I wanted to post something about our so-called freak, so I think I’ll move this to the front page.

On the blocking, I’ve read he’s actually fairly good in run-blocking, but I don’t know for sure what the general consensus is.

As for Vernon Davis as a whole, I definitely need to think that one over.

I think about it this way. He had a good number of balls thrown his way and he simply dropped them. If he catches those balls, we may not have this discussion. I think he’s great, but he’s still learning so much in terms of making himself a real legit threat until he can prove it with his hands

from what we’ve seen and read, it seems like VD is a pretty slow learner. He obviously takes longer than average to pick up an offense/playbook/etc. Consider that he has also had a different coordinator every year, and how that might effect him.

Clearly he needs to improve his hands – he does drop more passes than he should. I’m willing to look past that and say that even with the occasional drop he can still be a very valuable player.

He is great once he gets the ball in his hands – strong and fast. Different that most any TE I’ve ever seen. He now needs to use those talents more effectively. It seems that he doesn’t run the crispest routes and I would bet he runs the wrong one sometimes. With more time in the same offense, I think he’ll improve that a lot. He’s a slow learner anyway, and with a different offense every year, it must be hard for him. I’ve also read that he’s a good blocker, so that’s a plus. He’s great with the ball in his hands, that’s a plus. It’s early in the season – I think in a few more games we’ll see him picking up the offense better, getting open more, and seeing more passes come his way. He may never be as good as his talents would suggest, but I think he can be very solid with flashes of great.

One article described the Disease as having hands that are as hard as his eight-pack abs.

First of all, Davis is not a good run blocker. He is terrific. Set up your DVR one time to watch a couple of the most boring run plays in the game. It’s on those plays that you’ll see Davis taking a linebacker, DE or even an interior lineman completely out of the play. He loves the physical aspect of blocking, and you can see it in the ferocity of his blocks.

Secondly, Davis isn’t very good at finding the seams in coverage. That, I think, is his biggest weakness. He’s an average route runner at best, and that’s not a good thing in the Mike Martz offense. A lot of his “drops” and a lot of JTO’s “poor throws” in his direction are due to him being just a little bit out of position.

The Martz offense is heavily reliant on the ball being delivered to a spot, and the receiver being there under it, and Davis’ strength as a pass-catcher is watching the ball all the way out of the QB’s hands and into his own. This is great in the West Coast offense that Davis was drafted into. Unfortunately, a lot of the deep balls in this scheme are thrown well before the receiver turns back. The fact that Davis isn’t always in the right spot, and the fact that he likes to catch balls with his body mean that a lot of these potential connections look like broken plays.

He is a TE, though. The fans like to forget that “WR” was nowhere near his name when he was drafted. His route-running, timing and feel for the field will improve as he spends more time under Mike Martz.

With proper coaching, I think there’s still plenty of time for VD to develop into the specimen that we’d all hoped he’d become. As long as Martz is that coach, I think he’ll get it.

From what I saw J.T. O’Sullivan threw him a very catchable ball and he let it fall through his hands. Not only that, he shyed away from completing a pass against the Seahawks, and it looked like he was scared of catching it because he saw the guys coming in for the hit. I’ll never doubt his athleticism, but he needs to work on his hands before I give him ANYMORE praise.

I think alot of why I am starting to tire of waiting for VD is his cocky attitude. It’s good to be cocky to a certain extent, but show us something before you talk about how you are one of the top TE’s in the game. Did anyone else notice how he reacted after catching his first and only reception? He looked like a Seattle Sehawk linebacker celebrating a tackle. I think he should hang around Issac Bruce as much as possible to learn how to be humble and how to catch the damn ball..

I am not going to fault him for not putting up numbers with the Alex Smith-led niner offense. Nor will I judge him for mediocre performances in 2 games with JTO.

I think it will be clear where he stands after this year (assuming he doesn’t get injured)

 It may be early to say so, but other super athletic tight ends, Gonzalez, Gates, etc.. have wasted almost no time in making an impact for their teams. I cant imagine that not one of the 3 offensive coordinators has been able to devise a way to use him well. Like I said during one of the game threads its shocking how Vernon vitrually disappears in the red zone when that should probably be where he excels.

…Exhibit G knows what I’m talking about.

He still drops a lot of balls, but he got good enough to catch most of them and makes a lot of big plays. Hopefully, Davis will develop his hands and learn to catch. He reminds me of Shockey. He celebrates every stupid catch he makes and drops a lot of balls. But like Shockey, he’s a great blocker and he has the ability to run over people if he actually catches the ball.

I dont know where this perception of being a good blocker came from..? maybe i missed something.. So far VD is about as promising as ones sex life, after contracting VD. I see plenty of potential in him but i also see bums on the street and believe they can take a shower, get a job and turn their lives around.. until his arms grow, his ego shrinks and his motor runs at red line, i think he is a bust