Pro Football Talk (.com) is reporting that during a recent OTA, coach Mike Singletary almost made first round draft choice Michael Crabtree cry.  The report centered on Crabtree's broken foot, and how he was out jogging.  Singletary reportedly had a "discussion" with Crabtree about this, and according to the report, Crabtree grew "teary-eyed" because he wanted to practice.  Hmmm.

Singletary is rapidly becoming known as a coach who's more in your face than any other in the NFL.  It matches his playing style - that constant intensity.  The constant NFL Films picture of Singletary's face when he's readying himself for a play, and the blazing look in his eyes, ought to be a good predictor for what Singletary is like patrolling the sidelines.  Can that hyper-intensity bring out the best in the Niners, or will it backfire?  For a while, it'll work I think.  But that's not really here nor there.

The biggest problem with first round draft picks is that changing roles from BMOC to "just another rookie" can be confusing.  It's made worse when the player is in a prima donna position (WRs being the biggest prima donnas on most teams).  Now take a guy like Singletary, who accepts nothing except for total intensity all of the time, and you have a recipe for Crabtree to be hurt.  Of course, growing teary-eyed just because he got yelled at for jogging doesn't exactly fit the profile of a football player, but let's not judge him too harshly yet.  Learning to fit in as a rookie on a football team has got to be one of the hardest things to do.  You have to learn a brand new, extremely complex playbook.  You have coaches that are more demanding than ever.  Your film study is through the roof, meetings all of the time, and pressure unlike anything you've felt before.  In Texas Tech, Crabtree was isolated - in college terms and I'm sure on his own team.  He was a star, a super star, and heard it all of the time.  Now, the most applicable words he'll hear is "what have you done for me lately?"  I would say that takes one hell of an adjustment, wouldn't you?

Crabtree will probably turn into a pretty solid receiver in the NFL.  Most receivers that are drafted that high turn out - there are always exceptions so don't list them - but in the main, it's a position in which making a high draft pick often works out to some degree.  Not everyone is Randy Moss, so drafting Crabtree does not automatically mean he'll be an instant success.  Some guys simply take longer, and require more work and study.  For a guy like Crabtree, he has his work cut out for him.

As I understand it, playing receiver in the NFL is a very challenging business because of the read and recognition element to the position.  When defenses disguise coverages, they are not only targeting the quarterback.  Sometimes they are targeting the receiving corps, too.  So Crabtree will be faced with having to see and adapt to something that isn't on paper.  Nor was it something he would have much done in TT - there, he just ran the longest and fastest.  It wasn't so much of a read & react offense as it was intricate routes designed to take advantage of lesser athletic defenses.  Learning that the position of a corner will dictate a route, or the quarterback's first look, is something that takes time and reptition. 

Crabtree has better get some thicker skin.  The combination of a blistering head coach and the demands of the position will combine to create far more pressure than he's ever felt before.  He needs to get tougher mentally if he hopes to succeed.  Maybe that was Singletary's idea.  We don't know.  We can't know.  But we can sure speculate.