The Associated Press

BEREA, Ohio - Cleveland Browns quarterback Tim Couch is being targeted by fans again. But this time, he's not being booed. Instead, he is being overwhelmed with e-mails, letters and messages of support from fans worldwide.

"I haven't seen them all yet," Couch said Friday. "It's been real surprising and real positive."

It has been quite a week for Couch, who tearfully lashed out at Browns fans Sunday following a 26-21 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Early in the fourth quarter, Couch suffered a mild concussion when he was hit by four defenders while recovering a fumble near Cleveland's end zone. As he struggled to get up, some fans began cheering because Couch was hurt and backup Kelly Holcomb would have to come into the game.

Following the game, the fourth-year quarterback choked back tears as he criticized fans for their behavior. He stood by his remarks the next day, saying he'd rather play on the road and would never forget how he was treated.

As early as Monday morning, Browns fans began rallying around Couch, flooding the team's switchboard with phone calls of support and sending messages to team headquarters.

When Couch arrived at the training facility early Wednesday, two fans were waiting to cheer him.

On Friday, Couch was presented with two bound folders containing 2,500 printed e-mails. More than 5,000 e-mails, cards and letters had been received, the team said.

Players and coaches around the league also have sent good wishes, including Tampa Bay's Warren Sapp - who will try to sack Couch on Sunday when the Browns visit the Buccaneers.

"Disrespectful," Sapp said of the fans booing Couch. "The people of Cleveland should be ashamed. It's a great city with a lot of great fans. They should be ashamed of themselves."

Couch said he has learned several things from the experience.

"If you're the quarterback of an NFL team, that kind of stuff is going to happen to you," he said. "Every quarterback from (Dan) Marino to (John) Elway to everybody you want to name, has gone through getting booed out of the stadium.

"It's just something that happens to quarterbacks; you're the most visible guy on the field. It's the head coach and quarterback who get the blame, and I've got to learn how to control my emotions a little better."

FALCONS: Michael Vick will be Atlanta's emergency No.3 quarterback Sunday against the New York Giants.

Falcons coach Dan Reeves will use rookie Kurt Kittner as a backup to Doug Johnson.

Vick sprained his right (non-throwing) shoulder in last weekend's loss to Tampa Bay. He tried to throw in practice Friday but felt too much pain to continue for more than five minutes.

Defensive end Patrick Kerney signed a new contract that includes a team-record $8.5 million signing bonus. He had 12 sacks last season, the most by a Falcon since Chuck Smith had as many in 1997.

PANTHERS: Team owner Jerry Richardson will stay in a Charlotte, N.C., hospital at least another week while doctors try to figure out why he has an irregular heartbeat. He has been at Carolinas Medical Center since Oct. 4.

RAMS: Winless St. Louis continued its quarterback shuffle, tapping Marc Bulger to make his first NFL regular-season start Sunday against the undefeated Oakland Raiders.

Bulger, who has never taken a snap in a regular-season game, will step in for Jamie Martin, who had replaced injured starter Kurt Warner. Martin sat out most of this week's practices while nursing a bruised left knee.

Bulger got the lion's share of the playing time in the preseason for the Rams (0-5), who then were protecting Warner for the regular season and had Martin out much of the time with an injured shoulder.

RAVENS: Linebacker Ray Lewis will not play when Baltimore faces the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

Lewis, a five-time Pro Bowler, partially dislocated his shoulder in last weekend's 26-21 win over Cleveland while trying to recover a loose ball. He hasn't practiced all week and will break his string of 69 consecutive starts.

Lewis leads the Ravens with 69 tackles this season and has two interceptions and a forced fumble.

The game will be the first Lewis has missed since a dislocated elbow sidelined him for three games in the middle of the 1998 season. Free-agent pickup Bernardo Harris, who has been inactive the last two weeks, will replace Lewis.

Defensive end Michael McCrary also is out. McCrary has seen limited playing time this year following offseason knee surgery.

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