49ers Vs. Giants, 2012 NFC Championship Game: Will Michael Crabtree Step Up?
by David Fucillo on Jan 18, 2012 12:00 PM PST
in 2012 NFL Playoffs
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PrintOver the second half of the 2011 season, Michael Crabtree was a key part of the 49ers offense. After struggling with injuries early in the season and taking time to develop chemistry on offense, Crabtree finished the season as the 49ers leading receiver with 72 receptions for 874 yards. He became Alex Smith's go-to guy many weeks and had some big catches along the way.
Then on Saturday, he found himself struggling to hang onto the ball. Crabtree had a touchdown early in the game, but he had at least two fairly sizable drops on passes he normally hauls in. One pass was down near his ankles, but it was a play he has made several times this season. I suppose he has done a better job on high passes, but even still, lost opportunities will eventually come back and bite a team.
The 49ers are hoping to get Delanie Walker back for Sunday's game and he could be a big addition. However, he is also likely going to be a bit rusty coming off almost a month-long layoff if he gets back on the field this Sunday. Walker was actually the 49ers leading receiver in Week 10 against the Giants with six catches for 69 yards. Of course, it is also worth noting that after he had the six catch performance against New York, he had no receptions the rest of the way. The offense shifted away and he moved into a lower profile role.
Vernon Davis is coming off the biggest performance of his career and it is safe to say the Giants will have an eye on him. He could still put up big numbers, but more than likely somebody else will have to step up among the receivers. Will Crabtree atone for his inconsistent performance last week or will we see Kyle Williams or Ted Ginn step up and become a primetime player? Ted Ginn remains a question mark so we could see a receiver corps of Crabtree, Williams, Brett Swain and Joe Hastings. That should make for an interesting day.
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the pundits
Picked the saints, now they’re all picking the giants, I know this doesn’t apply to the article but jeez it’s getting super annoying, the giants by double digits??? I don’t think so!
by Clark_Kent on Jan 18, 2012 12:18 PM PST via iPhone app reply actions
eerily similar to the 2010 SF Giants
no one believed in them all the way into the world series and always picked the other team.
That’s fine, I love the underdog role
I love our chances as underdogs!! This team loves to prove the haters wrong!! Go NINERS!!
by RobNiner on Jan 18, 2012 12:32 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
The more people that pick against us, the more confident I feel
Call me old fashioned but I need to sleep with a girl at least three times before I even consider taking her out to dinner. @BangingHebrew
by BangingHebrew on Jan 18, 2012 12:46 PM PST up reply actions
I guess beating Brees @ home
despite his throwing for +400 yards doesn’t impress as much as Eli & company carving up a lackadaisical GB team @ Lambeau…btw, Antrelle Rolle says the Giants can’t be beat…i’ll go ahead and interpret that as guaranteeing them a ‘W’ this Sunday…
by Doni S on Jan 18, 2012 12:57 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Honey Badgers Dont give a Sh*&
"I hate it! It looks like a stickup at 7-Eleven. Five guys standing there with their hands in the air."
Norm Sloan
"We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors."
Weldon Drew
by EcERyda69 on Jan 18, 2012 1:00 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Why are people acting like the 49ers are still getting disrespected? It has been very very split on this game, as it should be.
Attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. ~ Jack Harbaugh
if that's true then nvm
But listening to Jim Rome and Dan Patrick and hearing national guys give their take I’ve heard almost all giants not niners
by Clark_Kent on Jan 18, 2012 1:16 PM PST via iPhone app up reply actions
It is pretty split from what I've seen
Even Merrill Hodge is on the 49ers bandwagon, and we all know how he felt during the season…
We probably hear more about the Giants simply because it is a NY team, so it may be louder, but my gut says it is still 50/50.
Attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. ~ Jack Harbaugh
well I'm glad to hear that
I was pulling out my hair listening to Ross tucker on rome today talking about how the giants have all the momentum they’re unbeatable and gonna win by double digits.
As if the niners didn’t just beat the team most picked to beat the packers and win the superbowl…
by Clark_Kent on Jan 18, 2012 1:27 PM PST via iPhone app up reply actions
Yea I didn’t really understand how the 49ers beat the hottest team in the league and the Giants go in and beat the Packers (which a lot more people picked than did SF), and all of a sudden they beat the best team ever…
That part is frustrating. I really wonder what the reactions would have been if the 9ers beat the Saints like the 5-1 turnover ratio should suggest.
Attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. ~ Jack Harbaugh
Yeah. With the 5-1 ratio, it shouldn't have been close.
I still believe the Saints were the better team than the Packers. Better defense, better special teams, equal passing game, and better rushing game.
Sufficiently advanced sarcasm is indistinguishable from being an @$$hole.
by So. Cal. Niner. Fan. on Jan 18, 2012 1:36 PM PST up reply actions
the general feeling right now is that the Giants and Patriots are thriving and the Ravens and 49ers are surviving.
Doesn’t mean jack though. There’s no such thing as momentum, no matter how much they want to talk about it. There are match ups and there are good games and bad games.
