Browns General Manager/Sr. VP Phil Savage draft day press conference 4-27-08

(Opening Statement)- “We were sitting there waiting to see how the third round would develop. Our priorities and our focus has been on the fourth round level players. The two players that we selected both Beau Bell and Martin Rucker were players that we evaluated back in February as potential second and third round type of players. Once they were there and the way our board was shaping up, I just felt to continue to upgrade the front seven to bring a Beau Bell, who brings a physical presence to the linebacker group and based on what our grades were on him coming out in the fall, we felt like it was worth the move to come up and if we could find a team that would be willing to take next year’s three to get an additional fourth round pick and just take the highest player rated on our board, which was Martin Rucker. He’s a tight end from Missouri. We evaluated him very hard, very closely this past fall and both players incidentally came out of the fall with very good grades and I think the process of this draft, be it the Senior Bowl, the combine, interviews, private workouts, or what have you, I think in both these players cases their status dropped to a degree. In our eyes they really didn’t. Fortunately it does seem to be a league where teams are willing to consider trades and move around. I think people realize that we are a team that is willing to jump around on draft day and even the off-season. We had some willing trade partners there, and got something done.”

(On the Browns tight end situation)- “We really like Martin Rucker. Kellen (Winslow) has had another off season of medical concerns. Steve Heiden had back (surgery) a week ago and we feel like both guys are going to be with us and ready to go for the season. Clearly through the next couple months we’re going to be practicing and I think Martin Rucker will get a real good experience right off the top. When I went out and watched him this past season, you could envision he and Kellen potentially running down the seams opposite sides of each other. He’s an imposing physical mismatch type of player because of his size and catching ability. We took the best available player and in this case it was a tight end and it may not be a need today but as we found out a few years ago it could be a need within a week or two, or two months. I don’t think you can have enough good players at different positions. I think both these players will help us at their respective spots.”

(On corners)- “Beau and Martin were in a group of players that were above the next level of corners in our mind, particularly when the third round Chevis Jackson, Antwaun Molden, Justin King, Tyvon Branch and a number of those corners went off the board.”

(On Kellen Winslow’s contact situation)- “We’ve had a few conversations this spring. Obviously Drew (Rosenhaus) has got a lot going on. We’ve had a lot going on in terms of free agency and getting ready for the draft. We’ve kept open lines of communication in terms of talking thru some things. You’re talking about a player that has three years left on his deal, one year was added after the motorcycle accident, so I guess that would be up for discussion, but there’s no real indication one way or the other. We’re in the off-season, several months away from the real season so we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

(On his contact extension)- “I think it will probably official take place in the next week or so. It’s more or less a hand shake and a wink, but nothing on paper yet.”

(On trading for Fabian Washington)- “We talked about it a little bit, obviously they have been floating Fabian for a while, but we didn’t feel like we wanted to get involved in that situation so we took a pass on it.”

(On the reputation that tight ends from Missouri do not block well)- “As you’ve seen in this offense we have a tight end that blocks another one that runs out and catches passes, if you want to categories it that way. As you saw with Martin Rucker was a player that was not asked to block much. He was in a system that advocated being in the slot moving around. He had terrific production as a receiver. He showed up at the Senior Bowl and showed some improvement throughout the week. It was really the first time he played on the end of the line as a traditional tight end for any length of time. We feel like we can teach him and coach him up. He’s a tall receiving type tight end that has the potential to be better as a blocker.”

(On Beau Bell’s playing time)- “Ideally he is going to come in right off the bat and be able to help on special teams right away. I think he’ll be in the mix at inside backer, obviously he’s got to learn the defense, the calls, the checks, but we feel good about him coming into that room with D’Qwell (Jackson), Andre Davis, and Leon Williams and we got Kris Griffin too. The thing about Beau is, he is going to bring a physical presence to our special teams that we needed. We have some athleticism with our cover guys, but this kid is kind of a hammer type hitter and if you saw some of his highlights he really knows how to finish. He brings some explosion at the end of plays. We feel like he is a powerful tackler. I think he gives us a dimension to a degree that we have not have with the current group on board.”

(On Cleveland’s tight end’s injury time tables)- “They are going to be around, but in terms of how much they are actually able to do and get on the field, I would be guessing at this point. In my mind realistically you would like to have them for training camp. I think we would have concern if that didn’t happen, but if they are not able to do as much in June. They are both veteran players, they have been around. I don’t know if we would be that concerned about it.”

(On Bell moving from outside to inside linebacker)- “He played outside in a 4-3 at times, so he was always an off the line linebacker except when he would walk on the end of the line and rush. He’s an inside backer so there’s no real projection there, you’re trying to mix terminology. He’s not a 3-4 outside backer rush guy. He’s an inside hammer type, box player.”

(On trading into the third round)- “Realistically there was only one player that we discussed prior to the draft about going into the third round. We felt content to let it play itself out. There was some discussion about it today, about going up into the third round and potentially getting Beau, but those situations didn’t develop as much so we continued to try to work in the top half of the fourth round. We had a group of players that we would the chance to get at least one of them and we had talked about giving up next year’s third for an additional pick this year because we’ve spent so much time on the fourth round.”

(On trading with Dallas)- “They know that we’re willing to make a trade and their team has always been very active over the years. There’s not a lot of negotiation with it, it’s a ‘we’ll do this if you do that’ and you can cut to the chase more quickly than some other teams.”

