Cleveland Browns GM Phil Savage held a lengthy press conference today at the teams complex in Berea. Here is what the embattled GM said about his team as they enter the week at 4-7 and are 2 touchdown underdogs to the Tennessee Titans this week.

(Opening statement)- “I wanted to maintain some of the routine to our season, I am generally in front of you every 4-6 weeks and I haven’t really been in front of you formally in a while. I know Randy (Lerner) spoke to you upstairs last week and indicated that everything would be under review at the end of the season. I think it is kind of difficult to sit here and talk about the futures of the coaches, quarterbacks and myself beyond the next four weeks or so. In the mean time we are getting ready for pro free agency. We started those meetings yesterday. We have our draft meeting coming up next weekend when we are in Philadelphia. Life goes on, business as usual continues. That’s the way our approach has been all the way through, we have got four games left on the field, but obviously some of the preparations for next year are under way, regardless.”

(On the season)- “I think obviously this has been a tough year on us. It has not gone as expected. There have been a number of disappointments. The most prominent disappointment would be our record at home, 1-6 after being 7-1 last year has been disappointing for sure. I think not playing to our potential, we flashed that potential against the Giants. It’s their only loss of the year, people argue maybe we caught them on a bad night for them. I think it really showed the capability of this team. I think with the quarterback situation with both Derek (Anderson) and Brady (Quinn) ending up on injured reserve is very unfortunate for us.”

(On the defense)- “I think defensively one of the concerns that one would have is the yardage that we have allowed on first down. We’re near the bottom of the league in that category. I think when you allow that much yardage on first down it puts you in a situation where you are having to play defensive on second and third in short yardage situations. That has hurt us. A couple positives have been the play of Shaun Rogers. The guy has played phenomenal football this year. Week in and week out he has played at a high level. I’d invite you to watch the tapes, you can watch them from the first play through the fourth quarter. He has played outstanding football this year. I think our interception production is a positive. It shows that we have some guys that can make some plays. Almost every guy in that back end has multiple interceptions with Brandon (McDonald), Eric Wright, Sean Jones, Brodney Pool and even Mike Adams has a couple picks. I think that has been a positive for us. Another note on the defense, I think people mention this 3-4, 4-3. Are we switching defenses or not? It’s never been formally discussed upstairs at all. You have to put something in your media guide or program and say, ‘We are a base 3-4, we are a base 4-3.’ As is the case throughout the NFL, once you go to a passing situation most of the teams are in a four man front. What my instructions to the scouting staff has been really since 2005 is to go out and try to find defensive players that are versatile enough that can play football defensively regardless of the structure. I think we have some athletes on this team that can do that.”

(On the offense)- “Our production in the red zone has not been what it was last year and that has been unfortunate. Another thing that I think has hurt us has been the number of dropped balls. I don’t think it has allowed us to get into any kind of rhythm. We are a balanced offense a mixture of run and pass and when you have drops it really throws you out of kilter. That hurt us tremendously in the early part of the year for sure and even as recently as Sunday. I know there were concerns coming into the year about our running back situation, the depth behind Jamal (Lewis). I think it’s ironic that Jerome Harrison has emerged as a guy who is certainly capable of gaining yardage in this league. I think has been a bright spot for us on offense.”

(On the special teams)- “I think all three specialists have been solid throughout the year. Ryan (Pontbriand), Phil Dawson and Dave (Zastudil) probably had one of his best games since they have been here the other day. I think Josh (Cribbs) is probably the most complete special teams player in the league from a return standpoint, tackling standpoint, the guy is a good football player.”

(On the Kellen Winslow situation)- “The Kellen Winslow situation occurred since the last time we were formally together. I talked to you guys down in Jacksonville about it. There is really not much else to be said on that one.”

