Teams have been foolish so far this season as they have challenged Josh Cribbs a lot and they have paid for it.  Cribbs has returned 25 kickoffs for 723 yards (28.9 avg) with a TD return this season and he has also returned 18 punts for 295 yards (16.4 avg) with a TD.  The Browns have only scored 72 points this season and 14 of them were scored by Cribbs so maybe opposing teams should be more careful with him back to return kicks and punts.  Not to mention that Cribbs has set up a lot of short fields for the offense to work on.  Kicker Billy Cundiff has done a excellent job in filling in for Phil Dawson who has been injured.  Cundiff has made all six of his field goal attempts and he has converted all four extra points this year for 22 points.  But, punter Dave Zastudil is probably the 2nd best player on the Browns (behind Cribbs) and that really says something about the quality of the roster.  He has punted the ball 43 times for 1,916 yards (44.6 avg) this season.  Zastudil has 5 touchbacks this season (11.6%) and he has pinned the opposition inside their 20-yard line 25 times this season for an alarming 58.1%!  Zastudil and Cribbs should be representing the Browns in the Pro Bowl this season if they stay healthy and continue to play at their current level.

32-year old inside linebacker Eric Barton was one of Eric Mangini’s guys from the Jets that he brought over.  He has played in all 7 games for the Browns this season and he has 56 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and he has defensed 2 passes.  Barton will probably lead the Browns in tackles this season as long as he stays healthy with D’Qwell Jackson out for the season.  Barton is one of only a couple of sure tacklers for the Browns but the D-Line doesn’t keep him too clean causing him problems.

Rumors are swirling that teams are calling the Browns about Josh Cribbs.  With the trade deadline looming on October 20th this is like a black cloud hovering over Berea.  Unless the Raiders or Chiefs want to give the Browns their first round pick next season the Browns should not consider moving Cribbs who is playing under a contract that is cheap.  He is clearly the most dynamic player on the Cleveland Browns.  With the issues they have on offense (248.4 yards per game) they can’t afford to trade Cribbs who often gives the team short fields to work with.  The 26-year old has returned 20 kickoffs for 522 yards (26.1 avg) and 16 punts for 260 yards (16.3 avg) with a TD this season.  He also runs the Browns’ version of the Wildcat Formation.  He has carried the ball 6 times for 56 yards (9.3 ypc) this season and he has caught 9 passes for 39 yards (4.3 avg).  Cribbs also has the capability to throw the football as he was a QB at Kent State.  The bottom line is that Cribbs is the best player on the Browns so they can’t afford to trade him, period!

With Braylon Edwards drawing double coverage from the Bengals last week rookie Mohamed Massaquoi went off catching 8 passes for 148 yards (18.5 avg).  With Edwards gone now and no legit WR on the other side Massaquoi will likely start getting double teamed himself this weekend by the Bills.  Massaquoi has the speed and hands to develop into a #1 WR in time but that might be a hard torch for him to carry so early in his career.  Unless Chansi Stuckey or fellow rookie Brian Robiskie (0 catches) can make defenses honest in covering Massaquoi he might have already had his best game of the season. 

25-year old backup linebacker Blake Costanzo has been a special teams ace for the Cleveland Browns this season.  He only has 1 tackle this season but he’s forced 2 fumbles already.  He forced a fumble on the opening kickoff last week setting the Browns up for a field goal.  It appears that Costanzo could become a fan favorite for the Browns as the special teams again appears to be the strength of the team.