Even if Browns fans (like me) aren't thrilled with the Brady Quinn selection, they've got to give Phil Savage points for aggressiveness as he tries to drag this franchise up to respectability. If he's able to fill the three toughest positions to fill on an NFL team...a top cover corner, a blue chip left tackle and a productive quarterback...in one draft, and all three turn out to be reliable, long term starters, he's off the hook for giving up next year's top draft choice.
That, and he's got to win....now.
This Browns draft had just a whiff of desperation to it. Most teams don't trade draft choices two for one, multiple times in one draft. But frankly, after eight years of mediocre, boring football, some buzz for buzz' sake is welcome. So I'll salute Savage's roll of the dice, even though I'm skeptical about Quinn's potential. We have seen entirely too little sense of urgency with this organization, especially pre-Savage. To his credit, Crennel has been consistent in stressing nothing but the winning of games. But they both know that now they need to win in a hurry.
I sensed in Savage in this draft period, a real urge to throw off this unbelievable streak of freak injuries, staph infections, crotch-rocket crashes, and every bad break one could imagine...to go along with, and contribute to, playing losing football. That's refreshing to see, although the way this guy has maintained such a positive outlook throughout all the grief is laudable in itself. That said, despite his reputation for talent evaluation, his track record selecting quarterbacks is spotty. And he really needs to be right on this one to keep his gig in Cleveland going.
I had not seen in Brady Quinn what many scouts saw: a franchise quarterback, and one of the top five players in the draft. Apparently, quite a few NFL teams agreed. I advocated for Peterson and Thomas, and was delighted by the Thomas pick. And now that Quinn is in the orange and brown, that pesky Irish problem is all over with for me. I fully acknowledge that I may have been blinded to the merits of Quinn by my anti-Notre Dame bias. It's not personal. I've never minded seeing him have great games in Irish losses, for example. The Buckeyes recruited the Columbus kid relentlessly. He's one of the few recruiting battles with Notre Dame that OSU lost in those days. (I guess it's a "Quinn" thing. Seems the kid was Irish all his life. OSU had no chance.)
Still I can't wait for the Baltimore Ravens to come to town, one fine Sunday within the next two or three years, with Glenville's Troy Smith as their starting quarterback, to face off with the Browns and Quinn. High drama. Will Ozzie have the last laugh?
I relished almost every minute of Troy Smith's playing career, but 2006 was the year he owned. First he owned Notre Dame and Quinn in early January in the Fiesta Bowl. Then he out-dueled his Heisman co-favorite Quinn throughout the season, and walked off with the hardware in December. I will probably have to squirm a little bit in my seat over in Sec 129, and engage in some mental gymnastics to convince myself to root for the Brady Quinns over the Troy Smiths. Baby steps.