Cribbs Playing To Much?
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Cleveland Browns' Lack of Offense Riding Josh Cribbs Into Early Retirement?
by Samuel Ingro
Written on June 22, 2010
For the last two seasons, the sole play-maker on the Cleveland Browns offense has been a special teams player. Is that a testament to his abilities or simply an idea of just how bad Cleveland's offense has been?
In this case, the finger-pointing has to be towards an anemic offensive attack put on the field by head coaches Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini. In these two years, due to various injuries and inconsistent play, four non-established quarterbacks have taken the field with mixed results all ending in failure.
Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey, and Bruce Gradkowski round out the list of passers that tried and failed in Cleveland Browns Stadium. With these four under center in 2008 and 2009, Cleveland's offense ranked in the bottom three in the league both seasons.
While it's no secret with numbers like that, the offense has led the team overall to an astounding lack of success with just nine wins in two seasons. Is this offense's lack of play-makers also inadvertently doing career-threatening damage to Cleveland's best player?
It can't be argued that the man who stepped up to shoulder the workload the most is coincidentally of the only position on the field with a shorter shelf-life than that of the running back, the kick returner Joshua Cribbs.
Reviewing the top 23 kick returners in NFL history, 17 out of those 23 have played eight or less seasons. Essentially returning kicks is like playing chicken on the highway, 250 pound men each running full speed at each other with 25 yards of momentum looking for contact is a quick way to find a broken bone.
The six returners on the list currently still playing are Devin Hester who had a series of ankle, calf, rib, and shoulder injuries in his fourth season, Leon Washington who has knee surgery in his fourth season, Justin Miller who had knee surgery in his third season, Terrence McGee who had shoulder surgery in his seventh season, Allen Rossum who recently suffered a hamstring injury, and of course Josh Cribbs, who was carted off the field last season in a hook and ladder desperation play.
That being said, Cribbs' current contract runs him until the 2012 season, which just so happens to be his eighth season in the NFL. At a time when the numbers are pointing towards impending injuries, Cleveland is adding more packages and positions for him to play on the field.
It is hard not to admire his willingness to literally do it all, but it should be on management not to let him. They need to ask themselves if they'd rather extend his career another 10 seasons by limiting his play to the things he does best, or overuse him to the point of allowing him to get in on every play possible and increase the risk of injuries?
As a fan favorite in Cleveland, and being arguably the best kick returner in the NFL, should he really be playing wide receiver, running back, gunning on special teams, quarterback in the WildDawg formation, punt returner, and kick returner? Last year alone saw Cribbs catching the ball 18 more times than 2008 while running it an additional 26 times more than the previous season.
General manager Tom Heckert needs to be surrounding him with the offensive talent that will take the pressure off his star player. With such a dynamic player on your team that will do anything to help the team win, it's owed to him by the coaching staff to protect him as much as possible while still allowing him to contribute to the best of his abilities. Less duties would also keep him more fresh and explosive when he does get the ball into his hands.
It should be noted that with the additions of Jake Delhomme, Benjamin Watson, and Montario Hardesty, that the new front office has done more than the previous ones to attempt to build a real offense. But for the sake of one of the most outstanding football players to grace the Cleveland locker room since Jim Brown, I sure hope the offense gets it together sooner rather than later.
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Nice article about a great player for some years. The sad part is Cribbs is on the downside of what he does best and it will likely be a rapid decline. I fully expect two serviceable years as a superb returner barring injuries. He is just not good enough at anything else to make a real impact.
Hats of to Josh Cribbs one of the best Browns players ever and certainly the best we had for a bunch of recent years
Offense Wins.......Franchise QB's are the key.............Defense keeps you in the game.........Go Buckeyes -
@junkyard-dawg said:
We?http://forums.steelersfever.com/showpost.p...mp;postcount=23
http://forums.steelersfever.com/showpost.p...amp;postcount=1
http://forums.steelersfever.com/showpost.p...mp;postcount=24
http://forums.steelersfever.com/showpost.p...mp;postcount=24
This is The Browns Board spanky, not stoolers fever.
no shit who woulda thunk it
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The first thing I would eliminate is Josh playing defense on kick and punt returns to prevent him from being tired. Then I would eliminate punt returns because teams really stopped kicking the ball to him. Only use him in critical situations as a punt returner.
Then he is left with returning kickoffs and playing offense.
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Nice article about a great player for some years. The sad part is Cribbs is on the downside of what he does best and it will likely be a rapid decline. I fully expect two serviceable years as a superb returner barring injuries. He is just not good enough at anything else to make a real impact.
Hats of to Josh Cribbs one of the best Browns players ever and certainly the best we had for a bunch of recent years
Nice article about a great player for some years. The sad part is Cribbs is on the downside of what he does best and it will likely be a rapid decline. I fully expect two serviceable years as a superb returner barring injuries. He is just not good enough at anything else to make a real impact.
Hats of to Josh Cribbs one of the best Browns players ever and certainly the best we had for a bunch of recent years
What? He's the reason you/they (considering your hybrid fan status) won as many games as they did last year. Yes his returning is his primary reason for success but he did some real damage out of the WildDawg last year as well. He's a playmaker and I don't see him going anywhere any time soon.
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Nice article about a great player for some years. The sad part is Cribbs is on the downside of what he does best and it will likely be a rapid decline. I fully expect two serviceable years as a superb returner barring injuries. He is just not good enough at anything else to make a real impact.
