As Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore prepares to cover Raiders receiver Michael Crabtree on Sunday, he’s preparing to lobby the officials as well.
Gilmore said on SiriusXM NFL Radio that Crabtree regularly commits offensive pass interference and doesn’t get called for it. Gilmore wants to make sure the officials are looking for it.
“Michael Crabtree, he’s a big receiver, he likes to push off a lot,” Gilmore said. “I’ll talk to the ref because I see it on film. I’ll get physical back with him and if he pushes off I just have to fight through it. Sometimes they don’t call it, sometimes they do call it but most of the time they don’t call it.”
Working the officials is part of the game, and it’s no surprise that Gilmore will be asking the officials to keep a close eye on the guy he’s covering. We’ll see on Sunday whether Crabtree can get away with pushing off, and whether Gilmore can stop him anyway.