Savvy Savage has Browns ready to challenge Steelers, AFC

The Browns initially tendered Anderson as a restricted free agent, which would have meant a team could have signed him and if the Browns didn't match the offer, Cleveland would have received a first- and third-round pick as compensation.

But shortly before the free-agency period opened, the Browns got rumblings that a team with a late first-round pick was considering signing Anderson, giving up that late first-round and late third-round pick and then trading Anderson to a team higher up in the first round, helping circumvent that team from giving the Browns their high first-round pick.

So the Browns signed Anderson the morning of the first day of free agency, meaning it would be Anderson and Quinn again. There will be no trade of Anderson this year, Savage said.

"Derek is the starter," Savage said. "He has the championship belt. It's not going to be taken from him. It has to be a 15-round fight that he loses for him to give it up."

In other words, Quinn is going to have to totally outperform Anderson, who won't lose the title easily.

After settling the quarterback position, Savage knew the Browns defensive line needed help. But he didn't like the draft options, especially without a first-round pick. So he and his staff went to work on trying to make trades for some power players on defense. The Browns have to improve on their 27th-rated rushing defense, especially in a division with the Steelers.

They targeted Green Bay defensive tackle Corey Williams, who was designated as a franchise player by the Packers. They traded a second-round pick for Williams and promptly gave him a six-year deal for $36 million. They followed that up by trading corner Leigh Bodden and a third-round pick to the Lions for Shaun Rogers. In the Browns' 3-4 scheme, Rogers will be a nose tackle while Williams, a guy I really like, will be a 3-4 end.

"We just felt that there weren't guys available in the draft in the second and third round who were worth the picks we had," Savage said. "That's why we made the deal. It was easy really."

So easy in fact that Savage said when the deals were proposed in the team's strategy meetings, there was a strong consensus.

"Everybody wanted to make the moves," Savage said. "It was something we all wanted."

After adding Rogers, the Browns signed receiver Donte' Stallworth to complement Braylon Edwards and then added guard Rex Hadnot on Monday night.

For a guy who was nurtured by making the college draft his priority, it has to be tough knowing the Browns won't pick until the fourth round. They'll watch the first three rounds. That's what I thought, especially since I'm a big proponent in keeping draft picks, which I imagined Savage was too. But he said it's fine the way it is.

"It's not really bothering me," Savage said. "Look what we got. We got Brady and the two defensive linemen. That's a good draft. Plus, now we can focus on the guys in the later rounds. We don't have to worry about the top guys as much, so now maybe we can get one or two more players in the later rounds and really have a big offseason."

Savage, who was the director of college scouting for the Baltimore Ravens before taking over in Cleveland, has always been a scout with a sharp eye for talent. But when he took over in Cleveland, some league personnel wondered if he could handle the responsibilities of being in the office, making all the decisions.

This was a man who lived in Mobile, Ala., his hometown, and spent weeks and weeks on the road scouting college players, not dealing with minutia. But in his four years on the job in Cleveland, Savage has proven to be a shrewd general manager. It's hard to believe that a few years ago in 2005, one year into his tenure, he almost walked away. Locked in a power struggle with former Browns president John Collins, Savage was willing to leave, but owner Randy Lerner sided with Savage and Collins resigned.

That was certainly the right move. Collins may have been the slick executive, but when it came to football Savage was the right guy.

That day five years ago in the Arizona sun confirmed what I already knew. Savage is a good talent evaluator, which is why the Browns are clearly now a threat in the AFC. Give me football men like Savage in general manager positions over pencil pushers every time.