Maybe I’m a little slow, but I just realized how unusual it is to have a different Opening Day starting quarterback five years in a row. That’s now a certainty for the Browns:
- 2002: Tim Couch
- 2003: Kelly Holcomb
- 2004: Jeff Garcia
- 2005: Trent Dilfer
- 2006: Charlie Frye (projected)
I’m sure some reader is more adept at memorializing instability, but I could only find two other cases of this in recent history. Both happen to be in our division:
Baltimore Ratbirds
- 1999: Scott Mitchell
- 2000: Tony Banks
- 2001: Elvis Grbac
- 2002: Chris Redman
- 2003: Kyle Boller
Cincitucky Bungles
- 1998: Neil O’Donnell
- 1999: Jeff Blake
- 2000: Akili Smith
- 2001: Jon Kitna
- 2002: Gus Frerotte
Plenty of college programs have achieved more continuity. But I’m thinking that Charlie will settle in pretty fast and — barring injury — hold down the reins all the way through, well, 2007 at least. That should be long enough to finally hush the whisper campaign for Testaverde. I hope.
