The Mount Rushmore of Browns kickoff returners – Cribbs deals foes for a crazy 8

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the sixth in a series of stories about the Mount Rushmore-worthy players – the best players – in Browns history. Today we look at kickoff returners.

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By STEVE KING

This is a Mount Rushmore that might not change for years, if ever.

That’s because the NFL keeps looking for ways to change kickoffs and make them less dangerous, which is both good and bad.

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It’s good in that it will almost certainly make it safer for players, and that has to be paramount in the overall picture. Those aren’t video game characters out there crashing into each other at full speed, then being able to spring back up 100-percent healthy when the reset button is pushed. These are human beings who are fathers, husbands, fiances, sons and brothers. And they can break if hit hard enough, enough times. They have to be protected.

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But it’s bad in that the most exciting play in football is a kickoff return that goes the length of the field for a touchdown. That it will go away – at least probably to a great degree – removes a lot of fun and electricity from the game.

Nonetheless, the four players on the Mount Rushmore for Browns kickoff returners are Bobby Mitchell (1958-61), Walter Roberts (1964-66), Cleveland Browns Legend Greg Pruitt (1973-81) and the best of them all, and one of the best in NFL history, Joshua Cribbs (2005-12).

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Here’s a little bit about them:

BOBBY MITCHELL

In four seasons, Mitchell had six returns for touchdowns, three on kickoffs (second in Browns history) and three on punts (tied for second). It’s why he’s on the Mount Rushmore in both categories, and it’s also part of what makes him a Pro Football Hall of Famer. What stands out, too, is that he averaged a healthy 25 yards per return.

WALTER ROBERTS

Roberts is the personification of the adage, “Big things come in small packages.” He had one of the coolest nicknames in Browns history, “The Flea,” for the fact he was tiny. He was listed at 5-foot-9 and 163 pounds, but he wasn’t nearly that big. However, he made a huge impact because of the way he consistently put the Browns in good field position, averaging nearly 26 yards (25.9) per return, which ties him with Cribbs for second-best in team history. Perhaps the coverage teams couldn’t find him, or probably it was more that they simply couldn’t catch him.

GREG PRUITT

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Average? Was Pruitt average? Yes and no, both in a good way. Pruitt has the No. 2 punt return average (11.8) in Browns history and the No. 1 kickoff return average (26.3), with one touchdown. That’s consistency – consistently outstanding – and definitely not average. And, of course, as a running back, he was equally effective as a runner and passer. You know the old saying about being valuable, “the more you can do.” Pruitt did it all.

JOSHUA CRIBBS

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He returned eight – yes, that’s right, eight – kickoffs for touchdowns in his career, which is five more than the No. 2 Brown. That’s crazy — a crazy eight, if you will. That says it all. Combine that with the fact he also returned three punts for touchdowns, and he has 11 total touchdown returns. That’s off the charts, too. Sometimes players get the tag of “being able to score from anywhere on the field anytime they get their hands on the ball.” But they never seem to do it much, or at all. Cribbs was different – much different – in that he wasn’t just able to do it, but rather that he actually did it – and then some.

NEXT: Safeties.

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