After a day filled with drops, brave veteran Michael Crabtree lets the Ravens smile



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If a picture is worth a thousand words, an emoticon written in black is worth at least a few hundred. Which is a good thing for the Ravens wide receiver, Michael Crabtree, who has few doubts and less monologues.

After defeating the Tennessee Titans 21-0 in the Ravens' 21-0 win against the Tennessee Titans, he was right to be as happy as the smiling face on his left cheek. A week ago, he had faced question after question after a discouraging defeat against the Cleveland Browns in which he lost one pass to the other.

In Nashville, Crabtree's hands were as good as the chicken is hot. He finished with six catches on nine goals for a total of 93 yards and one touchdown, a high in the season. He did not have a particularly wide smile then, but his pre-match black eye was as good as the one who called him: he knew he would leave everyone satisfied.

"It's football," he said. "You know, I say it often. I'll say it's all the time, because that's it. Prepare, work hard and get back to basics – that's my formula. "

The first part of the Ravens under center, under the shadow of their own goals, was a 21-yard pass along the sideline that leads to Crabtree. Quarterback Joe Flacco did not quite understand the importance of his first pitch at Crabtree, he did not consider it an olive branch; their relationship is designed to withstand greater difficulties, he said.

Crabtree rejected a similar suggestion. He said that he just plays receiver. He does not call plays.

But coach John Harbaugh is helping the man who knows how to do it, and he knew that Crabtree's three catches in the first quarter were more significant. Sitting for the last time on the podium, after three Ravens declared their testimony, he acknowledged that the offensive coordinator, Marty Mornhinweg, wanted to quickly sign the ballyhooed independent agent.

"Marty is great about it," he said. "Crab wanted the ball. He was on the sidelines. he said that he wanted the balloon. … Everyone wants the ball and I want the guys to want it. [Crabtree] got one of the game balls, he and the defense. When you start the game like he did, he caught some huge shots on the sideline – for me, he's a superstar. He is a dominant football player and we know it. "

Both Crabtree and Flacco spoke implicitly and explicitly about their mutual trust, which many outside the organization could only wonder about entering Sunday's game. Against a touted defense of the Titans, in another hostile environment, could the quarterback still pitch to the receiver with one of the worst fall rates in the recent history of the NFL?

But Crabtree said that he knew Flacco had confidence in him, and Flacco said that he knew Crabtree was a "very proud guy." Their connection to the Nissan Stadium, reinstated Sunday after a poor performance the previous week, made the conversation more enjoyable.

Such as: What is the story behind this black eye?

"Enjoy life, smile every day," said Crabtree. "That's what I'm doing, that's what I'm talking about."

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