The Browns have lost 11 or more games in three straight years, and at 4-7 they’re heading in the same direction this year, and receiver Josh Cribbs is sick of it.
“I am fed up,” Cribbs told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “I want to win this year. Everybody says ‘we’re building, we look good.’ I don’t really care about the building process, because I want to win now. I’m not worried about next year, next year. I want to win now. So, that’s how I feel.”
It’s easy to see why Cribbs is fed up. Cribbs has played for the Browns his entire career, since 2005, and he’s never been to the playoffs. The Browns have had double-digit losses every year of his career but one.
“I feel like I want to see a playoff, you know, as bad as our fans do,” Cribbs said. “I feel like a fan sometimes when I speak because I hear them talk everyday, I run into them on the street. It hurts me not to win for them. That’s my ultimate motivation. . . . You got a lot of fans that their whole joy in life is watching the Browns play, hoping that they win, bringing their kids to the game. . . . When we don’t win, you know, the city feels down. So we need to win, plain and simple.”
The other issue for Cribbs is that the Browns have changed the way they use him in the offense. Although he already has career highs in catches (29), receiving yards (358) and receiving touchdowns (four) with five games to go, he has been phased out of the running game, with just six carries this year. Cribbs has made no secret that he likes lining up in the wildcat formation and running the ball, so he can’t be happy that he’s not doing much of that, although he wouldn’t answer directly when asked if he likes the way he’s being used in the offense this year.
“Uh . . . I just won’t answer that,” he said.
That non-answer says plenty.