Ravens still concerned about Josh Cribbs

 

The Baltimore Ravens’ respect for Cleveland Browns kick returner Josh Cribbs hasn’t been diminished by a season below his usual gold standard.
Slowed by injuries and the tactics of opponents, the Pro Bowl special-teams star is averaging only 20.8 yards per kickoff return with a long return of 36 yards.
He ranks 31st in the league.
He’s averaging just 8.2 yards per punt return with a long return of 17 yards.
Nonetheless, the Ravens still consider Cribbs to be a dangerous man.
“Yeah, he can break one at anytime,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Friday. “I spent a lot of time on the special teams tape this morning just kind of going back through it, and he really hasn’t had opportunities. People have not kicked him the ball. He’s had very few just straight up kickoff return opportunities.
“They’ve been squibbing it, they’ve been lobbing it, they’ve been kicking it over to the sideline on punts, kicking it out of bounds. He’s just had very few opportunities. I think they block as well as they ever have. We’re just going to have to be on top of our game, because he could make the difference. He has before.”
Cribbs has eight career kickoff returns for touchdowns, two punt returns for scores and is the NFL career leader in kickoff returns for touchdowns.
Against the Ravens, Cribbs set two of the Browns’ top three single-game kickoff return records.
In a Nov. 18, 2007 game, he had seven kickoffs for 245 yards.
One year later, Cribbs piled up 237 yards of kickoff returns that included a 92-yard touchdown.
“I know he’s had some issues, but I think one of the things that’s clear when I watch the video is that everybody respects him so much,” said special-teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg, who coached Cribbs as a rookie in Cleveland. “Nobody wants to give him the ball in open spaces, and they take extra efforts to kick the ball away from him, kick the ball out of bounds when they’re punting.
“And I think if you look at the numbers he’s had, he hasn’t had that many clean opportunities, and I think that’s probably the biggest thing. Everybody respects this guy; they know what he can do, and you just don’t want to put the game in his hands.”
In 11 career games against Baltimore, Cribbs has averaged 26.7 yards per kickoff return with 10 rushes for 59 yards and nine catches for 93 yards.
“It doesn't matter what the numbers are, he's still Josh Cribbs and he can hurt you if you don't do your job the right way,” Ravens running back Jalen Parmele said. “We know what we need to do special-teams wise. We have to have one of our best games of the season against these guys."

source: The National Post
author:  Aaron Wilson