Grant Cohn: Crabtree not a Diva

[Bracus]

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).

Unfortunately I agree with you, and it will suck to watch him blow up.

 

[clyde_carbon]

Unfortunately I agree with you, and it will suck to watch him blow up.

Good riddance. Take Justin Blackmon this year and be done with it.

 

[MHSL82]

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.

For the conspiracy theorists out there: maybe the FO has worked the media to repair his image so we can trade him for something. No doubt, even a diva is tradeable if he produces, but without production, you must remove the diva image! (No, I'm not being serious here - though we could trade him, I don't think the FO and media are working hand in hand, and not for any specific purpose.)

 

[clyde_carbon]

For the conspiracy theorists out there: maybe the FO has worked the media to repair his image so we can trade him for something. No doubt, even a diva is tradeable if he produces, but without production, you must remove the diva image! (No, I'm not being serious here - though we could trade him, I don't think the FO and media are working hand in hand, and not for any specific purpose.)

 

[tallglassofwater007]

"I dreamed it in my head!" The good ol days.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

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...

His eight drops in 63 catchable balls last year tends to indicate otherwise. I think Crabtree has the talent to be a very good receiver, and there's little doubt that Smith hurt him last year at times, but Crabtree's problems do not stem entirely from Smith. He has had opportunities to perform and he has failed to do so. Repeatedly. When TO came into the league, he was humble and worked his ass off. It was only after he produced on the field that he got the attitude.

As for the argument that Crabtree is a diva, it stems from the combination of facts that he held out, missed every preseason game last year, and did not play in the preseason this year. He was in the Bay Area but didn't work out with the team. He claims that he doesn't drop the ball when he clearly does.

Finally, yes, all receivers drop balls. To date this season, Crabtree has dropped 50% of catchable balls. That's bad, and it reflects an early season pattern for him. He's got to improve upon that if he wants Smith to throw to him in crucial situations. And the stats to date indicate that, at least in the NFL, he is the ball-dropping type. Again, 8 drops in 63 catchable balls last year. That's a lot. Far more than Edwards had last year.

 

[Bracus]

FYI Crabtree did work out with the team, remember he said he hurt his foot in the "little Alex Smith camp.'

Let me stress this to some of you. I am not one of the Alex haters but I am far from a guy that likes him. I think I can safely say that majority of Crabs drops are from bad throws. Now I know everyone is gonna get mad but sorry, I think majority of the country/unbiased non-Niner fans will also agree. The only thing holding Crab back is Alex. And like the guy who said he'll probably end up a Cowboy after the contract, I think he will also and it will bite us in the *** in the future.

 

[MW49ers5]

His eight drops in 63 catchable balls last year tends to indicate otherwise. I think Crabtree has the talent to be a very good receiver, and there's little doubt that Smith hurt him last year at times, but Crabtree's problems do not stem entirely from Smith. He has had opportunities to perform and he has failed to do so. Repeatedly. When TO came into the league, he was humble and worked his ass off. It was only after he produced on the field that he got the attitude.

As for the argument that Crabtree is a diva, it stems from the combination of facts that he held out, missed every preseason game last year, and did not play in the preseason this year. He was in the Bay Area but didn't work out with the team. He claims that he doesn't drop the ball when he clearly does.

Finally, yes, all receivers drop balls. To date this season, Crabtree has dropped 50% of catchable balls. That's bad, and it reflects an early season pattern for him. He's got to improve upon that if he wants Smith to throw to him in crucial situations. And the stats to date indicate that, at least in the NFL, he is the ball-dropping type. Again, 8 drops in 63 catchable balls last year. That's a lot. Far more than Edwards had last year.

I was wondering if the early TO would be mentioned - nice job! I would also add to your list that Crabtree used the foot excuse to get out of the combine as well. Other than that, spot-on!

 

[Bracus]

I was wondering if the early TO would be mentioned - nice job! I would also add to your list that Crabtree used the foot excuse to get out of the combine as well. Other than that, spot-on!

LOL If you get surgery on it, is it still an excuse?

 

[Crimsoncrew]

FYI Crabtree did work out with the team, remember he said he hurt his foot in the "little Alex Smith camp.'

Let me stress this to some of you. I am not one of the Alex haters but I am far from a guy that likes him. I think I can safely say that majority of Crabs drops are from bad throws. Now I know everyone is gonna get mad but sorry, I think majority of the country/unbiased non-Niner fans will also agree. The only thing holding Crab back is Alex. And like the guy who said he'll probably end up a Cowboy after the contract, I think he will also and it will bite us in the *** in the future.

Both of those statements are BS. Was the drop this week due to a bad throw? Seemed to hit him in the hands. Smith has thrown bad balls to Crabtree, but Crabtree has dropped good throws as well. If the ball hits him in hte hands, he needs to catch it. That's what good receivers do.

Crabtree has been held back by our QB play, poor playcalling, and his own refusal or inability to practice with his QB. Crabtree is the sort of receiver who needs chemistry with his QB to achieve his potential. Thus far, he hasnt' developed that. And that is the result of his failure to practice and play in the preseason.

As for Camp Alex, he showed up for one practice and got hurt. As it seems to have been a legit injury, that's fine. But he was in the bay area for weeks before that when Morgan and Ginn were practicing with Smith in informal sessions. It's not something he NEEDS to go to, but it would be awfully helpful in developing that aforementioned chemistry.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

I was wondering if the early TO would be mentioned - nice job! I would also add to your list that Crabtree used the foot excuse to get out of the combine as well. Other than that, spot-on!