Hats of to Josh Cribbs one of the best Browns players ever and certainly the best we had for a bunch of recent years
What? He's the reason you/they (considering your hybrid fan status) won as many games as they did last year. Yes his returning is his primary reason for success but he did some real damage out of the WildDawg last year as well. He's a playmaker and I don't see him going anywhere any time soon.
Rorbotron said:
What? He's the reason you/they (considering your hybrid fan status) won as many games as they did last year. Yes his returning is his primary reason for success but he did some real damage out of the WildDawg last year as well. He's a playmaker and I don't see him going anywhere any time soon.kiss my ass nuff said .........what I said was his best is behind him............too bad it zoomed way over your head
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Rorbotron said:
What? He's the reason you/they (considering your hybrid fan status) won as many games as they did last year. Yes his returning is his primary reason for success but he did some real damage out of the WildDawg last year as well. He's a playmaker and I don't see him going anywhere any time soon.kiss my ass nuff said .........what I said was his best is behind him............too bad it zoomed way over your head
kiss my ass nuff said .........what I said was his best is behind him............too bad it zoomed way over your head
Zoomed over my head? First off and in case you weren't aware I'm a diehard Steeler fan. Therefore my opinion, at least when talking POSITIVELY about a BROWNS PLAYER is pretty objective. His best is behind him? Did he have some sort of terrible injury I'm unaware of or are you just blowing smoke out your ass for the sake of blowing smoke out of your ass? He's easily the best weapon the Browns have and is still pretty young all things considered. His wear and tear is certainly minimal and I don't see his play declining anytime soon. The challenge is going to be making the most of his skill set beyond what they are already doing.
AKA SNATCH98 or Rorbotron. The boards glorious admins decided to get cute and change my name to "homotron" Classy group of people. (Lost a bet with Columbus king and got banned for a month) -
He is in his prime right now. The best is right now. It isnt past him. That is a fact.
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He is in his prime right now. The best is right now. It isnt past him. That is a fact.
He is in his prime right now. The best is right now. It isnt past him. That is a fact.
Are you still at Kent? If so what year? I graduated a couple of years ago but still have a bunch of friends in the area. Professors Pub still going strong down town? Great, great beer on tap if you're at all in to micro brew/craft beer. I lived in Clark Hall and McDowell and then off of Lincoln and East School at Lincoln Wood and then towards stow before the Ford Dealer. Kent State was/is good times. Pretty kick ass bar volleyball league at the 11th frame over the summer as well, cheap beer, scattered ass and some sand v-ball.
A lot of my friends did and do work at Guys Pizza. One of them manages the place now I believe. I miss my Guyzones.
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kiss my ass nuff said .........what I said was his best is behind him............too bad it zoomed way over your head
Zoomed over my head? First off and in case you weren't aware I'm a diehard Steeler fan. Therefore my opinion, at least when talking POSITIVELY about a BROWNS PLAYER is pretty objective. His best is behind him? Did he have some sort of terrible injury I'm unaware of or are you just blowing smoke out your ass for the sake of blowing smoke out of your ass? He's easily the best weapon the Browns have and is still pretty young all things considered. His wear and tear is certainly minimal and I don't see his play declining anytime soon. The challenge is going to be making the most of his skill set beyond what they are already doing.
Rorbotron said:
Zoomed over my head? First off and in case you weren't aware I'm a diehard Steeler fan. Therefore my opinion, at least when talking POSITIVELY about a BROWNS PLAYER is pretty objective. His best is behind him? Did he have some sort of terrible injury I'm unaware of or are you just blowing smoke out your ass for the sake of blowing smoke out of your ass? He's easily the best weapon the Browns have and is still pretty young all things considered. His wear and tear is certainly minimal and I don't see his play declining anytime soon. The challenge is going to be making the most of his skill set beyond what they are already doing.Wow, the Steeler's fans don't even like you Rich.
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Rorbotron said:
Zoomed over my head? First off and in case you weren't aware I'm a diehard Steeler fan. Therefore my opinion, at least when talking POSITIVELY about a BROWNS PLAYER is pretty objective. His best is behind him? Did he have some sort of terrible injury I'm unaware of or are you just blowing smoke out your ass for the sake of blowing smoke out of your ass? He's easily the best weapon the Browns have and is still pretty young all things considered. His wear and tear is certainly minimal and I don't see his play declining anytime soon. The challenge is going to be making the most of his skill set beyond what they are already doing.Wow, the Steeler's fans don't even like you Rich.
Wow, the Steeler's fans don't even like you Rich.
It's not that I don't like him. I'm indifferent. His assessment was just way off and built with a foundation on a soggy paper plate. Cribbs isn't on the backside of his career and then he acted like because I disagree with him I'm some sort of half wit.
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@junkyard-dawg said:
He does that with EVERYONE, don't take it personal. He regularly talks out of his ass and if you happen to show anything less than sycophant behaviour? Well, that is how he acts.Oh I don't. I don't take anything personally via the internet. I may get pissed off with blatant strokes of ignorance but I don't get butt hurt. Oh well it's whatever. Cribbs will be just fine.
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i think he is in his prime BUT look at what happened to hester in chicago. started playing WR and he hasn't been the same since. keep cribbs at kick returner and throw him in the O for a twice-a-game WildDawg formation or as a receiver coming out the backfield once in a while. we've got wide receivers. why break him down off the position that he's most deadly at?
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