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Crabtree


Bronco Billy
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And so, in the mold of other PITA WRs who are immensely talented but for some reason simply can not grasp the concept that football is a team sport, we now have Michael Crabtree:

 

VD calls out Crabtree in dust up during practice

 

 

Before the 49ers arrived at Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium on the morning of Aug. 15, receiver Michael Crabtree was declared available for action.

Crabtree sustained a neck strain during practice four days earlier, but club officials said he was OK to play. His availability for the exhibition opener against the Colts would be determined after warmups.

 

Crabtree did not suit up for that game. He sat out the following week's game, too. Then, two days after coach Mike Singletary declared Crabtree would play in the 49ers' third exhibition game, Crabtree was a late scratch after reporting a "sore neck" upon showing up at the Oakland Coliseum to face the Raiders.

 

Tight end Vernon Davis, who returned to full practice this week after sustaining a knee strain in the first game, lashed out at Crabtree during Wednesday's practice. The scene prompted Singletary to become involved. The three men went back to the locker room during practice to settle their differences.

 

After 10 minutes, Singletary excused Davis, allowing him to rejoin his teammates. Singletary and Crabtree remained in the 49ers' locker room for another 10 minutes before they returned to the field. Singletary called a team meeting immediately after practice.

 

"There are no more elephants in the room," Singletary said. "The elephant was exposed."

 

Singletary said of Davis, "He did the right thing, but he did it the wrong way."

 

Singletary intimated he agreed with whatever message Davis was trying to get across to Crabtree. But Singletary did not condone the profane manner in which Davis loudly stated his case during a walk-through practice.

 

Crabtree came to the 49ers as the No. 10 overall pick in the 2009 draft. While every other rookie accepted the unwritten rule of slotting as a way to achieve agreement with their respective clubs on a rookie contract, Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker delayed the process in hopes of gaining a bigger deal.

 

In the lead-up to the draft, Crabtree was the subject of unflattering reports. He was tagged with the reputation of being a "diva" after making his round of pre-draft visits to NFL clubs.

 

Eventually, the 49ers and Crabtree's side even agreed to a "diva clause" being inserted into his contract that requires him to take part in all mandatory functions and 90 percent of the voluntary offseason activities through the life of his contract.

 

Prior to the incident Wednesday, Crabtree was seen playfully going through practice next to Davis, who seemed to grow increasingly agitated. Crabtree is regarded as a good worker. But he seems to play by different rules than everyone else.

 

The 49ers have coddled him from the moment he signed his six-year contract and reported to the team after a 71-day absence. Even without any training camp, he became an immediate starter as a rookie.

 

Crabtree is the only player on the 49ers who is not available to the media upon a standard request. He determines when he speaks. This summer, he participated in a press conference the first day of training camp. Media access to him has been limited ever since.

 

As he enters his second NFL season, Crabtree has yet to play in an exhibition game. Crabtree's perceived apathy for participating in the tuneup games is an issue on the team. After the first exhibition game, Smith publicly addressed the importance of the team's starters being on the field together.

 

What, exactly, Davis had to say to Crabtree has been building for a while. Last week, quarterback Alex Smith called a meeting after a practice that included Davis, Crabtree, Frank Gore, Josh Morgan and Ted Ginn.

 

Said Smith, "I think we all wanted to kind of come together and make sure we were all on the same page as a perimeter group -- that we had the right attitude, the right mindset going forward, and we were going to set some things straight with all of us to make sure we were all thinking the same thing."

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I drafted Crabtree as my WR3 but I'm thinking he stays on my bench until I see him play a game or two. He has a ton of talent and it's not like Vernon matured in his second year either :wacko:. So I'm going to wait this one out until I see more than a training camp argument that smells like someone trying to stir up controversy.

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Something tells me this could be about Davis just a wee bit as well.

Yeah, which is why Singletary said VD did the right thing in calling him out, he just did it the wrong way...

That's probably why they also put a diva clause in Crabtree's contract... It has nothing to do with him missing time due to a slight neck sprain and milking it...

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