FanHouse JoshCribbs

Josh Cribbs suffered a horrible injury (update: Cribbs was released from the hospital early Tuesday after undergoing tests which turned out negative; he may even play this Sunday, according to the Browns) in Monday night's loss to the Ravens. Now, you don't need to be an "expert" on the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE to understand that anytime you run a designed-out-of-desperation play when you're down by 16 points, you are risking the health of everybody involved in the play.

The plan was supposed to work something like this: disgruntled Browns fan, as a show of their repugnance at how the organization was systematically being run into the ground, wouldn't be in their seats for the opening kickoff of the nationally televised Monday night game against the Ravens.

You really do have to feel kind of bad for Browns fans. Here's a group of people that were among the most loyal fans in football (and, truthfully, they still are) only to have their team ripped away from them in 1995 and taken to Baltimore where they won a Super Bowl five years later.

After patiently waiting for three years, Cleveland was given its team back in 1999, and this is what they were rewarded with: absolute chaos. And losing. A lot of losing.

On Sunday, the Browns were obliterated on their home turf, 31-3, by the Green Bay Packers and the fans in attendance decided to take that opportunity to amuse themselves in unique and hilarious ways.

If there were any lingering doubts that Braylon Edwards might have given something less than 100 percent during his final season (or two) in Cleveland, his Monday night performance with his new team removed all doubt.

Traded to the Jets earlier in the week, Edwards caught five passes for 64 yards, including a touchdown (as well as another reception down to the Dolphins' 1-yard line). And the guy known for hands of stone in recent years caught everything thrown in his direction. Weird.

Long-suffering Browns fans were unimpressed with Edwards' sudden resurgence and they let the former third-overall pick know about it via Twitter. Which prompted this response from Braylon.

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Braylon Edwards would probably like to get his hands on a time machine and go back 12 months. And as long as we're defying the laws of physics, Derek Anderson would like to hitch a ride, too. A year ago, both players were coming off Pro Bowl seasons.

Today, they're still with the team, but have endured myriad trade rumors, inconsistent play, and for Anderson, a midseason benching.

Yet, training camp is five weeks off and both remain on the roster. New head coach Eric Mangini hasn't named his starting quarterback, although the word on the street is that it's Brady Quinn's job to lose. And Edwards, the club's 2005 first-round pick, is not only off the trading block, but should be an integral part of the Browns' offense.

On Tuesday, I mentioned that Josh Cribbs, the Browns Pro Bowl return man and sometimes wideout, would be skipping voluntary workouts because he wants a new contract. In 2007, months before he emerged as a Devin Hester-type special teams threat, Cleveland signed Cribbs to a six-year, $6 million extension.

Now, four punt- and kick-return touchdowns later, Cribbs is bucking for a promotion. And if the Browns aren't willing to give it to him, he'd like to be traded, thank you very much. Via ESPN.com's John Clayton:

The offseason workouts, before training camps start in late July, are when players not fully committed to holding out send up the "I'm thinking about asking for more money" trial balloons. It usually involves missing organized team activities (OTAs), most of which are technically voluntary.

A typical scenario might go something like this: the player's agent lets the front office know his client wants more dough; while the front office decides its next move, the player skips the shorts-and-T-shirts workouts in May and June to show he's sorta serious; and then, as the season approaches, the player makes one last plea for a new deal, and if he's rebuffed, promptly shows up for training camp. Because there's a difference between taking a stand and taking a stand without pay.

Romeo Crennel will be a free man in six days. And if yesterday's emotionless post-game presser is any indication, he's already accepted his fate. For the sake of professionalism, however, Crennel will feign interest as the Browns prepare for the Steelers in a meaningless Week 17 affair.

Cleveland, 4-11 and fresh off getting shutout courtesy of the mighty Bengals, will face a Pittsburgh team that has already wrapped up a first-round bye. And while the Steelers will probably play backups for most of the afternoon, the Browns have nothing to lose by playing their starters. The ones left standing, anyway.

Tight end Kellen Winslow has missed three games with a high ankle sprain and the quarterback position has been FUBAR for some time. Derek Anderson was benched for Brady Quinn, who promptly broke a bone in his hand and landed on injured reserve. Anderson then blew up his knee, and now third-teamer Ken Dorsey looks iffy for the Sunday finale. Which means more Bruce Gradkowski for everybody!

The last time Browns fans cheered their starting quarterback going down with an injury the team went to the playoffs. It was 2002, and then-face of the franchise Tim Couch was in the process of getting "Wally Pipped" by Kelly Holcomb. History repeated itself on Sunday, except this time, there will be no postseason. Just a bunch of guys limping through the final month of the season.

Yesterday, some fans at Cleveland Browns Stadium happily voiced their pleasure after Derek Anderson crumpled to the turf and suffered what looks like a season-ending knee injury. Predictably, neither Anderson nor his teammates were impressed.

Earlier this week, Browns general manager Phil Savage got the bright idea to send a "f#@* you" e-mail response to an unhappy fan. As you might've guessed, it blew up in his face, head coach Romeo Crennel called the incident "unfortunate," and Savage had to later apologize for the momentary lapse in judgement.

I can't imagine the organization would fire Savage over this singular act, but when coupled with his other questionable front-office moves, it's almost a no-brainer. But that would be unwarranted according to Brett, the recipient of Savage's f-bomb e-mail following the Browns' come-from-behind victory over the Bills on Monday night:

''If he actually gets fired for that, I hope to God he doesn't,'' Brett said by telephone, ''I'd like Randy Lerner to call me. It shows Phil Savage has a passion for the game. That's what we need. If he does get fired over something like this, we need a new owner.''

Brett, who wanted to remain anonymous, even though he admitted to doing a television interview Thursday, also added this: