Michael Crabtree Is Just Fine, Thank You

So, I was reading Jerome Bettis' takes on the NFL the other day at SI.com. Not sure why, because he doesn't bring anything noteworthy to football analysis (either in "writing" for SI or when he was a TV "analyst" for NBC last year), and I wasn't a fan of his as a player. Look, I got bored at work and read whatever I could to pass the time. But that's neither here nor there.

What irked me is that Bettis writes, "I'll say this to Michael Crabtree: That costly fumble in the third quarter on Sunday is what happens when you don't go through camp. Crabtree caught the ball and made a pretty decent move, but he was carrying the football way outside his body, leaving it up for grabs, and it got swiped out. That's one of those things you see happen to rookies in the first couple days of training camp, before they know what these big boys in the NFL can do. Perhaps you can get away with that in college, Michael, but not in the NFL. The kid has some things to learn. I hope he takes a few things away from this loss."

Huh? I watched the game between San Francisco and Indianapolis, and Michael Crabtree was the one guy on their team that scared me. Frank Gore had a long touchdown run early, but got shut down for the rest of the game. And even his touchdown run was due to multiple missed tackles by the Colts D. Crabtree, though? That guy's good. His final numbers (6 rec, 81 yards, 1 fumble lost) aren't superhuman, but every time he got the ball, I held my breath. He moves with a fluidity that a lot of the receivers in the league just don't have; and he's always looking to break a big play. Yes, his fumble was a result of poor handling, but I don't think his holdout had anything to do with it.

Camp is one of those things that NFL types love, because it's supposed to galvanize the team, set the tone for the year, and get everyone in shape for the season. Personally, I think it's overrated. Skip was pissed a couple years back because his beloved Panthers and their first-round draft pick, LB Jon Beason, couldn't come to terms quickly, and he held out for a couple weeks. I tried to calm down Skip and let him know that it wasn't the end of the world, it was just camp. Skip didn't care, he wanted Big Beas to get in camp. For the record, Beason led the Panthers in tackles that year. Houston's Steve Slaton went to camp all summer and got benched last week because of his fumbleitis. Why no mention of that, Jerome? Just curious.

Yes, holding out (especially well into the season like Crabtree) makes rookies look like prima donnas and selfish players. However, let's not immediately classify them as "unprepared" just because they missed a few weeks. Anybody who's actually seen Crabtree play this year knows he's more than ready for the NFL. His hands are terrific, his playmaking ability is there, and he looks like a keeper for years to come. As a matter of fact, I'm sure the Raiders would love to have him now over their actual first-round pick, WR Darrius Heyward-Bey. Despite playing all season long, Heyward-Bey has less catches this year than Crabtree does in his two games played.

And Heyward-Bey went to camp.

~~ Lank