patmoran2006
05-27-2010, 09:30 AM
(We’re counting down our list of the best 20 Buffalo Bills draft picks of all-time. Take note- this is not a rundown of the best 20 players. Where the player was drafted is often a major factor in determining his value and ranking. Today is No. 20 our list, who also wore No. 20 in your programs, Joe Cribbs.)
Joe Cribbs, RB (Drafted in 1980, second round, 29<SUP>th</SUP> overall)
In 1979 the Buffalo Bills struggled to find a running game. Curtis Brown led the team in rushing but ran for just 574 yards. Terry Miller, who went over 1,000 the year before, had only 484. Cleary, head coach Chuck Knox was looking for an upgrade.
Prior to ’79 the Bills were spoiled at running back. O.J. Simpson had led the team in rushing nine consecutive years before getting dealt to San Francisco to wrap up a career well on the decline.
Auburn University had a pack of good running backs at this time. William Andrews was a third round pick in 1979. James Brooks would become a first rounder in 1981. Sandwiched in the middle of a talented trio was Joe Cribbs.
Despite having to often share the load with the other two, Cribbs left Auburn the school’s all-time leader at the time in career rushing yards (3,368), carries (657) and rushing touchdowns (34).
In 1980, five running backs were selected in the first round of the NFL draft: Billy Simms, Curtis Dickey, Earl Cooper, Vargas Ferguson and Charles White. Cribbs became the sixth when he was selected by Buffalo with the first pick of the second round, 29<SUP>th</SUP> overall.
He’d go on to outperform all five taken ahead of him.
Cribbs busted onto the scene as a rookie for Buffalo in 1980, rushing for 1,185 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. He added 415 more yards on 52 receptions. He would go on to win the AFC Rookie of the Year and be the only rookie selected to start in the Pro Bowl.
As a team the Bills would finish with an 11-5 record, making the playoffs for the first time since 1974.
He was nearly as good in his second year, finishing with 1,097 rushing yards, 40 receptions, 603 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns, along with his second Pro Bowl appearance as the Bills finished 10-6 and made the playoffs again.
His combined rushing yards (2,282) his first two years in the league remain a Bills team record.
By 1982 a feud was brewing between Cribbs and Bills owner Ralph Wilson over money. Cribbs wanted a new five-year deal worth $3.47 million while the Bills countered with four year and $1.2 million.
A Sports Illustrated article back in 1982 (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1125903/index.htm) highlighted the dissention among the sides, and shows evidence that even that far back, Wilson was considered by many a cheapskate. The article highlighted the Bills refusing to pay Cribbs a penny of a $10,000 bonus despite finishing just 15 yards shy of 1,200 yards, which would’ve triggered his rookie bonus, and then team vice president refusing to fly Cribbs’ family to Hawaii with him for the Pro Bowl, citing it being against team policy.
The front office rift and the Bills lowball offer at the time of Cribbs’ third year led the running back to say “”It’s the little things that show the Bills are a no-class operation, I always have to give in.”
Cribbs held out for all of the preseason and the first two games of the1982 regular season before the players union ended up walking out on strike. When the players returned so did Cribbs and he ran for 633 yards in just seven games and had a career-best 4.7 yards per carry.
He’d go on in 1983 run for 1,131 yards and a third Pro Bowl appearance in four seasons, but the tension between Cribbs and the front office became insurmountable. Cribbs announced before his fourth season he would not return to the team after the year was over and followed through on his promise, joining the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL, which would begin play in 1984.
The situation was ugly, with the Bills taking Cribbs to court, unsuccessfully in an effort to keep the running back in Buffalo.
In his two years in the USFL before the league folded, Cribbs led the league in rushing.
Despite the hostility between the sides, Cribbs returned to Buffalo after the USFL was finished. However, Cribbs now had to split time with first round pick Greg Bell and his best days were behind him. He ran for 399 yards over 10 games in ’85, and just like Simpson, Cribbs was dealt to San Francisco during the tail end of his playing days.
