Cribbs focused on Sunday

12.05.2007

If the four inches of Cleveland snow that greeted Joshua Cribbs Wednesday morning weren't enough to get him thinking about Honolulu, maybe he's so in tune with Romeo Crennel's one-game-at-a-time mantra that he can't think ahead.

Or maybe he was just suffering from temporary brain freeze.

Either way, Cribbs is very focused this week. And even if he won't fully admit it, he knows what at stake for himself when the Browns visit the Jets Sunday.

Blustery New York (New Jersey, actually, but the Broadway theme gives it some spice) provides quite a stage for an intriguing battle between Cribbs and the Jets' Leon Washington, the NFL's top two kickoff return men. Cribbs recently passed Washington for the top spot with an average of 31.2 per return; Washington is at 30.6.

And with AFC Pro Bowl voting by coaches and players just a week away, the timing for their individual matchup couldn't be better.

"I'd be a fool to say I don't see personal gain from this game," Cribbs said. "But I'm just concentrating on winning. We have a chance to do something great on this football team and whatever I have to do to contribute to that, whether it's outshining him or doing well individually, I will.

"But we're really concentrating on this team thing. This kickoff return unit, we have a lot of guys banged up and we have a lot of preparing to do for this football game."

Washington took over as the Jets' full-time kick returner when Justin Miller, the AFC Pro Bowl kick returner last year, was placed on injured-reserve early this season. He scored on a 98-yard touchdown return in Week Three against Miami and did the same two weeks later against the Giants. His third touchdown came on an 86-yard return in early November against Washington.

Cribbs has two touchdown returns on the year, a 99-yarder in Oakland and 100-yarder in Pittsburgh on Nov. 11

"Two," Cribbs said, "and a lot of possibles."

The stakes are high this week. The stakes in general have changed over the last couple of months as Cribbs has asserted himself as a threat to score every time the ball is kicked to him. That Baltimore continued to kick to him on Nov. 18 would fall under "inexplicable" as well those "possibles" he mentioned, while Arizona's plan to keep the ball mostly away from him last week might be a sign of things to come over the season's final four games.

"We have our work cut out for us," Cribbs said. "(Arizona) did a good job of keeping the ball out of my hands on kick return and causing some confusion with our kick return unit with the very short, onside-type kicks. We have some work to do."

Browns Coach Romeo Crennel said the Jets' special teams units are "solid, sound and physical, and they have one of the best returners in the NFL." Asked about the possibility of having to kick away from Washington like the Cardinals did to Cribbs, Crennel said "you might have to mix it up on him."

Both teams will try to be ready for everything. The week after Washington's third touchdown return of the season, the Steelers -- who also gave up a 90-yard kick return to Cribbs in addition to the 100-yard highlight reel touchdown -- only kicked to Washington once, and Washington got 12 yards.

"There's definitely been an element of trying to keep the ball away from Leon," Jets coach Eric Mangini said. "Each team has had a different approach. Every time you face a returner as explosive as Cribbs or Leon, you have to make that choice. We'll look at it through the course of the week and see what's best for us."

What's often overlooked is that Cribbs is also the Browns' leader in special teams tackles. His value to the Browns' special teams units is immeasurable, and he could find himself in a unique spot Saturday. The eventual leader in kick return average figures to be decided by a yard, maybe even less, and Cribbs could help himself by stopping Washington Sunday.

"I play well in big games," Cribbs said. "I like to think that about myself and about our team, that we do well against the best competition."

As for how this individual battle shakes down, Cribbs knows he'll need the help of his blockers when he's returning and his fellow cover men in slowing Washington. The rest -- including the impending Pro Bowl votes -- will take care of itself.

"I have a confidence," he said. "There's a standard with our kick return team. And if we keep up to the standard, I will be in the Pro Bowl. The best man will be in the Pro Bowl, whether it's him or me."