49ers Paradise .com

Every receiver wants to be the next Jerry Rice.  Every fan wants their team's receiver to be the next Jerry Rice - especially 49ers fans.  We all wanted JJ Stokes to be the man, then Terrell Owens, then Brandon Lloyd, then Josh Morgan, now Michael Crabtree.  I have to say I respect what Crabtree did last season on the football field.  To be a productive rookie receiver is a very difficult thing to do; especially on an offense that is all about the run.  Jerry Rice though was not a player to hold out; and he was not one to be injured or miss games either.  I do not hold Creature's absence against him - we can only assume it to be legitimate at this point; but that is just it, even a legitimate injury would not have held back Rice.

Talent aside, Jerry Rice was Jerry Rice because he worked harder, and kept his body healthier than any other receiver, maybe player, ever.  I cannot sit here, and say that Crabtree feels no pain, or that he should push through it.  I cannot say that, because I do not know what he is going through.  What I can say though is that Jerry Rice would find a way to play, he would find a way to practice, and he certainly was not about missing training camp or missing preseason games.

Crabtree may turn out to be a great receiver, but another Jerry Rice?  It is just not something that is going to happen when you miss play time, miss practice time, and miss the chance to get on the same page as your teammates.  Again all of that may be very legitimate, but it does not make you the next Jerry Rice.  He can still be good, great even, but he cannot be the next Jerry Rice.