Tim Couch Weighs In
-
Former Browns quarterback Couch defends Quinn and Anderson
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 06:22 p.m. EDT, Oct 01, 2009
BEREA: Former Browns quarterback Tim Couch believes that Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson can succeed in the NFL.
But perhaps not with the Browns, especially if the two are subjected to the same mishandling that he and Kelly Holcomb experienced six years ago.
Couch joined the ranks of former NFL players decrying the lack of talent on the 2009 Browns, winless going into the home game Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. And Couch thinks that way even while sticking up for coach Eric Mangini.
''You could put any quarterback on that team and he wouldn't be successful,'' Couch said in a telephone interview Wednesday night. ''It's tough to coach a quarterback in that type environment. ''They've got a good coaching staff; they're going in the right direction. Coach Mangini was pretty successful with the Jets. But he's in a tough situation, too. It's like Butch Davis and Chris Palmer when they took over, the talent level as a team wasn't there.''
The first overall pick in 1999, Couch splits time between homes in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Lexington, Ky., with his wife, Heather, and their two sons, Chase, 4, and Brady, 6 months. When it was suggested that his sons' names sound like quarterbacks, Couch said, ''That's what we were going for.''
While occasionally serving as an analyst for University of Kentucky football, Couch keeps up with the Browns through former tight end Aaron Shea. Couch is godfather to Shea's oldest daughter and visited the family in Westlake in August, attending a preseason game.
The 2007 season, when the Browns went 10-6 and fell a game shy of the playoffs, convinced Couch that his old team was finally breaking out of the doldrums.
''Derek Anderson went to the Pro Bowl, they had a good offensive line, Jamal Lewis was on a roll, they had good receivers, Braylon [Edwards] had a good year,'' Couch said. ''All of a sudden last year, they went backwards.''
Quarterback switch
While the team struggles to rebuild, Couch cautioned Mangini about going down the same road as Davis, who played musical quarterbacks with Couch and Holcomb in 2003.
Mangini started Quinn, the 22nd pick in the 2007 draft, for the first three games, but lifted him at halftime Sunday at Baltimore when the Browns trailed 20-0. On Wednesday, Mangini announced that he was installing Anderson as the starter this weekend, but he gave no indication how long Anderson's stint would last.
To Couch, that sounded reminiscent of what he and Holcomb went through in 2003. Holcomb started the first three games, then suffered what Davis deemed ''a teeny, tiny'' fracture of his right fibula at San Francisco. Couch took over for five games, but was replaced late in the third quarter against San Diego, then sprained his right thumb the following week in a start at New England. Holcomb was in command until Game 13 against St. Louis, when he was yanked after two second-quarter interceptions. He sat on the bench behind Couch the rest of the season.
The next year, Jeff Garcia took over at quarterback and Couch was out of football, suffering from a torn rotator cuff, bicep and labrum in his right shoulder. He said he tore his rotator cuff again when he was about to sign with Indianapolis in 2005.
Couch said Holcomb has visited him at his home in Kentucky and he plays in Holcomb's annual golf tournament in Murfreesboro, Tenn. They still discuss 2003.
''We talk all the time what a miserable situation it was and we only had to deal with it one season,'' Couch said. ''You almost had to play a perfect game to keep your job. As a quarterback, you can't say, 'If I have a bad game, I'm not going to be playing.' You've got to play loose. You can't do it with that on your mind, knowing you're going to be benched.
''It's a different position than any other position on the field. Once a coach starts going back and forth and the team is unsure, that's a bad situation. In my opinion, nothing ruins a locker room like a quarterback controversy. The team needs a guy they can count on. Once a quarterback loses his luster, being the guy, being the leader, gets pulled out of a game, it's a pretty tough situation in the locker room.'' Advice from Couch
Quinn is 1-5 as a starter over two seasons, Anderson 13-14. Couch worries that Quinn's benching could damage his confidence.
