What is the best way to use Joshua Cribbs?

by Bernie19Kosar on May 4, 2009 8:39 PM EDT

First I should say this, Joshua Cribbs is my favorite Browns player in quite sometime. It is not a surprise that Eric Mangini has fallen in love with Cribbs either, after all his former mentor Bill Belichick had full on man love for Number 16. I think that Cribbs is one of the rare football players that seem to be comfortable no matter where he is on the field. That being said, Josh Cribbs is not a WR. He has had 16 catches in four years. I would love too see him on the field more as a weapon but the previous coaching staff did not see that as a fit way to use Cribbs. But does Mangini?

Crennel said it was a way to keep him fresh as a kick returner. In 2001 the Carolina Panthers used that same thinking for Steve Smith. Smith has gone on to be an awesome WR. When you have an uncanny ability to get the ball in the endzone, you should be on the field as much as possible. Same with Darren Sproles. Playmakers shouldn't be "saved" they should be put in positions to use these skills. Joshua Cribbs is a playmaker.

What is the best way for Joshua Cribbs to get onto the field? Eric Mangini has made some noise about using Cribbs on defense. I personally think that Safety/CB is the best option for Cribbs. He has been a weapon in the ST units as a gunner. He has racked up 70 ST in his brief career, a number that becomes very impressive when you think how few opportunities he has to make tackles.

At 6'2 215lbs, he has the size to be a safety and I know he has the smarts. He has been put all over the field in his short career and has done well almost everywhere.

Here is the wildcard. In 2004 Eric Mangini was DB coach for the New England Patriots. This was the season in which the Pats turned longtime WR Troy Brown into a starting CB. Troy Brown is a nice player, but he was not the player that Joshua Cribbs is. Personally I think that Cribbs may start off slow and used sparingly in the defensive backfield at the start of this year. But as the year progresses, I would love to see Cribbs used in different ways. As a dime DB or an extra safety. Anyway it happens, Cribbs needs to be on the field as often as possible.

Poll

What is the best way to use Josh Cribbs?

Let him continue to be the best ST guy in the NFL and partime WR

10 votes

Make him a fulltime WR

6 votes

Make him an "All-around Weapon" ala Devin Hester

112 votes

Make him into a DB/ST demon

68 votes

196 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

I thought I read recently that Mangini said he owed Cribbs a quiz, b/c Josh was bragging that he had a couple of defenses “down cold” already… So you may get your wish.

Completely agree with the idiocy of “saving” him.

www.lowbrowsophisticate.com

by kwoog on May 5, 2009 12:17 PM EDT reply actions

Reading your example of the Patriots using Troy Brown on defense reminded me of Chris Gamble playing defense for OSU in 2002 (when they won a national championship, of course). He was a starting WR but they needed help in the secondary so they started playing him occasionally, but as he got more comfortable with the defensive signals he played more often. By the end of the season he was playing more on defense than on offense, and of course he’s now exclusively a CB with the Panthers (and a very good one).

I don’t know how hard it would be for Cribbs to make the conversion to safety, because I think that involves more reading of the offense and knowledge of the system than playing corner. At OSU, Gamble started out playing man-to-man because that’s the easiest to learn. You can’t do that with a safety so I’d imagine the conversion would take more time. It sounds like he’s learning the defense quickly on paper but that’s much different than seeing everything in person on the field. He does look good making tackles on special teams, so I wouldn’t worry about that part of it, but can he learn the system and comminicate with other players? And can he read what the offense is doing and know what his responsibility would be on the play? That’s my worry.

I’d certainly love to see him used more often, whether at WR or defense or occasionally at QB. He’s a playmaker and the Browns don’t have many of those.

by Buckeye Brad on May 5, 2009 2:50 PM EDT reply actions

You can absolutely have a safety cover man-to-man. We could set coverages up so that he covers RBs, TEs, or anyone in the slot 1-on-1. We could probably even put him on regular WRs 1-on-1 from the safety position.

