Way to go Browns! Hope you don't Cribbs!

Now that the momentous Mangini decision is out of the way, Josh Cribbs cleans out his locker.

The back story:

Al Lerner (Brooklyn, NY native, former Marine and chairman of MBNA bank) helps his pal, Art Modell move my beloved Cleveland Browns to Baltimore to become the Ravens. Then in 1998, Al purchased the rights to the team we now also coincidentally call the Cleveland Browns. Al died in 2002, leaving his billions and the new Browns team to his son, Randy. Randy graduated with a Law degree from Columbia University in 1984 and helped sell MBNA to Bank of America in 2006 for $35 billion.

While Randy may be a fine billionaire, businessman and lawyer, he seems to have very little knowledge of this game called football here in the USA. He may however have a bit more knowledge or at least interest in what they call football over in the UK and is also owner and chairman of the Aston Villa Football club. He is also quite a philanthropist and art-lover, making the largest charitable donation ever to London's famed National Portrait Gallery. According to Wikipedia, he is married with 4 kids. That's all I'm saying about that other than he loves wearing ascots to London art museums.

I bring all this up to point out that Randy's interests probably don't really lie in Cleveland or football. Some of his business interests do for sure but I don't really think he could tell you the difference between a punter or a quarterback if you asked him. Good luck with asking him though if you are a Cleveland Browns fan. Randy is the equivalent of an absentee landlord when it comes the Browns. He rarely attends the games, rarely gives interviews and although Forbes has his residence listed in Cleveland it's really just his Dad's old estate. Randy prefers his place on Long Island, NY with his Spielberg and Seinfeld neighbors or over across the pond near his art museum and futball team. To his credit, I think he knows he knows very little about football and has been searching for a face and team leader since he took over ownership.

Let's review:

1946 to 1995- The Browns are the pride of Cleveland with many Championships and competitive teams. My first memories are of Sipe, Rutigliano & the Kardiac Kids. The Dawg pound is born. Kosar & company are great. Although I've never seen them play I take pride in the stories of past glory and greats like Otto Graham & Jim Brown.

1999- from the 49ers, the Browns return with Carmen Policy as CEO/president and Dwight Clark as GM. Chris Palmer (former offensive coordinator of the Jaguars) takes the reigns for the first time as an NFL headcoach. Palmer goes 5-27 in his two years with the Browns. To rub salt in the wound, the Ravens win the Superbowl XXXV at the end of 2000 season.

2001- from the University of Miami, Butch Davis gets his first crack at being an NFL headcoach and takes the team to 7-9. Dwight Clark resigns as GM and the team goes 9-7 with a brief appearance in the playoffs in 2002, only to lose in the first round to Pittsburgh.

Dec. 2002- Al Lerner dies and leaves the team to Randy.

2003- Davis reverts to a 5-11 season and resigns after a 3-8 start in 2004. Policy had already resigned earlier in the year. Offensive Coordinator, Terry Robiskie (Brian's dad) is left holding the bag as interim headcoach.

2005- Randy hires Phil Savage as GM and Romeo Crennel (former defensive coordinator for the Patriots) to take a turn at trying to be an NFL headcoach and goes 6-10. The Browns sign Josh Cribbs out of Kent State as an undrafted free agent, he makes the team, averages 24.5 yards per return, and his total of 1,094 return yards set a franchise record.

2006- The Browns go 4-12. Josh Cribbs signs a 6-year contract extension ($6 million over 6 years) and he breaks his own franchise record for most kickoff yardage in a season.

2007- Miracle of Miracles. DA, K2, J-Lew & Braylon light it up and go 10-6. They still don't make the playoffs because DA chokes in the play-off, clinching Cincy game. Josh Cribbs goes to the ProBowl as the AFC 's kick returner.

2008- Disaster of disasters. Cribbs is told by Savage in training camp that his contract will be renegotiated at the end of the year. Randy reiterates that promise. The Browns go 4-12, go through 4 QBs and finish the season with 6 straight losses, 24 quarters without an offensive touchdown and are completely shutout in the final two games. Crennel & Savage are fired. Cribbs scores a touchdown on a kickoff return for the fourth straight season, scores a rushing TD on Monday Night Football and is named as an emergency back-up QB but gets no new contract.

