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BEREA, Ohio - Kevin Johnson is on a pace to catch 73 passes this season and he said that's not good enough.

This season, he said, has "definitely not (been) up to my standards."

As the Browns returned to practice after a week off and started preparing for Sunday's game in Cincinnati, Johnson reflected on his first nine games, when he caught 41 passes for 408 yards and one touchdown.

Project those numbers out for 16 games and Johnson would have 73 catches for 725 yards and two touchdowns.

That would be a 15 percent drop in catches from a year ago (when he had 84 for 1,097 yards and eight touchdowns), a 34 percent drop in yards and a 25 percent drop in touchdowns.

This is not what people envisioned when Johnson signed a contract extension in the preseason that included a $3.5 million signing bonus. Include Johnson among them.

"Obviously as a player you want the ball more," Johnson said. "Due to the increased production of different guys, I guess my opportunities aren't there."

To hear the team, the "different guys" are the sole reason Johnson's numbers are down.

Coach Butch Davis has said that a year ago Johnson was Tim Couch's chief target and at times his only target.

The Browns made a major effort this preseason to get Couch more weapons. Quincy Morgan has improved, Dennis Northcutt has found new life (and might be the team's MVP through the first nine games), Jamel White is catching a lot of passes out of the backfield, Andre Davis has been added via the draft, and the tight ends are catching more passes.

The Browns are one of three teams with five players with 25 or more receptions.

"They want the ball too," Johnson said of his fellow receivers.

Another difference in Johnson's output is the number of down-the-field receptions. A year ago he had at least 11 receptions longer than 20 yards. This season he has three games when his longest catch was less than 10 yards.

If Johnson is going to have a breakout game, this could be the week. Four of his five career 100-yard receiving games have come against the Bengals.

Johnson has no doubt that Couch, his friend and co-draftee in 1999, has complete confidence in him.

"He knows what I can do," Johnson said. "But I have to have the plays called so he can get me the ball. He has to go with his reads; he can't just say he's going to throw it to KJ."