chumpchange Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 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 mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/. Follow the Browns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Browns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car ramrod Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Sorry but I quit reading at Tim Couch Weighs In Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbndawg Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Sorry but I quit reading at Tim Couch Weighs In No need to be sorry...we don't give a shit either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car ramrod Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car ramrod Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosarfan Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ATENEARS Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLEVELANDwantsPLAYOFFS Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gips Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 I feel for any qb this team drafts or has drafted they have no chance in the gutter of of the nfl...soon serious talent wont even consider coming to cleveland without insane upfront pay.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.mz Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Screw him ... I feel nothing for him, he hoodwinked this organization as much as they hoodwinked him. Damn that Couch. His plan the entire time was to suck balls out of the gate and get irreparably hurt, sacrificing his career earnings and health just to screw us over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBrowns41 Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonedawg Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Can someone explain to me why listening to what Tim Couch has to say about our QB situation pisses me off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.mz Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 If we won two games a year and they were both against the Stoolers, I would be a happy guy. No you wouldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestinPeace Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.mz Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.mz Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Thank you. Wouldn't miss this season for anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumcrazy73 Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 i would have been happy with 6 wins, 2 from the steelers 2 raven and 2 bengals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ATENEARS Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ATENEARS Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBrowns41 Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eqrulz101 Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Can someone explain to me why listening to what Tim Couch has to say about our QB situation pisses me off? Thats simple because its been the same story of the Browns since we have come back. We have been doing everything wrong we could have for the last ten years. Not taking the Ricky Williams trade and drafting a QB with our first overall pick on an expansion team. No quarterback could of suceeded in that situation. Six or seven years of consecutive first round busts. Never getting our talent level up then drafting a QB. And now here we are yanking a QB after 2 1/2 games because it must be the QB's fault. Not the lack of talent at the O-lline, the running game and oh ya only one legitimate threat at the wr posistion. So what happens next year? We start all over again and draft that QB (dooming whoever it is to failure) because that is what this team really lacks. LMFAO. We need play makers, we need leaders, we need talent. So getting back to the point this story pisses you off because you realize we are in the exact same posistion we were ten years ago with ZERO propress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gips Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 I like players that aren't afraid to show thier emotion, like Hines Ward(crybaby). Even though I would like to have guys SIMILAR to Hines Ward, I would never like to ACTUALLY have Hines Ward because he is a complete and utter tool and douchebag This team could use some tools and douchebags that bring fun ,skill and confidence on the field instead of wimps ,quitters and prima donnas that cant dance...we already have a douchebag on the sidelines but he is the disposable kind... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lodilobo Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 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. Tim Couch, in my opinion, had more heart than most players. I remember him jumping up and going after defensive opponents after getting hit. He just didn't have enough talent to overcome the poor talent around him ( who would have?). His game grew predictable, and I felt it was time for him to move on after what?....4 seasons? He really had problems connecting on the long ball. I can only remember one time...a game against Greenbay, I think...that he hit a receiver in full stride. They always had to wait for the ball to get there. I don't feel sorry for him....he walked away with millions.....but I would never question his guts. He probably had more talent than BQ or DA, but that's just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WPB Dawg Fan Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 I WOULD TAKE TIM COUCH OVER QUINN OR ANDERSON!!! Any true Browns fans looks at two games a year and that's the two Pukesburgh games. Tim Couch is the only QB in the new Browns era to beat the Stoolers!!!! Give me Couch, you can have Quinn and Anderson Remind me, how many times has Quinn played the Steelers??? ZERO!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosar_For_President Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 He should know better than anyone. Makes sense. Browns management ruined his career. He could of been good, but getting sacked 7 times a game really puts a hindering on your development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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