I've been pretty ruthless when it comes to wide receiver Michael Crabtree in the past week. I've called for his benching, I've probably insulted his mother and girlfriend, and I did have a bit about his lack of swag of late, but I'm all for retracting said statements if he can prove me wrong.
I won't say that he's absolved of all criticism. Crabtree did show a lot of hustle out there, but watching him and him alone, it was clear there was still a lack of ... crispness? Let's go with that word. But watching Crabtree with the ball is something to, quite frankly, be excited about. It was only that one catch, but he showed that spark he had in college. As soon as the ball was in his hand, it's like someone pulled a string on him and he immediately jerked in another direction, making defenders stumble. If any of you make a joke about the fact I just used, "jerked," and "pulled," in the same sentence ... then you're as juvenile as I am. Moving on ...
I just want to see more looks his way. I don't want the team to force him the ball, and it's easy to see why he didn't get as many targets: Delanie Walker and Vernon Davis are explosive while Josh Morgan was on fire. Frank Gore is always a reliable option and Crabtree simply wasn't running free as much as we'd have liked. But I want to see more plays designed to draw coverage from Crabtree so he can get the ball into his hands. I think he can be a very powerful weapon for the 49ers in the near future.
Just a few thoughts, I suppose. What do you think?