Cuyahoga | by Jay

I've thought for a while that the Browns at #3 were the most likely destination for Brady Quinn in the NFL draft, especially since the entire Cleveland brain trust, right up to the owner, attended Brady's pro workout in South Bend. Yesterday Charlie revealed he's openly pushing for that match. This is from a blog entry in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

"I'm pulling for Romeo and Phil and I want to see them succeed," said Weis. "When you're close to people, you openly root for them. You can never have enough guys like Brady Quinn. He has that special something -- that 'it' factor that people talk about. It permeates positive energy throughout your entire organization."

Weis admitted he's been pushing Quinn to Crennel since 2005.

"He came to my wife's birthday party two years ago and I said to him then, 'You need to get Brady Quinn,' " Weis recalled. "Now there's a chance it can actually happen and I hope it does."

Quinn is one of five players the Browns are considering with their No. 3 overall pick. Savage said Wednesday night at a Browns Backers event that Quinn is a "terrific quarterback and we'd be happy if we end up with him."

Weis said of all the teams at the top of the draft, including Oakland at No. 1 and Detroit at No. 2, nothing would make Quinn happier than to get the call from the Browns.

"Would he like to go No. 1 overall? Sure. Would he like to be picked No. 2? Absolutely," said Weis. "But being drafted by the Browns would more than make up for being passed over by those two teams."

Weis said he has nothing against the other top-rated quarterback, LSU's JaMarcus Russell, but he's betting on Quinn. "I'm willing to put my name with him because I'm that sure of him," said Weis. "Brady has the ability to lead an organization for over a decade and that's what you want if you're picking that high."

He said Quinn has a big advantage over the other quarterbacks in the draft because of his association with Patriots two-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady.

"Contrary to many people's opinions, it's not because I coached him," said Weis. "It's because he had four years of tape to watch on Tommy Brady. He studied and ran every play that Tommy's ever run. What's more, he's had open communication with Tommy for the past two years."

Weis said he was surprised at how much of the Patriots offense he was able to install in his first season at Notre Dame and how much he was able to add the second year. Quinn broke 25 school records in 2005 and threw for more than 3,000 yards in each of his last two seasons.

"Brady was able to handle much more than I ever anticipated," said Weis. "And we put a tremendous amount of responsibility on the quarterback. In New England, Tommy doesn't call the plays, but he runs the show."

Weis scoffed at critics who say Quinn hasn't delivered in the big games. "If you look at last season, there were three close games that we never would've won without him -- Georgia Tech, Michigan State and UCLA," Weis said. "Without him, we would've been a .500 team."

(And if you're interested, check out some of the comments on that post from what I'm guessing are myopic Ohio State fans.)