chris1969
Footballguy
A ''meat and potatoes'' pick for the Browns
Zac Jackson, Staff Writer
04.28.2007
Zac Jackson is spending Saturday inside the Browns' draft room. Below is his account of the events leading up to the selection of Joe Thomas...
As high noon approaches, the Browns' draft room starts to fill up. Coaches file in and out, and members of the personnel department gradually settle in to their seats at the head of the room. They test the phone lines, tap anxiously on their computers and check the televisions in each corner.
The head table is the same as it was last year, with Phil Savage, Randy Lerner and Romeo Crennel seated next to one another. Director of Player Personnel Bill Rees and Director of Football Administration Trip MacCracken sit inside the L-shaped table, across from Savage, Lerner and Crennel.
Also at the head table are Hall of Famer and special assistant to the G.M. Paul Warfield, national scout Pat Roberts, pro personnel men T.J. McCreight and Steve Sabo, research scout Rich Long and scouting assistant Zac Bocian.
Savage greets the guests, makes small talk with some coaches and scouts, and appears relaxed as noon approaches. The players are ranked on the board, but at first glance there's no real way to predict how they'll come off the board when the draft begins.
A little before noon, Savage and Crennel step into the hallway. They return, separately, a few minutes later.
Andthe next hour unfolds like this...
12:08 -- Via television, the room sees NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell addresses the crowd at Radio City Music Hall and officially puts the Raiders on the clock. A few seconds later, Savage addresses the room.
"I figured I'd let the Commissioner go first," he says before welcoming the guests in the room. "We're going to end up with a really good player, one way or the other. We only get to pick one of them, unfortunately."
12:18 -- News comes of the first one they won't get. The Raiders pick of JaMarcus Russell is announced, and the Lions are on the clock.
12:24 -- Savage looks down at the chart listing draft day contact info for all 32 teams. Twenty seconds later, ESPN cameras catch Calvin Johnson crying, a sign that Johnson has gotten word he's about to be picked. Savage gets back on the phone.
12:28 -- Scouting assistant Zac Bocian, seated next to Savage, clicks his cell phone shut. He's received word from the floor in New York City that the Lions have turned in their card. The Browns are on the clock.
12:33 -- As Savage ends a phone call, ESPN heads to commercial with a shot of Brady Quinn and a tease -- is he the guy for the Browns?
12:35 -- Savage makes an announcement. He says that over the last six weeks the Browns determined that, barring a trade or another unforeseen scenario, the Browns' scouts and decision makers were unanimous in their belief that Joe Thomas was a better fit for the Browns.
12:38 -- The phones are busy, with Savage, Bill Rees, T.J. McCreight and Trip MacCracken all on them. Romeo Crennel talks to Thomas, who's fishing in Wisconsin. In New York, the card is sent to the podium.
12:40 -- Thomas is announced as the pick. Applause fills the room; handshakes all around.
12:41 -- A smiling Savage says, "it might not be a sexy pick in April, but it will work in September."
(Over the next several minutes, the room begins to empty. Handshakes continue, though all activity stops to watch the ensuing picks made. Offensive Line Coach Steve Marshall shares a celebratory laugh with Crennel -- they're two very happy coaches.)
12:54 -- Jim Brown, another draft room guest, calls the Thomas pick "a step towards getting back to what the Cleveland Browns are all about. We needed offensive linemen and now we've added two good ones, one in free agency (Eric Steinbach) and one in the draft."
1:04 -- Savage shares a handshake with area scout Chisom Opara and announces, "now we have some meat and potatoes on the table."
Dinner is served September 9.
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/article.php?id=6742
Zac Jackson, Staff Writer
04.28.2007
Zac Jackson is spending Saturday inside the Browns' draft room. Below is his account of the events leading up to the selection of Joe Thomas...
As high noon approaches, the Browns' draft room starts to fill up. Coaches file in and out, and members of the personnel department gradually settle in to their seats at the head of the room. They test the phone lines, tap anxiously on their computers and check the televisions in each corner.
The head table is the same as it was last year, with Phil Savage, Randy Lerner and Romeo Crennel seated next to one another. Director of Player Personnel Bill Rees and Director of Football Administration Trip MacCracken sit inside the L-shaped table, across from Savage, Lerner and Crennel.
Also at the head table are Hall of Famer and special assistant to the G.M. Paul Warfield, national scout Pat Roberts, pro personnel men T.J. McCreight and Steve Sabo, research scout Rich Long and scouting assistant Zac Bocian.
Savage greets the guests, makes small talk with some coaches and scouts, and appears relaxed as noon approaches. The players are ranked on the board, but at first glance there's no real way to predict how they'll come off the board when the draft begins.
A little before noon, Savage and Crennel step into the hallway. They return, separately, a few minutes later.
Andthe next hour unfolds like this...
12:08 -- Via television, the room sees NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell addresses the crowd at Radio City Music Hall and officially puts the Raiders on the clock. A few seconds later, Savage addresses the room.
"I figured I'd let the Commissioner go first," he says before welcoming the guests in the room. "We're going to end up with a really good player, one way or the other. We only get to pick one of them, unfortunately."
12:18 -- News comes of the first one they won't get. The Raiders pick of JaMarcus Russell is announced, and the Lions are on the clock.
12:24 -- Savage looks down at the chart listing draft day contact info for all 32 teams. Twenty seconds later, ESPN cameras catch Calvin Johnson crying, a sign that Johnson has gotten word he's about to be picked. Savage gets back on the phone.
12:28 -- Scouting assistant Zac Bocian, seated next to Savage, clicks his cell phone shut. He's received word from the floor in New York City that the Lions have turned in their card. The Browns are on the clock.
12:33 -- As Savage ends a phone call, ESPN heads to commercial with a shot of Brady Quinn and a tease -- is he the guy for the Browns?
12:35 -- Savage makes an announcement. He says that over the last six weeks the Browns determined that, barring a trade or another unforeseen scenario, the Browns' scouts and decision makers were unanimous in their belief that Joe Thomas was a better fit for the Browns.
12:38 -- The phones are busy, with Savage, Bill Rees, T.J. McCreight and Trip MacCracken all on them. Romeo Crennel talks to Thomas, who's fishing in Wisconsin. In New York, the card is sent to the podium.
12:40 -- Thomas is announced as the pick. Applause fills the room; handshakes all around.
12:41 -- A smiling Savage says, "it might not be a sexy pick in April, but it will work in September."
(Over the next several minutes, the room begins to empty. Handshakes continue, though all activity stops to watch the ensuing picks made. Offensive Line Coach Steve Marshall shares a celebratory laugh with Crennel -- they're two very happy coaches.)
12:54 -- Jim Brown, another draft room guest, calls the Thomas pick "a step towards getting back to what the Cleveland Browns are all about. We needed offensive linemen and now we've added two good ones, one in free agency (Eric Steinbach) and one in the draft."
1:04 -- Savage shares a handshake with area scout Chisom Opara and announces, "now we have some meat and potatoes on the table."
Dinner is served September 9.
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/article.php?id=6742
