NOT JUST A FLASH IN THE PAN


By STEVE KING

In Part 1 of our Roy Hobbs series, recalling Browns players who, like the fictional slugger in the baseball movie, “The Natural,” came out of nowhere to be something and do something special, we looked at a no-brainer from the original franchise, quarterback Brian Sipe.

Now, in this, Part 2, we’ll highlight a no-brainer from the expansion era Browns franchise, returner Joshua Cribbs.

Here was a slash-style quarterback from Kent State, a guy who could make plays with his feet as much with his legs as — and perhaps even moreso than — he could with his arm. But Cribbs wasn’t prolific enough in that role for the struggling Golden Flashes to attract attention in the eyes of the NFL when he was a prospect leading up to the 2005 draft. What was needed was someone who could envision him as something he had never been. That someone was first-year Browns General Manager Phil Savage.

So, Savage, after checking out a personal issue on Cribbs and deeming it to be completely out of character, rushed to get him — not in the the draft, though, but as a rookie free agent. That’s the bottom of the food chain in the NFL. If a team hits upon a rookie free agent once in a blue moon,  then it considers itself fortunate. The Browns, then, were very fortunate in striking gold — and then some — with Cribbs.

Despite the fact he also worked some as a running back, a wide receiver and a quarterback strictly in wildcat formations, with only a modicum of success, it was as a special teamer, particularly a kickoff returner, that he excelled, and incredibly so. In his eight-year career (2005-12), all of which was spent with the Browns, he became not just one of the best returners in team history, but also one of the best in the league during that time.

In addition, he was the Browns’ best kick coverage man.

Come one, when’s the last time you heard of a quarterback tackling with a vengeance?

Cribbs was not only outstanding, but also for a long period. He stood the test of time.

Indeed, he wasn’t just a Flash in the pan.

NEXT: A genius move in more ways than one.

Steve King