Guest c-dawg Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 I posted this in another topic last week I think but there seems to be a bit of interest in Cribbs at safety so here goes. Cribbs at safety. Go or No Go? Take the poll and post your reasoning. Thanks for playing! *** "Cribbs has special talents and can tackle and run the ball very well. Offense or defense then? How about both? At this point I think his offensive potential outweighs any defensive potential based on risk alone. He is a former QB and can provide the WildDawg (or whatever you want to call it) offensive variable that makes other teams prepare that little bit extra. He can also catch and run the ball when not playing QB on offense. What concerns me is that, although he is a beast and a sure (even flamboyant) tackler, he has not been bringing the wood against 220-250lb RBs and 250-270lb TEs his whole career. Frankly, I wonder about durability and keep flashing back to the movie Any Given Sunday and Jamie Foxx's QB character who was "tried out" as a DB and separated his shoulder hitting the big boys. Maybe a new tougher set of pads would help but maybe finding a bad ass nasty safety who LIVES to hit would help even more. If we can't get one this year is Cribbs really worth the risk? I realize anyone can go down on any given play on O or D or Special Teams and that Cribbs is going to be in some serious collisions any way you go. I just think of K2 on that kickoff years ago and wonder, do we HAVE to take that risk with Cribbs?" Let's hear it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubadhp Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Why not try him out at saftey, even if its just in mini-camps to see he understands the position. He may show that he gets it or not during the mini-camps. If he gets it, continue with the experiment and if he doesn't well, he still has his current role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calfoxwc Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 I said "no go" because I wouldn't move him, why take a loss, and an addition with fewer roles on the defensive side? Personally, I would love to see Cribbs play part-time once in a while as a safety or nickle back in 3rd and long situations. And as a wr rolling out on a hand off on a reverse to throw the ball downfield... we can entertain those things with Shaffer not at RT, ya know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gips Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Cribbs is a true natural player he could learn this role in just a few games as a rotation guy and would quickly end up replacing the starter...with his hands i would expect he will get a lot of picks and as hard and violent as he hits will force some fumbles and injuries and put fear into throwing over the middle period.. The browns need to stop screwing cribbs and give the man his dues he has been nothing but fantastic and loyal kokinis needs to give him a bigger role and a much bigger contract.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClevelandSound Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 I dotn think Cribbs should be a safety. If anything he should be a linebacker. We have all seen is tackling skills in special teams. But in the end I vote to keep him where he is an use him more as a QB and a slot reciever. He is going to become way to tired if we use him on every opackage available. I mean hes Cribbs but hes not god. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClevelandFanForLife Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 I mean hes Cribbs but hes not god. wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClevelandSound Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 wrong Well if your an athiest like me I guess it is wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtm Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Cribbs is a beast and will excel in any role that you give him; as far a durability goes, have you seen what he does on special teams? I wouldn't worry about him being hurt too often because he plays safety, so yeah why not?, He can still return kicks, and line up in the "WildDawg" (even though we did it before Miami) and still play safety, Oh!, and New England had Brown line up at WR and S in the same game more than a few times and with Cribbs' versatility I don't see why we can't do that here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtm Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Well if your an athiest like me I guess it is wrong. Cribbs at linebacker? Atheism has nothing to do with it, and yes you spelled that wrong too moron, he is WAY too small to play linebacker, but as a FS he fits the bill almost perfectly, speed, hands, aggressiveness, oh and by the way, that shouldn't really impact the rest of his game if we use him as a role player. Oh wait! There's more!! Seeing as he played QB in college, pretty sure he will be able to use that experience to read the offense. Huh, that's weird, a QB who can tell what the offense is going to do, never thought of that one before...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choco Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Atheism has nothing to do with it, and yes you spelled that wrong too moron, something tells me youre new to the tubes..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YtownBrownsBacker Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Actually, I like Cribbs at RB. He would be a great change of pace back and a good 3rd down back. Good blocker, can run the ball and can split out and catch the ball out of the backfield. If Cribbs comes in on 3rd down, they can't cover him with a LB. They have tried him at WR and he may end up being a decent slot receiver, but I think he would be a difference maker at RB. Know, you want to use him in some defensive (dime) packages, it could work, buat you need to relieve him of some of his special teams coverage duties then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronx Cheer Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Russel was a college QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sez.EJ Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Sorry guys but this is friggin IDIOTIC. You do not take a guy who is a pro bowl player at a position and move him somethere he has never played. That is just stupid and a waste of time and talent. He has been working 3 years at being a reciever and cannot even crack the #3 spot..Why do you think he can learn play safety if he cannot even learn the reciever position in 3 years.. He has been an offensive player 99% of his football career. (til he had to cover kicks.. The guy is the top 1or 2 kick returners in the AFC.. if it aint broke dont fix it.. Besides..this is year 4 at his learning reciever..Maybe this is his break out year there. Are you guys telling me we do not need recievers???? THINK man THINK... Cribbs could be explosive at reciever when he gets the hang of it..Maybe this is his year..He