Savage spoke at a fundraiser, and he took some questions. He's the former GM of the Browns, so it's not surprising that someone asked him what he thought about the team. We don't know if the paper quoted everything he said, but what he did say was:

1. "I'm not happy to see things get worse." Which is not a rip. 1-6 is definitely worse than 4-12. (I don't believe he isn't enjoying it, but that's another issue.)

2. "They dismantled what we did have." When the new guys replace 23 of your 53 players (including two guys who made the Pro Bowl), scrap the offense and change the defense, that seems like a factual assessment.

3. "We left two quarterbacks behind that both seem ruined right now." You can argue that they were never any good, but they damn sure look ruined now.

4. "They traded a lot of players out of there." You can argue that they only traded three– Winslow, Edwards and Louis Leonard– and that the other 20 were cut, not re-signed or placed on IR, but that seems like quibbling.

5. "I feel for the guys we brought in because they're good players and good people " I wouldn't describe many of Savage's pickups as "good" on both counts (Cribbs, Thomas, Steinbach, Jackson and that's about it), but pointing out that Brodney Pool sucks and Eric Wright's trouble with the law is not a substantive critique of Savage.

As for what he "had here", I wasn't wild about a lot of things in the Phil Savage era (drafting, trades, salary cap, discipline both on and off the field), and the 24-40 record speaks for itself, but let's not forget a few things.

For instance, from 1999-2004, the Browns had a player make exactly one appearance in the Pro Bowl (Jamir Miller). During his tenure, the Pro Bowl featured seven guys with orange helmets.– and they might have had eight if LeCharles Bentley had been able to play.

The 1999-2004 Browns didn't have a running back who gained gain 1,000 yards– Savage's teams had two (Jamal Lewis; Reuben Droughns).

Kevin Johnson was the only Brown to have 1,000 yards receiving. In the Savage era, three guys (Antonio Bryant, Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow) crossed that barrier

It's not the 1946-55 Browns, but it was progress and it is a lot better than anything the Mangenius and Kokie Monster look likely to do.

And wait a minute, Elizabeth … "the only successful GM in town in recent history is someone with playing experience?" Hmmm. Yeah, I guess. Jim Paxson did play pro ball. Very successful in a LeBron coin-flipping loser kind of way.