By Aaron Ziraks
NoLogoNeeded.com staff writer

This was Savage’s first chance to impress the city of Cleveland with his reputation as a great scout and master of finding talent in the draft.

2005 Draft
Round 1    Braylon Edwards    Wide Receiver    Michigan
Round 2    Brodney Pool    Safety    Oklahoma
Round 3    Charlie Frye    Quarterback    Akron
Round 4    Antonio Perkins    Cornerback    Oklahoma
Round 5    David McMillen    Defensive End    Kansas
Round 6    Nick Speegle    Linebacker    New Mexico
Round 6    Andrew Hoffman    Defensive Line    Virginia
Round 7    Jonathon  Dunn    Offensive Tackle    Virginia Tech

Savage brought in two starters that are still here today in the first two rounds.  It would have been nice to grab a guy in the late rounds that could still be helping the team.  I can’t fault Savage for taking a guy like Braylon Edwards talent because the Browns needed weapons on offense.  Unfortunately, he missed on home town favorite Charlie Frye.  Frye never could get his bearings in the NFL  and ended up traded in 2007 after losing his starting job to Derek Anderson.

2005 Free Agent Signings
Gary Baxter    Cornerback    From Ravens
Joe Andruzzi    Offensive Guard    From Patriots
Cosey Coleman    Offensive Guard    From Redskins
Brian Russell    Safety    From Vikings
Matt Stewart    Linebacker    From Falcons
Derek Anderson    Quarterback    From Ravens
Josh Cribbs    KR/PR    Undrafted

His first free agency period with the Browns could have gone better.  He threw a lot of money at Gary Baxter and he could never stay healthy.  You can't fault Phil for this, but it doesn’t help his case.  Help on the offensive line was needed so signing Coleman and Andruzzi looked good on paper.  The reality was that neither of these guys were worth a penny. Later, both were cut.  Brian Russell was a nice player and actually is the type of guy the Browns needed to quarterback the defense.  Matt Stewart was a career special teams guy and never had an impact.  Derek Anderson had the year of his life in 2007 and spiraled out of control in 2008.  The Browns gave up nothing and paid close to nothing to get him, but Savage was suckered in and instead of selling high signed him to 3 year deal in 2007.  The best of the crop was signing Josh Cribbs, who is a fan favorite now and one of the most talented players on the team.

2005 Trades
Savage didn’t pull the trigger on any trades of significance.

2005 Overall
I’ll give Phil a C for his 2005 draft, he did get 2 starters, but everyone else was an absolute non factor for us.  Pool isn’t going to ever be a top level safety, but he is consistent.  Edwards has all the talent to be a top level wide receiver, but has not put it all together consistently.  As for free agency in 2005 I will give him a D.  He missed on all of his signings but two and one of those two is no longer with the team (Russell).  An overall grade for Phil Savage for 2005 is a C-.

This was a big year for Phil Savage.  He had a whole year to scout as a member of the Browns and really needed to make a splash.  He had a ton of cap room to work with and 10 draft picks.  Coming off of a 6-10 season, the Browns needed to bring in some impact players.

2006 Draft
Round 1    Kamerion Wimbley    Linebacker    Florida State
Round 2    D’Qwell Jackson    Linebacker    Maryland
Round 3    Travis Wilson    Wide Receiver    Oklahoma
Round 4    Leon Williams    Linebacker    Miami FL
Round 4    Isaac Sowells    Offensive Guard    Indiana
Round 5    Jerome Harrison    Running Back    Washington State
Round 5    DeMario Minter    Cornerback    Georgia
Round 6    Lawrence Vickers    Fullback    Colorado
Round 6    Babatunde  Oshinowo    Nose Tackle    Stanford
Round 7    Justin Hamilton    Safety    Virginia Tech

This one is tough because he drafted some nice players, but no one is an impact guy.  With 10 picks you would expect him to have at least one home run.  As of right now, the best player he got in this draft is Lawrence Vickers.  Personally, I love Vickers and think he will be a staple for the Browns in the backfield for a while.  Wimbley and Jackson have both proven to be so-so players.  I know Jackson makes a ton of tackles, but he doesn’t impact a game.  You need a guy that makes tackles, but not five yards downfield.  Wimbley has the ability, but he seems like he relies way too much on raw speed. That alone isn’t going to get it done in the NFL.  I think Harrison could be a real sleeper here, but the Browns didn't use him enough for this to be considered a plus for Savage.  I also think Leon Williams could be a good player if he ever got the chance to play.

