Joe Cribbs

[JP51]

2 hours ago, Matt_In_NH said:

My earliest Bills memory memory is Cribbs….he was awesome and he did some mattress commercial locally.  But he hated Buffalo and forced his way out I believe.  

He did, I remember he put Prison Bars on his locker lol... then he went to the USFL... when they folded he had to come back here ... that I am sure made him happy. 

[Big Turk]

It's so wild watching these old highlight clips...it looks like the players are literally running in slow motion compared to today...so crazy how much bigger, faster, stronger the NFL has gotten in 40-50 years...

Edited Tuesday at 01:50 PM by Big Turk

[MJS]

2 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

It's so wild watching these old highlight clips...it looks like the players are literally running in slow motion compared to today...so crazy how much bigger, faster, stronger the NFL has gotten in 40-50 years...

No, those guys were fast too. It is just the quality of the old videos. They seem to lag a bit for some reason.

[Big Turk]

1 minute ago, MJS said:

No, those guys were fast too. It is just the quality of the old videos. They seem to lag a bit for some reason.

 

I mean sure, some of them were, but there is a massive difference in the strength training, off-season workouts, nutrition, etc starting at a young age for a lot of these players and going thru their entire careers now that was never even thought of back then.  I would not be surprised if there was a relative decrease of .2-.3 on 40 times across the board from back then on average for each position group.

[JESSEFEFFER]

Things I remember about Cribbs.  

 

1) Played at Auburn in a backfield with James Brooks and William Andrews who were decent NFL backs as well.

 

2) Left the Bills to play in the USFL for the Birmingham Stallions.

 

3) The mattress commercial was pretty funny.

 

4) The Chuck Knox era of Bills football was the first one that I could appreciate as a fan.  Those were fun teams for a brief time.

 

Something I did not know.  Pro Football Reference credits him with 28 fumbles in his first two years.  That number seems impossibly high and I can't believe Chuck Knox would have put up with it.  It's a wonder that he made it to year 3 and that it didn't stain his legacy as a RB.  In general, there were many more fumbles back then but Cribbs rookie year total of 16 is the record.

 

 

[T master]

3 hours ago, Matt_In_NH said:

My earliest Bills memory memory is Cribbs….he was awesome and he did some mattress commercial locally.  But he hated Buffalo and forced his way out I believe.  

 

I know he wasn't here long and didn't do a hole lot after he left if i remember correctly .

[stevewin]

When I was in HS they used to have a special day that teachers could spend their period talking about whatever they wanted.  I'll never forget - my sophomore geometry teacher Mr. Miner spent his entire period analyzing the Bills draft that year - this was before internet, the draft being a big thing etc.   He was SO excited talking about Joe Cribbs and how good he was going to be.  It has always stuck in my mind

[WotAGuy]

3 minutes ago, stevewin said:

When I was in HS they used to have a special day that teachers could spend their period talking about whatever they wanted.  I'll never forget - my sophomore geometry teacher Mr. Miner spent his entire period analyzing the Bills draft that year - this was before internet, the draft being a big thing etc.   He was SO excited talking about Joe Cribbs and how good he was going to be.  It has always stuck in my mind

What did he think of #1 pick Jim Ritcher?  I remember it being really hard to get excited about some unknown (to me) guard. Cribbs was an exciting addition because other than Terry Miller, the Bills didn’t have an exciting back after OJ left. 

[stevewin]

2 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

What did he think of #1 pick Jim Ritcher?  I remember it being really hard to get excited about some unknown (to me) guard. Cribbs was an exciting addition because other than Terry Miller, the Bills didn’t have an exciting back after OJ left. 

The thing I mostly remember is him going on and on about Cribbs.   I do remember my brother wasn't a huge fan of Richter, at least in his early years - used to call him the 'Outlandish Trophy winner' 😛  "How can an OL pull on a sweep and not hit anyone!"  

[Ralonzo]

3 hours ago, BringMetheHeadofLeonLett said:

I absolutely loved this guy as a kid- total electricity, and if you don't know who Joe Cribbs is, here's a fresher:

 

 

The sweep at 1:53... watch the block by Roosevelt Leaks #48. I think that Charger is still feeling it to this day.

[WotAGuy]

1 hour ago, Big Turk said:

 

I mean sure, some of them were, but there is a massive difference in the strength training, off-season workouts, nutrition, etc starting at a young age for a lot of these players and going thru their entire careers now that was never even thought of back then.  I would not be surprised if there was a relative decrease of .2-.3 on 40 times across the board from back then on average for each position group.

And if they weren’t outfitted in goalie equipment and wore what they wear now, they would all look tiny. 
 

Wasn’t Bruce Smith only 265 at one point?  He was much bigger as a rookie and then got himself into incredible shape. 

31 minutes ago, stevewin said:

The thing I mostly remember is him going on and on about Cribbs.   I do remember my brother wasn't a huge fan of Richter, at least in his early years - used to call him the 'Outlandish Trophy winner' 😛  "How can an OL pull on a sweep and not hit anyone!"  

It was that friggin neck roll!

[Albany,n.y.]

51 minutes ago, JP51 said:

He did, I remember he put Prison Bars on his locker lol... then he went to the USFL... when they folded he had to come back here ... that I am sure made him happy. 

