Was he really good or just a product of the air raid? went back and watched the uk-Alabama highlights, I don't think I saw many 15yd or more completions. Just a bunch of screens and dump offs. I liked him back then but looking back on it I'm not sure if some of the NFL scrutiny wasn't warranted.
Tim couch?
- Thread starter wobycat
- Start date
He was good. He dragged a helpless Cleveland team to the playoffs. We primarily used short routes because that was the offense and thats also about as long as we could block for in most cases. We had an undersized but fast offensive line.
He had no offensive line and some of the worst receivers in the league. Its hard to judge his NFL career.
He got put in a very bad situation with the Browns. They just started back to putting together a team that had no line to protect him and he got beat up on just about every play, They put all the blame on him, yet he manage to get them in the playoffs and don't think they have been in the playoffs since. Love the fact they keep losing,
Playing by Lake Erie and getting pounded because of your sieve like O Line can make throwing difficult. Plus ouch went out as a true junior and the Air Raid did not prepare him for the pros at all.
He was really good. Go watch the UK/LSU 1998 highlights. He threw a couple of fade TD passes to Yeast that were just beautifully thrown balls. He had great touch. Had some great NFL games but got hurt and was never the same. It's unfair when folks say he was a bust in the NFL because he got hurt and that's not the same as a bust. Ryan Leaf was a bust.
He was good or the Browns wouldn't have drafted him number one. The problem was that he played with one of the worst OL's in the NFL and it killed his career. The Browns used most of their high draft picks on defense once Couch became their QB. That sure didn't help him either.
He didn't have an offensive line, receivers or a running game. I would rank Couch one of the 10 best QBs in SEC history. His NFL career didn't go well but that because he was drafted by Cleveland. To this day however he is still Cleveland's best rated passer. They still haven't drafted or signed anyone as good as him to this day.
I always said he owed Mumme half his NFL money, because the system made him look better than he was.
He was a really gifted QB with natural QB skills. Had the head and feel for the game with a great touch. Air raid didn't show all of that nor did his crash course with the Browns, but he was really talented. I believe a couple of big name coaches at the time including Bobby Bowden said he was the best QB prospect they had ever seen come through their camp.
He was doomed from the start. When you are the number one pick it usually means you are going to a pathetic team.
Cleveland was pathetic and when a QB goes to a pathetic team the chances of stardom diminish. It would have been nice to have seen him back up a star quarterback for a few years.
Cleveland was pathetic and when a QB goes to a pathetic team the chances of stardom diminish. It would have been nice to have seen him back up a star quarterback for a few years.
Add to it....Cleveland HC Palmer reportedly had him throwing 200 deep balls a day in practice. Talked about "throwing through shoulder fatigue" or some crap like that.
Consider that a NFL FB weighs about 15 oz. By comparison, a MLB ball weighs about 5 oz, plus there is an entire bullpen of pitchers to share the load, and a MLB pitching coach usually gets nervous when the pitch count (every fourth outing or so) reaches around 100. Palmer had Couch throwing 200 high velocity throws every day. I think Couch was done-in not only by the bad OL and lack of offensive weapons, but also by the asinine handling of the #1 pick by his first time Browns HC with regard to developing/protecting his arm.
By the time he got to Green Bay, his arm was so chewed up he had absolutely no zip behind the ball at all.
The Browns had double two picks in each round (except the first round) their first two years back and with all those picks they chose a total of one - ONE - offensive lineman and that was the second year in the sixth round.
Incredibly incompetent selections.
I wish the football equivalent of eternal damnation on the Browns for the way the Browns screwed up their lack of O-line draft picks after drafting Couch.
Couch was a legit elite QB. The best QB to play KY HS football and the best UK has ever produced. Phenomenal athlete. Physically elite but sometimes not sure if he was mentally completely equipped to be an elite NFL QB. Cleveland was the worst place he could have landed. If he dropped just one spot to Philly he may still be playing right now.
That all said, no tears shed for him. He is living a full life that 99.9% of us wish we could live. I am sure he wished his career went better but he does not have much to complain about now.
That all said, no tears shed for him. He is living a full life that 99.9% of us wish we could live. I am sure he wished his career went better but he does not have much to complain about now.
