With another losing season in the mail for the Browns, a frustrated Josh Cribbs wonders when Cleveland's fortunes finally will shift.
"I am fed up. I want to win this year," Cribbs told The Plain Dealer on Wednesday. "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."
After starring as Mr. Everything in a Wildcat-heavy attack in seasons past, his reduced role in coach Pat Shurmur's West Coast offense doesn't sit well with Cribbs. Despite his best season as a wideout, Cribbs went chilly when asked about his part in the game plan after Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Bengals.
"Uh ... I just won't answer that," Cribbs said.
Cribbs' frustrations go beyond his own production. Under multiple rebuilding projects, his star has risen, but the team continues to lose. Outside of a (somewhat bizarre) 10-6 season in 2007, Cleveland's lost 10 or more games per year dating back to 2002, the last time they reached the playoffs (sidenote: even that resulted in a crushing loss to the Steelers in the AFC Wildcard).
"I feel like I want to see a playoff, you know, as bad as our fans do," he 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."
