Personnel men line up to rip Niners
Posted by Tom Curran on September 17, 2009 6:08 PM ET
Nobody's looking very good in the 50-plus day hunger strike being waged by Michael Crabtree.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports asked seven front-office types if they believed the Niners should be given some kind of draft protection if Crabtree holds out all season and goes back in the draft.

Not only was it 7-0 saying "no flippin' way," but the assorted execs also took aim at San Francisco for their handling of the whole situation.

"Why would I want to end up with a lower pick in [a subsequent] draft because another team couldn't sign a player?" an NFC North exec asked Robinson.

"If you can't find a way to sign a draft choice, it puts you in some bad company. Somewhere along the way, you really [messed] up."

An NFC G.M. said the Niners simply should have known better given Crabtree's diva act leading up to the draft and the history of contentious negotiations in which his agent, Eugene Parker, has been involved.

"Part of the art of the draft is making sure you pick the right guy," the unnamed G.M. insisted. "You owe it to the owner and the organization to pick the right guy in the right situation. . . . Just because he's the best player on the board at the time you pick, you can't just throw caution to the wind and say, 'Well, we'll be the one to change him.'"

Of course, since the identifies of the personnel execs aren't known, it's also not known whether they passed on Crabtree when they had the chance -- or whether they'll pass on him again if he re-enters the draft.

I wanted Crabtree to be on the board when the Packers picked.. simply because I wanted to see the drama and because Ted noted that he felt Micheal was the best player in the draft... it put to test the BPA theory that swirled rampantly on the board.

"pack93z" wrote:

(When you had time to sit back and look at your draft board, what ultimately put Raji over Crabtree?) 

I really am not going to speak to Crabtree too much. He is a member of the 49ers now and we wish him well. It's just all things being equal, you guys know how much we value big people, both on the offensive and the defensive line. The good ones are really hard to find, and it gets to be a supply and demand thing. It doesn't necessarily take away the value of another player at a different position. It's just that we have always put a lot of emphasis on that.

link Ted Thompson wouldnt go so far as to say nose tackle B.J. Raji was a need pick, but the Packers general manager suggested that both Raji and Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree rated about equal on the Green Bay Packers draft board.

edit4, later down in that article ...
(Need) is always going to be a factor, its not that it doesnt factor in, Thompson said. But you dont take a lesser (player) in your opinion these players were rated about the same, (Crabtree) and a couple other guys. So thats the way we balanced it.

(Was it a difficult call between Raji and Crabtree?) 
There are a lot of difficult calls during the course of the draft, and we think a lot of Michael Crabtree and a couple of other guys. But yeah, it was a difficult call. But we feel confident that we did the right thing.

(Were you surprised Raji fell this far?)
A little bit. Most of the pundits out there had him going a little bit earlier. He's a very powerful, explosive interior defensive lineman that has the ability to definitely play the run. He also shows the ability and the power to be a pass rusher from the inside. We think his addition gives us a little flexibility with Ryan (Pickett). Obviously Ryan is our nose tackle and he does a great job at it, but he is also athletic enough that if we wanted to move him around a little bit, that gives us some flexibility.

(You have said in the past you don't draft on need. Did you make this pick based on need?)
No. I mean, yeah, it's always going to be a factor. It's not that it doesn't factor in but you don't take a lesser player in your opinion. These players were rated about the same, him and a couple of other guys. So that's the way we balance it.

Green Bay - Well-stocked in wide receivers, the Green Bay Packers appear primed to select another one, Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree, late Saturday afternoon if they stay put with the No. 9 pick in the first round of the National Football League draft.

Crabtree is the top-rated player on general manager Ted Thompson's board and, despite significant needs on both lines and at outside linebacker, it seems likely the Packers will stay true to their board provided Crabtree is available.

First post... there was some dialog from Ted.. but this is what popped to mind..

http://www.packershome.com/index.php?name=ForumsPro&file=viewtopic&t=4401 

Crabdouche?

"dfosterf" wrote: