Michael Crabtree Facing Do-or-Die Season with San Francisco 49ers

When Michael Crabtree came out of college he was one of the most hyped wide receivers in a long time.

In college Crabtree won the two awards, the Paul Warfield and Bilitnekoff, annually given to the nation's best receiver, in 2007 and 2008.

Despite being what many thought was a sure thing, Crabtree got off to a slow start in the NFL.

In 2009 Crabtree he caught just 48 passes for 625 yards and two touchdowns. However, that was just over 11 games and if stretched over a 16-game season, he actually played better in 2009 than 2010. In 2010 Crabtree had just 55 receptions for 741 yards and six touchdowns.

There are plenty of excuses to be made for Crabtree, like the fact that Alex Smith is his quarterback, but there have been wide receivers who have succeeded with comparable players at the helm.

Isn't Crabtree supposed to be the physical kind of receiver that you can just throw a ball up to and he'll come down with it? Those aren't what his numbers indicate.

The fact of the matter is that Crabtree is supposed to be elite, and elite receivers have 1,000-yard seasons and generally more than six touchdowns.

All that is OK, though, because wide receivers are generally given three years before being labeled a bust.

However, it looks like his third season is already off to a bad start. Crabtree has apparently injured his foot and is expected to miss the entire preseason. Crabtree has already missed an entire preseason, when he was a holdout during his rookie season in 2009, and it didn't turn out well as he got off to an extremely slow start.

Crabtree's NFL career certainly isn't in jeopardy, but if he ever plans on being the elite receiver in the NFL that he was in college, he needs to get going this year.

Sadly, it almost seems as if Crabtree's play in uninspired. As if he is just waiting for his ticket out of San Francisco to a team with a better quarterback. If that is his angle then Crabtree has already cost himself millions of dollars by underperforming, though I doubt he'll mind with the massive rookie contract he signed.

Something that could possibly inspire Crabtree's play is the arrival of Braylon Edwards and the emergence of Ted Ginn as a threat in camp. Ginn and Edwards are two talented receivers who have both had their trouble with underperforming as well.

Crabtree won't be guaranteed looks if he continues not to be able to play. If the wide receivers begin to push each other to play better, the safe money is to be on Crabtree to emerge as the star. But at this point it's certainly no guarantee.