DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns, GM Savage near long-term deal

This is a Great move by Mr. Lerner and will only help the franchise for years to come.....As I have said I'LL be 40 this year and this is the first time in my life as a Browns Fan that I can honestly said I have faith in our Front Office and specifically GM....While like many of you , I may not agree with every move that Mr. Savage makes , I now have piece of mind that they will be sound transactions.....As a Browns Fan IMHO that is invalueable ....

U may find this hard to believe but I disagree with u slightly on your views of just about everything .... *L* ... lets go back to the start ....

I do agree he had some stumbles as being a 1st time owner .. just not in the areas U mention .... I am not sure what he did to prepare himself when his Dad was still alive but he seemed to not have a real true plan as for what his VISION of the Browns was going to be .. but that's OK as the learning curve is to be expected ..

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED his 1st move when he took over .. he took care of the MISTAKE HIS DAD MADE that ABSOLUTELY RUINED US and sent him pakcing to nappa Valley and his vineyards ..

GENIUS MOVE RANDY ... u got rid of the reason for where we were today ....

bringing Collins is the part where he seemed ill prepared .. its like he had no plan .. he knew his dad was on his last legs for over a year ... having lost my dad I can understand some of it and woulod never bash a guy but it seems with so long to prepare he would have had a better plan in place than to just take a guy from the league who knew NOTHING ABOUT THE FOOTBALL SIDE ..

then he gave bOtch full control .. and I said it back then the day it happend .. I thought it was a GREAT MOVE .. we were going to find out if he had a clue .. U and I and most by this point knew he didnt .. but there would be NO MORE EXCUSES ... because if U remember correctly .. a rift had grown between him and the Don and the finger pointing began then ..

Al left his Son a VERY DISFUNCTIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM ON MANY MANY LEVELS .. lets face it this kid took over a train wreck .. a COMPLETE TRAIN WRECK ...

NO TALENT on the field ...
HORRIBLE football people in both coaching and the FO ..

how much worse can it get ...

Botch fell on his face right away .. but Randy had all ready put into place the thing he did that STARTED ME THINKING HE HAD A CHANCE ..

the first sign to me he COULD be good was when he went and spent a year or so studying and spending time with the Iggles and Pats .. I'm 100% sure on the iggles and pretty sure on the Pats but could be wrong there .. I thought that was a GREAT MOVE for a rookie owner .. and he also said he spent alot of time looking at what the stilers did .. i thought this was GENIUS ... actually i thought it was COMMON SENSE but that seems to be sorely lacking in todays world ..

after he did that he went out and tried to get the guy from NE witch to me was the most qualified guy ... he decided he wanted to stay there and then he went after Opie who IMO was in a group of two or three others as the next best guy ..

then he hired RAC who was in a group of 3 or 4 others that were about the same to me .. I'm alot more skeptical than most about hiring HC's and there past being a berometer of their future .. to me thats the hardest hire in football ...

anyhow to me he has DONE THINGS THE RIGHT WAY .... starting with loping off the head of the mess when he sent the Don packing .. then giving bOtch the rope to hang himself ... while bOtch was busy exfoliating himself Randy was out studying/learning from franchises that did it right .. and then he made what I thought were good hires and now were STILL FINDING out if they were good or not .. this is NO WHERES NEAR THE SEALED DEAL MOST want to make it out to be .. these guys have GIVEN US REASON TO BELIEVE but as far as i'm concerned the jury is still out on them .. albiet very favorable returns so far ..

Given the situation Randy was put in he's DONE A GREAT JOB imo ..

the owneres job in football IMO is to hire a FOOTBALL GUY and then get thehell out of the way .. and thats what Randy has done as far as I can tell .. I thinnk he has left Opie and RAC alone to do their thing ... I think Randy wanting BQ and in any way putting pressure Opie to take him was BLOWN WAY OUT OF PROPORTION .. it just MAKES NO SENSE based on how the guys done everything else ..

thats my long winded opinion anyhow .. *L* ..

