Tag: tim couch

Browns first pick named Dawg Pound captain in game against the Ravens

Former Cleveland Browns franchise quarterback Tim Couch is the Dawg Pound captain in today’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Former Cleveland Browns franchise quarterback Tim Couch is the Dawg Pound captain in today’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. The Browns selected Tim Couch with the first pick upon their return to the NFL. Couch played five seasons with the expansion Browns before retiring from the NFL due to injuries. 

He smashed the guitar in just one swing.

Couch’s time with the Browns was strained as he tried to lead an upstart team. The front offices and coaches failed to build around him, focusing instead on their defense. Couch helped lead the Browns to the playoffs 2002 despite the team’s failings. 

The Browns and Couch had a horrible falling out. Tim Couch suffered a concussion, after a horrendous start to the 2003 season. As he was laying on the field, Browns fans started to boo him. Couch let the media and fans know how much it rightfully upset him. 

Thankfully, the city and team have patched things up with their former number one pick, Couch. Since retiring he has been involved with Browns’ media and the city. He’s a great pick for the Dawg Pound captain and a good reminder that fans and players can move on from their worst moments. 

Latest NFL mock draft projects an NFL first, includes Commanders

How good is this quarterback class? The QB depth at the top of the class could produce an NFL first.

The latest 2024 NFL mock draft predicts a league first.

For the first time in NFL history, could the first four selections all be quarterbacks?

The last time the first three selections were quarterbacks was in 1999. Analysts have been pretty much certain that will occur this year as well.

Don’t get prematurely excited, though. None of the top three quarterbacks drafted in 1999 will ever be in the Hall of Fame. Only one had a good career. That was Donovan McNabb, who faded quickly after some very successful years with the Eagles, including five NFC championship game appearances and one Super Bowl loss.

The other two drafted in the top three were Tim Couch of the Browns and Akili Smith of the Bengals. Couch was in the NFL for only five seasons, passing for 64 touchdowns but also throwing 67 interceptions. Smith lasted four seasons, playing in only 22 games with five touchdown passes and 13 interceptions.

CBS Sports Network’s Kyle Stackpole projects that next month’s draft will result in a first: four quarterbacks being the top four overall selections.

This comes as a result of Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy performing well at his workouts at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

As of now, the Cardinals hold the fourth selection. Stackpole projects the New York Giants trading up from the sixth position to take their quarterback of the future.

The top four selections, according to Stackpole, will be:

  1. Caleb Williams QB USC (Chicago Bears)
  2. Drake Maye QB, UNC (Washington Commanders)
  3. Jayden Daniels QB, LSU (New England Patriots)
  4. J.J. McCarthy QB, Michigan (New York Giants trade)

Here is what Stackpole says regarding the Commanders:

“The Commanders opt for Drake Maye, who has connections to QBs coach Tavita Pritchard and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.”

Here is the entire first round of Stackpole’s mock draft.

 

Best Kentucky Wildcats quarterbacks of all-time

Here is a look at the five best quarterbacks in Kentucky football history.

The University of Kentucky isn’t exactly known for their football team. They aren’t LSU or Alabama and they might never be in that tier. With that being said, Kentucky football has some successful teams in the past, and have really had some high quality college football players.

Over the years, the Wildcats have had some very good college quarterbacks. Not all of them went to the next level and succeeded, but all were terrific contributors to their teams at the college level, and are fondly remembered for their time in Lexington.

Kentucky may not have the same tradition at quarterback that some other schools have, but they can always count on the fans to support them. Wildcat fans know a good quarterback when they see one, and they go all out for them.

Here is a look look at the five best quarterbacks in the history of Kentucky Wildcats football.

Former Browns Tim Couch, Ken Dorsey candidates for College Football Hall of Fame

Couch and Dorsey had great college careers and could get inducted as a part of the 2023 class:

While many players are able to turn their college football success into pro football success, many others struggle when they get to the next level after having great college careers. The College Football Hall of Fame takes into account what a player did in the amateur ranks, leaving the Pro Football Hall of Fame to handle the professional side.

