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Browns' specialist having Pro Bowl season, expects to get fewer opportunities
By Marla Ridenour Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Thursday, Nov 15, 2007
BEREA: Browns tight end Darnell Dinkins said the choice is obvious.
Kick the ball to the NFL's second-ranked return man or to an upback with a cast on his right hand?
''If I were a coach . . . I would kick it to me,'' Dinkins said.
That option is looking more likely after Joshua Cribbs returned kickoffs 100 yards for a touchdown and 90 yards to set up another touchdown in the loss Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was his second kickoff return for a touchdown this season and the fourth of the former Kent State quarterback's career, breaking Bobby Mitchell's team record of three.
Cribbs' performance might not have been the best in the AFC, because Darren Sproles of the San Diego Chargers brought back a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns against the Indianapolis Colts. But Cribbs looks likely to break the Browns' Pro Bowl drought that dates to linebacker Jamir Miller in 2002.
''I think everybody in the NFL is always looking for a guy like Josh Cribbs,'' Browns center Hank Fraley said. ''Fortunately we got him here. People know around this league Josh Cribbs is definitely a threat.''
With a 32.4 kickoff return average, Cribbs ranks second in the NFL behind Leon Washington of the New York Jets (33.5). The Browns' average field postion following a kickoff is the 33.9-yard line, best in the league.
There is a downside to all this. The Steelers kicked to Cribbs four times Sunday, and he burned them twice. So three times, they resorted to sending sky balls to Dinkins. To his credit, he didn't fumble.
Inactive for only one game after breaking his hand on Oct. 7 against the New England Patriots, Dinkins expects he'll see more of the same starting with the game Sunday against the Ravens in Baltimore.
''They see me as a liability,'' Dinkins said.
Cribbs said it's ''very frustrating'' that opponents are kicking away from him. He has returned 38 of the Browns' 55 kickoffs received (not counting onside kicks or those at the end of a half), but Cribbs knows that percentage is likely to go down.
''We're forced to revamp our game plan on special teams,'' Cribbs said. ''We're no longer expecting deep kicks. We have to prepare for sky kicks and squib kicks all the time now. (Teams) are sacrificing field position just to stop me. That lets us know that our kick-return unit is doing a great job.''
Dinkins will be busy if Ravens coach Brian Billick sticks to what he said Wednesday.
Asked about Cribbs, Billick said: ''What I've seen, you prefer to kick away from him. He's a strong combination of strength and speed. He has the ability to run through a tackle and get to a hole with excellent acceleration. He's been very impactful for them.''
Kicking away from a player, though, isn't as easy as it sounds, Billick said.
''You can get into trouble doing that because it's a hard kick to make sometimes,'' he said. ''When they're preparing, there are certain things you can do to counter that. You run the risk of the punter getting a shanked punt if you're trying to angle it out of bounds.''
The Patriots have been the opponent that most blatantly played keep-away from Cribbs, who also stands 12th in the league in punt returns with a 9.8 average. The Patriots booted two punts and a kickoff out of bounds.
Even if the Browns do adjust to this tactic, Cribbs said he doesn't want teammates to pitch the ball to him.
''Definitely not. When those guys get it, they're at the 30-yard line, and that's good field position for our offense,'' Cribbs said. ''They know to go straight ahead and try to get as much as they can.''
Dinkins, however, might be tempted.
''On the last (touchdown) I told Josh, 'If it hits the ground, if you play close to me, I'll let you come up and get the ball,''' Dinkins said. ''I didn't expect it to play out as good as it did.
''If it's in the air high, I've got to catch it. If I can get it to Josh somehow, some way, I will.''
Could there be a lateral in Dinkins future?
''If my left hand had a cast, I would do it with my right, but since it's my left hand free, I try to secure it as much as I can,'' Dinkins said. ''I don't try to run that hard.''
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/.
BEREA: Browns tight end Darnell Dinkins said the choice is obvious.
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