Last week the Saints were thriving, now they’re six feet under the candlestick grass.
Draft: 1. Kendall Wright 2. Trumaine Johnson
FA: Smith, Morgan, Brooks, Rogers, Snyder
by whistlingmountain on Jan 18, 2012 2:02 PM PST up reply actions
We should be the favorites
Slight favorites, but favorites nonetheless. We already beat the Giants and are playing at home.
Walker, Vernon and Peele will all be very crucial
especially if it rains and is windy. They are going to be needed to block as well as get open to convert those 3 and mids.
I want to see SF change their tendencies...
Spread it around between ALL the receivers, but not right out of the gate. Lure NY into a false sense of familiarity, and exploit that at key times.
That said, I suspect that is kind of what team often do – or else they simly fall back to what has “always” worked. I see Harbaugh as more of the cunning type, but we’ll see.
I fully expect a huge game from Crabby while the G-men pay close attention to V.D.
I’m so sick of hearing about the Giants….what’s is gonna be like when we face the Pats in the S.B….you’ll only hear about the Pats.
I would absolutely take that
no problemo. Just want to go to the par-tee.
"One game at a time. Let's just keep it rolling." Justin Smith
Off topic slightly
But a minority of Giants fans think Justin Tuck/Pierre-Paul > Justin Smith.
by Anonymous1337 on Jan 18, 2012 1:01 PM PST via mobile reply actions
No real comparison can be made...
Asked to do very different things within their respective defenses. Also, Tuck/JPP are both much younger than Smith with less wear and tear, especially JPP.
by 9thevolution on Jan 18, 2012 1:07 PM PST up reply actions
It'll be interesting to see who is covering who....
Amukamara has stepped into a bit bigger role I believe and the Giants also have Webster nursing a hammy I think. Despite the rain, spreading it out and passing high percentage throws could be the ticket to control the game. Personally, I don’t care who steps up, or if anyone stands out like Davis did, I just want to see the Niners up on the scoreboard when the clock hits :00.
With all this attention Vernon's getting...
and to some extent, the trash talking by Rolle- this weekend will be a key opportunity to work the safeties.
Alex isn’t much of a pump-fake QB. I hope to see him look off the safeties for kyle over the top.
And crabtree should see a lot of work deep too. he’s proven to be able to go up and find ball when he’s working the deep boundary
Third downs
Need to be converted K.W and Crabs need to make plays I thinks Crabs’ biggest drop was third down in the redzone can’t remember the distance but it was manageable. I want to see more of that quick slant Alex is getting better at it.
I also wonder if
They will keep Walker off ST plays
have the docs cleared him to play?
having him would make an enormous difference, IMO anyway…
by Doni S on Jan 18, 2012 1:22 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Not sure if he's been cleared
Harbaugh did make it sound like he might practice so we’ll see later this afternoon
Absolutely...
I highly doubt they send him out for ST duty.
by 9thevolution on Jan 18, 2012 1:24 PM PST up reply actions
This game will be a blowout. 31-13.
It will be 14-3 Niners at the half. Then we will blow it open. our defense is just too good. We showed it on Saturday. I was hesitant to even give them 10 pts in the 2nd half but since the game will be well over when they score that last TD I’ll give it to them.
no it wont
Draft: 1. Kendall Wright 2. Trumaine Johnson
FA: Smith, Morgan, Brooks, Rogers, Snyder
by whistlingmountain on Jan 18, 2012 1:23 PM PST up reply actions
I don't see it either.
Sufficiently advanced sarcasm is indistinguishable from being an @$$hole.
by So. Cal. Niner. Fan. on Jan 18, 2012 1:25 PM PST up reply actions
It's going to come down to the last minute again...
Forget fingernails, we will have knawed our fingers down to stumps by the end of this one.
by 9thevolution on Jan 18, 2012 1:26 PM PST up reply actions
How many game winning drives will there be this time?
Sufficiently advanced sarcasm is indistinguishable from being an @$$hole.
by So. Cal. Niner. Fan. on Jan 18, 2012 1:27 PM PST up reply actions
The last time we played
we only got 3 quarterback hits and 1 sack.
Both teams are better, and healthier. Both are hot, and both have fed on that underdog role all year long. I see it being another great, if not classic games.
Sufficiently advanced sarcasm is indistinguishable from being an @$$hole.
by So. Cal. Niner. Fan. on Jan 18, 2012 1:30 PM PST up reply actions
Eli plays good against pressure
Sounds weird, but this is a new Eli from last season. That elite talk really pumped him up
Nowadays everybody wanna talk, like they got something to say, but nothing comes out when they move their lips, just a bunch of gibberish and motherfu****s act like they forgot about Dre
by King Henry the 2nd on Jan 18, 2012 4:14 PM PST up reply actions
We all will on Sunday.
Big letdown for the Giants. They have been on playoff mode since last week of the season. I just dont see them getting it together. They have a very good team. But once that first big hit comes, they will fold.
Not sure they'd fold.
