Grant Cohn: Crabtree not a Diva

[Crimsoncrew]

This is something we've gone back and forth a bit on back on the ESPN board.

Michael Crabtree is not a diva - Inside the 49ers

That's been my impression. Crabtree is a weird dude, and I think he's a bit socially awkward, but he's not a conventional diva. His inability or unwillingness to play through a preseason is a concern, but I really don't think he's the disaster in the locker room that a "diva" label implies.

 

[Bracus]

I think he's just completely misunderstood. Really, think about who started all of the diva rumors. Mangini, we're going to listen to that guy? The everyone gets mad about how he doesn't play preseason games. Everyone gave him crap this year, and turns out it was legit. And of course everyone says "Vernon got mad at him, he must be a diva!" If we hated on everyone VD got in an argument with, we'd only watch Sundays for one player lol. Last but not least, the guys coach said it in the beginning. He is really really shy. May even be social anxiety disorder, who knows. And as of right now, I'm not ready to call any WR a bust on this team until they get somebody who can throw to them, or get a line that can give a WR more then 2-3 seconds to run a route.

 

[CalamityX11]

His decision(or agents) to holdout from signing his contract probably slap him hard with the Diva tag to begin with. He offers little support to Alex and shows more interest in outside football activities than football itself even though that's not the case.

I think he'll be a great WR for us and still stand by it, but i won't hesitate to call him out on any Diva sh*t he'll pull or has already. That flopping in the endzone was not needed and he "admitted" to it. Heat of the moment i'll understand, better be the last though.(though maybe it was his time being so overdramatic?)

 

[clyde_carbon]

So I guess this logic makes a guy like Terrell Owens just misunderstood, right? Except for the fact that Owens is tenfold tougher than Crabtree will ever be.

 

[MW49ers5]

Diva may thus far be an undeserved label, but then so is #10 overall draft pick.

 

[Bracus]

WRs cannot throw themselves the ball. We even saw this weekend when he was wide open in the endzone and instead we got a play with -2 yards. Not trying to turn this into an AS thread but you just can't blame the guy cause he doesn't get the ball. So he's honest, big whoop. And as for his agent, that's his agent. Most of the time, the players aren't even present in negotiating.

 

[CalamityX11]

Yeah but throwing his arms up when he doesn't know the situation for his QB isn't needed. It showing up the team like he's better than them and that's not appreciated. Best part, i believe the following drive or 2, he was thrown an easy catchable pass only to drop it.

It will take some time but Crabtree will be finding the endzone with the ball.

 

[MW49ers5]

His decision(or agents) to holdout from signing his contract probably slap him hard with the Diva tag to begin with. He offers little support to Alex and shows more interest in outside football activities than football itself even though that's not the case.

I think he'll be a great WR for us and still stand by it, but i won't hesitate to call him out on any Diva sh*t he'll pull or has already. That flopping in the endzone was not needed and he "admitted" to it. Heat of the moment i'll understand, better be the last though.(though maybe it was his time being so overdramatic?)

Good Post! I agree, his actions seem to belie his words; and IMO, those shoes are not going to help rid himself of the diva moniker either.

It seems as if the media is on a "repair Crabtree's image campaign", as Matt & Mindi recently did a piece trying to alter the publics perception of him as well.

 

[Jikkle]

It's not to excuse anything up to this point but I don't think he's a diva but someone that's just an extreme introvert which could lead people into thinking he's not a team guy or aloof and uninterested about football when it's more of a case that he has difficulty in social situations especially in environment where you have microphones and multiple people talking to you.

Again that's not to give him a pass on his performance up to this point and people have the right to be critical about that but I do think his personality has been unfairly judged up to this point.

 

[MW49ers5]

So I guess this logic makes a guy like Terrell Owens just misunderstood, right? Except for the fact that Owens is tenfold tougher than Crabtree will ever be.

Approved! Well Said!

 

[Bracus]

Yeah but throwing his arms up when he doesn't know the situation for his QB isn't needed. It showing up the team like he's better than them and that's not appreciated. Best part, i believe the following drive or 2, he was thrown an easy catchable pass only to drop it.

It will take some time but Crabtree will be finding the endzone with the ball.

Cmon now lol, majority of the WRs in the league do that. Keep in mind, this is not a comparison but here's 2010 stats

Reggie Wayne 111 Rec 1,355 yds 12.2 avg
Michael Crabs 55 Rec 741 yds 13.5 avg

I think we can all agree that Crab isn't the ball dropping type. Look at the amount of receptions and then the avg. The guy has it, he's just not getting the ball.

 

[mm03]

So I guess this logic makes a guy like Terrell Owens just misunderstood, right? Except for the fact that Owens is tenfold tougher than Crabtree will ever be.