Everyone saying the Cleveland O line and receivers destroyed his career is 100% correct. I went to watch him in Nashville when they played the Titans and I've never seen a QB under more pressure than he got pressured that day. As soon as the ball was snapped he had five huge defensive players trying to break him in half. Surprised a D lineman didn't beat him to the snap. I've never seen a pro QB with less pass protection. He got screwed and deserved every penny he made.
Didn't the great Cleveland fans cheer when he got hurt? Seems like someone even poured beer on him.
Tim was great. There's nothing else to say really. His career would have been long if not for the shoulder injury. His one weakness was not having a great arm. He had a good arm, not a great arm. The guy was a player though, and tough.
He was great. I still think lorenzen was the best we ever had.
No way he leads that 98 team to a New Years Day bowl. No way he finds a way to beat Bama in 97. Cannon arm, obviously large QB, etc. but from a pure QB standpoint Couch was much better.
No sir. Babe Parrelli was better than JLo.
Tom did "ok" for himself:football::football:$$$$$$$$$:sunglasses::sunglasses:...he's not hurting...Loves the Cats:boxing:
Both. He was incredible, plus in college he played in the perfect system for him.
Unfortunately that hindered his development in the NFL since he'd never operated sophisticated schemes. Combined with the bigger problems of zero talent surrounding him, especially on the OL (it was an expansion team afterall) and coaching instability; and it was fatal to his career.
Still can't believe he led that Browns team to the playoffs. That team was pure trash. I have no idea how he did it.
National all time leading passer in high school. Completions, yards, and touchdowns. Recruited by Tennessee, Florida, Notre Dame, and every other school in America. 1st pick in the NFL draft. Only quarterback to lead the Cleveland browns to the playoffs.
Yep, all because of Hal Mumme.
Yep, all because of Hal Mumme.
He wasn't just a great QB, he was a great athlete, with ideal height and size, and pretty fast. I still remember him throwing a pass to one of our WRs and getting a block in front of him about 80 yards downfield. He also averaged close to 30 points a game in basketball IIRC. He got rid of the ball in Mumme's offense about as fast as anyone I have seen.
He was a great qb but the browns threw him to the dogs. His rookie year he was sacked like 56 times.
Good Quarterback that deserved better. His arm had to be used heavily in college and professionally. He just burned it out, got injured and then was afraid to say anything for fear of losing his spot if he did come out injured. Where you go and who your coaches are determines a lot of your success in the NFL.
the pass he beat ALA with was a elite pass that not a lot people can make, it's funny how people memory changes, part of the problem UK media spin machine spent years slamming Hal Mumme system until of course they hired Brown, then it was how great the system was. ha ha
Couch was the real deal. You don't go #1 in the draft if the talent is not there. Like others have said, Cleveland screwed him up. He probably played behind the worst offensive line in the last 20 years . Davis kept on drafting defensive lineman, and Couch was getting destroyed because of it.
I don't think they used a first or second round pick on an o-lineman while Couch was there. He is still the only QB to take Cleveland to the playoffs.
I don't think they used a first or second round pick on an o-lineman while Couch was there. He is still the only QB to take Cleveland to the playoffs.
A
anon_q409idbs5m40a
Guest
100% correct. He has been unfairly labeled as a bust by a lot of the sports outlets but he played with the worst d-line in the league. As I recall, he got hurt and was never the same.
Good, not great. His numbers are somewhat inflated due to Craig Yeast and some other WR's and RB's that made him look better than he was. I'd take Woodson his final two years over Couch any day of the week.
As for his time in Cleveland...Karma has a way. He was cocky and thought his **** didn't stink and well....he got put in his place. He was Johnny football before it was "cool" to be Johnny football.
Woodson
Couch
Lorenzen
As for his time in Cleveland...Karma has a way. He was cocky and thought his **** didn't stink and well....he got put in his place. He was Johnny football before it was "cool" to be Johnny football.
Woodson
Couch
Lorenzen
Couch is often unfairly labeled a bust in the pop-media of the NFL. Consider his circumstances:
- He played behind one of the worst OL's in the history of the NFL. Truly terrible.
- He had virtually no skill position players around him.
- He led Cleveland to the playoffs despite these factors. Seriously, can you name a single person on that team except for couch? (The WR Johnson, maybe).
- Finally, look at Cleveland's fortunes in the absence of Couch. It's a terrible franchise ran by incompetent boobs. If Couch would have landed in virtually any other place, he would have been a ten year starter in the league.