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| | Friday, August 11 Browns: Couch leads the way | |||||||||||||||
| By Mark Cannizzaro Special to ESPN.com The honeymoon is kind of over for the Browns. There's been a lot of free agent personnel turnover, but the core of the team remains quarterback Tim Couch, last year's No. 1 overall pick who showed he can be a fine leader.
It will again be Couch, who as a rookie completed 223-of-399 passes for 2,447 yards, 15 touchdowns and 13 interceptions -- respectable numbers for a No. 1 pick on a bad team thrown to the wolves in his first year. He continues to be the key to the team's success. Key position battle Who's going to tote the ball? Last year, Terry Kirby and Karim Abdul-Jabbar led the Browns to a last-place finish in rushing yardage. This year, Errict Rhett, who rushed for 852 yards for Baltimore in '99, was signed as a free agent and should be an upgrade. Biggest adjustment Head coach Chris Palmer has hired an offensive coordinator (Pete Carmichael) and he brought in a new defensive coordinator (former long-time Bill Parcells assistant Romeo Crennel). This delegating should help Palmer become a better head coach. Carmichael will spread the field and Crennel, with the influx of some new talent, plans to have the team be more aggressive on defense. Rookie report Courtney Brown, the defensive end out of Penn State, was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, because experts believe he's the second-coming of Bruce Smith. He'll immediately become the leader of what was a dormant pass rush. Arizona receiver Dennis Northcutt will automatically become a terrific punt returner with his blazing speed and he could become a starting receiver by the time the season starts. Miami (Ohio) running back Travis Prentice, picked in the third round, is a bruising runner who should help on short yardage.
| ALSO SEE Ravens: Playoff expectations Bengals: Some bright spots Jaguars: Super outlook Steelers: Last chance for Stewart? Titans: Success brings expectations AUDIO/VIDEO   Mike Golic talks about the impact of Courtney Brown.RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1   Chris Palmer knows that the team has some work to do.wav: 146 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Tim Couch says that the adversity of last year made the team stronger.wav: 99 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 | |||||||||||||||
