Running Back, Birmingham
Stallions
Age: 26
5th
season in pro football, 1st in USFL & with Stallions
College: Auburn
Height: 5’11” Weight: 191
Prelude:
Buffalo’s
running game had been subpar in 1979 with Terry Miller as the feature back, and
the Bills took Cribbs in the second round of the ’80 NFL draft. Small but
versatile – and having gained 4561 all-purpose yards and scored 34 touchdowns
in college - it was anticipated that he would at least initially return kicks,
but he quickly moved into the starting lineup, putting together a Pro
Bowl season in which he rushed for 1185 yards and received Rookie of the Year
recognition from UPI and Pro Football Weekly. Cribbs followed up his
outstanding rookie season by gaining 1700 yards from scrimmage in 1981 (1097
rushing, 603 receiving) and was again selected to the Pro Bowl. Due to a
contract holdout, he missed the first two games of the strike-shortened ’82
season but was effective upon the resumption of play with 633 rushing yards in seven
games, although his productivity as a receiver out of the backfield dropped
considerably. Cribbs rebounded in 1983 with 1131 rushing yards and 524 more
yards on 57 pass receptions, garnering a third Pro Bowl selection. He jumped to
the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL in 1984.
1984 Season Summary
Appeared in 16
of 18 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 297
[1, tied with Kelvin Bryant]
Most attempts,
game – 33 (for 191 yds.) at Pittsburgh 3/11
Yards – 1467
[1]
Most yards,
game – 191 yards (on 33 carries) at Pittsburgh 3/11
Average gain – 4.9
[10]
TDs – 8 [13,
tied with Buford Jordan, Greg Boone & John Williams
100-yard
rushing games – 6
Pass Receiving
Receptions – 39
Most
receptions, game – 5 (for 36 yds.) vs. New Jersey 2/26, (for 32 yds.) vs. New
Orleans 4/2
Yards – 500
Most yards,
game – 94 (on 3 catches) at Denver 4/29
Average gain – 12.8
TDs – 5 [20,
tied with nine others]
Scoring
TDs – 13 [9,
tied with four others]
Points – 78
Postseason: 2 G
Rushing
attempts – 39
Most rushing
attempts, game – 21 at Philadelphia, USFL Eastern Conference Championship
Rushing yards –
184
Most rushing
yards, game – 112 vs. Tampa Bay, USFL First Round playoff
Average gain
rushing – 4.7
Rushing TDs – 1
Pass receptions
– 9
Most pass
receptions, game – 6 at Philadelphia, USFL Eastern Conference Championship
Pass receiving
yards – 118
Most pass
receiving yards, game – 63 at Philadelphia, USFL Eastern Conference
Championship
Average yards
per reception – 13.1
Pass Receiving
TDs – 0
Awards & Honors:
1st-team
All-USFL: League, Sporting News, College & Pro Football Newsweekly, Pro
Football Weekly
Stallions went 14-4
to finish first in the USFL Southern Division while leading the league in
rushing yards (3313). Won USFL First Round playoff over Tampa Bay Bandits
(36-17) and lost Eastern Conference Championship to Philadelphia Stars (20-10).
Aftermath:
Cribbs followed
up with 1047 rushing yards in 1985 and then returned to the Bills during the Autumn
‘85 season before moving on to San Francisco for two years in a part-time role.
His career came to an end in a 1988 season split between the Colts and
Dolphins. In the NFL, Cribbs rushed for 5356 yards and 27 TDs on 1309 carries
(4.1 avg.) and caught 224 passes for 2199 yards and 15 touchdowns. With the
USFL, he rushed for 2514 yards on 564 attempts (4.5 avg.) and 15 TDs and had 80
catches for 787 yards and six TDs.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing: Yards,
TDs (min. 10)
Passing: Yards,
Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense: Interceptions,
Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC since
1970
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