Fresh off the heels of yesterday's Saturday's firing of GM Phil Savage, the Cleveland Browns have confirmed that Head Coach Romeo Crennel has been given a pink slip of his own.

Crennel went 24-40 in his four years as coach of the Browns, including a disgusting 0-fer against the Steelers.

Rumors have been swirling for weeks around Berea that former Steelers coach, Bill Cowher would be first on the list of those being considered as the next front-man for the Browns. However, owner Randy Lerner has stated that he has been in contact with Cowher and was turned down.

Currently being mentioned for GM consideration is Patriots Executive VP Scott Pioli.

As for coaches, Lerner seems interested in now-deposed Jets coach, Eric Mangini and New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

Well, the housecleaning has officially begun in Berea with the firing of Cleveland Browns GM Phil Savage. The news isn't exactly surprising, considering Phil's short list of accomplishments and long list of short-comings.

Among the positives are drafting Joe Thomas, signing then-undrafted Josh Cribbs, and snagging QB Derek Anderson off Baltimore's waiver wire.

However, Savage has also whiffed in the later rounds of the draft, traded spots with the Ravens - allowing them to pick up NT Haloti Ngata and the Browns to take Kamerion Wimbley, who dropped off the face of the earth after his rookie season, mishandled several in-house situations (Kellen Winslow's staph infection, etc.), and replied to a fan's email with, "F--k you, go root for Buffalo."

Gee, who saw this move coming??

EDIT: It was confirmed on WKNR Monday morning that Phil Savage was actually fired on Saturday, before the game.

Thanks to my brother-in-law for the pic from the stands

- Wow, is this weather nasty or what? I touched on the weather during today's show on Dawg Pound Radio, and it has only gotten worse. The wind is on a tear off the lake, and the snow continues to fall. The field is so snowy, that there was a minute-and-a-half delay while the referees tried to find the 50 yard line to spot the ball.

- Jamal Lewis is a stud in the snow. He's already broken off a couple big runs, and has 80 yards and is averaging 5.3 yards per carry at the half. During the Browns' last drive of the half, J-Lew went over the 1,000 yard mark for the 6th time in his career.

- The Browns have not been afraid to throw in the bad weather, and it's definitely paying off. Braylon Edwards has made a couple spectacular catches already, and is over 100 yards for the day. Meanwhile, the Bills haven't been able to throw the ball very much in the first half, and Trent Edwards has only thrown 9 times.

- The Browns' defense is not itself. It's actually stopping the Bills. There have already been several runs stuffed at or before the line of scrimmage, and Andra Davis has had a couple big plays in the backfield as well. The firm of Smith, Smith & Kelley has been getting a good push off the line, and have been able to produce some penetration when rushing just 3 or 4 guys.

- After this first half, I will slap the stupid out of anyone who continues to say that Phil Dawson shouldn't be in Cleveland. Not that I wouldn't have before, but Phil's cranked out two field goals, including an unbelievable 48-yarder into the wind. I know he's getting older, and his leg's not quite as strong as it used to be, but please, name 3 other kickers that would put that kick right down the middle? I'll wait...

More to come later. Enjoy the 2nd half!

Now that I've wiped a bit of egg from my face in picking the Browns to handily (based on the score) beat the Cardinals, here's the game in review:

1st Quarter:

The game began with a miscue, when Derek Anderson - unpressured - threw the ball away to the left side. He was called for intentional grounding, and the Browns had already set off on the wrong foot. After what appeared to be the beginnings of a nice drive, Anderson threw a pick-6, and then aborted a snap shortly thereafter.

I couldn't find a pic of "the boot," so I guess a picture of Leigh Bodden getting burned will do.

On the Cardinals' ensuing drive, Kurt Warner threw an incomplete pass that would have brought up fourth down and four - that is, if Leigh Bodden didn't decide to do his best "Phil Dawson" and boot the ball into the bench. Bodden was called for Deglay of Game, and the five yards assessed were enough to give the Cards a first down. Warner and Edgerrin James continued to carry the Cards downfield and capped off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Leonard Pope.

Definitely a tough first ten minutes to watch...

The Cleveland Browns have completed their first division series sweep since 2002, when the Browns swept the Bengals. Coincidentally, that was the last time the Browns made the playoffs. This time, however, the sweep was handed to the Ravens after a 33-30 Cleveland victory in overtime.

For the second week in a row, the Browns' defense blew a lead of 13+ points (last week was 15), and pinned all of their hopes on the shoulders of a last-second drive authored by Derek Anderson and a long field goal from Phil Dawson. Last week, one pulled through, while the latter came up just short. It seemed to be a similar story, as Anderson fired a missile to Braylon Edwards, who made a great catch in traffic to put Cleveland in position to attempt a 51-yard, overtime-forcing FG.

After hitting the left upright, Dawson's kick ricocheted through the posts, the ball clearly hit the back extension, causing a mass-confusion in M&T Bank Stadium. The referee originally signaled "no good," fans began to file out of the stadium, and even the Ravens themselves tried to sneak into the locker room with the win.

