ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Michael Crabtree sat at his locker Tuesday afternoon, his eyelids heavy as he scrolled through his phone. Two days after telling reporters he had to brush his hair before going on camera but never returning to the waiting horde of cameras, the Oakland Raiders receiver was again shying away from an interview.
“I’m still the same guy, man,” Crabtree said. “Still the same guy.”
He was tired. And why not?
His tour de force in Sunday’s 45-20 defeat of the New York Jets was, well, it was actually perfect. And having turned 30 years old last week and in his ninth NFL season, Crabtree needs all the rest he can get to prepare for the Raiders’ 2017 national television debut at Washington come this Sunday night, right?
Well …
Whatever Crabtree is doing to keep himself rested and ready is working. And then some.
“Baller,” Raiders All-Pro edge-rusher Khalil Mack said of Crabtree. “Baller. Baller, shot caller. He’s a hell of a player, man. He comes out, keeps his head down and works hard and does what it takes to win on his routes and win ball games. Fade balls, out routes, he does it all.”
Against the Jets, Crabtree had his second career three-touchdown game, scoring from 2, 26 and 1 yard out. In all, Crabtree had six catches for 80 yards. And by Pro Football Focus’ standard, because he caught all six passes thrown his way, and had those three TDs, all while seeing 17 receiving snaps, Crabtree had a perfect receiver rating of 158.3.
That is, the passer rating for an appreciative Derek Carr when targeting Crabtree.
“The thing that young kids need to know about him is that every day Crab catches a ball in practice, he finishes to the end zone, so he’s used to scoring,” Carr said. “When you get a guy with talent like that -- catching fades, doing everything -- obviously, it’s easy if he goes up and gets it. Every route that he runs, every day he catches, he finishes.”
And not just when the season starts.
“He does it in the offseason, he does it in training camp, he does it in practice,” Carr added. “There’s no secret when he has a day like this, why he got in the end zone. Not only does he have the talent, but he always works his tail off to make sure he’s finishing.”