Ailing Cribbs endures season of struggles with Browns

BEREA, Ohio -- Joshua Cribbs used his right hand to show what's wrong with his right foot.

Bending his fingers back, the Cleveland Browns' Pro Bowl return specialist explained that his toes were jammed back into the soft tissue of his foot earlier this season, an injury that has forced him to wear linemen's cleats for protection.

"It's excruciating pain," Cribbs said. "I can't even describe it."

Summarizing his season is just as hard.

The NFL's career leader in kickoff returns for touchdown hasn't broken one this season for the Browns (5-9), who have been ravaged by injuries. But even before he was hurt Nov. 14 while being tackled on a 37-yard reception, Cribbs wasn't the usual Cribbs.

With opposing teams scheming to keep the ball out of his hands on kickoffs and punts, Cribbs hasn't been able to do what he does best -- give Cleveland's offense quick points or a short field. He has averaged a career-low 20.4 yards on 33 kickoff returns this season.

"It has been humbling," said Cribbs, who had his contract reworked last winter by the Browns after some contentious negotiations. "But mostly it's been disappointing for me not to give some great fans what they deserve in my play, from an individual and team standpoint.

"I want to do so many great things to help my team and produce and wasn't able to. So I take that as a personal loss. But at this point, it's football and I want to play."

There's no denying Cribbs' heart. An undrafted free agent, he has fought for and earned everything he has. But without him at his best, the Browns' special teams have suffered.

Cribbs missed only one game after dislocating four toes, sitting Nov. 21 at Jacksonville. He has been on the field every other Sunday, but it's obvious that he hasn't been himself.

Not even close.

Cribbs can't push off as usual or accelerate. He's not hitting any holes or creases quickly enough to pop a big return. He's not breaking tackles. And the injury has inhibited the Browns from using him at quarterback in the Wildcat formation or at wide receiver.

Cribbs has two catches for 11 yards and one rush for minus-11 since being hurt.

"There are things I can't do," said Cribbs, his hooded sweatshirt covering his head. "The coaches are working with me, trying to allow me to do what I can. But it's football. I could easily sit down and be like, 'Coach, I'm going to try to take care of myself for next year.' I love football too much. Even my teammates ask me, 'If you ain't good, why don't you sit down?'

"This is what it's all about -- pushing through injuries, going to work when you don't have to and battling. This is Cleveland. How do I look with a foot injury and I can't go to work and make the money I'm supposed to make, and people got to work with worse circumstances than me? So I just gotta push through the injuries and do as much as I can for my team."

Cleveland's coaches know Cribbs' limitations. They understand he's hurting and that only a full offseason of rest will make him well. But until the season wraps Jan. 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cribbs intends to give his best.

As long as he can walk, Cribbs will run out and play.

"I don't want to get taken out," he said. "They are going to have to pull me off the field. Somebody is going to have to say, 'Look you can't play, your leg is broken.'"

Last season, Cribbs accounted for 2,510 all-purpose yards. With two games to play this season, he's at 1,109 yards. But despite the substantial drop-off, Browns coach Eric Mangini appreciates Cribbs' toughness and determination.

"I would obviously love for him to have the same level of production that he had last year, and he would love that too," Mangini said. "It's not like he ever sits back and says, 'I haven't done as much as I have hoped and better luck next year.' Josh is trying to be as helpful and productive and explosive as he can."

Cribbs is understandably frustrated. He's powerless to speed up his recovery. There's nothing to do but make the most of a bad situation.

If the Browns have designs on beating the Baltimore Ravens this week or the Steelers next Sunday, Cribbs might need to find a lane, get through it as fast as possible and not stop until he scores.

Does he have one in him?

"Oh yeah," he said. "That's what I'm trying to get done, what I'm trying to accomplish. I need to score for my football team. I need to score to keep things rolling for myself. But most importantly, for our football team, to let them know that we still have a powerful and dangerous kickoff return unit. We've yet to show that, but we're still working at it."

For Cribbs, it's been a painful process.

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Staubach, Aikman lament Cowboys' struggles this season

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Exactly 100 days before the Super Bowl, Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman aren't expecting their old team to make it.

They can hardly believe it, either.

"To be done before you get out of the month of October is pretty shocking," Aikman said.

Like many fans, the Hall of Fame quarterbacks expected big things from the Dallas Cowboys this season. They also had more than the usual reasons to root for their old team: Staubach is the chairman and Aikman the vice-chair of the Super Bowl host committee. Aikman also is broadcasting the game for Fox.

But Dallas is 1-5, closer to earning the top pick in the draft than a berth in the playoffs. And the Cowboys just lost quarterback Tony Romo to a broken left collarbone.

So instead of becoming the first team to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium, the Cowboys appear ready to join the worst records of the Jerry Jones era: 1-15 in Aikman's rookie year and 5-11 in Aikman's final season and each of the next two years.

"I thought we would be more 5-1 than 1-5," Staubach said. "I still feel we can be a respectful team the rest of the year. But we have put ourselves in a hole."

Both spoke Thursday at a luncheon at Cowboys Stadium celebrating the countdown to the Super Bowl. Jones took part, too, and the owner said he's hopeful the new starting quarterback, 38-year-old Jon Kitna, can lead a turnaround.

"I felt better when (Romo) was healthy and was able to give us what he has to win these games," Jones said. "On the other hand, I'm not about to dismiss the opportunity here with Kitna. That'd be nuts. Plus, I think he gives us a much better chance than to have the mentality that we don't have a chance to win a lot of ballgames."

Romo doesn't need surgery, just six to eight weeks for the bone to heal. Jones said it's too early to say whether or not Romo will play again this season.

"The faster he heals, the better I like (the chances)," Jones said. "We have to see what the circumstances are at that time. We have to see how well we are playing."

Jones brought up a saying that he often heard from his college coaches: "They remember what you do in November." His point was that even "if we don't have an opportunity to be in the playoffs, we want to be playing good."

Aikman can commiserate with Romo -- he broke his left collarbone in 1998. Aikman missed five games, plus a bye week, then returned to lead the Cowboys to a division title.

"It was my non-throwing shoulder, so you'd kind of think that you could go out and play as long as you can tolerate the pain," he said. "But I couldn't throw the ball. I couldn't open up my left shoulder at all to make a throw. And then you certainly are at risk in the pocket of injuring it even further."

Aikman isn't ruling out a few more starts for Romo.

"If you're healthy and you're told that you're capable of playing and the medical staff signs off on it, to me, you play because that's what you are paid to do," Aikman said. "But I'm not the one paying bills and writing the checks, so it's easy for me to say that."

Staubach said he's available to play if things don't work out with Kitna. Although he's 68, Staubach was known as Captain Comeback.

"I have offered to play quarterback on Sunday," Staubach said. "My arm is in good shape. I think I can help them without Tony out there. I don't know Kitna. He's a nice guy, though. But he's about my age, isn't he? He is a veteran good quarterback, but I'm a veteran quarterback, too. ... I want the Cowboys to get back on track. If I could help, I would get out there and do it."

How about you, Troy?

"The way they're protecting these quarterbacks, I think I could play now," said Aikman, one month shy of 44 -- and just a few years older than Brett Favre. "I've always said: If I didn't have to get hit, physically, I think I could play. And they're not letting the quarterbacks get hit, so I think I could do it."

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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