I’ve seen enough out of Mike Martz’s play-calling to say that he is clearly misusing the abilities of Vernon Davis. Granted, Vernon hasn’t shown us that he has what it takes to be a formidable down-field threat because so far he just hasn’t produced in that area for one reason or another. Why? I’ll leave that up in the air, and for another post (once I see more replays and NFL analysts breaking down film of him). But! What Vernon has shown us is his ability to gain positive yards once he gets the ball in his hands. And that is key! Martz has to realize that all he has to do is put in a conscientious effort to get the damn ball into Vernon’s hands and let him do the rest. Those screen plays (from what I’ve seen thus far in Vernon’s 3 year career) have been proven to be EXTREMELY successful, and I capitalize ‘extremely’ for a reason here. Martz doesn’t call Vernon’s number at all throughout the whole freakin’ game until the 4th quarter. What gives? And when Martz finally calls Vernon’s number, what play did they run? I believe it was a screen play, and a pretty successful one at that. What am I advocating for here you might ask? What’s my argument? What I want to see more of is those short screen and slant route plays to number 85. They’ve proven to be effective.

How ‘bout it, Martz? Call Vernon’s number more often. I don’t care if people say Vernon’s sink is littered with broken dishes, as one of our ninersnation bloggers so eloquently put it (i.e. he drops quite a few passes). Who cares about those miscues. The bottom line is you haven’t done enough to utilize an explosive player in Vernon Davis. If his weakness is catching the ball downfield and running routes, then how about calling plays that have worked for him so far in his career. You want my opinion? You and Mike Nolan have mishandled the abilities of a former #6 overall draft pick, and he’s a bust waiting to happen if you two don’t include Vernon in the play calling. Stop using him as a freakin’ blocker all the time. If you want a TE who blocks for 3 quarters without getting a pass thrown his way, bring in Billy Bajema, I hear he’s pretty good.

Did anyone pay attention to the things that happened after Vernon made his first catch? He looked directly into the 49ers sideline and made a gesture by hitting his chest, as if to say “call my f-ing number dammit”. If I’m correct, Coach Nolan took him out of the game after that, and a sideline shot showed Vernon and Nolan talking, and Vernon just walked by him. That wasn’t so professional in Vernon’s part, but he has a point and I’m in his defense. Something has got to change here.

Any thoughts? Comments?
1st post ever…