By James Ward
8-21-01
Today
Butch Davis appeared on the Jim Rome Show, heard from 12-3 pm, weekdays on
850 WKNR. The coach provided the organization with some much-needed
national exposure. Jim Rome, who also hosts the The Last Word, seen
on Fox Sports at 11 pm nightly, is a controversial talk show host. His
listeners or clones as he calls them, pride themselves on running
“smack” (see our CAVS FORUM).
This
was not Davis’ first time on the show, as he appeared a few times as
head coach of the Miami Hurricanes. Rome asked Davis a variety of
questions, among those were one about Tim Couch and whether or not his
progress was where it should be at this stage in his career. Davis said he
was very happy with Couch’s thirst for knowledge and extra effort he had
been putting forth inside the film rooms. Davis said the addition of Bruce
Arians as offensive coordinator was similar to when Norv Turner came to
Dallas to tutor Troy Aikman in the early nineties. Let’s hope that
comparison stands up when looking at the success those Cowboys teams had.
He
also gave every implication that he was very pleased with Couch and
confident that this is the quarterback to take the team to the next level.
Those
words are very important for Couch to hear. Especially after the
bombardment he has been taking on sports shows in Cleveland. Many believe
Couch was taken solely on his marketability to the area rather than his
football skills.
Granted,
Donovan McNabb and Dante Culpepper are great quarterbacks. They provide a
versatility that Couch cannot match. However, Culpepper did not lead one
of the NFL’s elite offenses to a victory against the outmatched Giants
last season in the NFC Championship Game and McNabb performed well with a
group of underachievers and one of the league’s best defenses.
Until
Couch is given an offense line that will consistently give him time to
throw (Don’t forget he was sacked an NFL record 56 times his rookie
year) and a defense that is not one of the worst in the NFL a judgment
should not be passed.
Is Tim Couch the most athletic quarterback from
the class of ’99? Not hardly. Is he the best quarterback? That remains
to be seen.
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