They were eight-point favorites, but they couldn’t even score eight points. The team that marched through the Saints’ home dome last week couldn’t find the end zone painted “BROWNS” against a team that had lost eight straight games. What do you call a team that can go from so good to so bad in one week? Unreliable and middling.
That’s also my verdict on Tim Couch. He’s tough and talented, capable of putting up big numbers and leading the team to amazing victories. But today, with a horrid QB rating of 19.6, he was outplayed by geriatric journeyman Rodney Peete. This up-and-down season for both Couch and the Browns now seems destined to be a disappointment.
Couch was simply unable to react to the Panthers’ pressure. The third-down conversion to Kevin Johnson in the third quarter, when he stepped up to avoid the rush and find a passing lane, was the exception that proves the rule. Too often Couch seemed oblivious or just slow to adjust. In a fourth-quarter second-and-eight play, the Browns’ emptied the backfield by putting William Green in motion. Sure enough, a blind-side blitz went unchecked and unseen, and Couch fumbled it away. Ultimately, he reverted to his rookie mode: KJ or bust. No other wideout caught a ball.
But it was a total team loss. The offensive line did not bodyguard Couch well enough. Ryan Tucker, jumpy in his vain attempt to control Julius Peppers, was called for two false starts. The run defense was again porous. Dwayne Rudd in particular, when he didn’t take himself out of the play, got pushed around too easily. The game plan on both sides of the ball was underwhelming and ultraconservative. Jamel White was underutilized.
Where’s the silver lining? Corey Fuller played well, breaking up three passes and picking one off. Lenoy Jones, in his first game of the year, made two tackles on special teams. And the 6-6 Browns, now 2-4 in their own stadium, will go to Jacksonville next week. It’s just too bad their playoff hopes headed south a week early.
