Great Stuff by Benz

[hermanfontenot]

It seemed a little odd, initially, that Savage would use yesterday’s press conference as a bit of a bully pulpit in order to defend Russell and criticize the draft process that dwells more on negatives than positives as draft day approaches, but in the end it really said more about Savage. There was absolutely no economic incentive or advantage for Savage to talk up Russell yesterday. Certainly the Oakland Raiders general partner Al Davis wasn’t looking for and didn’t need validation from Savage or anyone else. But by coming to defense of Russell, Savage demonstrated a kind of character and courage that enabled him to make the decisions he made yesterday, even at the risk of his own professional life.

In a business filled with slick talkers and snake-oil salesman (see Davis, Butch), Phil is open, honest, and real. He's almost a nun in a whorehouse. I've always had respect for him as a talent evaluator. My respect for him as a human being went through the roof yesterday evening. Great job by Benz in highlighting this insight into the character of our GM.

[furls]

from an ESPN report this morning, via an interview with Quinn:

from quinn's own mouth, Savage told him that he was NOT going to be the Browns pick. He was unsure if this was a ruse or not, but he was warned by Phil not to be expecting the Browns to pick him. That also says a lot about Savage, he thought enough of the local boy to try to "let him down easy," but to anyone watching Quinn did not go down so easy. He was obviously disappointed.

When I saw the disappointment on his face it was truly the first time that I wanted to see him as a Cleveland Brown. I always felt he was a bit to "Hollywood" until then.

[MadThinker88]

Perhaps the honesty and integrity shown by Phil is something that is being infused into all levels of the organization. If so it may well become a selling point for Free agents to select Cleveland as a place to go to play and hopefully win games.