2006 Free Agency
LeCharles Bentley    Center    From New Orleans
Joe Jurevicius    Wide Receiver    From Seahawks
Dave Zastudil    Punter    From Ravens
Ted Washington    Nose Tackle    From Raiders
Willie McGinest    Linebacker    From Patriots
Kevin Schaffer    Offensive Tackle    From Falcons

This is where Savage really tried to make the Browns better.  The Bentley signing was huge, Well, until the first day of contact where he blew his knee out and ended a Pro Bowl career in the blink of an eye.  Jurevicius was a nice player, but he has been bitten by the injury bug and may not ever see the field for the Browns again.  Zastudil is a solid punter.  Washington was a Band-Aid and nobody expected him to be a long term fix in the middle of our defense.  McGinest was old and slow when we got him and he has gotten older and slower with every passing day.  Schaffer has been serviceable, but not what was expected when he was brought in.  Savage had very good intentions, but luck was not on his side with this crop.  Once again, he got some decent guys, but not one impact player.

2006 Trades
2008 Conditional Pick    For Hank Fraley    Center    Eagles

This was actually one of Savage’s better moves.  We were in trouble when Bentley went down and Fraley has been great since arriving in Berea.  He is a mainstay on the offensive line and it only cost the Browns a fifth-round pick this past year.

2006 Overall
For the draft I will give Savage another C.  He got some OK players, but nothing special.  With 10 picks he should have been able to get more out of this draft.  With free agency he pulled the trigger on plenty of name players, but the only one of significant value was Schaffer since he is the only one that has been a consistent member of the line up.  McGinest has been a filler and Jurevicius may be done.  I will give Savage a C for free agency.  As for his one trade, I will give him an A.  The Browns got a very good starting center for a fifth-round pick. I will take that any day of the week.  Overall for the 2006 Savage, he gets a B-.

After another sub par season of 4-12 Savage really had to make some waves with this offseason and he pulled out all the stops.  There was serious pressure to win and win now.  There was talk about making coaching changes that usually leads to questions about the front office.

2007 Draft
Round 1    Joe Thomas    Offensive Tackle    Wisconsin
Round 1    Brady Quinn    Quarterback    Notre Dame
Round 2    Eric Wright    Cornerback    UNLV
Round 5    Brandon McDonald    Cornerback    Memphis
Round 6    Melila Purcell    Defensive end    Hawaii
Round 7    Chase Pittman    Linebacker    LSU
Round 7    Syndric Steptoe    Wide Receiver    Arizona

This was by far Savage's best draft.  Joe Thomas is a Pro Bowl Tackle for two years running now and should be an anchor for the Browns for many years to come.  Brady Quinn has looked good when he played and should be the teams starting quarterback in 2009.  Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald are both serviceable cornerbacks that could grow into very nice players.  Even Steptoe has seen numerous snaps on the field even if it was due to injuries.

2007 Free Agency
Seth McKinney    Offensive Guard    From Dolphins
Eric Steinbach    Offensive Guard    From Bengals
Shaun Smith    Defensive Tackle    From Bengals
Robaire Smith    Defensive Tackle    From Titans
Jamal Lewis    Running Back    From Ravens
Antwan Peek    Linebacker    From Texans
Kenny Wright    Cornerback    From Redskins
Mike Adams    Safety    From 49ers
Charles Ali    Fullback    Undrafted

Savage had some really good signings in 2007.  The best of the crop was Jamal Lewis and Eric Steinbach.  Lewis gave the Browns a legitimate threat at running back and Steinbach solidified the left side of the offensive line with Thomas.  McKinney has been a good fill-in when its suffered injuries.  Mike Adams isn’t going to keep any offensive coordinators up at night, but he has been a decent fill-in when Sean Jones has been out of the lineup.  Savage also did a good job getting some big defensive lineman to help stop the run with Shaun Smith and Robaire Smith

2007 Trades
Ruben Droughns    For Tim Carter    Wide Receiver    Giants

This was not a good trade.  With the amount of picks he gave up in the previous drafts, Savage should have been shopping Droughns for a draft pick even if it was in the later rounds.