I saw some videos trailing Crabtree prior to the combine, and I think it was genuinely a surprise to him that he couldn't run. He was very surprised and disappointed when he learned that he needed surgery.

 

[MW49ers5]

LOL If you get surgery on it, is it still an excuse?

Bracus,

Considering the details of the debacle, yes, I very much consider it an excuse.

 

[MW49ers5]

I saw some videos trailing Crabtree prior to the combine, and I think it was genuinely a surprise to him that he couldn't run. He was very surprised and disappointed when he learned that he needed surgery.

This article suggests otherwise. (I may have confused the combine with his pro-day)

Read

This is worth a read as well:

Read2

I remember getting the sense 'this guy Crabtree is a little game player'.

 

[MHSL82]

FYI Crabtree did work out with the team, remember he said he hurt his foot in the "little Alex Smith camp.'

Let me stress this to some of you. I am not one of the Alex haters but I am far from a guy that likes him. I think I can safely say that majority of Crabs drops are from bad throws. Now I know everyone is gonna get mad but sorry, I think majority of the country/unbiased non-Niner fans will also agree. The only thing holding Crab back is Alex. And like the guy who said he'll probably end up a Cowboy after the contract, I think he will also and it will bite us in the *** in the future.

Ugh, there's a problem with using words like only, never, and always - it makes you look like a hater despite not being one. There are a number of things that have held Crabtree back - the predictable play calls last year, the lack of other recievers to pull defenders away from Crabtree, injuries have held him back this year, misperceptions of him by coaches or teammates, unjustified distrust in him by coaches and qb's, lack of a good contract so he didn't have to hold out (or his agent if that was inadvisable), etc. One player cannot be the sole reason for others from doing better than they have - especially when there have been other QBs playing with him and a boatload of evidence of poor coaching. Poor coaching hasn't only hurt Alex, it's hurt the whole team.

 

[MHSL82]

Both of those statements are BS. Was the drop this week due to a bad throw? Seemed to hit him in the hands. Smith has thrown bad balls to Crabtree, but Crabtree has dropped good throws as well. If the ball hits him in hte hands, he needs to catch it. That's what good receivers do.

Crabtree has been held back by our QB play, poor playcalling, and his own refusal or inability to practice with his QB. Crabtree is the sort of receiver who needs chemistry with his QB to achieve his potential. Thus far, he hasnt' developed that. And that is the result of his failure to practice and play in the preseason.

As for Camp Alex, he showed up for one practice and got hurt. As it seems to have been a legit injury, that's fine. But he was in the bay area for weeks before that when Morgan and Ginn were practicing with Smith in informal sessions. It's not something he NEEDS to go to, but it would be awfully helpful in developing that aforementioned chemistry.

Crimson - Man, I need to learn to read the rest of the thread before I post, I essentially said the same thing you said. D'oh!

 

[MW49ers5]

Ugh, there's a problem with using words like only, never, and always - it makes you look like a hater despite not being one. There are a number of things that have held Crabtree back - the predictable play calls last year, the lack of other recievers to pull defenders away from Crabtree, injuries have held him back this year, misperceptions of him by coaches or teammates, unjustified distrust in him by coaches and qb's, lack of a good contract so he didn't have to hold out (or his agent if that was inadvisable), etc. One player cannot be the sole reason for others from doing better than they have - especially when there have been other QBs playing with him and a boatload of evidence of poor coaching. Poor coaching hasn't only hurt Alex, it's hurt the whole team.

Is this a serious post or is it intended to be a joke? If you are serious then I think you missed a few items on Crabtree's 'problem list'. However, if you were shooting for humor, you nailed it!

 

[Crimsoncrew]

This article suggests otherwise. (I may have confused the combine with his pro-day)

Read

This is worth a read as well:

Read2

I remember getting the sense 'this guy Crabtree is a little game player'.

Yeah, I remember at the time it was a weird situation. And I can't recall where I saw the videos, I think it was after the draft when I was doing some research on Crabtree and came across some NFL.com videos that centered on his combine prep. But I distinctly recall that he was clearly disappointed he wasn't going to be able to run. I can't speak to what happened with the pro day. It's possible his advisers told him not to run when he could have. But I do think he intended to run at the combine.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Ugh, there's a problem with using words like only, never, and always - it makes you look like a hater despite not being one. There are a number of things that have held Crabtree back - the predictable play calls last year, the lack of other recievers to pull defenders away from Crabtree, injuries have held him back this year, misperceptions of him by coaches or teammates, unjustified distrust in him by coaches and qb's, lack of a good contract so he didn't have to hold out (or his agent if that was inadvisable), etc. One player cannot be the sole reason for others from doing better than they have - especially when there have been other QBs playing with him and a boatload of evidence of poor coaching. Poor coaching hasn't only hurt Alex, it's hurt the whole team.

I can't agree with this entire list. I don't think Smith's reluctance to throw to Crabtree is unjustified. Early last season, Crabtree repeatedly dropped balls or ran poor routes, which led to several INTs. In the first three games last season, Smith had a 6.6 rating throwing to Crabtree. A lot of that was on Crabtree for dropping the ball and not really grasping the offense. Crabtree bounced back, but I think it's fair to doubt him a bit after that start last season. He also got a very fair contract, he just wanted a contract that was disproportionate to his draft position. I think that was more his advisers, but he's got the power to tell them to sign the fair deal.

I went back and forth on this with Clyde, and I do think Crabtree has talent. But he bears a large part of the blame for his struggles to date. Between injuries and a preference for working out alone, he has done himself no favors.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

A Crabtree apologist.

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

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.

Why the hell don't the 49ers re-sign Owens anyway?