset a lot of the players by getting rid of very productive players in the past. Guys like Jamir Miller and Earl Holmes were some of the teams best players who didn't praise Davis as the "Messiah" that Davis apparently thinks he is. Davis has been known to say things like "we feel it was the system(obviously his system) that allowed Jamir Miller to have all those sacks". However when Jamir was released the guy Butch put in there had no sacks in the same "system" in which Jamir had 13+ sacks the year before.

Unbelievable

 

[4xchampncountin]

And now he is a Jacksonville Jaguar...

from espn.com...

In a move that immediately upgrades the offense, providing a solid No. 2 wide receiver to pair with Jimmy Smith, the Jacksonville Jaguars on Wednesday afternoon were awarded Kevin Johnson on waivers, a day after his release by Cleveland.

ESPN.com confirmed that 16 franchises, an unusually large number, made waivers claims on Johnson. According to waiver rules, he was awarded to the Jags because they had the poorest current record of any teams making a claim. Among the other teams claiming him were the receiver-needy Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets. The Jets on Wednesday placed Wayne Chrebet on injured reserve, ending his season, and exacerbating their need for a wide receiver.

Sources said that Johnson intermediaries spoke with Detroit officials on Wednesday and urged them not to claim the wide receiver. Johnson personally told some teams that he did not want to go any further west than Cleveland.

There were erroneous broadcast reports from Cleveland that Johnson was headed to Detroit, but those came early in the day, hours before the 4 p.m. deadline for making a waiver claim.

To make room for Johnson on the roster, the Jaguars released veteran wide receiver J.J. Stokes, who joined the team this summer as an unrestricted free agent.

Acquiring the sure-handed Johnson, at least for the balance of this season, gives rookie quarterback Byron Leftwich another reliable target. Jacksonville has struggled at the wide receiver spot in general in 2003 and none of the club's players at the position has more than 26 catches.

Notably, Johnson, 27, is represented by IMG, whose large clientele also includes Leftwich and Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio.

Johnson was demoted from the Browns' starting lineup last week because coaches felt he had not blocked well in the running game. Johnson reacted by noting publicly that he was the Browns' leading receiver in every season with the team. The demotion did not play well in the locker room, where veterans have questioned some of coach Butch Davis' past moves, and the release sent shock waves through the roster.

In a Wednesday morning telephone interview with ESPN.com, Davis confirmed that his staff had problems with Johnson's willingness and effectiveness as a blocker. But he also said that, as the highest paid and most senior wide receiver on the roster, Johnson did not step up to his leadership responsibilities.

"Kevin is a good kid," Davis said. "But he wasn't able to consistently do well the things we asked of him. Remember, when he came here in 1999, it was an expansion team. The expectations of winning and losing aren't the same as they are now. And he was one of the more (high profile) players. But as we continued to bring more talent in here, and his role changed some, he didn't adapt very well.

"For 2 ½ years, we gave him every chance, believe me. And last week, when we demoted him, we hoped that would be the spark, but it wasn't. He's a talented guy, and he'll play in the league, but (releasing him) wasn't that tough a decision for us."

In claiming Johnson, the Jaguars now assume his existing contract. But because he is a "vested" veteran, he has the right to declare himself an unrestricted free agent after the 2004 season.

His base salary for 2003 is $950,000, which means the Jags owe him a prorated portion based on remaining games, or about $391,000. Johnson was under contract through 2006, with scheduled base salaries of $1.45 million (2004), $1.4 million (2005) and $2.65 million (2006). There were annual workout bonuses of $100,000 and Johnson is also due a $2 million options bonus in 2005.