Browns Have a Wynn, but the Losses Don’t End

What has the NFL come to?

With Tim Couch watching from the sideline with a broken thumb, Cleveland Coach Chris Palmer used a two-quarterback rotation of Doug Pederson and rookie Spergon Wynn. Which leads to one question: Who in the world is Spergon Wynn?

Checking the espn.com and foxsports.com Web sites, they have no information on him other than his statistics. No biography on him, no insight as to how he plays.

The official NFL Register lists Wynn as having been a sixth-round draft pick (183rd pick overall) by the Browns in the 2000 draft. He played for Minnesota in 1996 and for Southwest Texas State in 1998 and 1999. The reason he didn’t play in 1997? It might have something to do with his passer rating the year before: minus 200.

Which apparently is good enough to qualify as a Cleveland quarterback.

In Sunday’s game, a 12-3 loss to Cincinnati, Wynn completed seven of 16 passes for 82 yards and one interception, making his career NFL passer rating a lofty 33.8, a rating usually only seen by Cade McNown.

Wynn’s thoughts on Sunday’s game: “It was tough. A quarterback needs to get into a rhythm.

“But you have to do what you have to do.”

How would Wynn know what a quarterback needs to do? Maybe he asked somebody, but there aren’t any quarterbacks on the Cleveland team, meaning he had to call someone.

Going by his performance, he must have McNown’s phone number handy.

A TOUCHING MOMENT

Randy Moss was ejected in the closing minutes of the Minnesota Vikings’ 41-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for making contact with an official after an incompletion in the end zone.

Moss took the arm of field judge Lloyd McPeters to get the attention of the official because he believed Tampa Bay’s Brian Kelly interfered with him on third-and-goal with 1:52 remaining.

“He feels it was a misunderstanding,” Coach Dennis Green said.

Moss was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct and escorted off the field as Daunte Culpepper threw another incompletion on fourth down to end Minnesota’s last scoring threat.

Moss, who had seven catches for 65 yards and one touchdown, said, “I don’t think I did anything wrong. I touched his arm with my hand. He turned around and said, ‘Hey!’ He was just waiting to blow up on somebody.

“It was like two friends touching each other, like a handshake or something.”

SAFE, FOR NOW

This has been one of the few seasons with a limited number of coaching vacancies.

Al Groh (Jets), Dave Wannstedt (Dolphins), Mike Martz (Rams) and Jim Haslett (Saints) are doing well in their first year, Andy Reid (Eagles) is doing a solid job in his second season, and Jim Fassel, on the bubble entering the season, might be headed to the playoffs with the Giants.

Even unsuccessful coaches are being given a long leash. Dick Jauron wouldn’t have gone this far with Cade McNown, now injured, if he thought his job in Chicago was on the line. Mike Riley deserves another year in San Diego based on what he did as a rookie, but only if Charger management develops the strength to dump Ryan Leaf.

Cleveland’s Chris Palmer could have problems. With Couch out, a 2-1 start might turn into a 2-14 finish. The examples of Jacksonville and Carolina, both of which made it to conference title games in their second seasons, doesn’t help.

There also are reports that Norv Turner, fed up with the dictatorial ways of Redskins’ owner Daniel Snyder, would love to win the Super Bowl and then tell Snyder to take his job and shove it.

They’re probably accurate, but that still won’t make for many coaching openings.

BACK, BACK, BACK, GONE

Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman’s back is hurting again.

Aikman’s back was feeling better than it had in years after a series of injections just a week ago. Then he was knocked out of Sunday’s 23-17 overtime loss to Jacksonville after taking a much harder and more physical shot from Tony Brackens.

Aikman didn’t immediately leave the game, but soon after the hit in the first quarter, he began having back spasms that made it painful to take snaps.

“We’ve been able to pinpoint what my problem is, but when my back goes into spasms, I don’t think there’s anything they can do,” Aikman said.

Brackens leveled Aikman just after he released a pass on the fourth play of Dallas’ opening drive.

The quarterback stayed in, and later connected with Jackie Harris for a 13-yard touchdown.

Aikman started the second drive, but walked to the sideline after handing the ball off three times in a row. He went to the locker room and was replaced by Randall Cunningham.

“It was from a blow. He hit the ground and had some spasms,” Coach Dave Campo said. “It’s not related to anything before.”

Aikman, in his 12th NFL season, herniated a disc in his lower back while lifting weights in 1993. He had an operation to prevent serious damage, but fragments occasionally have bothered him.

After going to the locker room Sunday, he had another injection in an effort to ease the pain. Aikman didn’t come back to the field until the end of the third quarter.

He took some snaps on the sideline, but didn’t play.

Aikman missed two games this season after his ninth career concussion.

Will he be ready to play next Sunday at Philadelphia?

“I’m hoping so,” Aikman said, “but I couldn’t definitively say.”

OH, CANADA

If the Browns want a different quarterback, they should look north, to the league that brought us Doug Flutie and Dieter Brock.

Damon Allen, the younger brother of Marcus Allen, broke the Canadian Football League career passing yardage record in British Columbia’s 28-22 victory over Hamilton on Saturday night.

Allen, 37, has passed for 50,706 yards, breaking the mark of 50,535 set by Hamilton Coach Ron Lancaster.

The former Cal State Fullerton star has thrown 276 touchdown passes in 265 games in his 16-year career.

* --Compiled by HOUSTON MITCHELL