Michael Crabtree Still a Question Mark

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Michael Crabtree was introduced wearing a 49ers jersey, not Hammer Pants. Consider that a glimmer of hope, 49ers fans.

Maybe his holdout taught him the lesson he says it did.

"It was a humbling experience," Crabtree said.

If ever a kid needed one, it's San Francisco's first-round pick. After missing training camp and the first four games, Crabtree essentially got the same deal the 49ers offered months ago.

They didn't blink. Crabtree and his coterie of agents, advisers and perhaps a washed-up rap star did.

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Everybody kissed and made up for the cameras on Wednesday. But did the 49ers just get hitched to a Jerry Rice, a Mike Williams or a starter-kit Terrell Owens?

"I know this kid is a kid of character," Mike Singletary said.

Didn't they say the same thing about Isaac Chroner, the child preacher in Children of the Corn? Then everybody in Nebraska over 18 started showing up in varying states of dismemberment.

Let me be clear, I'm not saying Crabtree is a psychopathic killer with a Messiah complex. At least he's not a psychopathic killer. If you took him at his word Wednesday, he just wants to work hard and help the 49ers' resurrection any way he can.

"I'm not a numbers guy," he said. "I'm a football player."
You could've fooled the 49ers. The number $40 million seemed paramount to Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker. They wanted top-five cash for a No. 9 pick because, well, because he's Michael Crabtree and you're not.

"My approach was to let my agent handle all my business," Crabtree said.

That statement is bull malarkey, of course. Parker works for Crabtree, not vice versa. If the player wanted to sign what everybody in the NFL considered a fair-market offer, he could have.

Crabtree also played innocent bystander on the threat of sitting out the season and re-entering next year's draft. Never mind what his cousin/adviser told the media.

'I'm Michael Crabtree," Crabtree said. "Whatever I say, I say."

He also said he wasn't aware of the fan resentment his holdout had stoked. In all, Crabtree said enough to make you question the sincerity of everything he said.

Speaking of questions, he left without answering the one inquiring minds really wanted to know.

Hammertime?

M.C. Hammer was spotted at Monday's negotiation session. He's a pal of Deion Sanders, who's one of Crabtree's mentors. All I know is I wouldn't lean on Hammer for career or investment advice.

He went bankrupt after earning $33 million. That can happen when you spend $12 million on a mansion that had a 17-car garage, $75,000 worth of mirrors and a massive gold-and-black marble Jacuzzi in the master bedroom.

Maybe I'm selling Hammer short. He might have learned from his mistakes and been the one who told Crabtree to stop acting the No. 1 pick in the NFL Diva Draft.

What is it about wide receivers that make them want to install $75,000 worth of mirrors in their lockers?

Some, like Randy Moss, at least pretend to get older and wiser. Then there are Children of the Corn like Chad Ochocinco, T.O., Brandon Marshall, Plaxico Burress and Braylon Edwards who slash and burn their way through the league.

None of them started their careers on such a self-absorbed note.

"All the diva stuff like that, we don't have time for it," Singletary said. "We're working hard and going in a different direction. Anything else that enters into the picture does not fit."

At least you can believe Singletary's zero-tolerance stance. He's the coach who banished a seemingly disinterested Vernon Davis to the locker room during a game last year.

Now that was a humbling experience, and it helped turn the No. 1 pick into a team leader. There's no reason to want Crabtree to fail, but wouldn't it be fun to see him get the Davis treatment?

"All I can do," he said, "is just come in here and be the best that I can be."

On that note, Crabtree left to begin his first day on the job. Hopefully he didn't stop along the way to order a gold Jacuzzi.