Learning curve steep for newly signed receiver Brad Biggs
Michael Crabtree will start his NFL career as a slot receiver, according to San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye.
That’s the fastest way for the Niners to get the first-round draft pick on the field, and one NFL personnel man said he liked the idea of forcing opposing defenses to cover tight end Vernon Davis with a safety on one side and then matching up Crabtree on the other side with another defender to work the middle of the field.
But it will be a steep learning curve for Crabtree, who by Raye’s estimations ran two routes in the wide open scheme he played in at Texas Tech.
“He basically played on one side in college, didn’t flip, stayed on the one side and he ran a hitch, and if he was pressed, he ran a go,’’ Raye said. “So, it’s a little bit more learning that he has to do than time will allow us to teach him, but we’ve got to make do as we can.”
Sounds like there will be a lot to teach, but the move may have been a sound one for Crabtree. He earned $2 million for each game he sat out as the package he receiver from the 49ers is worth $8 million more than what they offered before the season. Ultimately, Raye sees him as a split end, but it’s going to take time and he’s not in Lubbock, Texas, playing catch with Graham Harrell any longer. The club doesn’t know exactly what kind of shape Crabtree is in, and he didn’t really do anything in the way of football work with the Niners in the spring because of the stress fracture in his foot. He’s as raw as it gets for them, and the team has a roster exemption for just one game from commissioner Roger Goodell.
“We’re going to try to get him started, but the biggest thing is that he as no carryover background from being here before because he wasn’t able to do anything because of the injury,’’ Raye said. “So, we’re trying to get him caught up in the system, the words and the verbiage and give him a chance to get his legs underneath him. He’s a little wobbly. You’ve got to remember, he hasn’t played football since last November or December. He hasn’t done anything relative to football, so he’s not in that kind of shape. So, we have a conditioning thing we have to be concerned with, not take him too fast and get a setback.
“If we can avoid that and we’ll start him off at either one of the wide receiver spots, not sure exactly right now which one that will be, but I know system-wise, the split receiver is the less complicated because of the shifts and the motions, it’s the one that has less learning. We may start him there, but basically, my hope is we will start him in the three-wide package. He will play in the slot, and that will be the focal point of getting him into the game as quickly as we can, and then that would be a game-plan situation because he would then learn the plays and the game plan and wouldn’t have to be responsible for the entire offense, things that he would be short on.”
For now, Crabtree’s assimilation to the league begins with the scout team. He ought to be able to pick up a third route there pretty quickly.
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his foot I would be worried about.. i don't know how they heal but if he gets stepped on... I can see it now... Crabtree out... foot break... I hope not... but the next few weeks are gonna be critical to see how far he is in game shape...
man my niners were doing fine without him what the f i hope he dont mess things up the other players prob. dont like him 2 much cuz he didnt want to b part of the best team in the nfl of all time thats right of all time!!!!!!!!! we the best go niners!!!!!!
I remember him bein ginterviewed on Sirius NFL Radio before the draft and he was asked by the announcers (Tim and Pat?) to give the verbiage on a typical play call. He said "nine". They said, what was the rest of the play call, and he said "that was it"
They were speechless and made a comment aobut how he was going to have to get used to a lot more than that. That learning curve, especially for some one who tested very low on the Wonderlic, is what has worried this Niner fan since day one.
That's one more route than Heyward-Bey ran.
Crabtree ran way more than two routes in college. I don't know what game Raye is playing here, but I'm guessing he's just working the media a bit and trying to downplay Crabtree to take some of the pressure off. Texas Tech's offense is not complicated by any means, but it is widely known that the receivers there run more routes than most most NFL teams expect from their players. That was a strange comment.
Crabs also did nothing but workout and train during the contract holdout, so it shouldn't take that long to get his legs under him.
The spread is very simple, but does require lots of pre snap reads and communication. It's a bit of a stretch to say two routes. The highlight reels show lotsof screens, fades as well as the hitch and go.
But almost always Crabs was on the right, and Harrell had a soft touch, aka Leach Noodle Arm, he loves noodle armed qbs
Boy, for a guy that's not very smart and only ran two routes, he sure did okay.
I mean, how does a redshirt freshman catch 134 passes for 1962 yards and 22 TDs running only two routes? There must be some really dumb defensive coordinators out there.
Clearly this bozo is just trying to CYA for himself in the event he can't find a way to use Crabtree right away.
You watch, Crabtree will be the 49er's best weapon by December.
Limbaugh's free to make a living running down whoever he wants but the NFL's for everyone. People have every right to be upset at the idea of someone like that becoming part of the league.
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Oct 08, 2009
05:29 PM
Sorry, 49er fans; this has nothing good to it at all. Overpaid wide receiver-who woulda thunk it?!?!?