AFC PRESEASON Line question takes center stage

While the Browns ponder who should quarterback, the Titans want to find a center.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The biggest challenge Butch Davis faces this preseason is choosing between Tim Couch and Kelly Holcomb as the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback.
The Tennessee Titans have a much more pressing issue.
They have only one center on the roster with any NFL experience, and Tom Ackerman will miss the first two exhibitions after surgery on his right knee.
Justin Hartwig, a guard who just switched to center last Monday, will make his first start at the position against the Browns.
So when these teams play each other tonight in their exhibition opener, Davis will be looking for reasons to sway him toward Couch or Holcomb for the regular season while just snapping the ball back to the Titans quarterbacks could be an adventure.
Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher sounds confident enough in Hartwig, who will be backed up by two rookie undrafted free agents.
"We're all very anxious to watch him play, and we've got confidence he'll do well," Fisher said.
Quarterback rotation
Davis announced Friday that Couch will start against the Titans, cautioning that nothing should be read into his decision. It likely means that Holcomb will start next week against Green Bay.
"We've already got it figured out exactly how we're going to do in these first two preseason games and trying to make sure the supporting casts are equal and we'll go from there," Davis said.
Couch was the Browns' top draft pick in 1999, and he has started 51 of Cleveland's 64 regular-season games since the Browns returned to the NFL.
But Holcomb forced this competition by being 1-2 starting in Couch's place last season, a record that easily could be 3-0 and includes his 429 yards passing and three touchdowns in last January's playoff loss to Pittsburgh.
Both are ready for the next step in their preseason auditions, while Holcomb may enjoy a little advantage.
"This time, I know for sure I'm going to play and I'm going to have a lot of people from my home town and from Murfreesboro, so I'm looking forward to it," Holcomb said.
Couch used the Browns' last visit to Nashville to reclaim his starting job last season as he rallied Cleveland from a 14-point deficit in the final minutes to an overtime victory.
Nashville is close enough to Kentucky that Couch will see plenty of friendly faces as well. He also won at Tennessee the last time he started in Nashville against the Titans, a 41-38 victory at the end of the 2001 season.
He had resigned himself earlier in the week to the possibility he might not start.
"But it's not really eating at me because we're both going to get the same amount of reps and opportunities," Couch said. "I'm just going to go out there and work with what I got."
Past success
Both teams went to the playoffs last season with Cleveland going for the first time since being reborn in 1999 and the Titans reaching the AFC championship despite losing four of their first five games.
The 31-28 overtime loss to Cleveland last September was one of the lowest points of that poor start. Fisher said he doesn't really need to remind anyone, especially his veterans who remember that loss well.
Fisher is more interested in how Cleveland's quarterback duel can help test his defense, which has been susceptible to the pass. He also wants to see how well defensive end Jevon Kearse fares chasing quarterbacks on his surgically repaired left foot.
Cleveland defensive lineman Kenard Lang can't wait to chase Titans quarterback Steve McNair after weeks of hands-off the quarterback in practice.
"That's like somebody showing you a plate of food and telling you that you can't eat it," Lang said. "This is going to be great."