Raiders great George Atkinson praises Carr-Crabtree connection

Raiders great George Atkinson acknowledged that there’s magic between Derek Carr and Michael Crabtree.

The former strong safety who won Super Bowl XI with Oakland has apparently been won over by the Carr-Crabtree connection, which was on display with three touchdowns between them Sunday.

Atkinson agreed with 95.7 The Game host Chris Townsend that the Raiders quarterback ?and wide receiver have been magical.

“Oh, without a doubt,” Atkinson told Townsend. “You better believe (it).”

Little wonder, since Crabtree is the leading Raiders receiver with 12 catches for 163 yards.

“Their timing is there,” Atkinson said. “Carr was putting the ball where the defensive back was not, and Crabtree - he makes spectacular plays. He’s a veteran receiver who knows how to run routes and knows how to set up defensive backs, and Carr reads him perfectly.”

With weapons like Amari Cooper and Jared Cook around too, Atkinson said, defenses will have trouble defending all of Carr’s receiving options.

“Here’s the problem: If you double-cover (Crabtree), guess what? Amari Cooper’s gonna kill you,” Atkinson said. “So it’s hard to double-cover him. Most teams try to double-cover Cooper, which leaves Crabtree open.

“You add Cook and Richard and Patterson. It’s just hard. Who do you double-cover? So you gotta come up with a defense where you can keep pressure on Carr and make him get rid of the ball quickly. But you can’t double-cover anyone, because someone’s going to be open.”

In the Week 2 win against the Jets, the open man was Crabtree - who had scoring catches of 1, 2 and 26 yards.

Atkinson also mentioned Marshawn Lynch - “You saw how jacked up he was,” Atkinson said. “He gave you a dance I’ve never seen before” - as well as the Raiders’ special teams unit. Add it all up and Atkinson believes the Raiders will be the AFC West winner.

“The champion out of the AFC will come out of the western division,” he said. “You’ve got three teams that are playing top-notch football, probably the best in the conference right now. And you’ve got three teams that have quarterbacks that can play and receivers that can make a difference. I think this division is the best division in football.”