Josh Cribbs -The Sneakiest of Sneaky Plays? (1 Viewer)

[Sigmund Bloom]

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Browns coach Romeo Crennel said the Browns will use Josh Cribbs more to try to jump-start the offense.

"It looked like Cribbs was a spark, and so I think that we'll have to give him a chance to be more of a spark and try to manage his other duties as well," said Crennel. "That's what I think we can do there."

Cribbs rushed for six times out of the Flash package for 24 yards, a 4.0-yard average. He also connected with Braylon Edwards on a deep sideline ball, but it was caught slightly out of bounds.

"[Cribbs] plays really hard," said Crennel. "He's got some talent, got some toughness, he's competitive, and so I think all those ingredients make for an exciting player. When he gets the ball under his arm, everybody is excited about it and what he's capable of because we've seen that he can run for touchdowns. We've been working on things all during the year, some we haven't used in the games. His [plays] package has gotten larger as the year has gone on, so I think that if you use him more than that package that you have in, you just pull from those plays and that [plays] package is a pretty substantial package."

Crennel said he's instructed the coaching staff to figure out ways to help the team given the current circumstances, including being down to their third quarterback.

"We have to realize the limitations that we have to work with and try to put the players in the best position to be able to execute and make plays," he said. "Going into this game on Monday night [against the Eagles], that's what we have to do."

Seems to me that you can still start Cribbs in most leagues as a WR. Last week he had 24 yards on six carries (one less than JLew), and he threw a gorgeous bomb to Edwards that he caught on the sidelines. It looked like both feet were in to me, but Cleveland didn't challenge the call that Cribbs was out of bounds. He looked very comfortable and purposeful throwing the ball, like the former college QB, not a novelty player. Philly is a very aggressive defense and Rob Chudzinski has come up with some good gameplans (at least last year), he might be able to use their aggression against them with some misdirection wildcat-style plays. It's MNF (where Cleveland is 2-0 this year) and they have every incentive to pull out all the stops. I, for one, would love to see Cribbs take at least half the snaps and force Philly's D to adapt on the spot.Of course, Cribbs shouldn't be started unless injuries have strapped your roster and the WW is generally picked clean. Still, Im very intrigued about the possibilities of a dangerous player like Cribbs with the ball in his hands 20-25 times in a game against a defense that might not be ready for it. The pass he threw to Edwards was surprisingly good.

 

[puckalicious]

How does CLE get 3 MNF games..... I think the NFL needs a more "flexible" of a flexible schedule.

Cribbs does look like a difference maker and is a good "stash" guy in dynasty leagues. I can't justify starting him over my WR's, but if you have an injury desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

[eric rymer]

I would love to try this out but I just can't do it. I only have 4 WR slots and I just can't see dropping Driver or Avery at this point to do it. I think it could be a very good play for those that have had injury issues.

 

[iSnitch]

I couldn't bring myself to play him vs. the Titans last weekend but I may end up playing him this weekend (over Santonio). In leagues where return yardage is rewarded there's even more reason you're looking at a very good player.