What I like about Phil & RAC is that they are the total opposite of BD, both are low key, dont really want the spot light, but understand dealing with the spot light is part of thier job, they dont need thier names in the media, or faces on magazines or newspapers, they would rather sit behind the seens do thier jobs. low key guys who do thier job for the love of the game,

I think he did it intentionally ... to see what he had .. plus it gave him time to do his "homework" that I alluded to .. i am pretty sure he was not as sure as the outcome as we were .. but it was a good, smart move .. he wanted to find out what he had and getting rid of all excuses is a good way to do that ..

Smart move all around .. he needed to get prepared so regardless of what he thought of bOtch this bought him time and if he thought bOtch could do it .. it gave him a chance to sink or swim or make up panick attacks and collect a gajillion dollars while slithering into his hole .. not that I had any pre-concieved notions on the guy or the outcome ..

and another thing he did I really like .. its being talked about on the other thread .. he brought back the Old guys .. like Bernie and Brown and welcomed them with open arms .. thats GREAT .. their OUR TRADITION and the Don and bOtch kept them out and at bay ..

Can I at least thank him for that Vers????

amen, Clay


about 2 months ago, I called RAC "The Anti-Butch." in a thread where some Dawgs were still yapping about how Romeo had no "fire" on the sidelines. This, after they'd seen little locker room clips of him on the main site- just as pumped as the players.

My take- RAC has plenty of heat... he just applies it when and where it will do the most good.

As for Phil and Randy- they seem to be the opposite of those who came before them, too.

As Diam said, it may still be a bit too early to crown them as the true saviors, but the indications from them are sure healthier than anything else we've seen since The Return.

So far, I'm enjoying the ride.

.02

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Can I at least thank him for that Vers????

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You guys can do as you wish. The truth isn't all that important anymore. Image has supplanted substance.

Go on w/your love fest. I'll stay out of it.


Clem...........I'll probably pm you sometime w/some details.

I think has definately brought this team up from the crappy black hole they were in..
He's made some mistakes ..made some gambles...but this team is better than it was years ago..

Bro .. u can rant on all U want about the love fest and image over taking substance ....

FACT: ... Jr. hired Opie ...

FACT: ... Opie's still here ....

THATS SUBSTANCE .....

I'll stick to the FACTS that are there for everyone to see ....

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3340818

Browns expect to complete Savage's new deal by NFL draft
Associated Press

Updated: April 10, 2008, 9:28 PM ET

CLEVELAND -- Browns general manager Phil Savage won't have many picks on draft day. He will have a contract extension, though.

Savage and Cleveland owner Randy Lerner recently met and made progress toward an extension, which is expected to be completed before the April 26-27 NFL draft. The two men had informal, preliminary talks following Cleveland's season -- a surprising 10-6 breakout by the Browns.

With Savage focused on the draft, and Lerner's travel schedule, they haven't been able to meet and finalize the multiyear package for the 43-year-old GM, who in three-plus years has completely dismantled and rebuilt the Browns.

Lerner has praised Savage's moves and patience in getting Cleveland turned around. Savage is currently signed through the 2009 season. His extension will be in line with coach Romeo Crennel, who received a two-year extension through the 2011 season in January.

Savage did manage to make a trip to London a few weeks ago and spent time with Lerner's Aston Villa soccer team in the English Premier League.

As for the draft, the Browns don't have a pick until Sunday's fourth round, the 122nd overall selection. During a radio interview on Thursday, Savage said it was unlikely that he would trade quarterback Derek Anderson or any other players to move up.

"To go up and try to get into the first day, it would have to be a player who would be very attractive to us," Savage said. "I don't think it would involve certainly any players we have on our current roster. It would probably involve more picks for next year, something in the future."

Although they don't have a first-day pick, the Browns have visited with players who will be taken in the early rounds. The club also has one pick in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press