Fans of the Cleveland Browns are used to a lot of great college players coming to their team only to fall on their face in the NFL. Whether due to talent, motivation or the ever-changing landscape of the Browns organization over the years, college success rarely led to professional success in Cleveland.

The College Football Hall of Fame just announced the names on the ballot for the 2023 class. Included on the ballot are two former Browns quarterbacks, Tim Couch and Ken Dorsey. Their college careers were summed up:

Tim Couch, Kentucky-Quarterback-1998 consensus First Team All-American who finished fourth in Heisman voting in 1998 and ninth in 1997…1998 SEC Player of the Year who led Cats to first win over Alabama in 75 years…Set seven NCAA, 14 SEC and 26 school records.

Ken Dorsey, Miami (FL)-Quarterback-2002 First Team All-American who led the Canes to back-to-back BCS Championship games, winning the national title his junior season…Two-time Big East Co-Offensive Player of the Year and 2001 Maxwell Player of the Year…Left Miami as the school record holder in career total offense and passing yards.

Couch was Cleveland’s first draft pick upon their return to the league. He played five seasons for the team completing just under 60% of his passes for 11,131 yards, 64 touchdowns and 67 interceptions.

Couch currently works in broadcasting sporting events.

Dorsey was acquired in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers in 2006. He played six games for the team over three seasons with 91 pass attempts, seven interceptions and zero touchdowns.

Dorsey was promoted this offseason by the Buffalo Bills to replace Brian Daboll as the team’s offensive coordinator.

Voting by the over 12,000 “NFF members and current Hall of Famers” runs through June 30th with enshrinement to take place in December of 2023.

Tim Couch says he’s ready to step in if needed for the Browns

Browns fans probably won’t get to dust off his old #2 jersey and cheer for him playing Saturday but Tim Couch says he’s ready and has a game plan:

The Cleveland Browns are likely going into Saturday’s important match-up with the Las Vegas Raiders with Nick Mullens as their starting quarterback. It is so overwhelmingly strange to write that a team in the hunt for a playoff spot and division title will be starting a player on their practice squad at the most important position on the field for a game late in the season.

Perhaps even more overwhelmingly strange is that, as of early Friday morning, we do not know who the team’s backup quarterback is in case of injury or another COVID-19 related problem. The best guess is the team’s practice squad fullback, Johnny Stanton, because he played quarterback in college.

Wide receiver Jarvis Landry would traditionally be the team’s emergency quarterback but he is also on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

One other option, jokingly of course, is to pull a former Browns quarterback off the street and give them a chance. Tim Couch, the team’s top pick upon their return, said that he’s ready to step in if needed:

Couch also seems to have a solid game plan for his time on the field. Hand it off and throw short screens.

In the end, there is hope that Baker Mayfield and/or Case Keenum could be cleared in time to play Saturday. Even if they are not, unfortunately, Browns fans won’t be able to dust off their old #2 Tim Couch jersey to cheer for the man once again.

Changing coordinators isn’t anything new for Justin Herbert

Justin Herbert is looking to avoid the fate of Tim Couch, who had a tough time with the neverending carousel of offensive coordinators.

Justin Herbert has seen this movie before.

In his second season as a Los Angeles Charger and as a professional football player, the former Oregon quarterback is going to have to learn an entirely new system.

Usually, this means bad news for young signal-callers in the NFL. It’s difficult enough to come in from college and learn a playbook that’s probably three times as big. But then to have to learn yet another playbook so quickly in one’s career sometimes means the end of that career.

NFL.com columnist Jim Trotter used former Cleveland Browns head coach Bruce Arians and his new quarterback Tim Couch as an example of how is can all go wrong.

Arians had spent the previous three seasons as quarterbacks coach in Indianapolis, where he helped Peyton Manning develop into one of the game’s top young stars. There was no expectation he would make Couch the next Manning, but there was hope he would transform the former University of Kentucky star into an efficient performer who, at times, could lift those around him.