Of course, if Cribbs can’t learn to play zone defense, that takes a lot of what you can do out of the equation. Mangini wants two interchangeable safeties who are versatile and balanced players (presumably so that he can confuse offenses and never tip his hand as to who is doing what). If Cribbs can’t do half of what a complete safety does, I don’t see him on the field on D.

by rufio on May 5, 2009 8:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Keep running him in reverses and let him have some screens but make sure he can still be a beast at ST

Eric Berry Bandwagon

by BradyQuinnisBeast on May 5, 2009 4:26 PM EDT reply actions

Right Tackle.

by e.c. matter on May 5, 2009 8:09 PM EDT reply actions

Get the ball in Josh Cribbs’ hands and let him move it down the field:
Throw it to him
Hand it to him
Snap it to him
Kick it to him

Whatever we need to do. Screens, line him up at RB, direct snaps in the wildcat or Peyton Manning “I am making a fake adjustment with my WR so the defense relaxes while the center snaps the ball to the RB” style, let him run routes, whatever. Just put the ball in his hands.

by rufio on May 5, 2009 8:42 PM EDT reply actions

Agree 1,000 times. Why is this so difficult for professionals to understand. Honestly, if we don’t run at least 5 of these plays a game, the crowd should revolt and the entire staff should be fired (same as last year).

www.lowbrowsophisticate.com

by kwoog on May 6, 2009 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Using him at QB would be a great change of pace and could put defenses on edge because of his speed. I also like him at RB and in a wildcat set (kudos to rufio, nice idea). Just give the guy the ball basically.

by tjk_doc on May 6, 2009 10:20 AM EDT reply actions

The trouble with the Browns’ using Cribbs at QB last year was that there was never any real threat that he would do anything other than run the ball, most often on some type of draw play. That’s all well and good, but if the defense can just key on that one play, it’s basically a waste of a down. To make the best use of him, there have to be several potential threats which the defense must cover. I’m with rufio – get him the ball anyway you can, preferably in an open-field situation and make use of his skills.

by drjeo on May 6, 2009 11:02 AM EDT up reply actions

Well, Cribbs can throw the ball, can’t he? I mean, he’s not an NFL quarterback but he played that position in college, of course, so he should be able to throw the ball once in a while on a trick play. If guys like Adrian Peterson and Ronnie Brown can complete passes on halfback passing plays, then the Browns should be able to come up with plays where Cribbs has a run/pass option that will keep the defense guessing. I’d like to see them do that more.

by Buckeye Brad on May 6, 2009 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Tomlinson has been known to throw a HB pass, too.

The spread option (“wildcat”) can be run so that if the QB doesn’t hand the ball to the RB, he rolls right and has one read: if my receiver is wide open, throw it to him. If he is covered, I can get at least 4-5 yards on the ground.

Of course, there are ways to stop this, but that’s why it is just a gadget you use a few times/game. If a defense isn’t prepared, you gash them. If they have to prepare for that, they don’t get to prepare for something else.

by rufio on May 6, 2009 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions

The trouble with the Browns’ using Cribbs at QB last year was that there was never any real threat that he would do anything other than run the ball…

This was my biggest beef with the use of Cribbs last year, but thankfully, the men in charge of those decisions are no longer here. I’m hoping Daboll/Mangini are/will be creative enough to actually give Cribbs options.

Speaking of last year’s men in charge… I find it curious that Chudzinski has not landed anywhere in any kind of role yet. I wasn’t expecting him to get another O.C. job, but there wasn’t a TE opening or assistant position he could have taken on? Funny how after ‘07 there were whispers that he’d be fielding head coaching offers soon.

You know Selig? Ombudsman.

by rolub on May 6, 2009 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I thought he was hired by SD. Yeah, TE coach, you gotta search for his name.

www.lowbrowsophisticate.com

by kwoog on May 6, 2009 2:03 PM EDT up reply actions

good find. google search and wiki entry didn’t provide an update.

You know Selig? Ombudsman.

by rolub on May 6, 2009 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Hopefully this regime will be smart enough to use him in as many variations as he can handle. I think that’s the real key, so that the opposing team is always kept guessing or – better yet – is mislead into thinking that he’ll be used the same as he was the last time he lined up at (fill in non-lineman position here).

by JustBob on May 6, 2009 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Line up Royal, MoMass and Cribbs on one side. Pump fake to the other side and throw a screen to Cribbs. Royal and MoMass block, and Cribbs just makes a big play.

Eric Berry Bandwagon

by BradyQuinnisBeast on May 6, 2009 4:56 PM EDT reply actions

Well, Grossi just said Mangini will use Cribbs in multiple roles on offense. That pretty much Peter King’s it; Cribbs will only line up at one place.

by rufio on May 17, 2009 12:32 AM EDT reply actions

Actually, I could see Mangini actually leaking that one thru Grossi. It really isn’t that big of news if it happens. Perhaps Mangini is trying to throw him the proverbial bone.

by talonk on May 17, 2009 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions