crib or bed...

is it to early to transition an 11 month old into a bed.. or better known as a mattress on the floor completely surrounded?! we have been having a heck of a time the last week trying to get tegan to sleep in his crib, which is so strange because he was sleeping GREAT going to bed at 9 waking up at 6 then back to bed til 8!.. dont get me wrong he still sleeps great on us while we are rocking him but the second that we lay him down.. BAM the screaming starts... seriously like he is petrified of his crib, we have tried letting him cry it out, hours and days later he is still going strong.. with no sight of giving up, we have rocked him for hours on end in hopes that he would be dead asleep enough to lay down.. nope never seems to happen... the last two days have been the worst! now, starting yesterday, he wont even take naps it was 3 in the afternoon before he feel asleep and then he slept a good 20 mins! he refuses to sleep, his normal bedtime routine.. he started screaming the second we did the bath.. thats step one of his routine!... this problem must be solved quickly as seeing that chase and i are knocking on deaths door.. haha. after hours of rocking him last night and him being dead asleep until we laid him down chase decided to just lay him on the floor and that was it.. he was dead asleep in seconds.. we didnt even necessarily have to lay by him. he would instantly close his eyes, so excited that he could sleep! he slept his longest stretch in days.. a whopping 3 hours! now that will still need some work but heck its ten times better then its been!. so my question remains.. is it to early for a bed? any advice would be highly recommended.. haha!
oh and why does our child feel the need to crawl behind the couch and then think he can fit out a 3 inch opening haha. why doesnt he crawl back from where he came.. i will never know.. he must think that he is a mouse and can fit through anything!