Cleveland Browns: Top 10 quarterbacks of all-time
By Thomas Moore
There was no doubt what position the Browns were looking to fill when they opened the 1999 NFL Draft with the No. 1 overall selection.
“We knew we were going to take a quarterback,” then-team President Carmen Policy said in Terry Pluto’s 2004 book, False Start. “Because if you have a chance to get a franchise quarterback, you take it.”
The only question was who?
Ultimately the choice came down to two players: Akili Smith, who only made 11 starts at Oregon, but wowed teams by throwing for 43 touchdowns against just 14 interceptions; and Tim Couch, who was leaving Kentucky as a junior after being named First Team All-SEC and First Team All-American.
The Browns chose Couch, opting for the experience passer over a player, in Smith, who would play just 22 games in four years with Cincinnati and be out of the league by 2003.
There was a lot to like about Couch, who was elected to the University of Kentucky’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007. In addition to being an All-American, he led the Wildcats to the Outback Bowl following his junior season (their first bowl bid in 13 years), was a Heisman Trophy finalist, led Kentucky past Alabama for the first time in 75 years, and is the school’s all-time leading passer. He threw for 8.772 yards, completed 67 percent of his passes and threw 76 touchdown passes.
Unfortunately for Couch, the Browns were an expansion team so, much like Mike Phipps in the early 1970s, the talent surrounding Couch on offense was less than ideal. For example, Terry Kirby led the team in rushing in 1999 with 452 yards (sadly, still better than what we saw from the Browns in 2013).
Couch spent his five years in Cleveland handing the ball off to the likes of Travis Prentice, William Green and James Jackson, and throwing to such noted receivers as Leslie Shepherd, Darrin Chiaverini, David Patten, Quincy Morgan and Andre’ Davis.
The offensive line was even worse, as Couch was sacked 56 times as a rookie and an average of 3.1 times per game through his first three seasons.
Despite all that, Couch wasn’t a bad quarterback when he was healthy. He completed more than 60 percent of his passes twice in his career (just missing out two more times), and remains the last Cleveland quarterback to lead the team to the playoffs (which he missed with an injury, naturally) and beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh (a shocking 33-13 victory on a Sunday night in 2003).
All those sacks and all those hits he took while running from opposing defenses finally caught up with Couch after the 2003 season – his final one in the NFL. The Browns wanted Couch to take pay cut and, when Couch declined, the team released their former No. 1 pick.
But much like Phipps, Couch was a better quarterback than he was given credit for during his time with the Browns.
Next: No. 6: Milt Plum (1957 to 1961)