SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh spoke to Bay Area reporters in the 49ers’ defensive meeting room Friday afternoon. Here’s what he said about Vernon Davis’ performance against the Seahawks.
HARBAUGH: “Vernon had one of his best games. His blocking was outstanding. Certainly, the touchdown block highlights it, but he’s blocking Red Bryant pretty consistently the entire game. He just did one heck of a job and allowed our center, our guards to work the tackles and up to the linebackers which creates some huge holes in the middle. We could not have done that without Vernon Davis blocking their 350-pound defensive end. He was wearing the sombrero a big part of the game and it led to some huge plays. And the tackle after the interception – that was huge for the game, huge for field position and a great hustle play by Vernon.
“But definitely, we couldn’t get him the ball in the passing game. That occurs from time to time. It was still a great game for Vernon for those reasons.”
ME: “When you put together the offensive gameplan, is it Greg Roman’s sole vision or is it a collaborative effort?”
HARBAUGH: “This is Greg Roman’s offense. The greatest share is Greg Roman. There are times when we’ve had suggestions and collaborate, but it’s Greg’s offense.”
ME: “Does tight ends coach Reggie Davis draw up and suggest passing plays to the tight ends for red zone and nickel situations during the week, or does Greg Roman do all of that?”
HARBAUGH: “Greg’s the greatest share.”
ME: “Why didn’t those plays make it into the game plan against the Seahawks?”
HARBAUGH: “They were there. There were plays there. We had plays designed targeting our tight ends. One we hit [to Delanie Walker for a touchdown], and the others we didn’t get completions or get the ball thrown.”
ME: “I noticed you haven’t been calling plays like the Stick Nod and the Y-Stick Lookie like you did at Stanford and the University of San Diego. Are those plays still a staple of your West Coast Offense?”
HARBAUGH: “Yes. And you noticed incorrectly because we did call the Stick and the Lookie. Not the Nod, but the Lookie. You’re getting familiar with terms, that’s good, now we can talk.”
Remember, Vernon Davis wasn’t targeted for a single pass against the Seahawks. Harbaugh is suggesting Roman called plays for Davis, but the Seahawks covered him too well.
The San Diego Chargers’ future Hall of Fame tight end, Antonio Gates, has been targeted for at least one pass in every single NFL game he’s played, and he’s played in 138 of them.
I’m not saying the 49ers should model their organization after the Chargers, but I have a hard time picturing Norv Turner and Philip Rivers looking Gates in the eye after a game and saying: “We just couldn’t get you the ball today. That will occur from time to time.”
Can you picture that?
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Grant, my understanding from your quarterback grade was that you had observed that Davis was open several times and just missed by Smith. So far, I haven’t encountered any observations from the other writers that cover the 49ers making the same observation. Have you been able to confirm your original impression from the coaches tape?
The comment I’m referring to was in the tight end grade, not the quarterback grade. Of course it relates to the quarterback grade that you revised.
“Tight ends: B. Vernon Davis was open on plenty of plays, but Smith never threw him a pass. “
Johnny,
That is hilarious but true! Turning that pass play into a dive!
23J – Zito earned the 126 million tonight! Cardinal fans were discussing how they were going to deal with Det. Tigers & Prince effin Fielder before we spanked them.
VD is an outstanding blocker, but if you want to feed him the ball just motion him from every position. There are other playmakers on this team besides VD. They need to step up.
Frank did.
Our RB’s were fantastic. MM didn’t play. Considering he practiced against similar large tough CB’s in NY similar to Seattle’s, it would have helped a ton to have him out there. He’s been the best WR the last 3 games or so. AS really missed him.
BS, Are you saying AS played lousy because MM was not playing? He had VD who was open on many plays and your boyfriend could not connect
Neal
Does your wife know you have an obsession with Alex. His eyes are very blue.
You don’t like my posts, don’t read them. Stay off AS crotch. Stay off the blog. Nobody cares about you not liking me. Last resort for the bully. You haters need Grants protection. Because your lives are meaningless. What would happen to you if you didn’t have the blog to release your hate? Murder-spree in your hometown maybe?
23 Wanna-be. All around follower.
BS, your the one that has a obsession with AS, noticed Grant deleted your blog when you called me the F word.
Squeal Neal
1. So your wife doesn’t know then.
2. The post was about our RB’s and MM. You of course don’t think a team includes anybody but the QB.
3. Like I said, you need protection. Bullies are the leading wuss in a population. Protect the wuss who hates is the only reason you are here.
Neal BS has uses. You don’t.
Drop dead Neal.
BS, Just say that Joe Montana better than AS, and I will leave you alone.
NEAL=Drama
Neal
I’ve said JM is the best ever. Like a zillion times.
Ok DS, take back that AS would not win multiple Super Bowls if he had JM teams.
@Neal:
Give it a rest.
FDM talking about drama, I read your comment that you wanted to physically fight someone here, you disagree with, get off your white horse.
Neal, find that comment and post it, as oppose to making stuff up. You are and always will be nothing but a guy looking to fight with people on here. Dont believe me, read all your posts. Then find the post where I wanted to fight someone?
This thread started out talking about VD (the topic of this blog) and then other playmakers.
Then suddenly it wasn’t. Look where that started and who said it. You’ll find this present in nearly all his threads.
