Cleveland Browns QB Austin Davis has a first-rate quarterback name and a pretty fancy fan club. Brett Favre is the president, and the president thinks Davis has it in him to be another Tom Brady or Kurt Warner. Sure, Favre has suffered concussions like every other NFL player. But some of Favre’s biggest blows haven’t been on the field: the Green Bay legend had to watch as Austin Davis — a red-shirt walk-on for goodness sake — smashed all his college passing records at Southern Miss.
Davis gets his second chance to transform into Tom Brady this week as the Browns take on the Cincinnati Bengals. Davis will start for Cleveland, replacing the injured Josh McCown. (Long ago Brady came in for injured Drew Bledsoe and never looked back, Lou Gehrig-style.) It’s Davis’ second chance to fulfill Favre’s prophecy because last year he had a shot in St. Louis, starting eight games for the Rams and going 3-5. (That happens to Brady in 2001, who knows what becomes of him? But the Patriots won the Super Bowl when Brady filled in.) Davis is a tremendous athlete who was drafted by the Boston Red Sox despite playing just one season of baseball in college. He warmed up for his start against the Bengals with a strong fourth quarter against Baltimore Monday, going 7 of 10 for 77 yards.