will certainly get every opportunity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobalaz Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Sorry guys but this is friggin IDIOTIC. You do not take a guy who is a pro bowl player at a position and move him somethere he has never played. That is just stupid and a waste of time and talent. He has been working 3 years at being a reciever and cannot even crack the #3 spot..Why do you think he can learn play safety if he cannot even learn the reciever position in 3 years.. He has been an offensive player 99% of his football career. (til he had to cover kicks.. The guy is the top 1or 2 kick returners in the AFC.. if it aint broke dont fix it.. Besides..this is year 4 at his learning reciever..Maybe this is his break out year there. Are you guys telling me we do not need recievers???? THINK man THINK... Cribbs could be explosive at reciever when he gets the hang of it..Maybe this is his year..He will certainly get every opportunity. I don't know if Cribbs never got the hang of things or Romeo just didn't want to play him and take away from special teams. Cribbs did pretty well in the flash package. Too bad we didn't see more of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombo Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Sorry guys but this is friggin IDIOTIC. You do not take a guy who is a pro bowl player at a position and move him somethere he has never played. That is just stupid and a waste of time and talent. He has been working 3 years at being a reciever and cannot even crack the #3 spot..Why do you think he can learn play safety if he cannot even learn the reciever position in 3 years.. He has been an offensive player 99% of his football career. (til he had to cover kicks.. The guy is the top 1or 2 kick returners in the AFC.. if it aint broke dont fix it.. Besides..this is year 4 at his learning reciever..Maybe this is his break out year there. Are you guys telling me we do not need recievers???? THINK man THINK... Cribbs could be explosive at reciever when he gets the hang of it..Maybe this is his year..He will certainly get every opportunity. Here's what I want to see Cribbs do: Special teams. He is maybe the best special teams player in the sport. I'd like to see us have enough WR depth that we don't need him as a WR unless of emergency. But I would like to see him get more reps at ... QB. If he is prepared as an emergency QB, then we only need to keep two full-time QBs on the roster, saving us a valuable roster spot ... for maybe a real WR. Also we can bring him in to run some option-style running attack from time to time when we want to take some time off the clock. But 95% of the time, I want him doing what he does best: special teams. Zombo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcrow1945 Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Sorry guys but this is friggin IDIOTIC. You do not take a guy who is a pro bowl player at a position and move him somethere he has never played. That is just stupid and a waste of time and talent. He has been working 3 years at being a reciever and cannot even crack the #3 spot..Why do you think he can learn play safety if he cannot even learn the reciever position in 3 years.. He has been an offensive player 99% of his football career. (til he had to cover kicks.. The guy is the top 1or 2 kick returners in the AFC.. if it aint broke dont fix it.. Being a top kick returner does not exclude a player from being top defensive player as well. There have been plenty of every down DB's that were also really good kick returners. His move to defense would have no bearing on his duties as a kick returner. C'mon, this is not rocket science we are talking about here. When it comes to the WR position, I don't think it's his inability to learn it as much as it was the last staff's decision not to use him due to the possibility that they simply didn't think he was the best #3 on the team. I've heard rumors that Cribbs struggles with the playbook and I don't believe it's that serious. If he does struggle understanding a playbook to the point that he isn't effective, then what better thing to do than move him to defense? He's such a god tackler that having him play every down on defense would be a big plus and I'm sure he'd learn it fairly easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Masters Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Being a top kick returner does not exclude a player from being top defensive player as well. There have been plenty of every down DB's that were also really good kick returners. His move to defense would have no bearing on his duties as a kick returner. C'mon, this is not rocket science we are talking about here. When it comes to the WR position, I don't think it's his inability to learn it as much as it was the last staff's decision not to use him due to the possibility that they simply didn't think he was the best #3 on the team. I've heard rumors that Cribbs struggles with the playbook and I don't believe it's that serious. If he does struggle understanding a playbook to the point that he isn't effective, then what better thing to do than move him to defense? He's such a god tackler that having him play every down on defense would be a big plus and I'm sure he'd learn it fairly easily. Okay, so a guy struggles to learn the playbook at WR, and you think he'd then be able to learn a defensive playbook, at saftey? Playing saftey and learning the d playbook at that position in a 3-4 is an even bigger learning curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Fan Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Okay, so a guy struggles to learn the playbook at WR, and you think he'd then be able to learn a defensive playbook, at saftey? Playing saftey and learning the d playbook at that position in a 3-4 is an even bigger learning curve. I totally agree with this mik, but the guys who were telling us Cribbs couldn't learn the playbook at WR aren't in Berea anymore. (and was it actually confirmed that he couldn't learn the play book? I mean, I know we were all assuming it....) QB is actually more translatable to Safety than QB is translatable to WR. You're basically the Centerfielder in both instances, seeing something & exploiting it as plays develop, which is different from crisp route running (something he may not have been capable of). Hell, I just know I love watching him cover kick offs. I'd love to have the presence he brings on KO coverage back in our secondary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaygroundLegend Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Id like to see him at RB personally. He would be a perfect RB, good size speed and vision. Although with him at RB I'd also like to see him blitz the QB and smash a running back as well. I say put him on Offense full time and let him play situational D, like a first down SS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snatch98 Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Why