Crabtree about Raiders: “No comment.” Uh-oh.

By Anthony Carroll  |   Thursday, April 23, 2009  |  Comments( 114 )

Oakland Raiders
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Sometimes, silence can be more insulting than words.

In a forgettable Thursday live chat on NFL.com, former Texas Tech wideout and top draft prospect Michael Crabtree dropped a torturous, semi-smug hint as to how he felt about the possibility of the Oakland Raiders grabbing him with the seventh pick of the draft on Saturday.

“No comment.”

At 4:53 p.m. EDT, “bigjayboogie” from L.A. presented Crabtree with this first question of the day. Needless to say, it was a good one:

“You’re going to look good in silver and black … What do you say to those who say you are cocky?”

Crabtree’s response:

“I’m not cocky at all. People talk, man, but I’m a cool guy. As for playing for the Raiders, no comment.”

Translation: “Sure, I can be cocky, but certainly won’t admit it. I’m cool, too. As for playing with the Raiders, I’d rather spend next year rooming with Michael Vick than play alongside Johnnie Lee Higgins.”

The mysteriously convenient thing for Crabtree, though, is that the “no comment” comment disappeared from the chat transcript not too long after it was made. It then reappeared later on in the day, as bloggers and forum-frequenters began to speculate about the implications of Crabtree’s answer.

To be fair to Crabtree, just 22 minutes later, Jay from Ohio asked: “Why did you say no comment to playing for the Raiders? Does that mean you wouldn’t like to be a Raider?” Crabtree cleared things up with a not-so-comforting (and disgustingly generic): “No, I’d like to play for whoever picks me.”

The odd thing about the entire interview was that Oakland was brought up three different times in the 21 questions that were asked. Not once did the 6-foot-3 wideout mention anything specific about Oakland or even say the word “Raiders." The third time a questioner brought up the silver and black, Crabtree ended the interview. Sure, it could’ve been a complete coincidence. I’ll be the first to admit that it probably was. But, you never know, maybe he was sick of dealing with so much speculation about a possible future in Oakland.

That last exchange played out as follows: Ron from Atlanta asked, “The Raiders need the next Jerry Rice, can you be that guy? Or something similar?”

Crabtree answered: “If I work hard enough, I can be that guy, sure … I’ve gotta run, but this has been fun. Thanks so much for the questions, and I’ll see you in the NFL.”

The “no comment” remark had plenty of Raider fans quickly up in arms. It seemed to be a proverbial slap in the face. Crabtree said nothing of how he’d love the opportunity to play with JaMarcus Russell and Darren McFadden. He said nothing about the great history behind the Raider franchise. He didn’t even say he’d look good in silver and black.

Still, though, why all the buzz about a simple, seemingly harmless “no comment”?

Here’s why: Thursday’s live-chat slip-up came just one day after Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Tony Grossi reported: “The Texas Tech receiver brought a diva attitude on his visit to the [Cleveland Browns’] club facility last week and did not impress Coach Eric Mangini and others.”

As for what Oakland should do on Saturday if Crabtree is still on the board when the Raiders pick … No comment.
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal ...
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CommentsComments: 114  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Spoakland		04:47 AM
04/24/2009
Yes, AC, I've seen the reports of Crabtree's Browns interview. I do think that the good people, of the Raider Nation, can draw ...
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No.2
05:30 AM
04/24/2009
Let's be honest. Does he want to be drafted by the Raiders? Probably not. And it's also probably not for all the reasons the ...
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No.3
El Tato		05:51 AM
04/24/2009
He says he wants to be the best WR in the NFL, so he better shut up, works hard every day in practice and enjoy being a 21 years ...
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