Last week, Ryan Wilson pointed out how 49ers tight end Vernon Davis has been less productive under innovative offensive coordinator Mike Martz than he was under the boring and vanilla Jim Hostler. After all, heading into Week 6 action, the third-year tight end had only registered five catches, and was growing frustrated by being used in pass-protection more often than he was being used as a pass-catcher. That said, it's only fair to point out that yesterday the 49ers used him a little more often, as he hauled in more passes than he did in the previous five games ... combined. Whether it was intentional or not, Davis was clearly a bigger part of the team's offense. Especially since he was targeted on seven passes on Sunday, while only being thrown to 11 times in the previous five games.
Davis finished with six catches for 75 yards, including a 57-yard catch in the third quarter. The final numbers were so good that it almost makes you forget he had three catches go for negative yardage, and another go for only six yards. Oops. Still, 57- and 24-yard plays are the types of things 49ers fans were expecting when the freakish athlete was taken with the sixth overall pick in the 2006 draft.
Of course, in the end, Davis' big plays were wasted when quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan forgot which team he was playing for, and handed the ball back over to the Eagles three times in the final six minutes.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-13-2008 @ 3:25PM
dubbz3030 said...
hmmm, i dont think the 49ers understand that they have to play well for the entire 60 minutes of the game to win. Vernon davis could have had 19 cathces for 197 yrds and 3 tds, but cmon 49ers FINISH THE GAME LIKE YOURE GOING TO WIN. the 49ers are now the team that anyone can beat if they hang in there long enough, because the 49ers think they can just win games by scoring more points than the other team faster, then throwing the ball as hard as they can for no reason, instead of check passing and rushing to keep control of the game. Does anyone on the 49ers know how to "WIN" a game?? we need players(& coaches) that know what it takes to finish/win the game..
I dont care if Vernon davis is kicking the ball. 49ers need to go out on the field to win the game, not just run around and play football. St. Louis went out to WIN the game. Houston went out to WIN on 4th down and :07sec. 49ers, not so much.
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10-13-2008 @ 3:34PM
A.J. said...
I don't understand why the hell no one gets VD the ball. I mean, you've got an athletic freak in SF. WTF kind of TE runs a 4.4 at the Combine? Come on. And he's got the added benefit of TE-type bulk, so it's not like a corner can arm tackle him...even if he catches him. Vernon Davis can outrun corners and safeties. Vernon Davis can bowl over corners and safeties. For the sake of all that is good in the world, if you throw the ball at this guy 7-10 times a game (a la Jason Witten, Chris Cooley), he gives you a chance to win some games, especially when Isaac Bruce and (who are their other receivers) can't get open.
On a side note: Holy ----...look at the size of dude's arms...
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