Problem was, the damage had already been done. There had been too many failures, too many absorbed hits on sacks and pressures and too many voices in Couch’s ears.

Arians was Couch’s third offensive coordinator in three seasons and the former Kentucky superstar didn’t last long after that.

Herbert’s career trajectory most likely will not end up like Couch’s because changing coordinators should be old hat for him. He went from Matt Lubick as a freshman to Marcus Arroyo and Mario Cristobal as a sophomore to just Arroyo as a junior and senior. That’s three coordinators in four seasons and it worked out.

So going from Shane Steichen to Joe Lombardi in Los Angeles shouldn’t be that big of a deal. What will be a bigger deal is that the Chargers find some protection for Herbert up front, which to their credit, it seems like finding offensive linemen is a priority with draft picks Rashawn Slater from Northwestern and Nebraska’s Brendan Jaimes.

Only if Tim Couch had been so lucky.

Cleveland Browns are 3-1 for first time since 2001

The Cleveland Browns survived a Dallas Cowboys charge to advance to 3-1.

The Cleveland Browns are 3-1 for the first time since 2001. It should have been easier as they led Dallas 41-14 in the fourth quarter before allowing 24 straight points and making all of Ohio sweat.

Odell Beckham Jr. to the rescue with a 50-yard TD run and the final was 49-38.

How much has changed since the last time Cleveland had that mark after four games?

How about their quarterback in 2001 was one Tim Couch, who led the team to victories over the Lions, Jaguars, and Chargers after a season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

The quarterbacks the 2001 Browns defeated to get to 3-1 were Ty Detmer, Jonathan Quinn, and Doug Flutie.

George W. Bush was the U.S. President.

The Baltimore Ravens thrashed the New York Giants in the Super Bowl earlier that year.

On Oct. 5, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants broke the single-season home run record, with his 71st and 72nd home runs of the year.

 

 

 

Meeting the Ravens 2020 opponents: The Cleveland Browns

We take a closer look at each of the Baltimore Ravens’ opponents on the 2020 NFL schedule, starting with Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns

Training camp and the regular season quickly approach as we enter the summer months. With the schedule released and the NFL moving back into their training facilities, the regular season occurring in its entirety is looking more plausible. With an eye towards the 2020 NFL season, we’ll take a look at each of the Baltimore Ravens’ opponents, in order. From the records against each other to the big performances, we’ll take a deep dive to prepare you for the regular season.

The Ravens will open the 2020 NFL season against their AFC North rival Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium, before meeting back up in Week 14 as well. Being a divisional game, it’s a chance for both teams to start the 2020 season off on the right foot.

Let’s start with the reason for all the heat between Cleveland and Baltimore.

The rivalry

Credit: Brian Bahr/ALLSPORT

The Browns/Ravens rivalry is one of the more unique stories in the entire NFL, as one team was essentially the rib of the other. In 1995, Browns owner Art Modell moved his team out of the city that it had called home since it’s inception in 1946. Modell’s desire for a brand new stadium was a goal not shared by the authorities in Cleveland. The team was made to leave behind their name and history in Cleveland and became the Baltimore Ravens. Essentially this made the Ravens an expansion team, although one with an existing roster and two first-round picks in the 1996 NFL Draft.

After three seasons without a team, during which a brand new stadium was built, the Browns were reactivated in Cleveland for 1999 and joined the Ravens in the then-AFC Central division.

Modell remained an unpopular figure in Cleveland for the rest of his life (he sadly died in 2012). Never the most popular owner with the Browns fans, “The Move” only intensified the ill feelings towards him that had started in 1963 when he fired founding coach Paul Brown. But as much as he was vilified by the fans in Cleveland, Modell was a popular figure with the people of Baltimore after bringing the NFL back to the city following the Colts elopement in 1983.

Let’s move on to how the rivalry has fared over the two decades it’s existed, on the next page.

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