The Life and Times of Tim Couch

Intro

Hello everyone! My name is Jared Weathers and welcome back. Just like CM Punk 9 years ago, I am back after a week. Today we are going to be looking at former NFL Quarterback Tim Couch and see why his career didn’t go as well as it could or should have.

High School

Couch was born in Kentucky and went to Leslie County High School. While there he set national high school records with Most Pass Completions, Passing Yardage, Touchdown Passes, and Passing Percentage for a season. After his Senior Year in 1995, Couch received Kentucky's “Mr. Football” Award.

College

Couch attended the University of Kentucky, where he played from 1996-1998. In 1997, Tim Couch set UofK school records and in 1998 he led Kentucky to 7 wins which got them a spot in the Outback Bowl. They then lost to Penn State 26-14 in the bowl. Following his Junior Year, Couch decided to leave Kentucky early to enter the NFL Draft in 1999. Before we move on, Couch’s 1998 of 4,151 offensive yards in a season stood for 9 years being broken in 07 by Tim Tebow and then his 4,275 passing yards was broken by Joe Barrow in 2019.

The NFL Draft

1999 was the year. Couch, after breaking and setting records in High school and college, would be drafted by the Cleveland Browns at #1 overall. As the first pick of the new Browns, after they relocated to Baltimore 3 years before this, Couch is their QB.

His NFL Career

In the second game of the 1999 career, Couch took over for Ty Detmer. The Browns finished the 99 season with a 2-14 record. Beating only the New Orleans Saints and splitting wins with the Steelers. In 2000, Couch missed the last 9 nine games and the Browns finished 3-13. In 2001, the Browns turned it around and actually finished 7-9. Tied in 3rd and did not qualify for the playoffs but they came back strong with Couch starting all 16 games. In the December 16th game vs the Jaguars, Couch threw the ball to Quincy Morgan. Morgan had caught the ball and got down for a first down on a 4 and 1. After Couch spiked the ball, referee Terry McAulay reviewed Morgans catch. The NFL rules stated, however, that after a play starts, the refs cannot review previous plays. Well McAulay did not listen to this. Since McAuley said Morgan did not make the catch, he awarded the Jags the ball. The Dawg Pound did not like this. The fans started throwing bottles, and McAuley threw the game out and sent the teams to the locker rooms. The commissioner at the time Paul Tagliabue called to override the decision and sent the teams back on the field with the Jags holding the ball and winning 15-10. I’m a Lions fan and I know bad referees and this was awful. In the 2002 season, the League realigned the divisions. The AFC Central became the AFC North and with that the Jaguars were taken out of the North and placed in the brand new AFC South. The Browns ended this season with a 9-7 record and a wild card game. The Browns lost to the Steelers on the road at Heinz field, only losing by 3. This was the second season under former Miami Hurricane head coach Butch Davis. This was also the last time the Browns made the playoffs. Couch started 10 games in 2003 and left the Browns the same year. The Browns ended the season 5-11. In 2004, Couch signed with the Packers. He was booed by fans and dealt with a rotator cuff injury that sidelined him for the whole year. The Pack then released him when they were cutting down the roster to 53 men. Couch filed a grievance with the NFL Players Union because the Packers failed to attempt an injury settlement prior to his release. After his surgery in 2005, he auditioned for the Bears and the Bengals. Neither of the teams pursued him even tho Kitna did not resign with the Bengals. Couch did have some more tryouts for a handful of teams but none pursued and Couch missed the season anyway because of another shoulder surgery. On July 20, 2007, ESPN reported that Couch contacted all 32 teams to see if any teams were interested, he did end up signing a 2 year contract with the Jaguars. Couch was brought in to fight for the third string qb spot, played 1 preseason game and got cut. The Jags also cut the two QB’s that they made Couch fight against for the third spot leaving them without a third string QB that year.

My Thoughts

I always thought Couch just didn’t do well because he sucked, but through this I can see it’s not. Tim Couch was really good but it sucks when your career is plagued with injury and when your team is also plagued with injury. He had some bad luck but the one year he started every game they got to the playoffs and haven’t been back since. I think if Couch had an actual chance he could of had a better legacy so I am agreeing with Bruce Arians and I don’t think Couch was a “bust” as he stayed with the team for 5 years.