2007 Overall
Savage really did a great job in 2007.  The addition of Thomas, Quinn, Wright and McDonald in the draft earns him an A.  As for free agency, he also did a great job.  Steinbach should be a staple with Thomas for years to come and Lewis has served his purpose in the backfield as a legitimate running back.  He also added depth to the defensive line with Shaun Smith and Robaire Smith.  For 2007 free agency, Savage gets a B.  The trade Savage made was garbage and he gets an F.  Tim Carter has never been a factor with the Browns or any other team for that matter.  We have to take into account one other faux paux.  This was the year that he resigned Derek Anderson to a three-year deal.  There were two schools of thought on this situation.  First trade Anderson and get a first and third round pick in a year where the Browns has a few draft picks, or re-sign him.  Savage signed Anders and as all of you know the rest is history. Overall for 2007, I give Savage an B+.

The Browns went 10-6 and barely missed the playoffs.  He went for broke in 2007 so he had limited draft picks in 2008 and not much money to spend in free agency.

2008 Draft
Round 4    Beau Bell    Linebacker    UNLV
Round 4    Martin Rucker    Tight End    Missouri
Round 6    Ahtyba Rubin    Nose Tackle    Iowa State
Round 6    Paul Hubbard    Wide Receiver    Wisconsin
Round 7    Alex Hall    Defensive End    St. Augustine

Like I said Savage had limited picks to work with here, but that was his own doing.  So far there is nobody in this group that I can honestly say is going to be an impact player for the Browns.  I realize that you need to give each draft a couple of years before its fully evaluated, but when you are being evaluated for your job everything has to be picked apart.

2008 Free Agents
Terry Cousin    Cornerback    From Jaguars
Rex Hadnot    Offensive Guard    From Dolphins
Shawte Orr    Linebacker    From Texans
Donte Stallworth    Wide Receiver    From Patriots

This group of free agents has turned out to be a heaping pile of garbage.  Stallworth has been an absolute non factor and he came with a huge price tag of $35 million.  Hadnot is probably the best of out this group and has played well filling in for some of the injured lineman.  Terry “The Best Nickel Back in the League” Cousin is an absolute liability when he is covering anyone man-to-man. 

2008 Trades
3rd Round pick and Leigh Bodden    Shaun Rogers    Nose Tackle    Lions
2nd Round Pick    Corey Williams    Defensive End    Packers

Savage got a Pro Bowl nose tackle for a mediocre cornerback and a third-round pick.  I also liked the trade for Corey Williams, but Williamshasn’t really grasped the 3-4 defense and therefore has not been too effective.

2008 Overall
After what can only be looked at as a terrible draft, I find it hard to grade it anything but an F.  Hopefully some of the guys he drafted will pan out, but if they were talented they would have seen more playing time and/or making plays.  Free agency was just as bad. He struck out with the players he over paid for like Anderson and Stallworth.  Free agency in 2008 gets an F.  Trades are the only good thing that happened in 2008 as the addition of Rogers was huge.  I will give Savages' trades for 2008 a B+.  Overall, this offseason I have to look at the whole picture and give him a D for 2008.

Phil Savage has had four years to equip this team to be a winner.  I will admit that the Browns have talent at some positions, but there are also glaring holes.  Savage has had one outstanding offseason and that was 2007.  The rest have been average or below average.  After evaluating all phases of Savages tenure with the Browns I have to grade him out at a C-. 

As for candidates for his replacement, there is none better than Floyd Reese.  He is the same guy that built the Titans and has an impeccable record in the draft.  A challenge that is the Browns will take hard work and dedication. I think Floyd Reese would be a great fit.

My recommendation to Mr. Lerner is to get rid of Savage and hire Reese.