An interesting thing happened to the Cleveland Browns during the last week or so. In the midst of acquiring a few big names on both sides of the ball – moves that immediately solidify some of the team’s biggest concerns heading into ’08 – General Manager Phil Savage basically told off and then resigned quarterback Derek Anderson.
It was the equivalent of your boss saying it’s time to get your resume in order because cutbacks are coming, then walking into your office with that, ‘Someone is getting a noogie’ smile and offering you a 400 percent raise.
Somewhere Charlie Frye had to be asking, ‘Is this a joke?’
Because Frye has seen the wrath that quarterbacking in Cleveland can bring to bear, he must be wondering how a man can be basically told he is of no value to the team when he didn’t except a contract and then offered an even bigger contract just hours after he becomes a free agent.
All the while the Cleveland faithful did their best ‘the awkward friend is in the other room act,’ ripping DA to shreds for trespasses on their vanity that I never knew he made.
Now, after he signed the big deal – it’s three years and, depending on what media outlets you believe, worth between $24-26 million – everyone expects a controversy.
Brady Quinn, fresh off of his first public black eye, has already taken the high road. Unlike Larry Hughes, who told the ABJ’s Brian Windhorst that he isn’t about team or winning (seriously, he did. Check out Brian’s blog today. I won’t link it because he’s a far better writer than I am and you won’t come back), The DreamBoat told ESPN and other media networks that this move makes the team better. He also said he’s up for the competition.
While Brady deserves a nice pat on the back for his public relations work, I’m not ready for a competition between the two of them. In fact, I’m still trying to figure out exactly what is going on. I wasn’t exactly happy about losing DA, but I saw the value in it. With draft picks earned in losing him we could rebuild our defense and maybe even find a new backup quarterback. Now, with defensive players added to the mix, I have no idea what Savage is trying to do with this team.
Or do I?
I have concocted several possible scenarios for what may or may not be going on in Savage’s head. These speculations are centered on why he kept DA from a forward-thinking perspective.
I want you to know that the following is pure speculation. You will see some crazy scenarios that will make no sense, but I’m playing GM in my mind. With that, here are the three reasons why I think DA got the big deal but he won’t be in orange and brown by 2009.
Scenario 1: DA as the starter, then the ol’ bait and switch
Probability: 50 percent
Breakdown: With the addition of speedy receiver Donte Stallworth Savage thinks the Browns offense is darn near perfect. Though he believes that Quinn will be his starter down the road – probably in ’09 – he understands that anyone this side of David Carr could have success on this team. Knowing that, he thinks that DA’s stock was undervalued when he hit the market. But in giving him another chance to shine, he thinks he can get 30 TDs and 4,000 yards passing out of DA. Then, with what would suddenly become a very workable contract, he can sell him to the highest bidder and get more than a first and third round pick while also grooming Brady for another season.
This is a risk, of course, because DA could throw up a stinker and end up being worth a long snapper and a back up strong safety.
This scenario also works in-season, as you could let DA start for a few games and then, when the first contender has a season-ending injury at QB, or a so-called starter playing like Alex Smith, you can trade DA high because of the other team’s desperation.
Scenario 2: Let ‘em fight it out
Probability: 25 percent
Breakdown: Savage isn’t sold on DA. He’s got a laser, rocket arm and the decision-making skills of a Spears sister.
Unfortunately Savage isn’t sold on Brady. He’s got some intangibles, but he’s previously claimed in a Subway commercial that he’s busy on Sunday when he’s clearly not. That’s a lie.
So what he and Romeo have decided to do is really let the two kids have an old fashioned competition to let the better man win. The idea being that competition will draw out the best in them (though we already know that’s not the case with DA after last year’s preseason debacle) and both will benefit from the experience.
While this would give the team the best deal in the short-term: The better QB would take the job, the long-term implications seem too damning for Savage to really consider letting this happen. Whichever player wins will destroy the value for the other player. Let’s say Quinn wins, then DA will not be worth a first and third round pick. After his late season struggles in ’07, a benching would mean we could get a second or third round pick for him at best.
Still, the idea is to get the best man for the job and this would be the clearest way to end the debate and still get some compensation for the spare part.
Scenario 3: Moss to Green Bay
Probability: Less than 2 percent
Here’s the deal: Randy Moss is taking his traveling touchdown show on the road. He’s mentioned a few places he’d like to be, and Green Bay isn’t really one of them. However, Brett Favre, the great quarterback you remember from NFL films like, ‘The quarterback class of 1974,’ is in his annual decision-making period about whether or not he should come back and play for the Packers. He has openly campaigned for Moss, so if that doesn’t happen, maybe, just maybe, that’s the straw that stirs his retirement drink. With Favre retiring, Green Bay is in a quarterback situation. Yes, they have Aaron Rodgers, the first round pick that was Brady Quinn before Brady Quinn was Brady Quinn, but he’s unproven and has been underwhelming. Think about it: If he was a stud, would the Packers have let Favre stumble through a regular season like he had in ’06? Remember, they couldn’t have known he would bounce back the way he did in 2008.
If they really aren’t sold on Rodgers, maybe they’ll be the piece that turns this puzzle into a 500-piece replica of the Eiffel Tower. With only Rodgers to turn to, and Favre’s decision coming to late for any free agent signings, the Packers will turn the Browns again (remember, there is a working relationship there right now after we acquired Corey Williams from them) and offer more pieces for DA. Assuming that the reason Savage kept DA – and DA stayed with the Browns – is that the reception to his free agency was tepid, this will heat the pot a little and a first and third round pick could be back in the mix, maybe even with a scrub player added in.
If this is the case, the scrub player can unhinge the Savage statement that DA will not be traded. With the offer from Green Bay he will be able to say it’s the best thing for both parties.
Again, this whole plan rests on Randy Moss and Brett Favre, so it’s about as probably as an Eric Snow jumper as the shot clock expires.
Scenario 4: Savage trades DA for Charlie Frye
Probability: Less than 1/100th of a percent
Here’s how this would work: Savage, in a plot similar to a romantic comedy, would trade for Frye and a draft pick (let’s say a third rounder), but there is some serious tension between he and Frye for the way things ended. But when they’re forced to work together they begin to rehash some of the good times they’ve had. They remember the laughs, and how much Chaz likes Phil’s mother and that fall day they had a team picnic on Lake Erie. Then we all realize that even though Frye is a loose-mannered interception machine and Savage is a football-minded executive who has to care solely about winning, these two are a perfect match because they believed in each other all along. Throw in a Vanessa Carlton theme song for the Browns ’08 season and serendipity has taken over.
-MoneyMike has theories on voting, too. One of his top theories is that you should vote in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, March 4. Remember, the winner of Ohio could very well become the Democratic candidate, and that will affect your life.