(On the long wait for a pick)- “Yesterday we finished up our meetings just before noon, some of the guys went and played basketball. I went for a jog. I watched some more types. I watched some interviews from the combine. We kept ourselves busy yesterday. It’s not as if we were sitting there watching players come off the board necessarily. We were monitoring it, tracking it. I had no feelings what so ever that we were going to go into the first two rounds of the draft. Mentally, I had gotten around the fact that we were not going to pick so it was like another day on the job and we were getting ready for today.”

(On corner back depth)- “I can’t magically create a corner back, but obviously it is something we are going to continue to watch. We knew that there were a lot of corners that were going to go in this draft particularly in the second or third round. The better ones went at the top half of the fourth round at least the ones that were rated the highest. There’s still some corners available. We’ve had decent success with later round corners, free agent type kids that could come in here and possibly help us. Like I’ve said all along, you may have four needs, and you may only be able to fill two of them legitimately. Personnel is an ongoing process here. There’s been some discussion about corners today, if we were to end up with this particular player, aren’t we going to have to go back next year and draft somebody else because this guy is not going to be an answer for us. We feel like Beau Bell and Martin Rucker could be answers for us in the future and that’s what you’re trying to get in those middle rounds, guys that can contribute on special teams right away and play offense of defense in the future.”

(On players contributing right away)- “I feel like when we kick-off on opening day Beau Bell will be on the field. That’s an immediate contribution. I’d be shocked if he’s not on the field playing. Martin Rucker I think he’s going to get a lot of experience over the next couple months because of the situation we have with both Steve (Heiden) and Kellen (Winslow). We’ll see how much he can grasp and where he goes. He’s certainly capable of being a starting tight end in this league.”

(On Rucker’s blocking)- “I don’t know if he was asked to block much. He played a lot in the slot. He motioned quite a bit. You don’t have a lot of exposure on him as an end of the line blocker. He did do it some at the Senior Bowl and we felt like he improved and could show some potential to do it. How many tight ends really do block in this league? You couldn’t name one I bet that’s known as a blocker. This is a passing league and this guy is a pass catcher.”

(On Bell having different coordinators and coaches in college)- “They’ve had some transition there over the years. This is a tough player. He’s physical. He’s fast on the field. He was at the Senior Bowl, he got hurt the first day, went home from there and was recuperating from this injury through the spring. I don’t think people got a chance to see the real Beau Bell in the spring stuff. As personnel people, we’re worried about the fall. In his case and Martin’s case we came out of the fall feeling good about both players. I gave the scouts a dozen offensive players and a dozen defensive players back in January when we had the second round pick and I said watch these players, rank them and I think these are players that would possibly be a consideration for us at No. 56, Rucker was in the offensive group and Bell in the defensive group. Nothing’s changed since the season. You’ve got the same tapes and games to watch. What changed a bit was the fact that the NFL tries to pick these kids apart. You’re not going to find the perfect player, particularly in the fourth round, but we feel good about these two guys.”

James “Beau” Beaumont Bell conference call 4-27-08

(Opening Statement)- “First of all I would like to thank the whole organization of the Cleveland Browns for really believing in my skills and choosing me at this time. I am really looking forward to being a part of this team. I know we’re going to have an exciting season in front of us and I just can’t wait to get this started and play some football because that’s what it’s about. It’s about winning football games. I’m really excited on being a part of this team.”

(On his style of football)- “I’d say the style of football I play would be real physical. I’m real physical at the point of attack. I like to run around, hit people and at the same time play under control and do what I have to do to get the job done.”

(On playing on the inside)- “I played maybe a couples games on the inside in college. UNLV and Cleveland are two totally different styles of defense. I feel that being on the inside could really bring out the qualities I have with my game, which is getting off blockers very well and being physical on the offensive lineman. I’m really looking forward to getting the opportunity to play on the inside.”

Martin Rucker conference call 4-27-08

(Opening Statement)- “This is a tremendous opportunity. The Browns are a great organization. They have a great offense and a couple of great weapons at tight end, guys that I could learn from and hopefully compliment. I’m looking forward to getting out there and doing what I can to help this team.”

(On looking forward to competing with Kellen Winslow)- “That’s what this league is all about is competition. To be up there competing with two guys of that caliber, it’s amazing.”

(On Kellen Winslow)- “I followed him a lot more when he was in college. I know that he’s a good tight end, very athletic, very fast. He’s defiantly a tight end that’s tough to cover. He had a real good season last year. He had a lot of unfortunate things happen early on in his career. Last year he seemed to get everything going in the right direction and he had a really good season.”

(On his brother Mike playing in the NFL)- “It would have been nice to play together, but at the same time I understand why he retired. He had a great career. I have nothing but respect for him and his career and everything that’s he’s done.”

Ahtyba Rubin conference call 4-27-08

(Opening Statement)- “I’m happy to be here. I can’t wait to come to training camp and make an impact. It’s a blessing. I’m so excited right now.”

(On what he knows about the Browns)- “I came out to the Browns on a visit about a week or so ago, so I got a chance to get with those guys and find out about the program and what’s going on for this year. So I know a little bit about the Browns.”

Paul Hubbard conference call 4-27-08

(Opening Statement)- “I’m just excited to be a Cleveland Brown. It feels good to finally be drafted and be with a good program, especially with the season that you guys had last season. It’s good to be reunited with Joe Thomas a former Badger. I’m excited to be a Cleveland Brown and I’m ready to work.”

(On being a walk-on football player)- “I was on scholarship for track and field my freshman year walking on to campus. They already knew that I wanted to have the opportunity to play football at college. The football staff gave me an opportunity to walk on my freshman year. As a result, by the end of my freshman spring ball they offered to change my scholarship over to football from track and field. I took that opportunity and rode with it.”