BEREA, Ohio -- Chad Johnson is at it again, guaranteeing another victory for his Cincinnati Bengals.
Backing up the talkative wide receiver's boast could be tougher for the one-win Bengals this Sunday, though. They're playing the Cleveland Browns.
Two weeks ago, Johnson guaranteed Cincinnati would get its first win of the season against expansion Houston, a prediction first made by Bengals coach Dick LeBeau. The Texans cooperated by playing their worst game, and the Bengals rolled to a 38-3 victory.
Emboldened by his 1-0 record as a prognosticator, Johnson is going out on a more slender limb by saying the Bengals (1-8) will beat the Browns (4-5) in Cincinnati.
Guaranteed.
"It has nothing to do with Cleveland at all," Johnson said. "They just happen to be the team we're playing. We're going to win. I'm guaranteeing it."
Not surprisingly, Johnson's bold remarks were highlighted and circled with an orange marker and posted on a bulletin board in the Browns' locker room Wednesday.
"It's funny," Browns safety Devin Bush said. "What's he got to lose? If they win, it'll be that he guaranteed it. If they lose, it'll be, `Big deal, they lost.' It's comedy."
The Browns are one of 14 AFC teams fighting for six playoff spots, and they can't afford a letdown against the Bengals. Johnson's predictions won't make Cleveland any more inspired than they are already.
That's why the Browns are laying off countering Johnson's guarantee with one of their own.
"It's nonsense talk," said cornerback Corey Fuller, the Browns' answer to Johnson in verbosity. "You shouldn't need motivation to do your job anyway. We need to win because we're trying to get to the playoffs.
"What sense does it make for me to take shots at a team that's 1-8?"
Johnson's confidence is high following his first 100-yard receiving game last week against Baltimore, and Fuller guessed that may be why the Miami native is sounding off.
"He's been playing good the past three weeks," Fuller said. "He didn't say it before the first (Browns-Bengals) game. He didn't say it when he wasn't starting. He's a good player. Plus, he's from Florida so you expect it from a lot of us."
The Browns have been through this prediction stuff before.
Before playing unbeaten St. Louis in 1999, Cleveland wide receiver Kevin Johnson -- then a rookie -- predicted that the Browns would get their first win as an expansion team by beating the Rams.
Final score: St. Louis 34, Cleveland 3.
Last season, Jacksonville coach Tom Coughlin angered the Browns when he told the Jaguars, "We're 2-0, and on our way to 3-0" in the days leading up to their game with Cleveland.
Fired up by Coughlin's bravado, the Browns beat the Jaguars.
Kevin Johnson said that during the blowout in St. Louis, the Rams reminded him of his comments -- with every tackle.
"I heard it from the Rams players, but it wasn't as bad as people think," Johnson said. "But making guys more motivated? That's crazy.
"I took more abuse from the media. It doesn't make players play differently. You come across the middle, you're going to take that shot no matter what was said."
And as a one-time pro football soothsayer, Kevin Johnson has a different take on Chad Johnson's forecast.
"You have to like a guy like that," he said. "When all else fails, you still have to believe in yourself. You'd feel stupid if you went into a game thinking you're going to lose."
If nothing else, Chad Johnson's prediction does have the Browns on edge.
"Obviously, it scares you," Kevin Johnson said. "This is a game you've got to have and you don't want a guy trying to motivate his team and you don't want them spoiling your season.
"We think we're going to win the game, too."
Backing up the talkative wide receiver's boast could be tougher for the one-win Bengals this Sunday, though. They're playing the Cleveland Browns.
Two weeks ago, Johnson guaranteed Cincinnati would get its first win of the season against expansion Houston, a prediction first made by Bengals coach Dick LeBeau. The Texans cooperated by playing their worst game, and the Bengals rolled to a 38-3 victory.
Emboldened by his 1-0 record as a prognosticator, Johnson is going out on a more slender limb by saying the Bengals (1-8) will beat the Browns (4-5) in Cincinnati.
Guaranteed.
"It has nothing to do with Cleveland at all," Johnson said. "They just happen to be the team we're playing. We're going to win. I'm guaranteeing it."
Not surprisingly, Johnson's bold remarks were highlighted and circled with an orange marker and posted on a bulletin board in the Browns' locker room Wednesday.
"It's funny," Browns safety Devin Bush said. "What's he got to lose? If they win, it'll be that he guaranteed it. If they lose, it'll be, `Big deal, they lost.' It's comedy."
The Browns are one of 14 AFC teams fighting for six playoff spots, and they can't afford a letdown against the Bengals. Johnson's predictions won't make Cleveland any more inspired than they are already.
That's why the Browns are laying off countering Johnson's guarantee with one of their own.
"It's nonsense talk," said cornerback Corey Fuller, the Browns' answer to Johnson in verbosity. "You shouldn't need motivation to do your job anyway. We need to win because we're trying to get to the playoffs.
"What sense does it make for me to take shots at a team that's 1-8?"
Johnson's confidence is high following his first 100-yard receiving game last week against Baltimore, and Fuller guessed that may be why the Miami native is sounding off.
"He's been playing good the past three weeks," Fuller said. "He didn't say it before the first (Browns-Bengals) game. He didn't say it when he wasn't starting. He's a good player. Plus, he's from Florida so you expect it from a lot of us."
The Browns have been through this prediction stuff before.
Before playing unbeaten St. Louis in 1999, Cleveland wide receiver Kevin Johnson -- then a rookie -- predicted that the Browns would get their first win as an expansion team by beating the Rams.
Final score: St. Louis 34, Cleveland 3.
Last season, Jacksonville coach Tom Coughlin angered the Browns when he told the Jaguars, "We're 2-0, and on our way to 3-0" in the days leading up to their game with Cleveland.
Fired up by Coughlin's bravado, the Browns beat the Jaguars.
Kevin Johnson said that during the blowout in St. Louis, the Rams reminded him of his comments -- with every tackle.
"I heard it from the Rams players, but it wasn't as bad as people think," Johnson said. "But making guys more motivated? That's crazy.
"I took more abuse from the media. It doesn't make players play differently. You come across the middle, you're going to take that shot no matter what was said."
And as a one-time pro football soothsayer, Kevin Johnson has a different take on Chad Johnson's forecast.
"You have to like a guy like that," he said. "When all else fails, you still have to believe in yourself. You'd feel stupid if you went into a game thinking you're going to lose."
If nothing else, Chad Johnson's prediction does have the Browns on edge.
"Obviously, it scares you," Kevin Johnson said. "This is a game you've got to have and you don't want a guy trying to motivate his team and you don't want them spoiling your season.
"We think we're going to win the game, too."