Cribbs had an interesting journey.  He was disgruntled with his contract with the Bills-almost from the beginning. He had a yard bonus in his contract & during his rookie year he had a shot at getting it in the season finale & the Bills sat him as he got close in order to avoid paying the bonus (anyone who was around then knows the saying Ralph is Cheap is 100% true). Then in his 3rd season he sat out the beginning of the 1982 season, returned and before the 1983 season began signed with the USFL but played out his Bills contract in the 1983 season after signing the future USFL contract.  He played all 16 games & then played the 1984 & 1985 seasons in the USFL after the Bills lost a lawsuit that tried to stop him from playing in the USFL. He got into another contract dispute in the USFL in 1985. He walked out but returned. Then as many USFL players did after the 1985 season, he go out of his contract & went (back) to the NFL. Since the Bills owned his rights, he eventually rejoined the Bills during the 1985 season. It was during his time with the Bills in 1985 that he put the prison bars on his locker as he was trying to get traded.  It worked as the Bills traded him to the 49ers.  For the record, Cribbs returned to the NFL in 1985 & the USFL, even though they played their last game in 1985, didn't fold until 1986 when they "won" the anti-trust lawsuit vs the NFL in the Summer of 1986 but got $1 in damages, trebled to $3.  After the verdict the USFL let their remaining players sign with the NFL, but Cribbs was already back in the NFL the year before. 

[JP51]

4 minutes ago, Albany,n.y. said:

Cribbs had an interesting journey.  He was disgruntled with his contract with the Bills-almost from the beginning. He had a yard bonus in his contract & during his rookie year he had a shot at getting it in the season finale & the Bills sat him as he got close in order to avoid paying the bonus (anyone who was around then knows the saying Ralph is Cheap is 100% true). Then in his 3rd season he sat out the beginning of the 1982 season, returned and before the 1983 season began signed with the USFL but played out his Bills contract in the 1983 season after signing the future USFL contract.  He played all 16 games & then played the 1984 & 1985 seasons in the USFL after the Bills lost a lawsuit that tried to stop him from playing in the USFL. He got into another contract dispute in the USFL in 1985. He walked out but returned. Then as many USFL players did after the 1985 season, he go out of his contract & went (back) to the NFL. Since the Bills owned his rights, he eventually rejoined the Bills during the 1985 season. It was during his time with the Bills in 1985 that he put the prison bars on his locker as he was trying to get traded.  It worked as the Bills traded him to the 49ers.  For the record, Cribbs returned to the NFL in 1985 & the USFL, even though they played their last game in 1985, didn't fold until 1986 when they "won" the anti-trust lawsuit vs the NFL in the Summer of 1986 but got $1 in damages, trebled to $3.  After the verdict the USFL let their remaining players sign with the NFL, but Cribbs was already back in the NFL the year before. 

Brilliant recap!!! 

[CookieG]

Cribbs was Thurman Thomas Lite, before there was a Thurman Thomas.  He'd hit the hole quick, fight for yards, good receiver out of the backfield and a willing blocker.  He was a huge part of the offense for his first couple of years.  He replaced the bust that was Terry Miller, who had been picked at 5th in the draft (I think) 2 years before.  

 

It wasn't a surprise that he bolted to the USFL at the time.  This was a pre free agency, pre salary cap, pre Polian era, and the Bills...weren't paying some of their best players.  Birmingham probably paid him at least twice of what Buffalo was willing to pay.  

 

 

[chongli]

5 hours ago, Matt_In_NH said:

But he hated Buffalo and forced his way out I believe.  

 

He loves Buffalo now!

 

 

 

[billsbackto81]

He's the reason this boy growing up in Connecticut became a Bills fan back in 1981. 

[Baba Booey]

He was my first, favorite player I ever had on the Bills! Loved him. Along with Frank Lewis and Jerry Butler. Sad to say, I was never a fan of Joe Ferguson though.

Brings back great memories of when I first became a fan of the Bills. The old Chuck Knox years.

[NewEra]

Sitting on his shoulders for an hour as he signed autographs @fredonia is one of my greatest memories.  That’s my guy

[transient]

57 minutes ago, CookieG said:

Cribbs was Thurman Thomas Lite, before there was a Thurman Thomas.  He'd hit the hole quick, fight for yards, good receiver out of the backfield and a willing blocker.  He was a huge part of the offense for his first couple of years.  He replaced the bust that was Terry Miller, who had been picked at 5th in the draft (I think) 2 years before.  

 

It wasn't a surprise that he bolted to the USFL at the time.  This was a pre free agency, pre salary cap, pre Polian era, and the Bills...weren't paying some of their best players.  Birmingham probably paid him at least twice of what Buffalo was willing to pay.  

 

 

I don't remember a lot of Cribbs cuz I was just coming into my fandom in those years, but the highlight reel actually reminds me a little bit of another #20 who used to be in the backfield with Thurman at Oklahoma State...

[Sojourner]

The earliest memory I have is my father would wear his jersey, this was after he no longer played with Buffalo, but would complain that the team ruined his career because of a contract battle or something?

 

I never looked into it because that’s such an eye rolling statement lol

 

”yeah dad, getting more money made him worse 🙄”