Cribbs SHOWS Critics He CAN Improve as a WR

[Flugel]

Folks,
We've had countless debates about giving up on Cribbs as a WR. So far, in the first 2 weeks of the preseason he's shown some considerable improvement in running his routes, adjusting his routes, getting open and catching the football. That was a nice TD catch yesterday!

He's got the work ethic and the perseverence to do anythign he puts his mind to well. His return ability shows he's capable of being a gem in open space once he gets familiar and cozy with the demands of a position/challenge. His first game in relief of a Northcutt injury at fetching punts was a disaster for those us us that remember it. Anyway, he's the kind of competitive guy who wills himself to success. We've SEEN it.

There's NOTHING about the position that he should have trouble with. If he was our punt coverage GUNNER, he's VERY good at getting off the line of scrimmage vrs ANY type of physical press coverage presented. If he's ideal in open fields - why wouldn't we want him there with a mismatch in space? I STILL think he has all the goodies to make a nice Wes Welker who showed up on the NFL map as a receiver when he had a TE like Ben Watson commanding attention over the middle while Randy Moss commanded respect deep. We may not have Moss but we now have Watson and who's scoring TDs here. That's gonna command some attention over the middle, which should benefit other receivers folks.
- Tom F.

[Masters]

Except getting off of the line on press coverage has been his issue, and still is a bit of an issue for him. Bernie even pointed that out during the game.

Cribbs has shown great improvement from where he was two years ago and a year ago. But he is going to have to show me real production in real games before I start buying him as a regular WR in the NFL.

[Danamal]

Call me crazy but watching him play receiver and other people returning kicks just made my mind think outside the box long term on his career.
Could it be because of last season and his success on offense that they want to move him into that role in the future,lets not get crazy and say I want him off ST's now or anything but down the line I cant help but think they want him on offense more than ST's?
Yeah it sounds crazy but I would much rather have defenses be scared of our offense no matter where we get the ball than have to be crippled enough to need excellent position to drive a short field and sometimes still fail,
Just a thought nothing in concrete....

[Vegasdogg]

Want to solve his issues off the bump? Place him in motion as part of the Flash/Cyclone. Cribbs is going to blow up on offense this season. 5-7 TD's and 900 Rushing/Receiving yards.

[Alo]

It'd be a huge help if Cribbs could become a competent receiving option, especially now that it looks like Carlton Mitchell isn't ready to contribute much this year.

[Sez.EJ]

This is year 6.. and he has improved..but still has a LONG way to go before he is a legit reciever. IMO

[Inspecta]

Also I believe his growth at the position was stunted significantly due to the fact that we had QB's that were just a tad above primates. It's hard to shine at WR when your QB has a hard time getting out from under the center....

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Masters

Except getting off of the line on press coverage has been his issue, and still is a bit of an issue for him. Bernie even pointed that out during the game.

Cribbs has shown great improvement from where he was two years ago and a year ago. But he is going to have to show me real production in real games before I start buying him as a regular WR in the NFL.

You're right about Bernie's comments and they wouldn't have been said if he didn't have some prior issues with it. My prefix of fan-atic is conversing with your logic and reasoning. You're probably looking at me the same way an Irish Pub owner would if I asked him to exchange his Guinness Beer out for O'Douls. "Why I've still gotta eat loddy!" The 5 receptions in cruddy passing conditions showed me some things I think he's getting (luckily one of them is better QBing). We can all laugh at me later if this another thing your buddy Flugel got wrong.

My point was/is that the BEST guy on the team for the punt team gunner position is the guy who is BEST at consistently breaking through aggressive double team press jams at the line of scrimmage with a time urgency. That person was easily Cribbs in recent past and prolly still is. Therefore, I'm thinking there has to be an inevitable transferrability of this same skill over to the WR position. Does that make sense especially considering there will only be 1 corner jamming Cribbs in press?
IMO, when he was multitasking returns, punt as well as kickoff coverages, receiving, QBing and even RB - I doubt he was practicing to beat press coverages very much of the week or practice sessions. Aside from that, I'm not confident our QBs always saw who was and wasn't open. Cribbs is a strong guy that should be able to get better at this with more experience and practice at it. He's not a weakling or sissy like Northcutt was. Plus, I think his 212 pounds outweigh alot of corners today that need to be more agile than physical. All this said, I would have always tried to use him as a slot, which essentially puts him 1 yard back and 1 yard over from the hip of the last guy with a hand down on the line. Hard to jam this receiver AND it usually draws the 3rd best corner of the opponent. In zone coverages we can drag him across 2 hook zones like NE likes to do with Welker as Moss clears people out deep

The intrigue with Cribbs to me has always been his ability in open space. I'd rather hear "I cannot" from him before I believe he cannot coming from the media. It's not like ANY of our receivers here have been spoiled with nice passes in FRONT of them since he's been here.

And I DO agree he has had some struggles with changing from a RUNNING QB to a WR. Hines Ward didn't do it overnight and he's had much better QBs helping his cause there. Wes Welker was an All State RB in high school where he became a slot Receiver at Texas Tech before going to Miami to be a STs ace. I don't think he became an overnight success at WR in this league until he got to NE. Then he had Brady threading needles unlike we've had here plus Watson commanding respect over the middle and Moss stretching Safeties deep. Oh boy is it nice to dream about what an environment can do for a work ethic type like Cribbs. I'm pretty confident Cribbs wouldn't have sucked in NE in Welker's role the last 3 years or so.
- Tom F.