does ANYONE think he can transition to safety and succeed? I can't believe 19 people are in the yes camp. All of this is scary. Are you guys for real? You have to be for real and the notion really calls in to question the football knowledge of this message board. If you do put him at safety it's going to be a while before he's productive. The last i checked the need for a WR is just as great for the Stains as a safety. Cribbs was a running QB that transitioned very well to a return man and potentially a solid WR. Why would you put his intangibles on defense? Can the dude even tackle? All of this is Retarded. EDIT: Apparently of all the browns games I've flipped back and forth too I missed his "tackling" even if the guy can tackle is he worth more to the team on defense than he is on offense? Who knows. I guess it's worth a shot but why not just draft a true safety and keep cribbs in his more natural position. It's not like he's failed as a WR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snatch98 Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Ahh another steelers fan shows his idiocy. If you knew what the hell you were talking about, you'd know Cribbs was the LEADING TACKLER ON OUR SPECIAL TEAM UNITS. So yeah the "dude" can tackle. As for Cribbs being "pottentially a solid reciever", he was never really used in that capacity so I am not sure where your shining intelect comes up with that. Could he become a reciever? Sure. DO I personally want him to play safety? no I do not. But before you come in here waving your opinions around. You might want to understand a bit about the game first... Idiocy? or the fact that I don't usually watch a lot of Browns games but rather flip back and forth to check scores. I did edit my previous post and corrected myself. Also don't talk to me about "understanding the game" because my understanding of the game is better than a good number of the individuals on this lovely message board but I digress. See my edit I'm sure it was posted pretty damn close to if not before you finished your post. EDIT: I also said "POTENTIALLY" a solid WR. My shining intellect at least gives me the ability to read and comprehend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snatch98 Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 AND I also attended Kent State Univeristy so I'm CERTAIN I've watched Josh Cribbs play football more than you or anyone else on this message board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snatch98 Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Gee I remember a certain coach by the name of Belichick taking one of his better WR (Troy Browns) and flipping his ass over to cornerback without a thought and he seemed to have some success.....it can be done, whether or not it's wise for us to do so is yet to be determined. Oh I know it can be done. I just don't think it's worth it with Cribbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTBH Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Gee I remember a certain coach by the name of Belichick taking one of his better WR (Troy Browns) and flipping his ass over to cornerback without a thought and he seemed to have some success.....it can be done, whether or not it's wise for us to do so is yet to be determined. And Mangini was the DB coach then, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcrow1945 Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Okay, so a guy struggles to learn the playbook at WR, and you think he'd then be able to learn a defensive playbook, at saftey? Playing saftey and learning the d playbook at that position in a 3-4 is an even bigger learning curve. Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewEraDawg Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 The kid was a QB . If he can read defenses he can learn any position . I am not saying I agree with the decision because I don't . But as far as a learning curve I'd say Josh can learn any of it . jmho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcrow1945 Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Dude, I have every single hour of the Browns seasons on my DVR, I have seen Cribbs make more tackles on special teams than our starting linebackers had in games. The kid is a heat seeking missle, every play on kicks and punts you ALWAYS see 16 either on the tackle or very near it. Just the type of plays you need a safety to be able to make. How long has it been since we saw a Safety in Cleveland that attacks a ball carrier like Cribbs will? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John McClane Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 They need to find a position where Cribbs is the MOST effective and just let him be. If they put him at safety and he becomes a Bob Sanders type player then leave him there. I don't like the idea of having him return kicks or for that matter do anything on special teams on top of being a safety. Having him on the field as a safety would allow us to utilize his talents MORE during the course of the game rather than just a few plays on special teams. I would only be up for him playing ST and SS if he didn't pan out at SS and they used him in situational but if he becomes a full time safety then he's done on ST. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcrow1945 Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Why does ANYONE think he can transition to safety and succeed? I can't believe 19 people are in the yes camp. All of this is scary. Are you guys for real? You have to be for real and the notion really calls in to question the football knowledge of this message board. If you do put him at safety it's going to be a while before he's productive. The last i checked the need for a WR is just as great for the Stains as a safety. Cribbs was a running QB that transitioned very well to a return man and potentially a solid WR. Why would you put his intangibles on defense? Can the dude even tackle? All of this is Retarded. EDIT: Apparently of all the browns games I've flipped back and forth too I missed his "tackling" even if the guy can tackle is he worth more to the team on defense than he is on offense? Who knows. I guess it's worth a shot but why not just draft a true safety and keep cribbs in his more natural position. It's not like he's failed as a WR. First you question the knowledge of the fans here...You say the notions are scary and ask if we are for real.......You say it's Retarded.....Then you admit you "Missed" his tackling and also admit that you "Dont know". Since you don't know, wouldn't be wise to hold off on all the adjectives until you do know? Brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpeen Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 I have been saying for 3 years that Cribbs would make a heck of a safety. He would be at a pro-bowl level this year had we done this 2-3 years ago. Better late than never. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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