49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree's chemistry with Colin Kaepernick was evident well before their thrice-failed attempts at combining on a Super Bowl-winning score, Cam Inman of Bayareanewsgroup reports. Appearing Tuesday on the NFL Network, Crabtree credited his and Kaepernick's earlier success to practice time, their common age (25), a shared desire to make plays, and, perhaps most of all, a trust factor. "I think he trusted me more. There was a lot of trust," Crabtree said on "Total Access." "Playing wide receiver you need a quarterback that trusts you. I feel he trusted me, and we went out there and did it." So was that trust factor lacking with Alex Smith, who attempted 58 passes to Crabtree last season for 42 completions, 492 yards and four touchdowns? "I wouldn't say that. I don't want no controversy," Crabtree responded. "I'm going to keep it real. But we (he and Kaepernick) clicked and made it happen out there." Source: The Redzone
yep, we all knew alex never trusted crab even before kaep started playing. vernon davis is the big loser in the SF qb switch. that's why davis pitched such a fit about alex losing his job.
Davis and Kaep finally were on the same page in the SB. I think he'll have a much more productive regular season this year
11 catches, 210 yards and a score in the niners' last two games (NFCCG and SB). I wouldn't call him the big loser in the switch.
Well, if there was one, it would have to be him (outside of Alex ofc). He had big games when it mattered, but had virtually dissappeared from the offense, from the switch up to that point. Where Vernon was Alexes most trusted receiver, Crabtree was clearly Kaps, and Vernon became an afterthought. I'd expect (hope) moving forward that VD will be involved more like he was in the playoffs and less like in the reg season. I feel like a lot of that had to do with Kaps experience and comfort within the offense, and as both those increase, he should start spreading it around more. It was nice to see Crabtree get his breakout though. Ive felt he was handicapped severely by Alex ever since he was drafted, and was afraid he was going to leave in FA for a team/QB that better suited him, without ever getting a real chance to shine in SF. Now they just have to figure out how to pay him in this stupid WR FA market.
Bolded: I agree wholeheartedly. Crabtree's ego and his rise from statistical obscurity may be enough for him to look for the highest bidder in FA. We've been locking up core players for relatively cheap contracts (compared to what the top paid players at their respective positions make), but I feel Crabs won't care about being here and forming part of the offense Harbaugh's building. So if I were Baalke I'd keep all options open, including a trade. Who knows, we may land a first rounder for him... I mean, if he suckered the Chiefs into giving up two 2nd rounders for a mediocre QB...
Outside of the holdout I've never really bought into the Crabtree ego thing. He's always been fairly low-key and seemingly humble, and despite being, as mentioned before, handicapped by Alex, he never really raised a stink or got snitchy about his role. He seems to be all-in now that Kaeps got the job, and while I fully expect him to try and get paid when/if he hits FA/gets resigned (deservedly so), I doubt he'd bail out unless he got an absolutely huge over market value smoker of an offer elsewhere. If the moneys comparable he'll stay.
I'm sure Crab took notice of the deals Wallace and Harvin got. Hopefully we figure out a way to keep him. WR is one of the hardest positions to develop and he's clearly our best