2009- Randy hires former Brown's ball boy and former headcoach of the Jets (23-25), Eric Mangini to take over and allows him to hand-pick his own GM (George Kokinis). Randy fires George halfway through the season and after a 1-11 start, the team wins the last four games in a row to end up 5-11. Josh Cribbs did not get a new contract as promised nor did he hold out of training camp. He did show up and play his guts out every game. He caught 20 passes for 135 yards and a TD, ran the ball 55 times for 381 yards and a TD, threw the ball 4 times for 18 yards, returned 38 punts for 452 yards and a TD, and returned 39 kicks for 1542 yards and 3 TDs. Cribbs was once again named to the ProBowl and now holds the all-time NFL record for most kick-returns for touchdowns. On a team that only scored 25 touchdowns all season, Cribbs scored 6 of them in four different ways.

2010- Holmgren takes over as president "the guy" in Jan. 2010. Holmgren keeps Mangini and offers Cribbs the same offer they gave him earlier in the year which they knew was unacceptable. Cribbs cleans out his locker and asks for a trade. Way to go new guy.

But back to the point I think I was trying to make. Randy Lerner is clueless and Josh Cribbs deserves more money. I say this as a guy who won't make in my lifetime what Cribbs makes now in a year. I'm just following the capitalist logic of you are what you are worth. Randy is clueless because he comes out in the middle of a horrible losing season and meets with two loud-mouth fans that are threatening to boycott the kick-off of a game. They weren't threatening not to attend or buy tickets or merchandise. They just weren't gonna watch the first few minutes. Well it worked. It definitely got Randy's attention. So much so that he proclaims he will hire a big-name, football-czar to run the show. He had just hired Mangini to do that less than a year before that. He then hires a guy (Holmgren) to be the coach's new boss (or the new coach) before the season is even over and then he disappears from the scene once again. Randy where are you!!!!!!!!!!

As for what Josh Cribbs is worth? I don't know exactly how much money the NFL & Browns get from tv & radio ads during the games but, I do know Josh Cribbs was about the only reason many of us tuned in or showed up at the stadium this last season. So from that perspective, he is worth the entire advertisement sales revenue of the Cleveland Browns. Without him no one would have watched. No one would have known if the games were blacked out or not because no one would have cared. I think he is worth more than an O-lineman that didn't play at all last year and played only 1 game in 2008 but Ryan Tucker is still making 4 times the amount of Cribbs. I think he is worth more than a completely useless wide-receiver that ran over and killed a guy while drinking and driving and didn't play at all last year but, Donte Stallworth still gets paid more from Randy Lerner than Josh Cribbs does. Ryan Pontbriand the long snapper makes 5 times the amount Josh Cribbs does! That's why Randy may be a great businessman and knows how to screw over his best player, the only reason to watch his team in order to save a buck but he does NOT know football or the fans of Cleveland.

If he wants his team to make money by having fans then he might want to make us fans happy by paying the only reason we watch this team what he is worth. Otherwise, Josh Cribbs will be gone and so will a lot of other long-time, paying customers in brown & orange. The team will just not represent something I am able to support anymore. I will no longer be able to support or root for a team that treats it's finest player that way. Cribbs did sign a contract. He has played way above and beyond the parameters that original contract was based upon. He has far exceeded expectations and has taken on many more roles and responsibilities since that signing. He deserves a fair raise that is comparable to other players of his caliber. Instead the Browns are taking advantage of the fact that Cribbs did not have a big-time agent when he signed that first contract. Randy, Holmgren, Mangini, Dawn Aponte, Romeo, Savage all know he is worth far more than what he is getting paid.

Cribbs now wants traded because the Browns will not treat him fairly and prefer to play low-ball with him. He is cleaning out the locker. Randy! Holmgren! Mangini! Pay the man! Because if he walks, I will too. I am sure that many others may as well. How can I cheer for an organization that treats a player like Cribbs, who has never been a detraction or problem, from all accounts is a great teammate, a fine example to our kids, and a public servant to the community of Cleveland like he is only worth $1 million a year? Now that I think about it.... that really doesn't sound too bad. I wonder who we could get in a trade for him?

No, back to original thought.... Get a clue Randy! Pay the Man!