GREEN BAY Packers released QB Couch

The West Coast offense befuddled the former NFL No. 1 draft pick.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- Quarterback Tim Couch, the top pick in the 1999 NFL draft, was cut Sunday by the Green Bay Packers, who hoped he'd be an upgrade over Doug Pederson as Brett Favre's primary backup.
Couch was bedeviled by a sore throwing arm and an inability to grasp the intricate West Coast offense in such a short time and couldn't even unseat Craig Nall as the Packers' third quarterback.
"He just wasn't productive enough," Packers coach-general manager Mike Sherman said. "He's a good kid, he worked, he went to the meetings and all those things. It just didn't work out."
Couch completed just 11-of-34 passes for 96 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in three preseason games.
The Packers signed Couch on June 16 after he was released by the Cleveland Browns, who made him the first overall pick five years ago, but waited to waive him until Green Bay's final minicamp passed.
Couch was hurt by an offseason of uncertainty. He was in limbo in Cleveland after a rocky 2003 season, and once the Browns signed free agent Jeff Garcia in March, Couch was basically banned from the their training facility.
Did Sherman buy damaged goods?
"I don't think so," Sherman said. "I think what's possible is he didn't throw the ball in the offseason."
Hit and miss
The Packers didn't work out Couch, however, before signing him to a one-year contract that included a $625,000 bonus.
"We took a shot in hoping he could be the guy. I don't think it's the first time in the league that you were wrong on somebody. It certainly won't be my last time and it wasn't my first time," Sherman said. "You hit on players and you miss on players. It happens every day in this league. You hit on Grady Jackson. You miss on Tim Couch.
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