I hate how the whole Owens thing went with the 49ers as much as the next guy but you can't deny most of his antics are attributed to how he takes losing harder than most. He trains hard and expects others to do the same because he wants to win. He may have some unlovable traits lol but I think his pros out way his cons just like Crabtrees do. If Crabtree misses preseason for because of dumb shit I'm fine with it as long as he shows up in shape and tries hard to help the team win.

As far as the whole Diva thing... It's pretty hard saying he's not one when you're holding out on your team for contract reasons :\

 

[Crimsoncrew]

WRs cannot throw themselves the ball. We even saw this weekend when he was wide open in the endzone and instead we got a play with -2 yards. Not trying to turn this into an AS thread but you just can't blame the guy cause he doesn't get the ball. So he's honest, big whoop. And as for his agent, that's his agent. Most of the time, the players aren't even present in negotiating.

He dropped one of the two balls thrown his way on Sunday. If he's going to complain when they don't throw him the ball, he needs to catch it when they do.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Cmon now lol, majority of the WRs in the league do that. Keep in mind, this is not a comparison but here's 2010 stats

Reggie Wayne 111 Rec 1,355 yds 12.2 avg
Michael Crabs 55 Rec 741 yds 13.5 avg

I think we can all agree that Crab isn't the ball dropping type. Look at the amount of receptions and then the avg. The guy has it, he's just not getting the ball.

I'm not really sure what point you are trying to prove with those stats, other than that Crabtree has a higher YPC than Wayne. Crabtree has had a serious problem holding onto the ball early in the year. We saw it in the first game last year and we saw it again this week. He dropped eight passes last year, good enough to rank in the bottom-15 at the position.

Drop Percentage: Wide Receivers | ProFootballFocus.com

"Isn't the ball dropping type?" What does that even mean?

 

[FourBeeDen]

I think it was only normal for Crabtree to show some sort of disappointment for being open in the endzone and was missed. The thing that blows this out of propostion is the reaction of fans when they see the replay and not taking things into context. Yes, he was open and yes Smith missed him... But that is to be expected when...

1) He was not the primary target on that play.
2) When the primary target was covered, Smith had to go thrrough his read progression as dictated by the play design. In this case, with pressure bearing down on him, he had to go to his safety valve.
3) In order for a play like that get created outside the confines of the original design, familiarity between QB and WR has to be established.

 

[Bracus]

My point is, unless someone's delusional they would have to agree that when he gets the ball he does what he's supposed too. It's obvious his lack of production is due to not even getting the ball. Not due to him being a "diva". But lack of a QB/offensive line to give the QB time. You guys bring up T.O., he would've demanded a trade a long long time ago. You cannot deny that with the ball in his hands, he is a legit WR. And realistically if he's producing, no ones gonna give a damn about his personality. But aside from all of this, if the only arguement of him being a diva is that his agent held out too long and VD didn't like him last year then I think your guys' definition of diva is a little off.

And as for the drop on Sunday, Jerry had drops too. If you think no WR has ever dropped a ball, then why even bother debating this. My meaning behind him not being the ball dropping type is he isn't a habitual ball dropper ala TO, Braylon Edwards, Ted Ginn etc...

 

[CalamityX11]

He dropped one of the two balls thrown his way on Sunday. If he's going to complain when they don't throw him the ball, he needs to catch it when they do.

I rep you like MW on repping roids!!!!!

 

[CalamityX11]

I don't have a problem if an athlete shows frustration/emotion of a missed opportunity, it's natural. Most of us had one point were an active athlete in a sport. When we let an opportunity get by, yeah we get mad or discontent. That's fine IMO.

HOWEVER, I find it stupid and mindblowing as to why one(Crabtree IE) would jump up and down, flaying his arms up like he's some 12 yr old who got his Xbox taken away.

Keep your calm and relax.

 

[EaseUrStorm]

I'm not really surprised he was missed in the endzone. He'd be my fourth option at this point until he gets consistently back into the mix in practice. The more this is coming together, I think we unfortunately drafted damaged goods. The foot injury(s) makes him come off as a Diva for buying time with the holdout, and not being able to be around for training camps. I think he is genuinely hurting bad right now, and I'd be inclined to just shelve him for awhile. Especially this year.

 

[h0ckeysk83r]

I cant say whether he is a diva or not, sometimes he sure comes off that way but thats just the way he seems to be. Its always frustrating for anyone when there not getting the ball, but he should just be happy we won the game. From what we hear, crab is great in the class and on the practice field. So i think the Diva label may be a little overblown but it wont go away if he keeps acting silly.

One thing i have mentioned before is that when you hear gore/davis and a lot of players on this team talk, they love to be here and wanna win for this team. I really havent heard that from crabtree since he has been here. No doubt he wants to win, but he hast shown me that he is a team guy. Like many have stated, i think he is leaving once his contract is up(dallas).