WR Chad Johnson clams up before Cleveland rematch

His coach's tirade last Sunday evidently made an impression.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Chad Johnson isn't sending anything to Cleveland this week.
No handwritten notes. No bottles of Pepto-Bismol. No promises about touchdown dances. Nothing that would fire up the Browns and upset his own coach's stomach.
Even his comments were tame, a sign that the Cincinnati Bengals have taken Marvin Lewis' outburst to heart -- for at least one week, anyway.
Asked on Wednesday if he was doing anything special this week, the chatty Pro Bowl receiver effectively clammed up.
"Yeah, playing football," he said.
That was it.
Two bad teams
Johnson isn't about to add any spice to a game that really could use some. The Browns (3-7) have staggered out of playoff contention with four consecutive losses, fueling speculation that coach Butch Davis will be fired.
The Bengals (4-6) aren't a whole lot better, playing so poorly that Lewis reached his breaking point and screamed at his team following a 19-14 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Both teams have a lot bigger concerns than a few small bottles of antacid.
"They're down. They're reeling," quarterback Carson Palmer said. "But we're reeling, too."
In the pink
It was nothing like this when they met on Oct. 17 in Cleveland with a grudge to be settled. Johnson had angered some of the Browns with his latest prank: He sent bottles of Pepto-Bismol to four defensive backs with handwritten notes warning they'd get sick trying to cover him.
It got quite a reaction.
"I threw it in the trash," safety Robert Griffith said Wednesday, during a conference call. "I told him after the game I thought it was disrespectful to send them. I guess I'm just a little old school. You just don't do that."
The joked backfired. The fired-up Browns rolled to a 34-17 win, and Johnson had his worst game -- three catches for 37 yards and three dropped passes.
Some of the Browns defensive backs took Johnson's tongue-in-cheek antacid gift the way it was meant.
"I haven't used it at all," safety Earl Little said Wednesday, chuckling. "I still have it. It's still in my medicine cabinet."
Coach's influence
For one week, the self-promotion is gone from Johnson's bag of tricks. And that's a notable change.
He had Lewis playing damage control last week when he promised a new touchdown celebration for the game against Pittsburgh. He also urged fans to bring bottles of Pepto-Bismol to the Browns game.
The locker room tone is more serious this week, apparently the result of Lewis' diatribe. Johnson also has something else on his mind -- having a much better showing against Cleveland than the last time.
"I had the worst game of my career, a very unfocused game, one that I'll probably never, ever have again," Johnson said. "I'm looking forward to being consistent like I've been since that point."
Johnson was haunted by his bad game, losing sleep while trying to figure out how he could drop so many passes after raising the stakes so high with his Pepto prank. He concluded that he was taking his eyes off the ball as he caught it, and fixed the problem in practice the next week.
Johnson is on pace to have 88 catches for 1,269 yards. Last season, he made his first Pro Bowl with 90 catches for a club-record 1,355 yards, the most in the American Conference.
The game against Cleveland was by far his worst. Cornerback Anthony Henry did a good job guarding him, and Johnson dropped the ball most of the times he got open.
"I helped them out," Johnson said, a hint of braggadocio returning to his tone. "No one stopped me; I stopped myself. Coming into this one Sunday, I've got to be completely focused, which I will be. It's going to be a good one."
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