Time to Hit the Panic Button on Michael Crabtree?

San Francisco WR Michael Crabtree had surgery prior to training camp on his left foot. Everyone knew Crabtree was going to miss 4-6 weeks, but no one knew that the foot was broken and needed surgery.

Actually, this is the same foot that he had a screw in after a stress fracture in 2009, which is a little worrisome.

After a couple seasons where his production hasn’t exactly met his potential, many fantasy owners are wondering if it’s time to start throwing in the towel on Crabtree. After all, he is almost destined to have a slow start this season.

I have been known to trust players for too long in the past. I hope this isn’t going in that classification, because I still believe in Crabtree. The talent is there, no doubt about it. Most of the issue is a lack of a dependable QB. Alex Smith simply doesn’t get the job done.

Colin Kaepernick, on the other hand, could potentially be THAT guy. Not this year, but possibly in 2013. Until then, I’m not sure what to take of Crabtree.

I know that the top notch receivers always get their yardage. Look at Larry Fitzgerald (1137 yards) with Derek Anderson and others. However, Crabtree is a mere 23 years old and still developing. What worries me the most is if he can develop into that guy without a great QB. The encouraging sign is that Fitzgerald also was part of a QB carousel on his trek to the top. The discouraging sign is that Crabtree has fallen off the pace of Fitzgerald’s career.

With that said, it truly is a make or break year for Crabtree. He needs to have 900 yards or better. If he falls short of that, it’s time to start questioning.

Here is worrisome sign number two: In 2009, Crabtree averaged 56.8 yards per game through 11 games. In 2010, he played the full season and averaged 43.6 yards per game. Not exactly the definition of progress.

In his third year in the league, I need to see a sure sign of development for me not to throw the towel in.

Just so we’re clear, me throwing the towel in on Crabtree just means that I would be giving up on him reaching his full potential that it was thought he had upon being drafted in the 2009 draft. I don’t mean that I’m giving up on him entirely.

I’m also going to discount the Braylon Edwards factor. If anything, he’ll help his production by taking away attention, not hurt it. Just look at Fitz and Boldin.

A final synopsis on Crabtree: The inevitable slow start worries me greatly. The potential QB carousel through the season does for me as well. On that note, I simply can’t trust Crabtree to do much more yards than 800. The TDs don’t matter to me mainly because they are sporadic and impossible to predict in the first place. On an early conclusion, I don’t feel that Crabtree can reach his initial potential, but still could have a couple 1000 yard seasons in his future.