The refs overturned the call after about 2½ agonizing minutes, and overtime ensued. There was still hope.

Veteran guard Joe Andruzzi has been notified that he will be cut from the Cleveland Browns following a physical, effectively making him an unrestricted free agent. That's right, Screw you, Kevin Shaffer! The Browns have one lineman begging to leave town, and we're booting one who probably wouldn't mind staying.

I'm not sure what's really going on behind the scenes here, to be honest. We learned last year (the very hard way) that depth on the offensive line is absolutely crucial, yet we're cutting back on a vet who, if not with his play, could just as easily contribute by helping the younger guys we have growing into our line such as Fred Matua, Joe Thomas and Isaac Sowells.

Maybe this is Phil Savage's way of giving Shaffer the one-finger salute? "Well, Kevin, we've worked out a deal. Guess who gets to leave...Not you! Kiss my down-home, country ass! You'll play where we decide, and you'll like every damn minute of it."

Andruzzi has had knee problems in the past but was able to tough it out, starting 27 games the '05 and '06 seasons. It is likely that Matua and Sowells will get a good look during training camp, and recent free agent signing Seth McKinney will start at the position. Assuming everyone but Bentley is healthy come game one, here is what the line might look like:

LT - Joe Thomas
LG - Eric Steinbach
C - Hank Fraley
RG - Seth McKinney
RT - Ryan Tucker - coming back from a mental health issue that kept him out for the end of last season

Well, the picks have been made, and I think it would be safe to say that the Cleveland Browns surely created a splash with their picks and aggressive movements on day one.

The general consensus was that the Browns would take one of three players: Brady Quinn (QB - Notre Dame), Adrian Peterson (RB - Oklahoma), or Joe Thomas (OT - Wisconsin) with their third overall pick.

According to Phil Savage, the Browns had their minds set on drafting Joe Thomas with their number 3 overall pick two weeks ago. The Browns' offensive line has struggled immensely for years, and he knew that if they were to have any success in years to come, it would have to be his top priority.

Taking Thomas was a no-brainer. Not only does the pick potentially lock up your left tackle position for the next 10, maybe 15 years, but this also rearranges the configuration of the Browns' current linemen, allowing them to play positions that they are more comfortable with.

Kevin Schaffer can move to his natural right side of the line with Ryan Tucker (either one would do just fine at guard or tackle), and big money free agent Eric Steinbach will keep his natural position at left guard.

With this configuration, not only will the linemen be more comfortable in their positions, they will also play at a higher level. So, in effect, securing one position on the line did a lot to secure three out of the other 4 positions.

In a recap of day one, Savage said that he had indicated to quarterback Brady Quinn's people that he would not be picked up at that spot. He said that when Thomas was selected, they had said goodbye to Brady, and only hoped that he wouldn't come back to haunt the Browns in the future. What Savage didn't know, however, was that Cleveland was going to be just one of many teams to pass up on the former Fighting Irish quarterback.

The Browns have traded up with Dallas for the second time today in order to pick up cornerback Eric Wright out of UNLV at number 53.

Wright is a 5' 11" 192 lb. speedster who has had some off the field issues that will need to be corrected. He was charged with rape back in '04, but the charges were dropped. He missed a few games last season with a sprained knee. May be a questionable pick, but with what Phil has done so far, I don't think I'm going to criticize just yet.

Might I suggest the "mute" button here?

This kid is just flat-out amazing.

Calvin Johnson has been unanimously decided as the best receiver in the draft, and for good reason. His size (6' 5", 240 lbs.), speed (4.35 sec 40-yard dash) and strength combined raise him waist, chest, head, neck, shoulders and a Kid N' Play-style flat top above the rest. If the Raiders weren't so desperate for a QB, Johnson would be a guaranteed #1 pick.

There is a good possibility (barring the whole Trent Green-to-Miami/Daunte Culpepper-to-Oakland scenario which I'll discuss another time) that Johnson might still be around when the Browns go on the clock at number 3.

Assuming CJ does make it past Oakland and Detroit, there are obviously multiple options available to the Cleveland Browns:

Welcome to the first installment of the Dawg Pound's analysis of the Cleveland Browns' first round draft choices. In this segment, we'll take a look at Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn (whom the Browns will not be taking, but we'll get to that later).

Many draft experts have the Browns taking Quinn at number 3, and if it wasn't for a single lights out performance by JaMarcus Russell during Bowl Week (month, whatever), he easily could have gone #1.

Brady has shown scouts and fans alike that if any quarterback in this year's draft is ready to make an impact on an NFL team, it's him. His school-record stats and development under acclaimed coach Charlie Weiss certainly make a strong impression as well. He's tall, strong, accurate, and the kid makes good decisions. There is no doubt he's a (for lack of a better cliché) gamer.

The question the Browns face, however, is "should we cast judgment on Charlie Frye just yet?"