Sports

Draft. Resign. Cut. – Cleveland Browns QB’s

By December 30, 2011June 18th, 2018No Comments

In the NFL there is no position more important than quarterback. For the Cleveland Browns the last 20+ years haven’t treated them very well at that position. What better way to kick off the weekend then having to choose between three quarterbacks that you wouldn’t want starting for your fantasy football team none the less the actual team that you root for. On the block are Tim Couch, Derek Anderson, and Kelly Holcomb.

I would draft Derek Anderson, resign Kelly Holcomb, and cut Tim Couch.

Derek Anderson holds one distinction that the other two do not, he played in a Pro Bowl. In 2007 he led the Browns to a 10-5 record (when he started) as he threw for over 3700 yards and 29 TD’s. They had a shot at making the playoffs but Anderson threw four INT’s in the second to last game against a 5-9 Bengals team and that sealed it for them. Thinking that he was actually a legit quarterback the Browns then signed Anderson to a three year deal. He promptly rewarded them by playing like he was Charlie Frye and losing his starting spot to Brady Quinn in Week 10. Anderson was never able to regain his form from 07′, continued to play awful, and only lasted one more season in Cleveland. In the words of Brady Quinn, “Now I’m Done“. Anderson really burned the Browns after they resigned him but overall he was able to give them one good year (which is more than most Browns quarterbacks can say). Because of that we’ll draft him and hope that he gives us one good year.

Kelly Holcomb holds two distinctions that the other two do not, he threw for more TD’s than INT’s for his career and he played in a playoff game for the Browns. Holcomb started far less games than Anderson or Couch (only 24) but it’s the way that he played in the 02′ playoff game vs the Steelers in Pittsburgh that has us liking him the most. Holcomb threw for 429 yards and three TD’s and at one point had the Browns up 24-7 in the game. Let’s just say after that the Browns defense realized they were the Browns and things fell apart. The Steelers, lead by Tommy Maddox,  had one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history and ended up winning the game. Had Dennis Northcutt not dropped a ball on third down that would have sealed the game for the Browns this story and the history of the Browns could have been different. After that game Holcomb ended up being an average at best quarterback and never did much else. That was the greatest game that Kelly Holcomb ever played and it happened in a very hostile environment against a hated division rival on one of the biggest stages. That shows us more than anything that Couch or Anderson ever did and is why we’ll resign Kelly Holcomb.

Tim Couch holds two distinctions that the other two do not, he was the number one overall draft pick and is married to a Playboy Playmate (Heather Kozar). I’m sure the $21 million guaranteed from his rookie contract had nothing to do with that. Couch was drafted the year after Peyton Manning and was never able to come close to living up to the expectations of being the number one overall pick. He was 22-37 in his five years in Cleveland, threw more INT’s (64) than TD’s (67), and was plagued with injuries. You can’t blame him for the injuries because the Browns offensive line was very offensive to watch. In 02′ when the Browns made the playoffs he was instrumental in getting them there (aka he played average enough for the Browns to not lose) but he got injured in the last game of the year and had to watch from the sidelines. He was never able to recapture that averageness and was out of Cleveland a year later. Couch can take solace in the fact that he was better than Ryan Leaf. What he can’t take solace in is that he lost his starting position to Kelly Colcomb, an undrafted free agent journeyman QB. Because of this we are going to cut Tim Couch and hope that Spergon Wynn still has something left in the tank.

Special thanks to Browns Superfan Aaron Senich for coming up with today’s choices. Aaron is the former co-host of the critically acclaimed Public Access TV Show “The Sportsaholics” and lost as a number one seed in his College Fantasy Football playoffs this year. 

Rob Cressy

Rob Cressy

Sports loving free throw specialist and yinzer living in Chicago who is awesome most of the time, has run with the bulls in Spain, and is a graduate of Second City's Improv program.