Hence, word leaked that Cribbs might like an upgrade from his current, six-year, $6 million deal. I can't say I blame Cribbs, who had an enormous role in the Browns' resurgence last year and is severely underpaid by his current deal. (More on that below.)

I also can't say I blame the Browns for not immediately restructuring his deal; that's the risk a player takes signing a long-term agreement before completely establishing himself.

However, I'd say there's one fairly large difference between Hester and Cribbs: The Bears' offense is putrid, and Hester -- and the Bears' defense -- is the team's only scoring threat. The Bears' offense was 27th; the Browns' unit was eighth.

Take a look at more of the 2007 numbers:

QUARTERBACK

• Browns: Derek Anderson (3,787 yards, 29 TDs, 82.5 rating)
• Bears: Rex Grossman/Kyle Orton (1,411 yards, 4 TDs, 66.4/478 yards, 3 TDs, 73.9)

RUNNING BACK

• Browns: Jamal Lewis (1,304 yards, 9 TDs)
• Bears: Matt Forte/Kevin Jones (rookie/581 yards, 8 TDs)

WIDE RECEIVER

• Browns: Braylon Edwards (1,289 yards, 16 TDs)
• Bears: Marty Booker/Brandon Lloyd (combined: 570 yards, 1 TD)

TIGHT END

• Browns: Kellen Winslow (1,106 yards, 5 TDs)
• Bears: Desmond Clark/Greg Olsen (combined: 936 yards, 6 TDs)

So, fair or not to Cribbs -- and it's plenty fair, as he's using Hester's deal as a benchmark -- the Bears need Hester a heckuva lot more than the Browns need Cribbs. Chicago's offense is potentially-all-time terrible.

That's not to say Cribbs isn't valuable; he is. And he's a great story, an undrafted free agent makes it big.

To take it a step further, I analyzed the last six years of the Browns' schedule, in terms of average starting field position (ASFP). I'll admit: I went in to this exercise thinking the ASFP in the three years since Cribbs' arrival would be much better than the three years before he came to Cleveland.

The numbers, though, simply don't back up that assumption (yes, I know what happens when I assume). Here's a look at the Browns' yearly ASFP, calculated by going through 96 games (yes, it took me a little while):

• 2002: 30.7-yard line
• 2003: 29.7
• 2004: 31.2

Cribbs arrives

• 2005: 30.1
• 2006: 29.8
• 2007: 31.5

This is where the Browns' head honchos are surely conflicted: Cribbs seems to give the team a bit of a swagger on special teams and overall -- at any point, he can break a game open, and opposing teams sense the same thing. He's also a great teammate, it seems, and his contributions are unmistakable and invaluable.

But $30 million valuable?

The Browns, as I mentioned yesterday, have plenty of offensive options, and will have to pay those offensive options at some point. And, as the numbers above point out, the team, while it sure seems a heckuva lot different, isn't alarmingly better on special teams since Cribbs arrived.

Again, Hester is being increasingly worked into the Bears' offense, while Cribbs is more of a decoy on that side of the ball. Is a strictly special teams player worth $30 million, when the statistics don't seem to show much of a difference in his arrival?

We'd like to hear some readers' thoughts on the subject. E-mail us if you have thoughts and we'll get them on the site.