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May 1, 2014
All the talk, speculation and analysis over a guy throwing against air while wearing shoulder pads is about to come to an end. No more guessing about whom the Browns should take in the fifth round because the NFL Draft is finally in sight.
While watching the coverage, you’ll probably be hearing about “great value” picks, draft day “steals,” as well as the biggest busts in history. ESPN and the NFL Network will undoubtedly capitalize on these themes, and for the sake of this column, so will IâIâm taking the bust route, looking at the Browns biggest blunder of a pick since starting over in 1999.
My inspiration comes from an NFL.com poll I found while patrolling the byways of the interwebs, soaking up all things draft. The poll is about a year old, but most voters (43 percent) believe Tim Couch is the Browns’ worst draft pick in the Super Bowl era. Weâre not talking about the expansion era, weâre going all the way back to the time when the name Lombardi was a hot commodity in the league.
Undoubtedly, Couch failed to live up to expectations. As a No. 1 pick at the premier position in the game, the UK product was out of the league by 2003. It’s easy to bash the man who was supposed to be the face of the franchise, but Couch can claim something no other Cleveland quarterback can since Vinny Testaverde. He led his team to the playoffs.
With this nugget in mind, should Couch be THE biggest bust? Hardly. That (dis)honor should belong to Courtney Brown, and the former Penn State product doesn’t go unscathed in the poll.
Brown garnered 15 percent, good enough for third. Brady Quinn took the second spot with 28 percent. How a guy who plummeted to the bottom of the first round could be considered that big of a bust is certainly questionable, but it’s safe to assume one thing: NFL polling is probably not as scientific as what the folks over at Gallup are working on.
Before the case is made against Brown, think back to 1999. It was obvious the Browns were going to take a quarterback. The team was being reborn and the first pick in the draft would be the one to lead the Browns back to prominence. Remember back to that Sports Illustrated cover, and your memory will tell you that if the Browns weren’t going to take Couch, they were probably going to select Oregon quarterback Akili Smith, a favorite of then coach Chis Palmer.
Couch wisely skipped his senior season at Kentucky to come out in â99. As a junior, he threw for 4,275 yards and 36 TDs en route to first-team All-American recognition. He passed for at least 300 yards and one TD in each game. Great numbers for sure, but with hind site being 20/20, Carmen Policy and Dwight Clark probably didnât pay attention to or care that UKâs offensive plays were basically drawn up in the dirt. As Peter King pointed out from this 1999 article, âAt least half of his collegiate passes were dumpoffs, screens, curls or short crossing routes.â
Couch actually strung together two good seasons at UK while Smith was a one-year wonder at Oregon, throwing for 3,764 yards and 32 TDs against 8 INTs. His pro career was about as spectacular as the inside of football, but for whatever reason, Palmer was intrigued with the Oregon product.
Neither pick wouldâve been right, as it was the Eagles who struck gold by selecting Donovan McNabb at the No. 2 spot. McNabb never won the Super Bowl, but he made Philadelphia relevant and a credible threat to contend for a championship year-after-year.
So the quarterback who ended up having the best pro career wasnât even on the Browns radar by the time the draft rolled around. A decision needed to be made and Couch got the call, signing his contract the morning of the draft.
In 2000, the Browns also faced a dilemma. Would it be defensive end Courtney Brown or linebacker LaVar Arrington. The Browns had Arrington rated slightly higher, but went with Brown and his pass rushing ability, according to the New York Times.
Rough day, Courtney?
Arrington didnât live up to his potential either, but he did have a better pro career marked by three All-Pro and Pro Selections before injuries slowed his career. The Browns ended up going with Brown, and nobody thought it was a bad decision. Brown was consensus All-American, who as a senior, was a finalist for all of college footballâs major defensive awards. Sports Illustrated compared him to Bruce Smith. Brown become the first defensive end drafted No. 1 overall since Smith was taken by the Bills way back in 1985.
