Josh Cribbs: Forever A Brown

Three former Cleveland Browns players likely at the end of their careers were released by their respective teams yesterday. The New York Jets cut Braylon Edwards, the Washington Redskins did the same with Donte’ Stallworth, and the Oakland Raiders let go of Joshua Cribbs. Edwards and Stallworth will likely have no place in Browns lore. Edwards pushed his way out the door (both with Browns fans and members of LeBron James’s entourage) and Stallworth inexplicably is not still in prison. But, Cribbs was the polar opposite to Browns fans.

Terry Pluto wrote an excellent column on Cribbs following his release. It details just how hard Cribbs worked to get on the team and the sacrifices he took to his body on his way to three Pro Bowl appearances as a special teamer during his tenure with the Browns. It was this type of work ethic that won him over with Browns fans.

Since 1999, the Browns haven’t lived up to the legacy that they established prior to their move. There has been a general disconnect between the team’s carousel of front offices and the fan base. Of the mountain of players that have come through the Berea training facility, only Cribbs and Phil Dawson have been admired at the level of players from the 1980s Browns teams. That’s because Cribbs and Dawson got it. They understood that the Browns were about being a community. They understood that the fans liked hard work, putting the team and city first, and laying their absolute best out on to the field. While the rest of the league’s fans laughed at the Browns faithful gushing over a couple special teamers, Clevelanders were just happy that someone understood them and played their hearts out for them on Sunday.

Cribbs played his heart out for teams that didn’t even deserve that. At best, a return specialist on a better team and functioning organization, Cribbs did that along with being a gunner on special teams, a second/deep threat wide receiver, and a potential quarterback in the Wildcat offense. Such use led to some scary moments and potential major injuries, and yet, as Pluto’s article points out, Cribbs only missed two games in the last seven years. He was this generation’s Eric Metcalf for Browns fans, an entertaining lightning rod overused at a position he wouldn’t play on any other team in the league.

Time may have run out on Cribbs’s athletic career. The Raiders, an organization that could play the game, “Who’s More Dysfunctional?” with the Browns over the past several years, released him, which likely means there won’t be much of a market for a special teamer with diminished skills. This is the time for the current Browns organization to reach out to Cribbs with an understanding of what he means for this community. Plenty of former Browns players have been welcomed back, and if it interests Cribbs, he should be offered some type of position in the organization that stresses his social and communal strengths that made him so loved by Clevelanders.

Cleveland is a loyal city. It loves the people that have been faithful to them (Bernie Kosar), and are even forgiving of the ones who brought great memories and left (Jim Thome). If his career is over and there isn’t a place for Cribbs on any other roster, there will always be a place for him in Cleveland. It’s time to bring #16 back home.

Changing Cleveland Team Nicknames?

On Grantland, Zach Lowe recently wrote, “The Definitive Guide to NBA Team Names.” On the list of 30 NBA team nicknames, Lowe ranked the Cleveland Cavaliers as #29. With such a low ranking, it made me wonder how I would react as a fan if the Cleveland Cavaliers were to change their name.

Are the Cavaliers deserving of a ranking this low for their nickname? Sure. Though, I'm not sure that I care all that much about their team nickname. It's likely because the Cavaliers will always be the third team in town for Cleveland fans unless LeBron James returns (frankly, the Cavaliers could have been called the Cleveland Urinals as long as LeBron was in a uniform and playing for them). It also might be that team nicknames don't have much of an impact on me. Then again, Cleveland is the home to sports teams who have had a uniquely different history when it comes to their nicknames.

For me, the Cavaliers were a team to cheer for when I was growing up in the late 1980s and early 1990s. With Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, and Larry Nance, the team was filled with talent and had the potential for a NBA title if Michael Jordan never existed. The Cavaliers were really the Cavs as evidenced by their iconic logo and appealing blue and orange jerseys. There was something special to the Richfield Coliseum and the Cavs logo on the floor.

If the Cavaliers are deserving of any criticism, it is the creation of possibly the most horrifying jersey in NBA history. In the wake of the move to the new Gund Arena, the Cavs chose to change their jerseys. I'm not sure who designed it, but it looked like the Saved by the Bell opening credits vomited out a basketball jersey. The jersey became a symbol of the mediocrity of the mid-1990s Cavs shuttling through journeyman players and starters that would be bench players on other teams with the only highlights coming from barely All-Stars in Terrell Brandon and Tyrone Hill. The era was highlighted by the acquisition of fat Shawn Kemp, which led to one unimpressive first-round playoff series loss to the Indiana Pacers.

This is sad in so many ways.

If the Cavaliers wanted to change their nickname, it should have come when Dan Gilbert acquired the team. Instead, Gilbert changed the team colors back to wine and gold, which made sense because all Cleveland fans really wanted to remember those glory days of Ted Stepien.

If anything, I'd care more about the Cavs going back to blue and orange. I don't have much of a feeling to the Cavaliers changing their name because, for all the reasons that Lowe states, it is meaningless. But, the Cavaliers are the Cavs, and they've been the Cavs for as long as I've lived, and even the name makes no sense, it's kind of become ingrained in Cleveland fans' minds enough to not touch it.

On the other hand, the Cleveland Indians have long been mired in controversy of whether or not they would change their team name. The Indians have more history than the Cavs, and defenders of the name say it was made as an homage to former player Louis Sockalexis. But, that point has never been verified as actual fact, and defenders will often find ways to use “history” and “tradition” as a means to cover up racism. Chief Wahoo is an odd and uncomfortable logo, and the long, sad history associated with Native Americans in this country is enough to say that no sports team really needs a nickname like this one. I'm more likely to want and not be affected by the Indians changing their name than the meaningless Cavaliers.

