Cribbs Not Even Our Best Special Teamer

OK, so I'm not going to belabor my point about Josh Cribbs. I think you all know how I feel about him by now. In the comments in that post, an interesting point was brought up. One commenter contends that Josh Cribbs is the MVP of the "new" Browns, while I emphatically disagreed.

As a quick example, I merely stated that Tim Couch, who led the "new" Browns to their only playoff berth, contributed more to this team than Josh Cribbs. Of course, I wasn't lobbying for Couch to be named MVP of the post-1999 Browns — he was simply an example of one of the many players who've had a bigger impact on the limited success of the Cleveland Browns than Josh Cribbs has had.

It got me thinking, though, about just who would be considered the MVP, if you will, of the Cleveland Browns in the past 10 seasons.


The more I thought about it, the sillier I felt for not having realized it before. The obvious choice, of course, is the only player still on the roster since 1999 — Phil Dawson!

Phil Dawson has had a direct impact on more wins since 1999 than any other player. It's not even close. Hell, Dawson already ranks third on the all-time Browns scoring leaders and his 2007 (120 points) and 2008 (108 points) rank in the top 10 best single-season scoring (Nos. 2 and 9, respectively).

Not convinced, here's a season-by-season breakdown of Phil Dawson's awesomeness:

1999 Season — Browns record, 2-14
The Browns won two games in their comeback season. One of them, a 16-15 shocker over the Steelers. Guess who kicked the game-winning field goal.

2000 Season — Browns record, 3-13
Though not as fast as some Browns fans hoped, the team did improve a little that year. The team beat the Steelers again, this time by (you guessed it) a Phil Dawson field goal, 23-20. They also beat the Patriots that year,  19-11 in a game in which Dawson kicked 4 field goals (and an extra point).

2001 Season — Browns record, 7-9
Things were really starting to look up for the Brownies. At least two of the seven wins can, without a doubt, be credited to Dawson. In a 20-16 victory over the Chargers, he scored 2 field goals and 2 extra points. In a 41-38 win over Tennessee, he kicked 5 extra points and 2 field goals. In an 18-0 shut-out over the Bengals, Dawson made 4 field goals.

2002 Season — Browns record, 9-7
This was the playoff year. The year Tim Couch led the team to the postseason, only to have Kelly Holcomb screw it up. Of course, the Browns couldn't have gotten to the playoffs without Dawson. He kicked four game-winners that season: a 31-28 win over the Titans, a 24-21 win over the Jets, a 21-20 win over the Jaguars and a 14-13 win over the Ravens. Also, without Dawson's 3 extra points and 2 field goals, the Browns wouldn't have beaten the Bengals 27-20.

2003 Season — Browns record, 5-11
Not a good season for the Browns. I can only give credit to Dawson for two of the team's five wins that season, a 13-12 win over the 49ers and a 13-7 win over the Raiders (Dawson must hate the Bay area).

2004 Season — Browns record, 4-12
This is when the Browns really started to regress. Not many highlights for anyone, but here's one for Dawson: he kicked 5 field goals (and an extra point) in a 22-14 win over Tennessee. Also, the Browns wouldn't have beaten the Redskins 17-13 without Dawson's field goal and 2 extra points. There, you see, Dawson was responsible for half the team's wins that year.

2005 Season — Browns record, 6-10
Dawson scored all the team's points in a 9-7 win over the Raiders. He also kicked 2 extra points and 2 field goals each in wins over the Titans (20-14) and the Ravens (20-16).

2006 Season — Browns record, 4-12
And we thought we had it rough the last couple years, this 2003-2006 stretch really blew! Without Dawson, the Browns wouldn't have had any wins in 2006. His field goal was the difference in a 24-21 win over Oakland. His 2 field goals and 2 extra points were the difference in the 20-13 win over the Jets. His field goal and two extra points were the difference in the 17-13 win over the Falcons, and his game-winning field goal beat the Chiefs, 31-28.

2007 Season — Browns record, 10-6
This was the year we thought the Browns had finally turned the corner, wasn't it? I mean, 10 wins! That's incredible. Out of those wins, Dawson kicked the game-winner in three of them: a 33-30 win over Seattle, a 33-30 win over Baltimore and an 8-0 win over Buffalo (in a blizzard!).

2008 Season — Browns record, 4-12
Yep, the 10-win season was a fluke. Back to the basement for the Brownies. The team only won four games that season, but it could have only been two games if it wasn't for you-know-who. Yep, Dawson kicked game-winning field goals over the Jaguars (23-17) and the Bills (29-27).

2009 Season — Browns record, 5-11
What a miserable season 2009 was! Although, it did have one huge high point: the Browns beat the Steelers, 13-6. Yes, some people credit Josh Cribbs for that win (gimmee a break). I credit our stifling defense, and Phil Dawson, who kicked 2 field goals and an extra point (7 points, which is the difference in the ball game, for those of you keeping track at home). Dawson's leg was also responsible for wins over the Chiefs (41-34) and Jaguars (23-17).

So, there you have it. No other Browns player in the last 10 years has been as valuable as Phil Dawson. Even this preseason, he's been the difference in the team's two wins. And, since he's a kicker, that also makes him the best special teams player on the roster.

Go Browns!