Brown did show promise, but it was short-lived. He recorded 4.5 sacks and 70 tackles in his rookie year and looked poised to breakout in his sophomore campaign, accumulating 4.5 sacks in five games. But like his college teammate, Brown caught the injury bug and his career trajectory forever shot downward. Brown recorded 17 sacks in five years with the Browns with eight coming in his first two years spanning 21 games. For Brown and the Browns, thatâs as good as it got.
When the Broncos released Brown after the 2006 season, Brown had missed 51 games because of injury and only played in 45 dating back to 2001.
Both picks were a disaster that haunted the organization greatly during its first decade, but Couch can hang at least hang his hat on that memorable 2002.
Memorable? Surely that’s a little facetious. Couch was far from an elite QB that year, tossing 18 TDs and 18 INTs, but as as starter, he went 8-6 and led three fourth-quarter comebacks. If Couch doesnât get the job done in any of those contests, the Browns would hold the even more embarrassing distinction of having zero playoff appearance since 1999.
We all know the rest of the story. Couch got hurt and couldnât start the playoff game at Pittsburgh. Kelly Holcomb had the game of his life and it still wasnât enough. The next year, Butch Davis went with his gut and Holcomb, and the writing was on the wall for Couch. That and years of being battered behind some terrible offensive lines forced Couch into retirement at the age of 26.
Itâs been 15 years since Couch walked to the podium as a savior and sign of hope to Browns fans across the world. The Browns are still searching for that player Couch was supposed to be, and theyâll probably gamble on their next signal caller this May.
Things didnât work out for Couch, but he at least gives fans one season to talk about and recollect for the better. Was he a bust? Yes. But the biggest? Not even close.
98 Comments
going full NFL, I dare you to find a bigger bust than found here:
http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view/980661/andre-smith-40-o.gif
As I eluded to earlier there are way to many busts to rank which is a large part of why this franchise has been so pathetic for so long.
This is what comes to my mind:
http://notebookwine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/The-Dude.jpg
You win. I can’t.
http://images.ftw.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/jamarcuscrying.gif
(That’s JaMarcus.)
Ya know you are really starting to bring me down man!!
http://www.derekyu.com/tumblr/finishgame05.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfONNfAjyrc
gotta give credit where credit is due:
http://media.tumblr.com/d5d0d6949c570eda950be19814d0fb32/tumblr_inline_mhqb7sGYpQ1r5h6p7.gif
I prefer the Mansierre
What’s next a testisierre?
If he had been wearing #18 it would be priceless!
Well, this was my other option. But it still hurts too much.
One final warning or you are no longer my WFNY BFF and you are on my list (right next to Steve)!!!
http://usaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/cease_desist_web_800x800-300×300.jpg
if only our RBs could elude so well đ
Sorry.
http://i.imgur.com/4lZ4WWq.gif
Those were some painful memories and people wonder why me or anyone else might be a little harsh when it comes to our opinions of the Cleveland Browns. You provided visual proof of two of the biggest reasons. This thread is another.
Now hold on just a minute. What do those two images have to do with the current Cleveland Browns? And why should anyone be harsh toward them because they lost two heartbreaking playoff games in the ’80s? I know we can’t all ride the bandwagon waves of success like the ones your adopted winners carry behind them (fortuitous choices, by the way!), but there’s no reason to be harsh based on two very good teams losing two very good games 30 years ago.
And what does this thread have to do with anything?
http://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/keep-calm-i-m-not-pissed-you-re-just-on-my-shit-list.png
You were warned!!!
http://0-media-cdn.foolz.us/ffuuka/board/a/image/1340/31/1340310595681.gif
He’s married to that tasty British crumpet Emily Blunt no? Damn she’s fine!
But wait I’m not typing to you…damn it…why can’t I quit G_O??????
Ex-sailor’s what? Whatever we took, we should give it back.
Quality Control, at your service.