The interesting part to Cleveland nicknames is the Browns. In the wake of the Browns move, the city desperately wanted to keep the teams records, logo, and name. The idea of the Baltimore Browns was disturbing. When that was accomplished, it was a bizarrely accepted runner-up prize to the loss of the franchise for fans. Of course, time has told the story, and I think any Browns fans would rather be the Cleveland Pierogies and have two Super Bowl wins under their belt while seeing the Baltimore Browns be insignificant than the exact opposite occurring.

In the end, the Cavaliers are a terrible nickname, but I'm not sure it matters in the whole scope of Cleveland sports. We have had bigger issues with team nicknames, and the fan base of Cleveland likely wouldn't care what our team name was as long as we win one title.

Now, for another memorable moment that the mid-1990s Cavs brought us:

Browns Organization Looking Surprisingly Sane

When the Cleveland Browns named Brandon Weeden their starting quarterback yesterday, it was yet another sign for fans that the current organization may be sane. While this may be a first sentence more fitting for an article in The Onion, it’s actually a sad reality to the dysfunction that has plagued the Browns’ front office since the team returned to the league in 1999.

The best organizations in the league have succeeded with a sound front office and a highly skilled quarterback with strong leadership ability. In fourteen seasons, the Browns have shown the exact opposite skill set. The front offices and coaching staffs don’t fully support their starting quarterback and a constant carousel of all of these positions occur in a comical and depressing fashion (from Spergon Wynn throwing passes directly into the ground to Phil Savage resigning but then John Collins being fired instead to George Kokinis’s quick dismissal to Romeo Crennel flipping a coin to determine a starter to fans cheering Derek Anderson as he lay injured on the field).

When Jimmy Haslam purchased the Browns last season from Randy Lerner, Browns fans reasonably had mixed feelings. A new owner likely meant another organizational change for the most inconsistent front office in the league. But, after cleaning house, Haslam selected an experienced CEO in Joe Banner. They smartly didn’t hire Chip Kelly either via Kelly’s own decision or their own (the Browns didn’t have the proper quarterback in Weeden to run Kelly’s offensive system, which would have led to yet another starting quarterback in a Browns uniform), and then went with Rob Chudzinksi.

While an odd choice in a way, Chudzinski brought three positive attributes: his history of being a Browns fan, an explosive offensive mind that would fit Weeden far better than Pat Shurmur’s West Coast system, and seasoned coordinators in Norv Turner and Ray Horton. Browns fans need to be able to relate. The fan base has had too many coaches who seemed distant from them either due to their aloofness in press conferences (Crennel and Shurmur) or apparent total disregard for criticism (Butch Davis and Eric Mangini). With Chudzinski once being a fan, he has an understanding of the history and make-up of the Browns' supporters. Turner and Horton serve well as coaches right by Chudzinski's side, and his ability to grab a two-time Super Bowl winning offensive coordinator along with a defensive coordinator who easily could be the Arizona Cardinals head coach right now was impressive.

The hiring of Michael Lombardi as General Manager was a questionable one. With his historic connection to the departing Browns in 1995, Lombardi has left a sour taste in the mouths of most Browns fans. But, the new administration has allowed Lombardi to be quiet for better or worse, and Banner has taken the helm as the representative who speaks to the media on all decisions. During the Bernie Kosar broadcasting "scandal," Banner headed off the issue with an apology to the Rams. Counter that instance with Mike Holmgren taking a week to address the media on the far more serious issue of Colt McCoy's concussion. There were signs that the structure of the organization was better than it had ever been in the Lerner era.

But, when Jimmy Haslam's Pilot Flying J came under fraud investigation from the FBI, it looked like the new administration was already set for the usual dysfunction in Berea. The coaching staff and players have managed to decently weather the storm of any off-the-field Haslam distractions.
When Chudzinski announced there would be a “competition” between Weeden and Jason Campbell, most Browns fans rolled their eyes. It was inevitable that Weeden would be the starter otherwise the new organization was wasting away a first-round pick from the previous year for a now journeyman back-up to take over the helm. The “competition” was looked at as a way to fire up Weeden.
Strangely, at least from preseason standards, it's worked. Weeden's 18-for-25 with 229 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. The offense has looked fluid. Receivers are open and, in fact, wide open, which is something Browns fans rarely saw in Shurmur's quick throwing system. It's still the preseason, but there's reason to believe that with Chudzinski and Turner, the offense will be vastly improved.

 Browns fans can only hope Weeden's arm can bring a different type of organization to town.

It's why the “competition” has worked and the announcement of Weeden as the starter at this point shows the organization has some sense. It wanted to challenge Weeden to impress them, and he did so quickly within the first two preseason games. So far, it may be a testament to both coaching and play calling along with Weeden's determination and offseason workouts. But, to announce him as starter now gives the Browns the knowledge of how they are heading forward in the final two preseason games and into the September 8 opener against the Dolphins. Weeden is their leader, and will be the first Browns starting quarterback to start the opener two seasons in a row since 2007 (Charlie Frye was the last, and he was traded the day after the 2007 opener, an embarrassing 34-7 loss to the Steelers).

The ball now falls squarely on Weeden to see if the Browns can finally have some consistency at the quarterback position. Weeden turns 30 this year. The time is slipping away, but he's also in a system that fits his skills better than ever. He has to start off strong otherwise fickle Browns fans will inexplicably be calling for Campbell's name. Cleveland is desperate now not just for a winner, but to actually watch entertaining football. It's time for Weeden to air it out otherwise Browns fans will be letting the air out of another season with a high first-round draft pick.