''It definitely does,'' Couch said. ''A couple bad games and all of a sudden the job is taken away ... you have to have good people around you to keep your confidence up. I've been there, I know what he's going through.''
Couch also feared the ramifications of the constant pounding that Browns quarterbacks take. Quinn was sacked nine times in the first two games and 10 times in three. But that's nothing compared to Couch, who absorbed 56 sacks as a rookie, 51 when he was healthy again in his third season and 166 for his career.
''David Carr had the same situation with an expansion team [Houston], he was beat to death,'' Couch said. ''You think you're going to be a great player, but once you start getting hit like that, you get a little gun-shy. It happens to everyone.''
Ironically, the Browns have the same quarterbacks coach, Carl Smith, that Couch did for the final three years of his five years in the NFL.
''He's a great football coach who has been in the NFL a long time,'' Couch said of Smith, starting his 20th season. ''He teaches the game really well, makes you understand it. He had an unfortunate situation, dealing with a team that's never been good enough to make a quarterback be successful.''
Couch said Anderson ''is certainly capable of getting the job done.'' And speaking from his painful experience, he had some advice for Quinn.
''Always believe in yourself and your ability,'' Couch said. ''Know you're good, you're put in a bad situation.''
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marla Ridenour can be reached at [email protected]. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/. Follow the Browns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Browns.
-
Sorry but I quit reading at Tim Couch Weighs In
-
Sorry but I quit reading at Tim Couch Weighs In
Sorry but I quit reading at Tim Couch Weighs In
No need to be sorry...we don't give a shit either way.
-
@danamal said:
I cant slam Couch,It really wouldnt have mattered who the QB was when we first returned he took a beating.
He wasnt the best QB in the world but it was an intersting read,and he makes a good argument.
Ok I guess you convinced me.
-
I am so tired of the you cant think you are going to lose your job statement.
We all here this at work every day. If the car salesman which is probably what he is doing doesnt sell cars he gets fired. If you played well enough then you would have a job.
Now there is some importance to have confidence from your coaching staff and whatnot but geez if you can't handle the pressure as a starting QB in the National Football League then you probably have the wrong job. YOU HAVE TO HANDLE PRESSURE OR YOUR NOT A GOOD QB.
BTW he does have a hottt wife though. Kudos to ya Tim
-
Good read. Makes me think less of Mangini than I already did.
A decent coach should recognize what Couch points out about screwing with the QB's head.
-
Couch played all the cards to end up being the 'First overall taken' ... at that time, it was all he cared about and he got what he wanted. I could give a ratsass what happened to him thereafter. if he was so worried about being in the right situation, he should have stayed in school another year and worked with someone on operating a pro style offense, not jumped out after his Junior year to be the face of a storied franchise that had no components.
He went for the cake and he got baked ... err, we got baked, he still ended up with the cake.
Screw him ... I feel nothing for him, he hoodwinked this organization as much as they hoodwinked him.
Freanking bumbling idiots ... everyone involved.
I hope he wraps his car around Carmen Policy standing at a bus stop.
-
i was a kid about 9-10 years old when Couch threw the Hail mary to quincy morgan in jacksonville.. i was at that game! it basically got the browns into the playoffs, which the were up big...but let the steelers come back..does anybody have the link to that hail mary?
-
Couch played all the cards to end up being the 'First overall taken' ... at that time, it was all he cared about and he got what he wanted. I could give a ratsass what happened to him thereafter. if he was so worried about being in the right situation, he should have stayed in school another year and worked with someone on operating a pro style offense, not jumped out after his Junior year to be the face of a storied franchise that had no components.
He went for the cake and he got baked ... err, we got baked, he still ended up with the cake.
Screw him ... I feel nothing for him, he hoodwinked this organization as much as they hoodwinked him.
Freanking bumbling idiots ... everyone involved.
I hope he wraps his car around Carmen Policy standing at a bus stop.
