Will Crabtree ever be this good?

Originally posted by zoomcrypt:
the most frustrating part about crabtree is that his best quality is supposed to be his great hands, but he consistently drops very catchable passes.....WTF

It is just my theory, but I believe a large part of why he has dropped so many passes is his lack of familiarity/comfort with the routes and the timing due to missed practice time. When a receiver is focusing on where to run and when to cut, it is hard to change the focus to throwing up your hands to snag a pass that is suddenly right in front of you. Consequently, I expect that once he has had the practice time to thoroughly learn the reads, the routes and the timing, he can begin to play more instinctively, as he did in college, as opposed to more mechanically as it appears he has in the time with the 49ers. When that happens, his confidence and his hands will re-appear....we all hope.

Wouldn't it be nice if my theory is actually correct?

Originally posted by dj43:
It is just my theory, but I believe a large part of why he has dropped so many passes is his lack of familiarity/comfort with the routes and the timing due to missed practice time. When a receiver is focusing on where to run and when to cut, it is hard to change the focus to throwing up your hands to snag a pass that is suddenly right in front of you. Consequently, I expect that once he has had the practice time to thoroughly learn the reads, the routes and the timing, he can begin to play more instinctively, as he did in college, as opposed to more mechanically as it appears he has in the time with the 49ers. When that happens, his confidence and his hands will re-appear....we all hope.

Wouldn't it be nice if my theory is actually correct?

i would not totally discount mr dj's theory. unlike people like vernon davis and yes josh morgan, crabtree has missed a ton of practice and camp time with alex and the offense. I know some players can but in the case of crabtree i do not think he can miss off seasons, work outs, camps, otas, pre season and expect to be a football player

Originally posted by cciowa:

Originally posted by dj43:
It is just my theory, but I believe a large part of why he has dropped so many passes is his lack of familiarity/comfort with the routes and the timing due to missed practice time. When a receiver is focusing on where to run and when to cut, it is hard to change the focus to throwing up your hands to snag a pass that is suddenly right in front of you. Consequently, I expect that once he has had the practice time to thoroughly learn the reads, the routes and the timing, he can begin to play more instinctively, as he did in college, as opposed to more mechanically as it appears he has in the time with the 49ers. When that happens, his confidence and his hands will re-appear....we all hope.

Wouldn't it be nice if my theory is actually correct?

i would not totally discount mr dj's theory. unlike people like vernon davis and yes josh morgan, crabtree has missed a ton of practice and camp time with alex and the offense. I know some players can but in the case of crabtree i do not think he can miss off seasons, work outs, camps, otas, pre season and expect to be a football player

Please don't call me "mr." It makes me sound old. Oh. Wait. nvm

On a serious note, while the entire offense was playing with a short deck last season due to the new offense and the lockout, Crabtree was the most effected due to his injury. Not only did he miss the on-field portion of Camp Alex, but it was not until week 12, IIRC, that he was able to be listed as "full participation" in weekly practice. A player just cannot miss that much practice time and be productive. You just can't.

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by OKC49erFan:

Originally posted by niner4life21:
Was looking through youtube to see Crabtree's college highlights and I can't believe that he was this dominant at TT. I think he has shown flashes in the pros and is still a young player. How come so many fans have given up on this guy, yet other players are given way more than 3 years to prove themselves ( Alex ). Crabtree has also been victim to the s**tty offensive systems under Raye and also has been dealing with injuries throughout his career. He was gradually improving throughout the regular season and I believe that he has what it takes to take it to the next level.



Notice how he looks A LOT faster back then??

He isn't very fast. Remeber, compared to the NFL, many of those defenders are pretty slow.

Given a full offseason in this system, and OTAs + Training Camp, I think we will see even more improvement for both Alex and Crabtree. If they can develop some chemistry together and get it clicking on the field. Watch out!

He's fast enough. Looks like he has enough speed here:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/09000d5d82597761/Crabtree-28-yard-TD-catch

I agree he is fast enough. My point was you really can't use college highlights when looking for speed. The frame of reference with the surrounding players is slower than that with their NFL counterparts. He is fast enough, but speed isn't really one of his main traits. He has great reach and body control. Couple that with very exact routes and good hands, he could be a very good weapon. Just needs to put it all together and develop a good routine with the QB.

He'd be a 1000 yard 8 TD WR on a passing offense with a better QB. That's not a shot at AS...it's just the truth.

It's funny people forget last year Crabtree had a fantastic season and came on really strong at the end. He had a bad game vs the Saints, no doubt. But against the Giants, that was more AS's inability to get the ball to the WRs.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
First, he had his best season last year and has noticeably improved his blocking skills. As Alex improved so did Crabs.

Next, he is slow and appears to be lazy. He did not get any seperation in the Giants playoff game and wasn't double teamed. Not impressive for a #10 pick.

Third, I really want him to succeed BUT he hasn't shown ANYTHING to prove he is a #1 WR. Just because he's the best receiver we have doesn't mean he's a #1 WR level. Just cause a guy can swim doesn't mean he's a good swimmer.

Hopefully he'll prove me wrong - I really hope he becomes the player we all thought he could be.

This is all true.

