Injury Report
Cleveland: Limited Participation in Practice: DB Leigh Bodden (back); LB D’Qwell Jackson (ankle), LB Willie McGinest (hamstring), LB Antwan Peek (knee) and DE Shaun Smith (knee).
Baltimore: Out: QB Steve McNair (shoulder), CB Samari Rolle (illness), WR Demetrius Williams (ankle); Did Not Participate in Practice: TE Todd Heap (thigh), S Gerome Sapp (thigh), TE Daniel Wilcox (foot); Limited Participation in Practice: CB Chris McAlister (knee), S Ed Reed (back); Full Participation in Practice: RS Yamon Figurs (knee), FB Le’Ron McClain (shoulder), LB Gary Stills (knee).
Something Special
Browns WR/KR Joshua Cribbs had a record setting afternoon against the Steelers in Week 10. Cribbs began the day in the first quarter with a 90-yard kickoff return down to the Pittsburgh three-yard line to set up the Browns second touchdown of the day, and followed it with a career-best 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter (tied for the fourth longest return in franchise history). Cribbs finished the day with a career-high 204 kickoff return yards, the second-highest single-game total in franchise history. The 100-yard return also marked his fourth career kickoff return for a touchdown, setting a Browns franchise record surpassing Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell (3).
In addition, Cribbs’ 1,230 kickoff return yards on the season rank first in the NFL. Cribbs, already the Browns record holder for most kickoff return yards in a season, needs 265 kickoff return yards to break the franchise record of 1,494 kickoff return yards in a single season, which he set last year.
Kickoff Return Yards
Joshua Cribbs – Cle 1,230 yards
Glenn Holt-Cin 938 yards
Leon Washington – NYJ 837 yards
Cribbs’ 32.4 yards per return average currently ranks second in the NFL.
Winning the battle for field position: The Browns, thanks in large part to the efforts of Cribbs, have the highest average starting field position in the NFL.
CLEVELAND 33.9
New York Jets 32.7
New England Patriots 32.0
The Wrigth Stuff
Browns DB Eric Wright leads the team with seven PBU on the season and has recorded a PBU in each of the last five games. Wright is also fourth on the team with 59 tackles (45 solo, 14 assists) and has contributed six special teams tackles. He recorded his first career interception in the Browns Week Six victory over the Dolphins before getting his first career sack last week against the Steelers.
The Century Club
Browns RB Jamal Lewis will play in his 100th career game this Sunday when the Browns travel to Baltimore. Lewis was originally drafted by the Ravens in 2000. In his seven seasons in Baltimore he rushed for 8,052 yards on 1,860 carries and 46 touchdowns. This will mark the first time Lewis returns to Baltimore donning another team’s colors.
Browns add Eslinger
The Cleveland Browns signed OL Greg Eslinger, the club announced Tuesday. Eslinger, 6-3 and 290 lbs., was signed off the Denver Broncos practice squad. Eslinger spent the first ten weeks of the regular season on the Broncos practice squad. Eslinger was a sixth-round draft choice by Denver in 2006 out of Minnesota and spent last season on Injured Reserve.
In the Community
On Monday, Nov. 19th from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., Browns TE Darnell Dinkins will be distributing Thanksgiving baskets, complete with a turkey and all the fixings for a Thanksgiving meal, to 87 families that are a part of the University Settlement, a neighborhood center serving families in the Broadway/Slavic Village neighborhood.
Several Browns players will be on hand on Tuesday, Nov. 20th from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. to distribute turkeys to families in need at the Empowerment Zone at East 93rd and Cedar Avenue.
From the Locker Room
Head Coach Romeo Crennel:
(On whether he is confident the team will bounce back and have put last week behind them)- “Well, I hope they have. That’s what we have to do. We have to put it aside because if you don’t put it aside, then we’re going to lose to Baltimore. We need to win that game.”
(On what KR/WR Joshua Cribbs has meant to the team this year)- “The thing is that he has gotten to the point where the opponent is concerned about him and they don’t want him to have the ball in his hands. They’re beginning not to kick the ball to him. We’re gaining field position that way. He’s still helping the team, even though he doesn’t have the ball in his hands. When he does get it in his hands he has the opportunity to help the team more because he gets it to mid-field, he gets it on the plus side or into the end zone. That’s a big swing. That really does help your team. Even though they’re not kicking to him he is still helping the team.”
QB Derek Anderson
(On what makes them confident that they can bounce back)- “We’ve done it before, done it all year. We’ll just keep plugging away. Obviously, we did some good things last week, but we’ll just keep moving along, coming in and do the things we’ve been doing.”
(On facing a tough defense)- “It’s a great defense. They’ve been making plays all season and that front seven – they’re beasts. They’ve got [S] Ed Reed – in the back end – who can make plays and roams the field. It’s a good challenge for us.”
WR Braylon Edwards
(On whether he’ll get more opportunities with the Ravens starting corners injured) – “I think so. I think I’ll get some more looks and things like that. But I think this whole team is salivating. After coming off last week, I think we’re ready for this one. I wish we could have played again on Sunday. To come against Baltimore we’re ready. We’re happy it’s another big game, in the sense of a conference game and a rivalry game. It’s a game the city can get up about. We’re excited and eager to play.”
RB Jamal Lewis
(On what it will be like to go back to Baltimore after spending seven seasons there) – “I look at it like any other team. We need to win on the road. This is a game that we really need. It’s in our division and that’s all I really look at. I’m not caught up in the Baltimore thing and it’s my old team. We’ve played them one time and we’ve dealt with that. Now I think it’s all about trying to put together a package and try to win the game.”
WR/KR Joshua Cribbs
(On whether it’s frustrating when opposing teams kick away from him) – “It’s very frustrating. We’re forced to revamp our game plan on special teams. We’re no longer expecting deep kicks. We have to prepare for sky kicks and squib kicks all the time now. (Teams) are sacrificing field position just to stop me. That just lets us know that our kick return unit is doing a great job.”
(On whether he feels that every time he touches the ball he can score) – “Yes. I feel that every runner, every guy should feel that way about their self. A winner wants the ball in their hand. Everybody feels that they can bring something to the table and I feel that way.”