Eight Seasons of Sucking: The Quarterbacks of the New Browns
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by I am a cpcp
As part of my coping with the recent events involving the Cleveland Browns (you know, the whole thing about giving up on this season, deciding to waste another first round quarterback, the soon-to-come head coaching changes, etc) I started thinking about all the quarterbacks the Browns have fielded since returning to the league in 1999. Why? I'm not really sure. But I starting looking through the seasons at pro-football-reference.com and here are the residents in the Hall of Shame.
1999 (2 Wins, 14 Losses)
Tim Couch played in 15 games with 15 touchdowns and 13 interceptions
Ty Detmer (pictured) played in five games with a whopping four touchdowns with two interceptions.
2000 (3 Wins, 13 Losses)
Tim Couch played in seven games, netting seven touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Doug Pederson played in 10 Games with two TDs to his eight INTs.
Spergon Wynn (who somehow managed to not get his picture taken with the Browns, smart career move) spent time in seven games, not reaching the endzone but reaching one opponents hands for an INT.
Kevin Thompson was credited as playing in one game with no TDs or INTs.
2001 (7 Wins, 9 Losses)
Tim Couch played in all 16 Games and threw for 17 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
Kelly Holcomb (appropriately pictured) came onto the scene in four games with 1 TD and no picks.
2002 (9 wins, 7 losses, lost in 1st round of playoffs)
Tim Couch (pictured) played in 14 Games and threw 18 TDs and INTs.
Kelly Holcomb played in five games and put up eight touchdowns with "only" four INTs.
2003 (5 wins, 11 losses)
Tim Couch played in 10 games with seven touchdowns and six interceptions.
Kelly Holcomb (pictured) also played in 10 games, throwing for more TDs and picks with 10 and 12 respectively.
2004 (4 wins, 12 losses)
The Couch "era" ends with the signing of Jeff Garcia (pictured) who threw for 10 TDs and 9 INTs in 11 games.
Kelly Holcomb plays his swan song in four games with seven more touchdowns and five more interceptions.
Luke McCown makes an appearance in five games racking up four touchdowns along with seven interceptions.
2005 (6 wins, 10 losses)
The Browns sign Trent Dilfer (pictured) about five years after it was almost ok to have him leading to him playing 11 games with 11 touchdowns and 12 INTs.
Charlie Frye plays too much, too early, in his career seeing him in seven games and scoring his first four touchdowns and throwing his first six interceptions.
2006 (4 wins, 12 losses)
Charlie Frye (pictured) played in 14 Games throwing 10 more touchdowns and 17 more picks.
Derek Anderson emerged, sort of, in five games with five touchdowns and eight INTs.
Ken Dorsey also saw the field in one game throwing a team low zero touchdowns and a team high 0 interceptions.
2007 (0 wins, 1 loss... so far...)
Charlie Frye, ex-Brown, played a quarter of his last game putting up zero touchdowns and one last INT.
Derek Anderson (pictured) played the rest of the game notching one of each.
It's an amazing story isn't it? So many tales of mediocrity, underachieving and unreasonably high hopes? There's nothing like having every single one of your quarterbacks (playing more than one game) but one (Garcia, who made it by two TDs) having more interceptions than touchdowns. Maybe the Browns should have signed other teams' cornerbacks as Browns' receivers?
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane as much as I did. Either way, don't put the book down yet. The last chapter of this decade long story has yet to be written.
Will it be the ultimate tragedy? Or will it be the most un-expected happy ending in football history. It all depends on the latest character, who like Mr. Frye is being added to the story a little be too soon.
Considering he already has the look of shock that those before him wore on the field, I think we're looking more at the former.
