Crabtree was amazingly impressive in his debut.

Originally posted by CorvaNinerFan:
You could hear the head coach in Brian Billick salivating as the game wore on...he appreciates great talent and was very impressed with Crabtree. MC may've also helped change the offensive identity...for it's crystal clear now the strength of our offense is the receiving corps. Add Brandon Jones to the mix and it's even stronger. All that means more of a spread offense...because that's what Alex does well and it gives everyone a spark. He never had the tools (supporting cast) before to play his game..now he does and I'm confident Singletary will see that. It was great to see him use his wheels to get out of trouble instead of taking yet another sack. I know it was only one half of one game...but, I saw a confident, poised Alex running the show with great results yesterday. Crabtree simply gives him a great receiver to throw to...he was worth the wait.

OK, OK, OK. Great? He's played in one NFL game thus far, and he has 55 yards receiving. That puts him on pace (in a 16-game season) for less than 1,000 yards. I think Crabtree was extremely impressive. I won't lie. But I think it's premature to call the guy great already. He wasn't even matched up with Houston's best corner for much of the game. I want to see him handle good secondaries, the best corner for every team, and double teams every single week before I call him great.

I believe he can be great, but not just yet...he'll be one step closer to that if he can play well against that Indianapolis secondary though. He does seem to run excellent routes, and there's no denying that he has excellent hands. If anything, he definitely is our best WR, and that's impressive considering the circumstances.

You must not have seen him play much in college...there were many good reasons he was far and away the highest rated WR. Nobody plays as good as he did w/o benefit of camp and pre-season unless you're extremely talented. Brian Billick kept remarking how impressed he was with him as the game wore on. He knows a thing or two about offenses and players. Most WR's simply catch the football...Crabtree attacks it. He has amazingly strong hands. This kid has greatness written all over him.

Originally posted by HessianDud:
I'll take that heaping plate of crow. I thought it was a bad decision to start him right away, but he pretty much proved himself today, and Morgan and Davis had nice games too, so I think its safe to say that our passing offense is much, much better with Mr. Crabtree in the lineup.

I'll take a leg please....

I too thought elevating him so quickly was a mistake. Shows what I know.....

Originally posted by CorvaNinerFan:
You must not have seen him play much in college...there were many good reasons he was far and away the highest rated WR. Nobody plays as good as he did w/o benefit of camp and pre-season unless you're extremely talented. Brian Billick kept remarking how impressed he was with him as the game wore on. He knows a thing or two about offenses and players. Most WR's simply catch the football...Crabtree attacks it. He has amazingly strong hands. This kid has greatness written all over him.

I've seen him play in college. I've also seen Rashaun Woods play in college, but we're not talking about college. The NFL is a different animal. Anyway, I agree that he has greatness written all over him. Maybe I'm just being cautious because we've drafted a lot of guys who've come and gone. I'm hoping that he's the real deal, and I think that he will be, in time. This is the best WR we've had since Terrell Owens.

he even made Morgan better. I'm glad they let him play so soon. All the NFL experts were pissed that Singletary did that, but why not put your best WR on the field?? I'm glad Crabtree shut them all up.

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
he even made Morgan better. I'm glad they let him play so soon. All the NFL experts were pissed that Singletary did that, but why not put your best WR on the field?? I'm glad Crabtree shut them all up.

I agree, maybe all Morgan needed was to have some of the presure taken off

Can you guys imagine what would of happened if all three of those TD's went to Crabs instead of VD?

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
Can you guys imagine what would of happened if all three of those TD's went to Crabs instead of VD?

Server meltdown

Originally posted by jta854:

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
Can you guys imagine what would of happened if all three of those TD's went to Crabs instead of VD?

Server meltdown

Originally posted by cNiner:

Originally posted by jta854:

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
Can you guys imagine what would of happened if all three of those TD's went to Crabs instead of VD?

Server meltdown

there was a bit of a meltdown yesterday when Smith came in and tore it up. I couldn't post for a bit.

He should have had over 70 yards receiving, if Morgan didn't false start on that one pass play negating a 22 yard pass to Crabs.

Hopefully they continue to phase out Bruce from the offense.

I haven't had a chance to watch the game yet but from what I say on the highlights, Crabtree looked good. It's scary to think what he could be doing with a entire training camp behind him.

I have to admit he did a good job. i like how he uses his hands to catch the ball.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
His hands are great. His routes are good. His understanding seems to be beyond his time with the team.

......and he was beating the jam at the line of scrimmage. That is usually the biggest hurdle for guys coming out of college.

Originally posted by BrianGO:

Originally posted by matt49er:

Originally posted by dhp318:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by BrianGO:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
A couple things stood out to me:
1) Very clean routes for a rookie. Usually, rookies are sloppy with their footwork. I thought he looked sharp,

2) Good hands. He had one drop on a ball that was not very well thrown, but the rest of the time, he used his hands to catch the ball, and did not have it jar loose after contact.

A solid first game. Very impressed with the rook, and he is only going to get better.

Its truly amazing what Crabtree has been able to do in such a short time frame.

The guy plays like a cartoon. He catches the ball with ease, turns with ease, moves around quickly with ease. He seems to really have fun out there too.

It looks like he has a good chance of making DHB money after all.

Too bad we didn't have him all year. He is a special talent. This is one of the reasons I saw an argument for money in the range of DHB.

Can I add once again that Eric Mangini is a total idiot???? In more than one way.

Wasnt the larger issue that if we gave him a DHB type contract, that our 1st picks next year would also have more leverage?

yes it's also about the fact that we had the 10th pick and shouldn't have to spend top 5 money.

Ok, let's be clear about something.

This thread exits in the "future" in regards to Crabtree's contract debate.

There is NOTHING that Crabtree can do on the "field of the future" that should make anyone change their mind about what they thought about the contract dispute.

Anyone who claims they "knew" Crabtree would be good, is lying. You can't know.

You can't just "know" the difference between a Michael Crabtree and a Peter Warrick. There is no way to know.

Peter Warrick was a monster in college and we would have drafted him as a "steal" at number 10 just the same.

If I could have seen this one game in the future (and know that Crabtree had only practiced for two weeks), I would have certainly been willing to consider giving him top five money.

But that's why its called the "future." Because you KNOW. Because it HAPPENED.

Great post, BrianGO!