Go to figure...Phil Savage signs----->

[Tspot-D-Ravenator]

Another ex-Raven....Alan Ricard:crazy: They may now be renamed: The Cleveland Ravens:laugh:

[riprulz8]

This is unreal. I mean, I understand picking up players you are familiar with, but Savage has taken this to the EXTREME!

I know I'll forget some, but in the last few years Cleveland has picked up Zastudil, Baxter, Derek Anderson, Dinkins, Jamal and now Ricard.

[GreenWave52]

Cleveland is more like our B Team if anything. They only take broken down players we don't want or guys who we replace with better talent.

I have a friend who is a Browns fan and he is convinced we sent Phil there to keep them in a perpetual state of suckitude.

[RavensNTerps]

what about our penchant for ex titans, how do we describe that?

[Sephy]

Thing is, we have the GOOD ex Titans that left for salary cap reasons. They have the guys we dumped because we got someone better.

[festivus]

Unless I'm missing someone, we've acquired 3 ex-Titans in the last few years (Mason, Rolle, McNair).

Riprulz8 listed six(!) going from the Ravens to the Browns.

[RustonRifle]

Opie may be a good guy but I'm glad he's not running the show here, now or in the future. Some of the free agent contracts he has handed out to mediocrity have been obscene in the dollar amount. Savage seems like he's one of those executives that is better in support of a GM than a ringmaster. As I mentioned in the Decosta thread. The Ravens are much better off.

[psuasskicker]

Cleveland fans are always whining about how they want the Ravens back...Savage is just trying to make it happen, one player at a time.

- C -

[Gwaihir]

I'm starting to wonder if Savage had any real talent at all, or if he just took credit for all of DeCosta's hard work! I was extremely upset when he left, especially for Cleveland. I thought we were doomed! But since he's left, DeCosta's been absolutely brilliant and he has almost single-handedly destroyed any chance Cleveland had to be competitive!

For someone who supposedly knew our roster, it totally befuddles me how he could sign Baxter as an elite Corner? He was an OK Corner, his nickname could still have been toast, but I was always bumming that we couldn't leave him at Safety, I thought he WAS an elite Safety! Not to mention his late round picks in the draft. They totally suck, I think they ended up cutting the extra guy they got for Ngata, and you don't really hear about any of his late round picks panning out anymore.

I'm starting to wonder if Oz controlled our First Pick, Savage controlled 2 & 3, and then they'd let DeCosta loose on day 2. I can't think of any other explanation for why we are great in the first round, suck in the second and third rounds, and then great on the second day! And the last 2 years our second and third round picks look like they might actually pan out!

Yeah, I'm starting to think DeCosta was the brains all along and the best thing that could have happened to us was Savage leaving for Cleveland! Its just a shame he didn't go to the Irsay's or NE, so he could have screwed them up some!

[camdenyard]

Savage is doing exactly the opposite of what I expected him to do there - grow through the draft with good young FA pickups.

Instead, he's trying to be like George Stienbrenner and sign everyone on the market with a pulse. Guys like Ted Washington and Willie McGinnest and Jamal are not their future, but he signed them anyway. And his drafting has been "eh".

I'm assuming that he is under huge pressure to win some games, even at the expense of any grand plan if there is one. My guess is they will go 6-10 this year at best and he'll be out the door.

[festivus]

I'm assuming that he is under huge pressure to win some games, even at the expense of any grand plan if there is one. My guess is they will go 6-10 this year at best and he'll be out the door.

Given the organization, I expect there is heavy meddling, and he may not have the skills/backbone to cope. He's gm material, I hope he finds success eventually, in the NFC. :)

[GreenWave52]

Here is the real question:

When Eric DeCosta gets his shot to be a GM a couple years from now, will we have learned our lesson? Ozzie is the brains behind this operation and while Eric is talented, we will survive without him since I am sure Ozzie is grooming another "Eric" behind him.

[WhiskeyRaven]

A friend of mine from Bethsda says the the Redskins might fire their GM and that is a lot of talk, chat, and radio about Decosta going there. I hope not. I would rather have Ozzie and Decosta working together here for years to come. Unrealistic I know.

[festivus]

I wouldn't give that Deadskins wishful thinking much credence.

If DeCosta sits tight he will get his choice of gm'ing positions in a couple of years. How stupid would he be, to go gm for *that* owner?