While his obstinacy for a new deal after just two seasons left a sour taste in the mouth of many of the fans who supported him, you can’t deny the talent and production he brought to the team. He ran for 4,445 yards and 1,082 carries and also caught 180 passes for 1,783 yards. Those numbers would’ve been greater had he not squabbled with management and fled to the USFL.
Joe Cribbs, RB (Drafted in 1980, second round, 29<SUP>th</SUP> overall)
In 1979 the Buffalo Bills struggled to find a running game. Curtis Brown led the team in rushing but ran for just 574 yards. Terry Miller, who went over 1,000 the year before, had only 484. Cleary, head coach Chuck Knox was looking for an upgrade.
Prior to ’79 the Bills were spoiled at running back. O.J. Simpson had led the team in rushing nine consecutive years before getting dealt to San Francisco to wrap up a career well on the decline.
Auburn University had a pack of good running backs at this time. William Andrews was a third round pick in 1979. James Brooks would become a first rounder in 1981. Sandwiched in the middle of a talented trio was Joe Cribbs.
Despite having to often share the load with the other two, Cribbs left Auburn the school’s all-time leader at the time in career rushing yards (3,368), carries (657) and rushing touchdowns (34).
In 1980, five running backs were selected in the first round of the NFL draft: Billy Simms, Curtis Dickey, Earl Cooper, Vargas Ferguson and Charles White. Cribbs became the sixth when he was selected by Buffalo with the first pick of the second round, 29<SUP>th</SUP> overall.
He’d go on to outperform all five taken ahead of him.
Cribbs busted onto the scene as a rookie for Buffalo in 1980, rushing for 1,185 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. He added 415 more yards on 52 receptions. He would go on to win the AFC Rookie of the Year and be the only rookie selected to start in the Pro Bowl.
As a team the Bills would finish with an 11-5 record, making the playoffs for the first time since 1974.
He was nearly as good in his second year, finishing with 1,097 rushing yards, 40 receptions, 603 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns, along with his second Pro Bowl appearance as the Bills finished 10-6 and made the playoffs again.
His combined rushing yards (2,282) his first two years in the league remain a Bills team record.
By 1982 a feud was brewing between Cribbs and Bills owner Ralph Wilson over money. Cribbs wanted a new five-year deal worth $3.47 million while the Bills countered with four year and $1.2 million.
A Sports Illustrated article back in 1982 (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1125903/index.htm) highlighted the dissention among the sides, and shows evidence that even that far back, Wilson was considered by many a cheapskate. The article highlighted the Bills refusing to pay Cribbs a penny of a $10,000 bonus despite finishing just 15 yards shy of 1,200 yards, which would’ve triggered his rookie bonus, and then team vice president refusing to fly Cribbs’ family to Hawaii with him for the Pro Bowl, citing it being against team policy.
The front office rift and the Bills lowball offer at the time of Cribbs’ third year led the running back to say “”It’s the little things that show the Bills are a no-class operation, I always have to give in.”
Cribbs held out for all of the preseason and the first two games of the1982 regular season before the players union ended up walking out on strike. When the players returned so did Cribbs and he ran for 633 yards in just seven games and had a career-best 4.7 yards per carry.
He’d go on in 1983 run for 1,131 yards and a third Pro Bowl appearance in four seasons, but the tension between Cribbs and the front office became insurmountable. Cribbs announced before his fourth season he would not return to the team after the year was over and followed through on his promise, joining the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL, which would begin play in 1984.
The situation was ugly, with the Bills taking Cribbs to court, unsuccessfully in an effort to keep the running back in Buffalo.
In his two years in the USFL before the league folded, Cribbs led the league in rushing.
Despite the hostility between the sides, Cribbs returned to Buffalo after the USFL was finished. However, Cribbs now had to split time with first round pick Greg Bell and his best days were behind him. He ran for 399 yards over 10 games in ’85, and just like Simpson, Cribbs was dealt to San Francisco during the tail end of his playing days.
While his obstinacy for a new deal after just two seasons left a sour taste in the mouth of many of the fans who supported him, you can’t deny the talent and production he brought to the team. He ran for 4,445 yards and 1,082 carries and also caught 180 passes for 1,783 yards. Those numbers would’ve been greater had he not squabbled with management and fled to the USFL.