Cribbs ready for whatever's next

11.20.2008

Some people have a full day at work.

Then there's the Browns' Joshua Cribbs.

He already returns punts and kickoffs, plays on all the special teams coverage units and works as a reserve wide receiver.

Now, because of a slew of injuries in the backfield involving running backs Jason Wright (stinger) and Jerome Harrison (hamstring), and fullback Lawrence Vickers (ankle), he may be asked to spend some time there as well on Sunday when the Houston Texans visit Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Correction. More time there. He's lined up next to the quarterback and as the quarterback from time to time this season.

And if there's more? Cribbs says bring it on.

"I've said all along that the more you can do for your team in the NFL, the better," Cribbs said before practice on Thursday. "I came into this league saying I'd play any position for my team, and whenever the situation arises, I'm honored to be counted on at that position."

On a temporary basis only, he insists, not wanting to step on anyone's toes.

"I can't fill those guys' shoes," he said of the running backs. "They're very athletic and very talented. It's not like I'm going in and taking anyone's spot. It's just an emergency precautionary step we have to take."

Emergency situations are Cribbs' specialty. He's built for chaotic situations because of his versatility.

Is there a position on the field he can't play?

"I would like to say no," he said. "I think I could step in at any spot. If we had a lot of linemen go down, put me at tackle or put me at guard. I can long snap. And in Pop Warner ball, I was a linebacker."

Cribbs had been a slash-type quarterback at Kent State, where he ran the ball about as many times as he threw it on his way to scoring a combined total of 93 touchdowns. He said when he came to the Browns in 2005, they were well-stocked at running back with the likes of Reuben Droughns, who had the team's first 1,000-yard season in 20 years with 1,232.

He never planned at being a pro quarterback, so "the next-best thing," as he calls it, was to move to wide receiver. After all, he explained, he threw to the wide receivers at Kent - sometimes, anyway.

Now, though, he's starting to think that running back may be his more natural position, and would welcome a switch there next season if the coaches think it would help the team. When he wasn't throwing, or running himself, at Kent, he was handing off to a back. No matter what he did, it all began in the backfield. That's where he has always felt most comfortable.

"When I ran in college at quarterback running the ball, it was, ‘Go follow those blockers and make a play,' " he said. "It's what you do at running back. It's what you do as a returner. Being a returner is just like being a running back."

Cribbs got his first rushing TD in his four-year NFL career last Monday night in the 29-27 win at Buffalo when he came roaring in from the flank, tookan insidehandoff and jumped over the goal line from two yards out.

"You try not to think about it, but you can't help but think about it," he said of his anticipation in getting a chance to carry the ball on Monday Night Football. "I knew when they called the play that it was going to go for a touchdown.

"I had a grin on my face as I was lining up, ready to score, but you probably couldn't see it because of the cold.

"There is no doubt when I get the ball that close to the goal line, it's going to be a touchdown."

It always was when he was with the Golden Flashes, so why not now?

"But this is not like college," Cribbs pointed out. "The players up here are bigger and stronger than they were in college."

But isn't he bigger and stronger, too?

"Exactly," he said.

"So we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

No doubt Cribbs will be ready on Sunday for whatever he's asked to do. Now, just how many more carries does he think he has in him?

"As many as it takes," he said.

That's just the kind of answer you'd expect from someone like Joshua Cribbs.