(On the e-mail situation)- “The other situation that came up was the one involving me and the fan e-mail. It’s very much out of the ordinary. I had responded to a handful of e-mail over the years but mostly to positive ones, ‘Thanks for your support. I appreciate it.’ This one occurred after the Buffalo game when I was sitting on the bus by myself at 12:30 at night. I shouldn’t have done it. I don’t have any excuses for it. We have apologized to each other so it’s really over with. I think the unfortunate thing is that it’s overshadowed the hundreds if not thousands of e-mails that people have sent me over the last couple years and particularly this season that were very positive in nature and like what we are doing and like the players we have and things like that. It really was not a good example of how I have dealt with the fans here or our football team has dealt the fans. I have done numerous Browns Backers events, I have spoken all over northeast Ohio, I have gone out virtually all over the state and signed almost every autograph anybody has ever asked. I can’t think of a time where I said I didn’t have time to do that. To let one e-mail take away from some of those things, the other thing I would mention if you are really interested to see what goes on off the field with me personally go to the web site winnersinfluence.com. You can read about some different things that I have been involved with off the field. I am disappointed in myself for doing it. It happened, I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do about it now other then to try to point you to some other things that were more positive in nature.”

(On his availability)- “One other thing I was going to point out is that for three and a half years now I basically have come down here every 4, 6 or 8 weeks. I think I have had a contact with almost every one you either by phone, e-mail, text messaging or what have you. When you guys ask me a question I try to either get back to you or send it on to Bill (Bonsiewicz) and the P.R. staff. To be cast in a light that I am not available or I am off running and hiding away from the public or from the media, I don’t think it’s fair.”

(On Dane Nelson and O.J. Brigance)- “Two final notes, everything I have talked about on the field and off the field, our team, the disappointing record, et cetera, we had a death in our organization. Dane Nelson who handled all of our catering and meals back here, 35 years old, died over the weekend after a very short battle with cancer. I would like to give our condolences to him. Also, I don’t know if some of you saw an article in the USA Today about O.J. Brigance. He was a player for us in Baltimore, a great guy. Has been the player development director over there and he has been battling Lou Gehrig’s. I just wanted to make sure people realize what he is going through. He is just a great guy and our regards go out to them. We have seen them obviously a couple times this year and wish him the best.”

(On his job status)- “I have got four years left on a contract. I would love to be able to finish that out. Like I said, (Randy Lerner) came down last week and said everything is under review. I said on the radio last week that I am an open book, I can walk with my head held high. I think we have done a lot of positive things here. The football operations part of this organization is stronger then it’s ever been. Training room, video, equipment, scouting staff we have a system in place. There is a lot things in place now that weren’t when I got here. Is the job finished? No. I would be disappointed if I was not able to finish it out. I’d like to do that but only time will tell.”

(On why the team hasn’t lived up to potential)- “I think there is a lot of things. No. 1, I think the injuries and the lack of continuity hurt us early. This league is all about confidence, the teams that generally get off to a good start have a chance to keep it up through the rest of the season. We talked about the unevenness of our schedule Sunday, Monday and Thursday nights. Ironically we have played well on Monday night, which was a big concern coming out of the summer because we didn’t show up in New York that first time. I think that has probably had something to do with it. I think the lesson learned for a lot of our players is that every season is a new season. It doesn’t matter what you did last year. It doesn’t matter what you are planning on doing next year. It matters what you are doing today. We didn’t get a lot of carry over from last year particularly on the offensive side and losing Joe (Jurevicius) hurt us, not only on the field but off the field as well from a leadership standpoint.”

(On everyone being on the same page)- “I would say we are definitely on the same page. We work well together. Romeo and I have a good relationship. Are there disagreements at times? Absolutely, that is the nature of the NFL. When you are talking about personnel and coaching that is going to be some natural friction there at different times. I don’t think we are any different from any other team. We have got four games left, we worked out quarterbacks yesterday. We came to an agreement, this is the player that we want to bring in so that would be one example as recently as yesterday where we obviously still work together very well. I think when you lose games it brings a lot of scrutiny that if you are winning people shrug their shoulders and move on.”

(On if his comments damaged his relationship with Romeo Crennel)- “Not at all. That is not the first time I ever said that. I have said that since I got here. That is my responsibility. I have told the players that my responsibility is to pick the players that come here the 53-man roster. It’s the coaches job to determine who is inactive, who starts, who plays and how much they play. Management does not dictate who plays, when and where. I have said that a number of times over the years. That was not the first time I ever said that. I wanted to make it more clear to the players than anyone else that I don’t determine what quarterback plays, who starts, who plays or when they go in. I am there watching like the rest of you guys. Do we talk about it during the week? Absolutely. Have I said I’d like for us to play so and so or maybe we can get this guy in the game more or maybe this guys less? Absolutely, but it’s the coach’s decision. That’s the way it works across the whole NFL.”

