Raiders WR Crabtree’s unselfishness draws praise from coach

ALAMEDA, Calif. Michael Crabtree has become a go-to receiver for the Raiders in a way he wasn’t last season with the 49ers, and coach Jack Del Rio has come away just as impressed at how his wide receiver plays when the ball isn’t supposed to come his way.

“I thought Michael Crabtree had a phenomenal game,” Del Rio said at his weekly media briefing Monday after a 37-33 win over the Baltimore Ravens. “He made some unbelievable catches in clutch situations, but the unselfishness, the way he blocked on the perimeter, was really terrific on his part.

“The unselfish part is what I really appreciate, where he’s doing the extra blocking, doing some of the dirty work.”

Crabtree was targeted a career-high 16 times by quarterback Derek Carr, catching nine passes for 111 yards including a 29-yard touchdown reception. With his playing time dropping to 45.2 snaps per game and 68.2 percent of the plays last season with the 49ers, Crabtree played a team high 66 of 74 snaps (89 percent) against the Ravens.

His touchdown catch put the Raiders up 30-20 and came on a play where he wasn’t even in the receiving progression. Carr told Sirius XM radio Monday he seldom makes a backside throw on a bootleg to his left but was happy he took a peek that way against Baltimore.

It turned out the Ravens had covered the intended receivers fairly well. Crabtree, even though the ball wasn’t supposed to go his way, had run his route hard enough to make one cornerback fall. When the safety cheated back toward Carr, Crabtree was in the clear.

“Here’s a guy, he’s not even in the progression, but he runs his route hard, puts the team first and gets rewarded for it,” Carr said.

Said Del Rio: “That’s one of those throws where you could think, ‘That’s the back side, it’s not getting to me’ and you don’t work the same way.”

Crabtree said after the game his only job on the touchdown was to “let it play out. Do my job and whatever comes after that, have fun with it.”

A fan base starved to see plays made downfield the Raiders haven’t had a wide receiver gain 1,000 yards since 2004 has let Crabtree know it appreciates his efforts.

“They want it as badly as we want it,” Crabtree said. “We’re in this thing together. I appreciate the fans’ support. That’s motivation for us. I always say just be thankful and go out there and play ball, give the fans something to see.”

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