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The youth movement continues in Year 2 -- and so do the struggles that are part of being an expansion franchise

By Jeffri Chadiha

Cleveland's youngsters can rally around Miller, one of the team's senior members and among its best defenders. Tom Hauck/Allsport The Book An opposing team's scout sizes up the Browns You have a young quarterback [Tim Couch] with some young players to throw to. At wide receiver Dennis Northcutt and David Patten are good additions, and Kevin Johnson showed his talent last year. I think JaJuan Dawson will be a player for them... Errict Rhett will help the running game, but the weak link in the offense is the line -- specifically at right tackle, where, in camp, the Browns were going with Steve Zahursky. I want to see how that goes.... Defensively, the line should be a strength. Courtney Brown is a talent, and Orpheus Roye and Keith McKenzie should play well.... The linebackers are aggressive. They'll be good against the run, but I don't know how well they'll handle pass coverage.... Their secondary is sound, but there isn't a marquee player back there. Daylon McCutcheon has been a pleasant surprise, and keep an eye on Marquis Smith.... With these guys having a year in the system and a year to get comfortable with themselves, they could win a little more than they did last season. Player to Watch Six weeks into last season outside linebacker Rahim Abdullah realized things had to change. The Jaguars kept pulling their guards in Abdullah's direction, but he rarely touched the ballcarrier. It was an eye-opener for a player who had handled similar plays with relative ease at Clemson. "I learned that having talent isn't enough at this level," says Abdullah, a second-round pick in '99. He's put on about 25 pounds (to 254) and is excited about his new role. Rather than line up off the ball as he did in 1999, Abdullah will play as a strongside backer. "He has a chip on his shoulder," says vice president Dwight Clark. "He has something to prove."

Cornerback Corey Fuller likes to compare the Browns' 1999 inaugural season to The Perfect Storm. In that film a group of resolute men head out to sea with big dreams, only to run smack into an unimaginable disaster. That's what happened to Cleveland, which faced overpowering elements, took a pounding and wound up with a 2-14 record. Heading into the 2000 season, the waters probably won't be much calmer.

The second time around the Browns will go with a younger team. Gone are veterans such as tackle Lomas Brown, linebacker John Thierry, cornerback Ryan McNeil and strong safety Marquez Pope, some of whom left for more money and others because they couldn't adapt to coach Chris Palmer's intense program. Now Cleveland has a starting lineup that is one of the youngest in the league and is three years younger, on average, than last year's starters.

"By the end of last season we had seven rookies starting," says Palmer, who expects that the valuable experience will start to pay dividends. "Hopefully, they'll continue their growth, along with the others. What I've tried to tell everyone is that there's no substitute for learning on the field." The organization still believes it can contend for a playoff spot in three to four years, when its nucleus of young players will be reaching its prime. That sounds good and well, but it will be a test of patience for some of the NFL's most loyal fans.

Palmer and Dwight Clark, the club's vice president of football operations, are more comfortable with the chemistry of this year's team than they were with last season's. The Browns had only 10 months to put together a coaching staff and roster before the start of training camp last summer, and too many veterans found it difficult to adjust to life on an expansion team. This year there seems to be less confusion, more commitment.

"With a lot of young guys around, you don't have to worry as much about them buying into a system," says outside linebacker Jamir Miller, a seven-year veteran who signed a four-year, $18.3 million extension last October. "They just assume this is the way things are supposed to be and go with it."

"There's a totally different atmosphere and attitude among the players," Clark says. "Last year I'm not sure we knew what was happening to us. There was so much to get done, and we spent all our time taking care of those things. I don't think any of us stepped back to look at the big picture."

The Browns' present and future depend greatly on the two players they chose with the No. 1 selections in the last two drafts: second-year quarterback Tim Couch and rookie defensive end Courtney Brown. Last season Couch set franchise rookie records for completions (223), attempts (399), yards (2,447) and touchdown passes (15) while throwing only 13 interceptions. His most glaring weakness, though it's something you love to see in a leader, was a penchant for trying to prove his toughness. He was sacked 56 times, and many of those takedowns were the result of his holding on to the ball too long. This season Couch says he is wiser and far more confident. "When you come in as a rookie, you don't feel like it's your team," he says. "You feel like you're just trying to win a starting job. Last year I didn't feel like the guy in charge, but I do now."

One way in which Couch's new attitude has manifested itself is in his willingness to challenge his teammates when they make mistakes. Considering the lack of experience at receiver -- the top four wideouts and two best tight ends are all rookies or second-year players -- Couch might get hoarse from yelling. The running game, which accounted for a league-low 71.9 yards a game, is also suspect. Former Raven Errict Rhett is expected to be the featured back behind a line with three new starters.

Defensively, Courtney Brown seems to be exactly what Cleveland had hoped: Blessed with speed, agility and an 86-inch wingspan, he impressed the coaching staff by reporting to camp at 279 pounds, 10 pounds more than he weighed at Penn State. Brown looked so impressive early on that Palmer moved defensive end Orpheus Roye, a free-agent pickup from the Steelers, to tackle. "I think he's going to be everything we expected, and more," Palmer says of Brown.

Brown, Roye and end Keith McKenzie, a free-agent signee from the Packers, were brought in to bolster a defense that gave up a league-high 171 yards rushing per game and totaled only 25 sacks. Having experienced players such as McKenzie and Miller helps, but Palmer needs his youngsters to grow up fast. "I think we have more talent than a year ago," Palmer says. "We just have to work through the tough times."

How Dr. Z Ranks 'Em: 29

Issue date: August 28, 2000

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