I think everything worked out well and all parties involved got what they deserved.

"TheEngineer" wrote:

Let's just put it this way: Michael Crabtree has been more successful as a receiver than that guy's been as a coach up to this point, so I think we'll just go ahead at the end and let the record speak for itself," Leach said. "No, there's no diva in it. Part of that is that he's too shy to do that."

The 49ers also insisted they had no concerns about Crabtree's attitude.

"We brought him in here, spent the entire day with him," general manager Scot McCloughan said. "We feel very comfortable about the kind of person he is. Again, it's important to us to not just get a good football player but a good person to represent the 49ers, and we feel we got both in Michael Crabtree."

Another objection: the word most often associated with Crabtree leading up to the draft was diva. In this case, being a diva is not good. It means the kid has an attitude, needs special treatment, thinks hes a superstar and may not buy into the team concept. Got that?

OK, heres what Singletary said about diva.

When you get great players, sometimes you get a bit of attitude with them. For us, on offense, a little bit of swagger is OK.

Finally, there is the question of fashion. Yes, fashion. When Crabtree came to the Niners for a face-to-face he said the Raiders never even invited him Singletary asked about his hobby and he said fashion is his hobby. This made Singletary, the manly man, pause. Singletary admitted this.

Asked about his fashion hobby over the phone, Crabtree told reporters, I feel like if I look good, I play good.

Be clear about this, also. The Niners liked Crabtree, coveted him from afar. But they never in a million years thought they could get their eager hands on this kid, a receiver nfldraftscout.com compares to Anquan Boldin right now.

Thats where the Raiders came in. You never can underestimate the Raiders because theyll always perform lower than youd imagine in your most vivid nightmare. When Oakland drafted at No.7, Crabtree was there, available, waiting.

Did they take him? Of course not. Crabtree would have made sense. They went for Darrius Heyward-Bey, no better than the third-best receiver available, maybe not even that high.

Sometimes the teams negotiating are just as much at fault as the agent, an AFC executive said. Conceptually, [pick protection] is a fair idea if the agent is holding an unfair gun to the head of the club. But the reality becomes, how do you determine that? Because there are some clubs that do some stupid [stuff] and arent negotiating in good faith. The bad faith negotiating happens on both sides of the ball. To me, the bigger problem lays in what has happened historically. This top 10 [financial] mess is a top-10 mess because agents have squeezed teams and teams have caved. Predecessors with organizations and clubs have had no [guts] whatsoever.

Another AFC executive echoed those sentiments that too many teams lack the intestinal fortitude to negotiate correctly.

Its spelled out very clearly for both parties, he said. If you dont sign with us, were out a player and you can move on with your life. And well give you a timetable of your life as a draft pick. Your money is there now and it will be decreased over time decreased, decreased and decreased. Thats it. Game on.

And thats how many executives feel the 49ers should be conducting themselves now with a defiant stance that forces Crabtree to follow through with his threat to re-enter the draft. Indeed, some say its a decision that should have been made before Crabtree was even selected at No. 10. Once he was available to San Francisco at that pick, executives suggest the franchise should have been prepared to make one of three decisions: draft him and walk away if he wouldnt sign for No. 10 money, draft him and overpay him, or pass on him and select another player.

Part of the art of the draft is making sure you pick the right guy, the aforementioned NFC general manager said. You owe it to the owner and the organization to pick the right guy in the right situation. Traditionalists are going to look at [Crabtree and his agent] and say You should have known with this guy. Just because hes the best player on the board at the time you pick, you cant just throw caution to the wind and say well, well be the one to change him.

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