(On if picking the 53-man roster was taken away from him)- “I can’t comment on that one way or the other. It’s in my contract that I pick the 53. Obviously something would have to change.”

(On Brady Quinn not playing vs. Houston)- “Everyone had been waiting for Brady to get an opportunity to play. He had been waiting for an opportunity to play. After the initial diagnosis as Romeo explained last week there were three options a splint, surgery or try to continue to play and if there is further damage or change then you will probably have to shut it down at that point. He wanted to play. We wanted to take a look at him as well. We needed one of two things to happen to the quarterback position. We needed our team to play well enough for Derek to play the entire year and us to win 9-11 games and challenge for the playoffs or be in the playoffs. If that didn’t happen, we needed Brady to get enough time, whether it’s two, four, six, eight games I don’t know, but enough time if the season was not going well for him to get in there and show what he can do. At this point, neither of those things happened. That makes it a little more unclear then what you would have hoped for going into the season.”

(On having both quarterbacks next season)- “I am not going to talk about things beyond the next four weeks because everything is under review. I know both players are under contract.”

(On Brady Quinn)- “I think Brady did a lot of positive things. He took care of the ball. Did he throw a pick against a zone blitz? Yes, that was the first interception in his career. The slant was probably avoidable but it happened. I thought he did some good things. He threw on the run well. He had a 90-something yard drive against Buffalo and made some good throws in that particular drive. He brought us back from behind the first time against Denver when we fell behind, I forget what the exact score was, and he brought us back. I thought he did a lot of good things. The intangible qualities of Brady are still there and they will always be there because he was kind of born to play the position. He is a natural quarterback.”

(On handling criticism)- “This year has been a difficult season there is no doubt about it. Romeo said the other day he has been in it 30 years and this has been one of the tougher years for him. I have been in it almost 20 and I would say that it’s been a hard season on everybody. It seems every time you think you have a handle on what’s going to happen, it’s gone different then what’s expected. You guys expected us to be a flop on Monday night and we are 2-0 on Monday night. We were the all-time 1:00 on Sunday team and we have played terrible at 1:00 on Sundays this year. It has just been hard to identify certain things. Like I said, the situation with the fan e-mail people are going to point to that and say he’s got thin skin and this and that. Believe me there has been a lot worse criticism then one particular fan’s e-mail. I wish I wouldn’t have done it because it opens me up to a lot of other criticism but it happened. I am sorry. Life moves on and this to shall pass.”

(On chances Brady Quinn had to start this season at quarterback)- “Zero. Hindsight is 20-20 on all of this stuff. I don’t think there is a team in the National Football League coming off a 10-6 season with a guy that threw 29 touchdown passes that wouldn’t have declared him the starter the following year regardless of who is behind him.”

(On the team)- “I think we have a lot of good players on this team. I think when you watch the tapes, down in and down out, the individual match ups, the one-on-ones we have more then enough ability to compete in this league and play good football. We have shown that, it has just been so inconsistent this year for different reasons.”

(On Kellen Winslow’s future)- “Kellen is under contract but again that is something that is going to happen after four weeks from now. I will say since that whole ordeal I have seen Kellen a number of times, prior to that week he and I had always gotten along well and we have gotten along well since. For whatever reason, during that two week period, we got put in a situation where it looked like we were at total odds. Obviously there were a lot of other factors involved but there is only going to be two names in it publicly.”