[Neo]

Originally Posted by Inspecta

Also I believe his growth at the position was stunted significantly due to the fact that we had QB's that were just a tad above primates. It's hard to shine at WR when your QB has a hard time getting out from under the center....

I agree. Having two experienced quarterbacks is going to help no just Colt develop but the offense as a whole develop. Is it me or are the Browns receiver catching a lot of footballs! I am impressed with our WR's so far.

[OzDawg]

I think Cribbs is by far the best athlete on the team. (although some of the young guys might give him a run in that..haden.

He wasn't drafted. He succeeded so far by loving the game, doing his best, and again, being an athlete.
Yes I think he could "learn" many more positions than he plays.. ie safety/WR/RB. He has drive, he has heart, he has the skills...just needs to learn when and where to apply them.

[BernietheKid]

Berea Report: Cribbs Making Strides
		By Fred Greetham OBR Browns Reporter Posted Aug 22, 2010 | More The day after the Browns' sloppy loss to St. Louis, Eric Mangini could at least point to a bright spot in the wide receiver corps: Josh Cribbs and his continued improvement. Fred brings that story and the rest from today's session in Berea...
BEREA, Ohio - Eric Mangini said that Josh Cribbs is getting better and better at wide receiver. He had five receptions for 30 yards, including a 15 yard touchdown catch from Seneca Wallace against the Rams. “I thought Josh Cribbs did well as a receiver with five catches and a touchdown,” Mangini said. Mangini said that he is not only running better pass routes, but is becoming a good blocker. “It’s everything,” he said. “I don’t know if you notice, but Josh is doing a great job as a blocker. On the screen to Jerome Harrison, he made a couple of nice blocks. Some of the difficult catches he’s made and the route running is another area he’s gotten better at. A lot of the details he’s gotten better at.” Most of Cribbs’ receptions in games have been near the line of scrimmage, but Mangini said any time he touches the ball, he’s a threat to go for a touchdown. “He’s caught quite a few deep balls in practice,” Mangini said. “The thing about Josh is any time he has the ball he’s a vertical threat.” Notebook Pashos, Lauvao Back?: OL Tony Pashos said he expects to practice Tuesday after sitting out the first two preseason games with a shoulder injury. He said that it’s a minor issue and the food poisoning he had to start training camp were just minor setbacks and he expects to be ready to go this week. “My expectation is he’ll practice in the next couple of days and will play this weekend,” Mangini said. Mangini was asked if rookie OL Shawn Lauvao would be back from Hawaii soon. “Hopefully, he’ll be back Monday morning, but it’s tentative.” Lauvao has been in Hawaii attending to personal issues. Hardesty Update: Mangini said that he hops RB Montario Hardesty will be able to start practicing later this week. “There’s really no delay because there’s no timetable,” he said. “In terms of practicing, I anticipate him getting some reps late in the week.” Mangini was asked if he thought Hardesty would play in the preseason. “Possibly, “ he said. “I would expect with the progress he’s made, he will practice soon and be able to play in the opener.” Protect the Football: Mangini stated the obvious when summarizing the loss to the Rams was all about turnovers. “Protecting the football is the starting point and we didn’t do that well at all,” he said. “In the last five years, only one team has won a game out of 40 when they were a minus five turnover ratio. You might as well buy a Powerball (lottery) ticket.” Mangini said the team will not practice indoors anytime soon. “The only way we can play in the elements is to practice in the elements.” No Worry about Rush: The Browns have just one sack in two games, but Mangini said he’s not worried. “Would I like more sacks? Yes,” Mangini said. “We were pretty effective last year in getting sacks. We had a number of guys get sacks. (Against the Rams), they were hitting the quarterback . Hopefully, we get a lot more (sacks).” On Schedule: Mangini said the team has now implemented a regular season schedule. This week, the team will be off on Monday and start preparations for Saturday’s game with the Lions. During the regular season when the games are on Sunday, the players are off on Tuesdays. Colt Update: Mangini said he’s not concerned about rookie QB Colt McCoy and his rough start in his first two preseason games. He has a QB rating of 9.7. “It takes some time to slow down at that spot,” he said. “I think you saw that with (Sam) Bradford last night. He was in a system for a long time and now he’s in another system and he’s working at it and he’s seeking out guidance from Jake (Delhomme) and Seneca (Wallace) and he’s learning.” Hillis Leads: After the first two preseason games, RB Peyton Hillis is leading the Browns in rushing with 54 yards on 14 carries (3.9 avg.) and in receiving with five for 46 yards (9.2 avg.)… QB Jake Delhomme is 18-of-23 for 193 yards (78.3 pct.) with one touchdown and no interceptions. His QB rating is 116.1…QB Seneca Wallace is 9-of-17 for 139 yards (52.9 pct.) with three touchdowns and one interception and a rating of 95.3…QB Brett Ratliff’s rating is 28.6 and QB Colt McCoy’s is 9.7…WR Chansi Stuckey leads the Browns in receiving yardage with 51 yards on three receptions, all against the Rams. Scout.com: Berea Report: Cribbs Making Strides

[DaBrowns41]

Well, Hines Ward only took one season to make any sort of impact as a WR, and Hines grasped onto being physical and running routes. Not to mention, Ward is one of the best blocking WR's in the game. Cribbs gives up down field when blocking, which is one problem I have with him.

The other is that his routes are just not there. He isn't getting open, and he needs to get open and get in space to not only catch the ball, but use his open field skills.

I would love more than anything for Cribbs to develop into a nice slot receiver, but right now, I'd rather Cribbs stick to the 4th option or slot receiver at best. I'd take Stuckey over him right now.