And I'd like to add something to the highlight reel that may be critical to his success going forward for us. In every single highlight, he is part of a 4 WR set. Every single one.

This is more proof that he probably never WILL be a #1 WR like a Calvin Johnson. BUT, if we add Fleener, with VD and Manningham and Moss takes off, Crabtree could effectively work the slot and underneath routes to perfection and then set up a DB and burn him deep once in a while as well. I think the coaching staff saw the need to get deep threats not only for Alex (and get 8 out of the box for Gore/Hunter) but also for Crabtree.

He'll still need to take a page out of JR's book on beating a DB immediately off the LOS.

Originally posted by dj43:
Please don't call me "mr." It makes me sound old. Oh. Wait. nvm

On a serious note, while the entire offense was playing with a short deck last season due to the new offense and the lockout, Crabtree was the most effected due to his injury. Not only did he miss the on-field portion of Camp Alex, but it was not until week 12, IIRC, that he was able to be listed as "full participation" in weekly practice. A player just cannot miss that much practice time and be productive. You just can't.

I have been a fan since 1971 with brodie , gene washington, vic washington, cedrick hardman, ken willard. i was 11 so you do the math and then we will discuss who is older

I think in the end Crabtree will be OK. He will contribute and help out the team in a very good way. He has made very good plays every year. We are not talking about a lack of talent that we don't see on the field. We are talking about consistency. That's really what he and the team needs to work on.

But it's fun to dog him a little in the offseason Everyone on the team will get redemption next year when we win our 6th SB

Originally posted by niner4life21:




Notice how he looks A LOT faster back then??

Yes, but the song makes anyone look/sound like a badass. If you played this song to a slomo of Bengie Molina running, it would make it seem pretty badass and like he was running 50 mph.

Originally posted by Leathaface:
He'd be a 1000 yard 8 TD WR on a passing offense with a better QB. That's not a shot at AS...it's just the truth.

It's funny people forget last year Crabtree had a fantastic season and came on really strong at the end. He had a bad game vs the Saints, no doubt. But against the Giants, that was more AS's inability to get the ball to the WRs.

Alex has his things he needs to improve on but I don't necessarily knock Crab not breaking 1000 to Alex Smith. That was more of our entire offense not passing as often as other teams.

Originally posted by cciowa:
I have been a fan since 1971 with brodie , gene washington, vic washington, cedrick hardman, ken willard. i was 11 so you do the math and then we will discuss who is older

Would have loved to see Gene Washington play. Who's the closest guy to Washington type of WR you can think of in recent history?

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by Leathaface:
He'd be a 1000 yard 8 TD WR on a passing offense with a better QB. That's not a shot at AS...it's just the truth.

It's funny people forget last year Crabtree had a fantastic season and came on really strong at the end. He had a bad game vs the Saints, no doubt. But against the Giants, that was more AS's inability to get the ball to the WRs.

Alex has his things he needs to improve on but I don't necessarily knock Crab not breaking 1000 to Alex Smith. That was more of our entire offense not passing as often as other teams.

This. In the Giants game, Smith threw it to Crabtree like 4 times and 3 of them were very low passes and the only one he completed was the high one for 3 yards. Again, not a knock on Smith, just trying to make a point about the WR also depending on the QB, not just the other way around.

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by zoomcrypt:
the most frustrating part about crabtree is that his best quality is supposed to be his great hands, but he consistently drops very catchable passes.....WTF

It is just my theory, but I believe a large part of why he has dropped so many passes is his lack of familiarity/comfort with the routes and the timing due to missed practice time. When a receiver is focusing on where to run and when to cut, it is hard to change the focus to throwing up your hands to snag a pass that is suddenly right in front of you. Consequently, I expect that once he has had the practice time to thoroughly learn the reads, the routes and the timing, he can begin to play more instinctively, as he did in college, as opposed to more mechanically as it appears he has in the time with the 49ers. When that happens, his confidence and his hands will re-appear....we all hope.

Wouldn't it be nice if my theory is actually correct?

i really hope so!!! i mean i was crying out of happiness the day we were able to draft him. it's sad, but i've already lost hope in him turning into a star!! I admit I finally gave up on alex smith after five years of hope, and he really proved me wrong!

Originally posted by qnnhan7:
Would have loved to see Gene Washington play. Who's the closest guy to Washington type of WR you can think of in recent history?

not sure, there are lots of people smarter than me out there. He has to have great hands, run perfect routes, he was very silky smooth,, oh yes and he would have to have a big old poofy afro sticking out of the back of his helmet!sorry i did not answer but not sure

The lack of off-season last year had a lot to do with many aspects of the offense. Offense is order. It takes more time than defense. A couple things lead me to think Crabtree will have a good year. The full off-season will allow him to become perfectly comfortable with his routes - no thinking, just reacting. When he's on his game, he's got great hands. The other thing is that we'll see a much more full-bodied passing attack because of that full off-season and we'll probably have at least one speed burner on the outside to go along with Davis on the inside. Stretching the field will provide more room in the middle, which is where Crabtree should flourish. Getting those safeties to back up a little in expectation of long routes should also loosen things up for those nice bubble screens and quick slants that Crabtree seems to do so well with.