(On Kamerion Wimbley)- “I don’t think anything has happened with Kamerion other then he has become more of a complete linebacker. The other day he played 33 snaps. I am not sure off the top of my head how many times he actually rushed. He has taken a lot of criticism because his sacks numbers are not high. I would say that he has played solid football this year. If you watch the tape you will see him in the picture around the football most of the time. Kamerion is a great kid. He works extremely hard. I think he is disappointed that his sack numbers are not there. A lot of times the sack number itself is overvalued. The numbers are what they are but I would say Kamerion has had a solid year. One year, Peter Boulware had 15 sacks in Baltimore. I love Pete, a great player but only five or six of them were legitimate where he beat somebody. The other eight or nine he was the first guy on the scene to touch the quarterback down or the quarterback ran out of bounce and he was the closest one. Kamerion hasn’t had a lot of luck in terms of cheap sacks. At that position you would think that he would get a few more just easy unblocked on air but for whatever reason he hasn’t been freed up quiet as much as you’d hope. I am not disappointed in Kamerion Wimbley, I wish we had 53 Kamerion Wimbley’s.”

(On naming a long term quarterback)- “I think it’s important. Every time the Browns play they point out that the Browns have had 11 quarterbacks in 10 years where other teams had had two quarterbacks in the same period of time. It’s usually the identity, the face of the team in a lot of ways. It’s the one player that the average fan knows so it’s important.”

(On the team’s effort)- “I haven’t seen really any drop off in our teams effort or play at all. Sunday to do what our defense did against the Colts was pretty impressive considering some of the other outings we have had here over the past years. Offensively early in the game we did some things, we blocked people and we ran hard sometimes the execution, consistency – I think one of the most troubling things that has happened to us is it seems like when we have a bad play then it’s been followed by an even worse play. I think back to different circumstances, we don’t get the first down then Phil misses a field goal. We get a first down and there’s a pass interference involved so we have to punt and then the ball goes over head 90 yards. It’s just like been a chain reaction for that two or three play focus, concentration whatever you want to call it. I think that is something that we have got to get a handle on. If you really think about it, going back to the Giants game in the preseason where we had that 10 minute meltdown, we haven’t had one of those, knock on wood, but we have had that two or three play segment in almost every game that we have lost where if had gone the other way we might be sitting here talking about us being 7-5 or 8-4.”

(On Corey Williams)- “I give credit to Corey in a lot of ways because he has played with his shoulder all year, he really has. Second round picks that come in and start 16 games are seen as successful so in terms of getting a return on the investment that he has actually been out there and played and contributed every weekend I would say yes. Can he play better? Yes. I would say when he comes back next year healthier he will play better. I think he has played pretty good this year at times. I think Shaun has played most consistent and been more dominant certainly. I think Corey is a good player.”

(On Braylon Edwards)- “I don’t know if there is a one sentence answer to that question. He had 16 touchdowns last year and I think he had 16 drops. When you catch touchdown passes the drops get overshadowed. When you don’t catch touchdowns the drops become more magnified. I don’t know the answer to that per se. He has talked with coaches a number of times. I think we have definitely worked with him off the field and do different things. There are times when he has had some tremendous practices after a sub-par game and it seems like he is coming out of it and you get in the game and maybe a drop happens or two. I don’t know the answer to that but I think Braylon is a very talented player. I think he is very discouraged with the way he has played this year from an overall standpoint. He has done it before and I think he will do it again.”

(On having the last say on roster cuts)- “Most of the teams that have a set up where there’s a GM, I think there’s 22 GM’s out of 32 teams at least that was the number a year or two ago it’s give or take. I’d say that those teams it’s in the GM’s contract that he has control of the 53. In previous interviews that I had and different situations that I went and interviewed for, that was not going to be part of it. That was the main reason why I never went to any other teams. I interviewed five times before I came to Cleveland. That was always something that I felt like – if I am not going to have control of the 53 then I may as well stay here and continue working with Ozzie (Newsome). I love the job I’ve got, I should just stay here. There is no real difference to go somewhere else if you are not going to have final say on personnel. That was the key distinction for me to ever come to Cleveland to begin with.”

(On new contracts)- “The bulk of the team is under contract for next year. There are probably a handful of players that we would be interested in extending. I don’t anticipate us really doing anything in the month of December. I don’t know that we really had a lot of plans to do that before any of this was ever said last week.” (Closing statement)- “I’d leave you with one quote. I ran across this last weekend, it’s from FDR a long time ago. He said, ‘The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with a strong and active faith.’ That’s what I’m doing. That’s what the guys I work with are doing, and the ladies. We’ve got four weeks left in the season and we’ll see what happens after that. But that’s how I’m going to end it.