BROWNS Undrafted and unheralded, Holcomb is the man

The career backup unseated Tim Couch as the team's starting quarterback.
BEREA (AP) -- Butch Davis trusted his gut. Tim Couch felt like he got punched there.
Surprise. Kelly Holcomb is the new starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.
Davis ended eight months of drama Sunday by picking Holcomb as his starter over Couch, the player that the Browns coach once said would lead his team to the Super Bowl.
"It was a gut feeling," Davis said. "My own personal gut feeling after talking to coaches, looking at them and watching practice for 21/2 years. I believe Kelly Holcomb has earned the opportunity."
Holcomb, a 30-year-old career backup, had been locked in a heated competition since training camp opened with Couch, a four-year starter who will make $6.2 million standing on the sideline this season.
Couch was the first player drafted by the Browns when they returned as an expansion team in 1999. Late owner Al Lerner called him a "franchise cornerstone."
But those days are long gone, and now that he has been benched, the 26-year-old Couch faces an uncertain future in Cleveland. "It's a tough day for me," Couch said.
And one of the best of Holcomb's career.
Holcomb said he went "numb" after Davis told him that he had won the job. The years of studying playbooks and preparing to play only to watch finally paid off.
"I always believed deep down I could," Holcomb said. "I know people looked at me and thought I was crazy. This kid coming from Middle Tennessee State who didn't get drafted. But I always knew in my heart that given the opportunity, I could show I could play. I always kept that dream."
Breakout game
Davis decided to open the quarterback competition after Holcomb, filling in for an injured Couch, passed for 429 yards in a playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Davis promised he wouldn't allow his QB's contracts, past performances or draft positions affect his decision, and the coach kept his word.
Holcomb, who will make $875,000 this season, outplayed Couch in the Browns' two exhibition games, completing 14-of-21 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns.
When he was in, he moved Cleveland's offense much more efficiently than Couch.
If Davis was leaning toward Holcomb, the one-time backup to Peyton Manning in Indianapolis may have sealed his fate with his performance in the first half of Friday night's game against Green Bay. Holcomb went 7-of-10 for 166 yards with two TD passes.
Couch said he was surprised by Davis' decision. He had done everything in his power to hold onto his position, arriving at training camp in the best shape of his career.
But he couldn't do enough to persuade Davis he deserved to be the No. 1 quarterback.
"I don't feel I did anything to lose it," Couch said. "I wasn't playing horrible and throwing the ball all over the place. It's coach's decision and he evaluated us, and he did what he said he had to do. Coach has his right to make any choice he wants."