-
Couch does have a point. However, this offense isn't nearly as bad as what he had to work with. Jim Pyne, Terry Kirby? Really?
But dropped passes (Royal, Cribbs and Furrey), false starts, holding penalties, poor route running (Cribbs and Royal), terrible blocking (St. Clair especially), poor passes (both QB's), and bad play calling are all what make this offense terrible.
-
Can someone explain to me why listening to what Tim Couch has to say about our QB situation pisses me off?
-
They have not been mishandled, they simply aren't in any long term plans, there value was low so they can't be traded without a piddling return. Quinn was the bigger question mark, maybe, hopefully something emerged, but he was amazing far off lost in his ego fantasy.
Going to be nasty to deal Quinn for a couple 5 rounders this spring and just release Anderson. But the long saga is nearing a end.
-
TheJokersWILD said:
Good to see you mz the pussy, but yes I would. I hate the Stoolers that bad. My old man slaved in a steel mill for thirty years and tried to screw him out of his pension because he got hurt on the job, YES I hate anything that represents the steel industry.I share your hatred, but 2-14 is still 2-14.
-
i would have been happy with 6 wins, 2 from the steelers 2 raven and 2 bengals
-
@shepwrite said:
Holy God, Ate, you've posted more nonsense in the past week than in your prior lifetime.Tim Couch is greedy because he got drafted and singed a contract? Uhhhhhhh... WHAT??
Sure, you can feel sorry for Couch, just like Archie Manning. Absolutely the worst situation imaginable... and then the arm problems. He kept trying to come back, playing for popcorn with a busted shoulder, in case you don't already feel like a douche.
Playing for popcorn? The guy made $65+ mil in his shitty career and walked away with a playboy bunny, but we are supposed to feel sorry for him for being the poster child of this fucked up rebirth?
The kid had no such game what-so-ever ... unless 5 receiver sets, throwing out of the shotgun with no backs was actually going to catch fire in the NFL. His RB had more receptions than David Boston that year. He NEVER fooled me, he never came close to running a pro style offense. He never had to look beyond the linebackers and it showed. He never beat a ranked opponent in college but was gonna carry our team in the Pro's? He got lucky as shit that Carmen Policy needed a pretty white boy for his corporate suits. Tim Couch used this franchise as a two-bit whore, he came out for the money, and was no where near being ready for such a task.
He got what he wanted ... the Browns didn't and have been paying the price ever since.
fuck Tim Couch.
-
@danamal said:
fuk tim couch GO DA?????????WTF is wrong with this picture,you and Z have really taken a leave of your senses may as well throw in your girlfriend lums for good measure.
In 32 more starts, Couch has only won 9 more games than DA, has only threw 19 more TD's than DA has to-date, yet Couch has thrown 29 more INT's.
Plus Couch cried.
-
@danamal said:
fuk tim couch GO DA?????????WTF is wrong with this picture,you and Z have really taken a leave of your senses may as well throw in your girlfriend lums for good measure.
In 32 more starts, Couch has only won 9 more games than DA, has only threw 19 more TD's than DA has to-date, yet Couch has thrown 29 more INT's.
Plus Couch cried.
In 32 more starts, Couch has only won 9 more games than DA, has only threw 19 more TD's than DA has to-date, yet Couch has thrown 29 more INT's.
Plus Couch cried.
He was also sacked 50+ times twice, 30+ times in another season, had Kevin Johnson and Quincy Morgan as his #1 receiver, had Dennis Dropcutt, had no TE's, had no RB's, and some of the worst play calling I've ever seen in my life. Not to mention, he had Bottlegate.
But I'm still a believer that Couch could have been solid with some help. Shoot, Holcomb could have been solid with help.
I mean, Jeff Garcia was a star in San Fran. Came to Cleveland and sucked, and then started for other teams and played well.
We're cursed.
http://dabrowns41.blogspot.com Browns and Draft talk. Enjoy!
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better ๐
Register Login