Browns Cutt a Deal

Dennis Northcutt remains a Brown. This is great news on multiple fronts. First and foremost, Northcutt is a good player and the type of guy the Browns would otherwise be lacking. He'll be the team's key 3rd receiver providing matchup headaches for opposing defenses. And if he can resume being a threat returning punts the team will benefit greatly. I think field position will be a big deal for this team; we've improved the offense to get better at moving the ball in smaller chunks. If that translates into longer drives and a few more first down each game, it ought to really help the defense have more good days than bad (and they weren't bad in 2004, despite the team's struggles). Northcutt is, to me, a guy who's an important piece of the puzzle.

If you assume there has been an air of, um, uncertainty recently over what is going in front office and in the minds of players (and that is a safe assumption) the postive resolution of the Northcutt saga is reassuring. Maybe we can't quite tell who is running the ship in Berea, but it's very nice to see this situation pan out. The media may not come to the same conclusion, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel now.

Finally, the Browns got maximum value out of their position. Got that? That's right, the Browns really don't have any woulda-shoulda's. Here was a player who was basically gone -- it was extremely unlikely Northcutt was going to resign with the Browns in free agency. And if that did somehow happen, it would have cost the Browns much more than 3 years/9 million. But after fortune smiled upon the Browns (a rarity in itself), the Browns unassaiable bargaining position resulting in 1) keeping their most valuable free agent to-be, and 2) at a price slightly less than market. I am very happy about that.