Michael Crabtree was just as quick as advertised Wednesday.

Not on the football field. At the press conference podium.
After the rookie wide receiver ended his silent, two-month-long contract holdout, he answered questions for just three and a half minutes before his 49er handlers cut off the session and said Crabtree had to hurry off for practice. So he bounced off the podium into the locker room . . . where other 49er players were preparing for practice but also available to answer questions for another 20 minutes.
Crabtree’s brief appearance was carefully stage-managed. But it did feature one inadvertently amusing moment. Someone asked if the 49ers’ conservative offense would give Crabtree the opportunity to make as many catches as he’d like.
“I’m not a numbers guy,” he replied. “I’m a football player.”
Huh? Not a numbers guy? If that’s true, then why did Crabtree care so much about all those numbers on his contract?
And if he’s a “football player,” why did Crabtree decide to forego football for three months while perpetuating the stupidest football boycott in recent NFL history? After gaining no major concessions from the holdout, was it worth the trouble?
When a reporter pushed Crabtree on this topic, he smiled and recited an obviously rehearsed talking point, because he later repeated it.
“I’m very humble right now, man,” Crabtree said. “It’s a very humbling experience.”
Fair enough. But here’s further advice for Crabtree: He needs to grow even more humble. And stay there. In fact, Crabtree’s margin for error in the humility department is zero.
After speaking with coaches and players, it’s no secret what Crabtree must do to convince them he was worth the wait. He must practice doggedly, perspire incessantly and keep his mouth shut, except for salient dialogue in meeting rooms.
“If he’s going to come in and work like we work, it won’t be a problem,” said Josh Morgan, the second-year wide receiver.
Morgan, speaking in general terms, also described what behavior might get a new player in trouble.
“It would go wrong for somebody,” Morgan said, “if they tried to keep to themselves and not fit in with the same concepts we have all been practicing.”
And if someone did make such a mistake?
“We’ve got some great captains in here who would handle it, guys like Patrick Willis who I’m sure would set that person straight.” Morgan said.
In the NFL, players are practical. If a new guy can help them win games and make more money, the new guy will be accepted. For Crabtree, winning over 49er fans to his side will be much less easy after his clumsy holdout.
If Crabtree isn’t perfect in every game — and as a rookie, he won’t be — the paying customers will be eager to boo him. In his first 49er game, Crabtree might want to request that his first play be a pattern over the middle where he risks getting his head rattled but also has a chance of making a big play. That will prove to fans he is no diva.
Off the field? Crabtree needs to sign every autograph he’s asked to sign. He needs to make every charitable appearance he can fit into his schedule. He needs to lose any entourage, unless Hammer and Deion Sanders want to stay home with Crabtree at night and watch game video.
That said, fans also need to have fair expectations. Crabtree’s new teammate, Morgan, said that last season as a rookie he wasn’t totally into the NFL flow until Week 7 in a game against the New York Giants.
“That’s when things really started slowing down for me and I began feeling comfortable,” Morgan said.
Using such a timeline precedent for Crabtree — including the four preseason games that he missed — that would slate his “comfortable click-in” game to arrive on Dec. 20, when the 49ers play at Philadelphia. Before then, any serious contribution from Crabtree would be a bonus. But the 49ers can use him. They’ve had only two pass plays longer than 30 yards this season. If Crabtree gives them a few in the next two months, that would be big.
“Anything coach asks me to do, whether it’s block or running go-routes for no reason, I’m doing it all,” Crabtree said.
Is his humility sincere? Crabtree grew up as a high school star in Texas, where prep football is immense. He gained further fame at Texas Tech University, where he was a rock star. It must have been a shock to him when the NFL season began and the sport actually went on without him — except to have his name occasionally be used as a punch line.
Maybe all of that indeed did teach Crabtree a lesson. If so, he can display his education between now and January.