What is up with the Bengals? The Bengals have signed 4 starter-quality defensive players, now including linebacker Kevin Hardy and defensive tackle John Thornton. It's enough to make a Browns fan wonder if Cincinnati is a place players suddenly want to go, but it's a little premature to say the "dark years" are over. The team's best player, Takeo Spikes, is about to bolt to the Bills. Most of the roster is still full of the same malcontents who lost 14 games last season. Marvin Lewis wil likely field a tough team with a good defense, but there won't be many people betting on a winning season. Sure, if the team could merely equal the sum of its parts then anything is possible. But we've been saying that for years. Let's wait and see on the Bengals Renaisaance.

Still, the contrast between the offseasons of the Browns and Bengals is disconserting to this Browns fan. Let's face it -- the Browns are not going to make any bold moves to replace Rudd, Miller, Fuller, Holmes, and Wolabaugh. Next year's starts will likely come from within, from the draft, or in the form of a modest free agent pickup later in the spring or after the draft. A free agent solution won't happen because the team is capped out and hasn't even begun renogotiating with Couch or Courtney.

One free agent of note: Luchey signs with the Packers. Whatever, that guy is a loser. It's gotten very old when everytime a former Miami player becomes a free agent his name is automatically linked with the Browns. There are hundreds of Division I colleges and lots of very good football players. Just because Davis recruited a kid at Miami does not mean there were not better players who played for other colleges. I don't know if the "Miami Free Agent" syndrom is the fault of the media or of the Browns coaching staff, but if that is really the way Davis operates we're in some trouble because there are now no former-Miami fullbacks available...

BTW, the "first post" below was originally posted almost a week earlier, but I had some difficulty getting Blogger going, and thus is had today's date. Ooops.