Nor, it wasn't signing Donte Stallworth or shipping Jeff Faine to New Orleans. Nor was it hiring Romeo Crennel (that was mostly done by Randy Lerner and John Collins). Or trading three draft picks from the latest draft.

Watching the Ravens game yesterday, it was clear. Phil Savage's biggest mistake was one of his first. It was when he swapped draft positions with Baltimore so the Ravens could pick up defensive lineman Haloti Ngata.

He can do it all — rush the passer, stop the run, clog lanes, everything. Instead, the Browns got Kamerion Wimbley, who can't really do anything.

Revisionist history is a beautiful thing in sports. Just think about this one. If the Browns had Ngata, who plays end in Baltimore, they would have had to trade a second-round pick for Corey Williams. Then, the Browns could have used that second rounder this year on a cornerback so Brandon McDonald wouldn't be starting. There could be a ton of these sort of scenarios, obviously.

Think Savage has made a worse decision? Try to beat this one.

All indications show that outside linebacker should be back for the Giants game on Oct. 12. He sat out the Ravens and Bengals games with a hamstring problem. He's practicing now, so that could mean playing time for seventh-round rookie Alex Hall will be greatly diminished.

But should it be? In the two games he played, McGinest looked all of his almost 37 years, totaling just four tackles. While he can be a good leader, it may be time he's only a leader from the sidelines.

That is because Hall looks like he's a real steal. Watching the Bengals game again, Hall often looked quicker than his outside linebacker counterpart Kamerion Wimbley.

Bizarre stat: Did you know the Browns are 10th in the NFL in defense and 32nd in offense? Who would have guessed that one?

Cool stat: Shaun Rogers has 15 solo tackles. That is a good thing, especially considering middle linebacker Andra Davis only has 14 and he has a much greater likelihood of getting tackles. Jamal Williams of the Chargers, considered the league's best 3-4 nose tackle, only has four. Casey Hampton of the Steelers has only one through three games. Consider things like that when looking for positives with the 1-3 Browns.

Lost yesterday in the LeCharles Bentley fiasco was defensive back Gary Baxter's return to the field after he too missed almost two seasons.

Baxter even one-upped Bentley: He tore both of his patellar tendons in 2006. No player has ever returned from tearing both patellas. Baxter participated in team drills on Wednesday, but is challenging for a spot on the roster at safety.

It's probably safe to assume that Baxter has lost some athleticism, but if healthy, he could help as a backup to Brodney Pool and Sean Jones.

Notes…
Speaking of Jones, Zac Jackson of Cleveland Browns.com just wrote about the safety. Jackson writes that Jones is the team's best-kept secret, but he's still trying to establish himself.

ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton has been in Berea watching the Browns. He filed a story on how Shaun Rogers will help Cleveland's run defense, one of the worst in the league the past few seasons.

By now, you're probably aware of Matt Walsh, the former New England Patriots lackey accused of taping coaching signals. The whole mess — not-so-cleverly referred to as SpyGate — began when the Patriots were caught spying on the New York Jets.

Eventually, the Boston Herald wrote that Walsh taped the Rams prior to the 2002 Super Bowl. A whole can of worms was sitting waiting to be opened, yadda yadda yadda, a senator got involved, yadda yadda. You know the story. It's pointless for me to re-hash the whole thing.

Anyway, Walsh just handed over the other tapes he made to the NFL. One of them is of the Browns in 2001. That's right, someone was taping the team during its juggernaut 7-9 season. Clearly, Patriots coach Bill Belichick wasn't trying to get coaching tips from Butch Davis.

Notes…
This season will be the last for outside linebacker Willie McGinest. The Browns signed McGinest to a three-year contract in 2006. Some consider the signing a flop, but it's neither that or a boom. McGinest is just kind of there. He has some impact on young players and does a good job on running downs. The problem is that he's been injury prone and has clearly lost a step.

The Browns will have OTAs next week. They're not open to the public. It should be interesting to hear how new defensive linemen Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers adapt to the new team and the 3-4. Braylon Edwards missed the first day of last year's OTAs and it caused a bit of a stir. Hopefully nothing like that happens this year.

Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe wrote in his notes that the Browns could be simplifying their defense. Read the full article here.

The Browns added considerable bulk in the form of defensive linemen Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams this offseason, but they're trimming down in other areas. Coach Romeo Crennel is considering simplifying the defense as the club transitions to a new coordinator in Mel Tucker. The Browns gave up more first downs than every team but the Lions and were one of the league's worst units against the run. Crennel apparently thinks it might have been a result of players being overloaded, so look for the Browns to get back to basics.

Unless this is about simplifying thing for the group of young defensive backs, I'm not sure this is a wise decision with the addition of veterans on the line. In theory, they should be able to handle whatever Crennel and Tucker throw at them.

Not having NFL Network kind of stinks. Fortunately, Canton Repository Browns writer Steve Doerschuk was able to tune in to catch an interview with quarterback Derek Anderson. Read Doerschuk's story here.

Anderson mostly talked about training camp last season when he had to beat out Charlie Frye and battle for snaps in camp with Brady Quinn. It's a good read, but nothing really new.

Notes…

Anyone worried about whether or not new defensive tackle Shaun Rogers will maintain a solid weight, realize he's not too fat to play basketball. He hooped it up for a charity event run by Michael Huff of the Oakland Raiders. Prior to the game he even managed to dunk the ball.

Sadly, Browns defensive back Kenny Wright has yet to make the Smoking Gun's mugshot index for his hilarious post-arrest head shot. If you haven't seen it, it is after the jump.