Steelers begin prepairing for Joshua Cribbs

cpawfan · Sep 9, 2008

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08254/910807-66.stm

It would seem like child's play for Joshua Cribbs again Sunday night in Cleveland. He gets to return kicks against the Steelers.

That has been like robbing banks on Barney Fife's watch.

He returned one 92 yards against them for a touchdown in 2006 and came right back with one of 100 yards last season.

"There is one Joshua Cribbs, and we are going to see him on Sunday," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "No question what he did to us in the past was very critical in terms of how the game played out."

Cribbs put Cleveland on top by four points with his 100-yard, fourth-quarter kickoff return Nov. 11 in Heinz Field. The Browns' lead stood up until Ben Roethlisberger threw the winning touchdown pass to Heath Miller with 3:13 left for the Steelers.

Had the Steelers lost that game, the Browns would have won the AFC North.

The Steelers ranked 14th in the 16-team AFC as a kickoff unit last season, allowing opponents to start at the 29.9 yard line on average. This came after Tomlin hired two special teams coaches for the first time in franchise history and gave them extra time for practice.

Maybe the coverage teams finally have improved this season. Special-teams play, including those of the kick- and punt-coverage teams, were as good as their offense or defense in the 38-17 victory Sunday against Houston. The Texans' Andre Davis, who returned three kickoffs for touchdowns last season when he averaged 30.3 yards per return, was held to an 18.7-yard average on six kickoff returns Sunday. A seventh went through the end zone for a touchback.

Also, Mitch Berger averaged 43.0 yards on three punts with only 5 yards in returns.

A big part of those tiny returns by Houston was the play of Anthony Madison, William Gay, Andre Frazier, Carey Davis and newcomer Keyaron Fox. Rookie Donovan Woods led special teams with three tackles. Defensive starters James Harrison and Ryan Clark also had a tackle each.

"I liked what 22 [Gay] and 37 [Madison] do as a tandem," Tomlin said. "They have very similar jobs, whether it is kickoffs, punt, or punt return; they are really the same guy. They are coming into their own in terms of embracing those roles. They are much better as we sit here today than they were a year ago.

"I like the direction that those two guys are moving."

The Steelers signed Fox, a linebacker, as an unrestricted free agent from Kansas City mostly for his special-teams play, and he has not disappointed them.

"We like our cast of characters," Tomlin said. "We have some questions that need to be answered, and the only way that they are going to be answered is with quality play."

Jeff Reed, who made his only field-goal try from 44 yards, varied his kickoffs against Houston. He kicked in different directions and popped one up purposely. The only one not returned was an unintentional squib that the Texans could not field and the ball rolled through the end zone.

"Jeff needs to be at his best, and we have to be at our best as coverage people [against Cribbs], " said Tomlin.

"Some of the guys who are major contributors on those units were not here a year ago or had different roles. We are going to leave those bags behind and go compete against somebody who is one of the best in the world."

Improved special-teams play could only enhance the overall success of the Steelers because they did not get good play in that area last season.

They had no return game to speak of and have changed those characters as well. Mewelde Moore handles the punts with an expected occasional appearance by Santonio Holmes. Rookie Rashard Mendenhall returns kickoffs as the lone deep man.

"I thought that he did a nice job in the kickoff-return game putting the ball where it was supposed to be placed in terms of the return game," Tomlin said of Mendenhall. "He fielded the ball and he ran vertical. We were a couple of blocks or a little space away from doing something significant. I like where he is; I like where our kickoff-return team is."

It's not quite where Cribbs has been the past few seasons against the Steelers, but, perhaps, he will find more competence across the way Sunday night.

"We have a big windshield and a small rear-view [mirror]," Tomlin said. "We are going to prepare for what lies ahead this weekend."
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Steelers begin prepairing for Joshua Cribbs

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Steelers begin prepairing for Joshua Cribbs

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