With the 3-9 Jets well out of playoff contention, what happens on special teams looks like the most compelling angle to their Sunday home matchup with the Browns.
Just don’t expect Jets return ace Leon Washington to be a willing participant in any drama with Cleveland counterpart Joshua Cribbs.
“The only duel that we will have is for the Jets to win the game,” Washington said yesterday when asked about his potential Pro Bowl showdown with Cribbs. “I can’t worry about any individual matchups or whatever people are trying to make it out to be.”
Despite Washington’s nonchalance, the stakes are high for the second-year running back. He and Cribbs are locked in a fierce battle to represent the AFC on special teams in Hawaii, and Pro Bowl balloting ends Thursday.
That means Sunday’s matchup is the last chance for Washington and Cribbs to make their case to the league’s players and coaches, whose ballots make up two-thirds of the final vote (fans have the other third).
In terms of numbers, Washington and Cribbs – a third-year former undrafted free agent – couldn’t be much closer. Cribbs leads the league in kickoff-return average at 31.2 yards, and Washington is just behind him with a 30.6-yard average. On the other hand, Washington has returned a club record three kickoffs for touchdowns, and Cribbs has two runbacks for scores for the 7-5 Browns.
Unlike Washington, Cribbs is doing his best to hype the return matchup.
“I’d be a fool to say I don’t see personal gain from this game,” Cribbs told Cleveland reporters this week. “We have a chance to do something great on this football team, and whatever I have to do to contribute to that, whether it’s outshining (Washington) or doing well individually, I will.”
Washington and Cribbs know they have little chance of winning over the fans, who have bought into the Patriots’ mystique by giving Wes Welker the lead in the AFC’s returner voting even though Welker doesn’t return kicks and is just seventh in the league in punt-return average.
Then again, Washington and Cribbs both might reach the Pro Bowl. That’s because there are two special-teams slots for each conference (one for returns, one for general special-teams play), and Cribbs also excels on kick and punt coverage with a team-leading 17 tackles.
To dominate in both areas is truly a rare feat, so much so that the Browns successfully petitioned the NFL this week to put Cribbs on the player and coach ballot at both positions. Bolstering his candidacy, Cribbs earlier this week was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November.
Even Washington marvels at Cribbs’ overall mastery on special teams.
“He is a heck of a football player,” Washington said. “He leads the team in special-teams tackles and leads the league in returning. He looks like a guy that enjoys and loves to play football.”
But Washington, who had two rushing touchdowns last week and is starting to get more to touches on offense as well as on special teams, isn’t exactly a slouch, either.
Is an all-expenses trip to Honolulu in Washington’s immediate future?
“I would be telling stories if I said I have never thought about (the Pro Bowl),” he said with a smile.
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WR Jerricho Cotchery, who missed last week’s win over the Dolphins with a finger injury, was downgraded to doubtful yesterday after not practicing all week. The Browns downgraded ex-Giants WR Tim Carter to questionable because of an undisclosed illness.