It'll take a Savage effort to reconstruct Browns

If you wondered why the Cleveland Browns chose Phil Savage as their newest GM, the release of defensive end Courtney Brown should solve the mystery.

DE Courtney Brown became just one of many huge disappointments. (Getty Images)

Brown is the team's second first-round draft choice to leave in the past two weeks and the third to depart in the past nine months. Yes, I know the club talked about re-signing him, but that it's willing to risk letting him walk demonstrates how much -- or little -- it thinks of the guy.

And that's why Phil Savage is there. His job is to make sure no more Courtney Browns happen to the Cleveland Browns, which means his job is to make sure the draft does for the Browns what it's supposed to do -- namely, yield more booms than busts.

That was the case when Savage teamed with general manager Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore. There are no teams that draft better than the Ravens, who hit on virtually every first-round pick since arriving in Baltimore in 1996. There is Ray Lewis. And Chris McAlister. And Jamal Lewis. And Jonathan Ogden. And Terrell Suggs.

Over the past six years Baltimore is 56-40, with three playoff appearances and one Super Bowl victory. Over the same period the Browns are 30-66, with five losing seasons and one playoff appearance -- and look no further than the draft for an explanation.

Dating back to 1999 the Ravens had seven first-round picks, and all seven started -- including wide receiver Travis Taylor, now a free agent and the one questionable choice of the bunch. The Browns, meanwhile, had six first-round selections, and only three are left.

But let's dig a little deeper here, folks.

The Browns had the first pick of the 1999 draft and used it on quarterback Tim Couch. He was released last year. They had the first pick of the 2000 draft and used it on Brown. They had the third pick of the 2001 draft and used it on defensive tackle Gerard Warren, traded to Denver two weeks ago for a fourth-rounder used to acquire veteran quarterback Trent Dilfer.

The first pick one year. The first pick the next. The third pick the next. Add them up and what do you have? Trent Dilfer. And we haven't even mentioned the Browns' first pick of the 2002 draft, running back William Green, taken with the 16th choice overall. The club is so down on him it has given him permission to seek a trade.

Every one of those picks was made ahead of Baltimore, yet, through the same period, the Ravens chose McAlister (1999), Lewis and Taylor (2000), tight end Todd Heap (2001) and safety Ed Reed (2002). You think any of those guys could've helped Cleveland?

That's why Phil Savage joined the club.

This is, too: From the first four rounds in 1999, only one player -- defensive back Daylon McCutcheon -- remains with Cleveland. From the first four rounds the next two years, only wide receiver Dennis Northcutt and tight end Aaron Shea are left. The Browns had 16 choices from 1999-2001, including three of the top five in 1999-01, and McCutcheon, Northcutt and Shea are all that remain.

That's not bad; it's reprehensible, and it reminds me of a conversation I had last year with Carmen Policy shortly after he resigned as team president. Asked to assess what he wished he'd done better Policy was direct.