I wish we were losing heartbreaking AFC Championships again
apparently, vocabulary
Nicely played.
Had to scroll to the bottom to get this before I posted it myself. Taking this into account, hands down, the biggest bust: Junkin.
Did you just write, “Why can’t I quit you, GO?”
Oh my.
LoL yes, yes I did and as a heterosexual I don’t think there’s anything wrong. Do yooooooooooooooooooooou?
I know G_O is in your nerd herd but he liked to play with the cool kids sometimes. Don’t hold it against him!
I don’t know…I suppose…sigh.
what gets me after re-watching the Run William Run run is that while Butchie’s drafting theories were like his college recruiting theories – look for talent, we’ll sort out the personal issues later – at least he took a RB that had power and speed. Suck on this: Holmgren encouraged Heck to trade up to overall #3 to take a RB without the burst to run away from NFL players. Mind-boggling.
I know we can’t all ride the bandwagon waves of success like the ones your adopted winners carry behind them (fortuitous choices, by the way!)
I haven’t forgotten this my fondness for Boston sports may have been adopted but I liked them long before the mighty Sox broke their curse or the Patriots became a dynasty. In fact I was a Patriots fan back when the Bears disembowled them on live TV in the SB!
So go suck an egg!
Ever find yourself questioning how things might have been different if we had kept Butch as the head coach? I hate myself for it, but I do.
September through December would be fun at least.
Typical Boston “fan”: Picks a team to root for when they get to the Championship game. Lame.
[I’m kidding. And I know your fan history. I was just messing with you.]
as an engineer a big part of my job is to make mistakes/bugs seem like features đ
I love trains!
I assume that it is only because Jared carries his weight too low:
http://nonplayersunion.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/jared-lorenzen-touchdown_4970715_gifsoup-com.gif
all while targeting unathletic guys for LB and WRs who couldn’t catch.
the light at the end of the tunnel coming nearer at 2X the speed it should be given our speed is merely a feature that will help slow our train down quicker than our brakes allow by themselves.
That just means he’s having a boy.
DON’T MESS WITH THE BULL SON!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2WZrxuwDhs
that is going to hurt
http://www.indiewire.com/static/dims4/INDIEWIRE/bb945d7/2147483647/thumbnail/680×478/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fd1oi7t5trwfj5d.cloudfront.net%2F20%2F1b88f05f3f11e29dc322000a1d0930%2Ffile%2Fjunior-01152013.jpg
Definitely agree Couch was not a bust. 15 TDs and 13 INTs as a rookie QB on an expansion team. Had almost no support. IMO McNabb or anyone wouldn’t have done any better. Couch was hurt for some of 2002 but did throw for 3000 yds. Playoff season. Couch ended with a 75.1 passer rating. Graham, kosar, Ryan had better; Sipe, Plum, nelsen, Phipps had worse. Not saying couch was better than sipe (at least of the Sam r. Yrs), but he wasn’t a bust.
Excellent data. This is all why I do not believe that you build a team around a QB, and why I would be more than happy if we used our round 1 picks this year on non-QBs. Build this team into a juggernaut, and then go find a Joe Flacco, or something (maybe he’s already on the team).
yes, but .. there was something wrong with that guy. Had an impeccable resume when Lerner hired him but the whole was always less than the sum of the parts and the players quickly stopped buying his b.s.On that hire alone I only fault ownership for what became a fatal habit: throwing the keys to Berea to one guy without checks, balances or requirement that they just do what you do best, and when that predictably bombs just throw the keys to someone else.
I guess I meant to the guys in the Cleveland jerseys.
Tim Couch w/ Browns – 64TD, 67 INT
Kelly Holcomb w/ Browns – 26TD, 21 INT
Try again.
We are so lucky to have a Kelly Holcomb expert on the forum. Are you his brother or something? Get a life.
Holcomb was just one of our failed QBs. just don’t post stats unless they are correct. that’s all. thanks.