Draft Afterwash

So Brady goes at #22 to the Browns. A great story, in the end, but excruciating to watch, even worse to live through, I'm sure.

Must Read story here by Peter King at Sports Illustrated about the whole sequence of events, through the eyes of Phil Savage, the Browns GM.




Money quote:

Savage showed some decency on draft weekend, when lying and deception is
often the norm. That's why I admire him more today than I did Friday; and I had a world of admiration for him before the draft, believe me.
"On Friday,'' he said, "I called [Quinn's agent] Tom Condon. I'd heard some stuff in the press that he might be negotiating with the Raiders for Brady to be picked at number one. And I had so much respect for Brady through this process. He's a great kid, and he's worked so hard, and he's done everything through the draft process
exactly the right way. I told Tom I didn't know if the Raiders were going to
take Brady or not, but I wanted to let him know that we'd decided not to take
him at number three; so if he was talking to the Raiders, he'd know he didn't
have us to fall back on.
"I'd heard Brady talk about having two dreams -- being the No. 1 pick, or playing for the Browns," Savage said. "And I didn't want to see his heart broken twice. We weren't going to take him, so I wanted Tom to be able to do whatever he could to get a deal done with Oakland, if that's what was happening.''
That's class right there.