An Idiots Guide to Nothing

Another year is upon us and here we go fucking again. Hopefully they stick with ONE goddamn QB this year and stop playing revolving QB. Still proudly wearing my Tim Couch jersey!

COMMENTARY | This mess all started on April 17, 1999.

On that day, the newly minted Cleveland Browns selected quarterback Tim Couch with the first pick in the NFL draft. Couch was to be the cornerstone of the Browns as they returned to the NFL, the man who would lead the Browns to winning season after winning season. The hope was Couch would eventually be revered in the same tones usually reserved for the great Cleveland quarterbacks of yore, such as Bernie Kosar, Brian Sipe and Otto Graham.

Never happened with Couch, or any of the myriad of quarterbacks that have followed in his footsteps the past decade and a half. The quarterback situation in Cleveland has bordered on ridiculous pretty much the entire time the Browns have been back in the NFL.

A quick look at the numbers only justifies this opinion.

The revolving door that is the quarterback position in Cleveland has seen 18 different players start at least one game for the Browns in the last 14 seasons, an astonishing number in itself but one that is a little inflated as the 2000 and 2008 seasons both saw multiple Browns signal-callers go down with injuries. The real eye-opener is the fact that in just 224 games, nine quarterbacks have started at least 10 games for Cleveland. That kind of instability at such a vital position will generally get a team nowhere fast, and the Browns have been no exception.

It has been so bad, in fact, that Couch, usually derided by Browns fans as being a huge bust, has probably been the best quarterback Cleveland has had since 1999. His 59 starts in Cleveland are easily the most of any Browns quarterback in the last 14 years, with Derek Anderson way behind in second-place with 34 starts. Also, in 2002, Couch helped lead the Browns to their only playoff appearance since returning to the NFL, which, ironically, kick-started a string of quarterback controversies that became part of just about every Browns season for nearly a decade.

After getting injured in Cleveland's playoff-clinching win over the Atlanta Falcons, Couch could only watch as backup Kelly Holcomb ripped apart the secondary of the Pittsburgh Steelers for 429 yards in the wild-card game. Even though Cleveland took the loss that day versus the Steelers, Holcomb's performance planted the seed for what would turn out to be a forgettable 2003 for both quarterbacks. Head coach Butch Davis constantly rotated Couch and Holcomb that year, a not-so-brilliant plan that killed Couch's confidence and netted the Browns a mere five wins.

The 2004 season brought former San Francisco 49ers QB Jeff Garcia into the fold. With Garcia at the helm, Holcomb became an afterthought and the 2004 season would be his last in Cleveland. Garcia departed as well after a mediocre year that saw the Browns go 4-12, so the hunt was on again for reliability at quarterback in 2005.

Cleveland selected Charlie Frye in the third round of the 2005 NFL draft and picked up veteran Trent Dilfer to be his mentor, so Frye wouldn't get thrown into the fire as Couch had been six years earlier. This time, the Browns would do it the right way -- or so it seemed. That plan never materialized, as Dilfer feuded with coaches and only made it through 11 games before Frye was named the starter. Frye slogged through the end of 2005 and had a rough go of it in 2006, while the newly acquired Anderson lurked in the shadows.

Even though the Browns spent a first-round pick on Brady Quinn in the 2007 NFL draft, Frye was still the starter heading into 2007, but after poor effort in a start against the Steelers on opening day, he was demoted in favor of Anderson. The next week against the Cincinnati Bengals, Anderson tore up Cincinnati's defense for five touchdowns and never looked back. Anderson led the Browns to a 10-6 record in 2007, while throwing for 3,787 yards and 29 touchdowns. It appeared, at long last, that the Browns finally had their quarterback.

Of course, that did not happen as the Browns regressed greatly in 2008, a season that saw four different starting quarterbacks as Cleveland went 4-12. It was also in this season when the seeds were sown for the Anderson-Quinn quarterback controversy, which came to fruition in 2009. Much like Couch and Holcomb years before, Anderson and Quinn were flip-flopped multiple times by Browns coach Eric Mangini, once again with little success. Both quarterbacks were abysmal in 2009, and neither would return to the Browns in 2010.

Back to the drawing board again.

The 2010 season brought another rookie quarterback in the person of Colt McCoy, and a veteran to mentor him in longtime Carolina Panthers QB Jake Delhomme. Delhomme was constantly hurt, and injuries to him and backup Seneca Wallace left the Browns no other choice than to throw McCoy to the wolves. All things considered, McCoy played OK in 2010 and was steady in 2011, so it looked like maybe the Browns were on to something with the young quarterback out of Texas.

We will never know, though, because even though McCoy wasn't bad in 2011, the Browns chose to spend a first-round pick in the 2012 draft on Brandon Weeden. When Weeden was named the starter for the Browns last season, it was obvious McCoy's days in Cleveland were numbered. Even though Weeden had a rough year, at times, in 2012, there was never any serious talk of benching him.

So here we are in 2013. The Browns are Weeden's team, and with a talented group of wide receivers and a new offense that suits the Browns' personnel better than the West Coast, Weeden could be set up for a breakout season this fall. Maybe, at long last, the Browns have finally found their quarterback.

Shaun Heidrick is a Yahoo! Contributor who has followed the Cleveland Browns for 25 years.

Here's the link: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/14-years-cleveland-browns-quarterbacks-long-strange-trip-150000567.html?pt=tAD1SCT8P7?date=10110614