I wonder if the Browns fans who mocked me (to be clear : some didn't and actually agreed) for saying they should have jumped all over Parcells' rumored offer of a 2nd and 5th rounder for DA a couple years ago wish they'd made that move now.Bracie? Where are you ? :crickets:
The Browns didn't have a franchise QB so I think there is more value in keeping a 24-year old QB with promise to see if he develops into one rather then immediately shuttling him elsewhere for a 2nd and 5th, even if that meant his value plummeted. There's an opportunity cost in trading him away that you aren't factoring in.
But they kind of did - Brady Quinn. If he's not a franchise QB, they didn't know this at the time, and had invested a lot in him by trading up to get him in the first round. The reason I'd suggested making the trade is because I felt like the numbers DA put up were misleading. He racked up some stats, but every time I saw him play on big drives or in pressure situations, I saw him bouncing a lot of passes and throwing a lot of balls over the heads of open receivers or at their feet. I felt he was very flawed and was being overvalued tremendously. With a 1st round pick on the bench (making 1st round money) - I felt like his value was maxed out and that they should have traded him for a premium price (a 2nd and 5th is nothing to sneeze at, especially since the 2nd rounder would have been a very early 2nd.) This would have precipitated the start of the Quinn era, which was inevitable anyway, and I wonder if Quinn might have been a better QB if he wasn't looking over his shoulder for the hook every game.As a Steelers fan, I'm glad it worked out this way, but if I were Savage at the time, I'd have jumped all over that offer. I'm still amazed that Savage and Parcells both saw something I didn't see in Anderson and ignored (I guess) the things I DID see. Hell, those guys get paid (or did) to make those decisions and I'm just a shmuck watching on TV, but I was definitely right on this one and they weren't.