They don’t seem like that kind of team, but on a rainy, sloppy day I don’t think their passing game will ever get going, coupled with a our D, I think this one may be a 17-10 type game.
Call me old fashioned but I need to sleep with a girl at least three times before I even consider taking her out to dinner. @BangingHebrew
by BangingHebrew on Jan 18, 2012 1:31 PM PST up reply actions
I see
both teams scoring @ least 20 points…each…but I give our Niners a slight edge for home field and Andy’s punting
by Doni S on Jan 18, 2012 1:30 PM PST via mobile reply actions
He get's impatient.
He tries to force stuff, if the DB’s take it away all game. IF they can do that, they will get turnovers. Just like Peyton and Brees, they get frustrated and think they can put the ball on a dime 40 yards down the field, even through double coverage.
I think this game comes down to turnovers, running the ball, and great special teams.
It just makes me wonder who’s got it better than us?
Sufficiently advanced sarcasm is indistinguishable from being an @$$hole.
by So. Cal. Niner. Fan. on Jan 18, 2012 1:34 PM PST up reply actions
I don't know that he gets impatient so much as
he just throws blind passes sometimes.
Draft: 1. Kendall Wright 2. Trumaine Johnson
FA: Smith, Morgan, Brooks, Rogers, Snyder
by whistlingmountain on Jan 18, 2012 1:59 PM PST up reply actions
Well Said.
And if the game comes down to turnovers, running the ball, and special teams we win all those phases of the game. Which is why Im seeing the game not being close. Eli will not be able to drive on us like Brees did when Lee put them back. I see them having a hard day against us. They didnt break the game open in GB until the last 6 min. And their defense (GB ) is horrible!
...just look at the gian'ts season...
regarding pressure on Elil. Everyone blitzed him….and he sets the league record for TD passes in the 4th quarter/OT (aka “crunch time”). Good TD to Int ratio (29 to 16) this year. He’s learned to take a sack or throw it away rather than force it (which he used to do in the past). Example: in the GB game within field goal range, takes the sack rather than force a pass into coverage…giants kick the field goal. He’s really matured as a QB and game manager and is playing very smart football.
Your punter is fantastic and is a game factor in that he can dictate field position. As a giant fan, I hope to see that he gets a lot of work… :)
Gonna watch the game over at my cuz’s house – he’s a 9’er fan with red and gold all over the place. But as long as he buys the beers….. Good luck guys (but not too much).
by ExileOnBroadStreet on Jan 18, 2012 2:52 PM PST up reply actions
I do see Crabtree stepping up
Even though he’s in the same boat as everyone else as far as playoff experience goes, I think he got the anxiety and dropsies out of his system now. I’m sure he’s hungry to make up for last week, so I do expect him to be playing at a high level this week.
Crabtree had to have heard the squawking in the Bay Area
This is something that Harbaugh is really good at… playing the “You can do it, I believe in you” card.
Hell, Alex didn’t even LOOK at Crabtree in those last two drives. He threw deep to Brett Swain, for god’s sake. And FWIW, that pass to Swain was abso-frickin-lutely perfect… if Swain had been running full speed rather than 3/4-practice speed, that is.
Crabs will have to hang onto those slants and outs. Those are the drive-sustaining plays that allow Frank Gore to beat a defense into submission with power runs (and Hunter running those sweeps). I’d like to see some slants with cut blocks on the ends to slow them down (Bobb McKittrick school of pass blocking).
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means" - Inigo Montoya
...really?
…you want your guys to take the defensive guys’ knees out? McKittrick taught his guys the chop block (one guy holds high, the other goes for the knees)….which is now illegal. Beware of karma, amigo.
by ExileOnBroadStreet on Jan 18, 2012 3:07 PM PST up reply actions
He didn’t say chop blocks, that is illegal. A cut block isn’t.
Attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. ~ Jack Harbaugh
Legal, non-controversial and utterly conventional
What’s with the instigation and false accusations amigo? Speaking of which, McKittrick lines were known to fight fair, unlike certain well-regarded defenses back in the day… There was the leg whip of course, but though unpopular with d-lineman, that one wasn’t known to cause injury.
The name McKittrick means one thing to you guys....
…and something else to everybody else in the league.
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/100205/jag_19924406.shtml
Read the section titled ‘Paving the way’
by ExileOnBroadStreet on Jan 18, 2012 8:12 PM PST reply actions
If he doesn't step up
Trade him to Oak. Since they love giving up 1st rounders for garbage.
by Zintzun22niner on Jan 18, 2012 8:41 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Crab
He’s a beast. He’s a playmaker, bottom line. He’s one of the guys that will go up and make the tough catch, he’s tough over the middle, and he’s a tough out when it comes to bringing him down. I think he’s got it all.
I put him up against any of the receivers in the league. I can attest to just how hard this man works every single day, and the people of San Francisco really need to appreciate that.
There are no off days with him and there haven’t been since he’s been here. He needs to be considered one of those No.1 receivers because he is. He’s a beast, and he’s going to continue to be.
quote from Kyle Williams
I really, really think Michael’s been playing great football.
---Jim Harbaugh
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