FDM,you said it, other people saw it, I have better things to do,than to look up your past drama here, now I am off to a HS football game than a movie and than a barbeque with friends,maybe you have other things to do than to read this on a beautiful Sat.
Our RB’s were fantastic. MM didn’t play. Considering he practiced against similar large tough CB’s in NY like Seattle’s, it would have helped a ton to have him out there. He’s been the best WR the last 3 games or so. AS really missed him.
Both Greg Roman and Jim Harbaugh say that one of Alex Smith’s strong points is getting the offense into the right play. They almost always call two plays in the huddle. When you hear Alex saying “Kill, kill, kill” he is moving to the appropriate play, and according to the coaches he almost always makes the right decision. I’m confident that their explanation is correct.
Harbaugh sounds like Andy Reid describing Juan Castillo’s defense. “oh no, that debacle was all Roman. No one else. Just Greg”.
Are you saying that Harbaugh is throwing Roman under the bus for a 5-2 record? Very perceptive young sir.
Harbaugh certainly isn’t taking any “credit” for back-to-back offensive catastrophes.
Does Harbaugh ever take credit for either the offense or the defense? Of course not.
Hunh. I didn’t read it that way at all.
“You’re getting familiar with terms, that’s good, now we can talk.”
Grant, this was funny! LOL I’ll have to see the presser to see if he was messing with you or if he smiled.
Grant
Our run game was dominant. From what JH said, he allowed our OL the chance to reach the next level. And beat up the best run defense in the NFL who aren’t us.
Considering the fact we won, I think the plan was more or less good.
I’m starting to see Coach Harbaughs’ Master plan. He will use Gore and Hunter pretty heavily until a playoff spot is sewed up; then, try to give both of them a lot of rest in weeks 15-17, getting them fresh legs (and bodies) for the playoffs and using Jacobs and Dixon a lot during that period. Parenthetically, that would also be a great time to activate James, Jenkins and Looney and give Crabtree/Manningham/Williams and Iupati/Boone some rest before the playoffs. Ah yes, the luxury of having a deep roster.
In Zito we trust!! Hell ya….go Giants!! NEVER A DOUBT! In your face Joe Buck!
Crab15, add Tim McCarver to that as well…..he’s an ex-Cardinal..both are hardly unbiased
What happened to that comment grant?
HOFE!!!! GO GIANTS!!! Yes, I’ve been drinking……WHAT?
Crab, great win! Now all they need is two with Cain and Voge! They can do it!!!
Crabs,
That’s the 126 man bro!! Zito was masterful??? Lights out?? Effective!!!! Yes sir!
GRANT I JUST WANNA SAY THAT I AM A HUGE 49ER FAN AND U NEVER RESPOND TO MY POST…DNT EXPECT ONE THIS TIME BUT I SERIOUSLY THINK KAEP CAN B QB AND WIN MORE GAMES AGREE OR DISAGREE???
ALEX SMITH IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!! DAMMIT
Thank You for the article Grant. NFL Netowork pregame. Michael Irvin. Was pick for ‘Beast Mode’ was Vernon Davis. Irvin almost pist his pants he wasso excited for Vernon to esplose against the seahawks D. Vernon Davis is the most talented Tight End to ever put on a football Uniform. We should be throwing him the ball 10-15times a game. He has the talent and capability to impact this team every game. As much as Gore did for us last night!!!
English please
We pass it like 27 times a game. 10-15 passes would be like half the time. If I’m a defense and see a pass play, I’m swarming VD then. Guaranteed to stop the passing game 50% of the time.
Grant, with all due respect, it would be a very bad idea to use the chargers as a blue print!!! I would rather for us to refer to our own history of amazing West Coast Offense and the use of TE!
GR has to develop plays to get the ball to VD at least 4 to 5 times a game! In addition we are not utilizing the speed we have in the slot as effectively as well! GO NINERS
i think yesterday someone was calling alex smith alex zito. well i hope so. i only hope smith can come through in the post season like zito. go giants go 9ers go alex go barry
Here is the question I propose. Currently our record is second best in the NFC, and we are in first place in the west regardless of what the Cards do on Sunday. My question is this, so many are questioning AS, if he is as bad as Jordo, Bay, Houston, Chris say he is why isnt Kap playing? So to answer that question is, Kap isnt good enough to beat out the worst QB in franchise history (according to some). AS is so bad so crappy cant do this cant do that and yet Kap cant beat him out. What does that say about Kap? He has the same amount of time in the system as AS but cant beat him out. Hmmmmmmmmmm. Something wrong with the picture that some are painting.
I want the best QB/player to play period. Right now that seems to be AS, if Kap eventually wins the job then great I am behind that but until that happens I am 100 percent behind AS. I do admit I am dissapointed in AS play so far this year, but at the same time I am dissapointed in the defense and special teams and play calling. I hate the shuffle even when it works I dont like it.
Like I said months ago I feel this is AS make or break season and I will wait till seasons end before I make any absolute statements concerning the QB. Hard to argue with a 5-2 record at the moment.
Under, all good points and well said.
We’ve all propsoed it undercenter. Those you mention simply don’t answer the question.
1. They know AS doesn’t suck. But they do because they want to sound like they are somehow real fans, and supposedly real fans can’t like their teams players.
2. If AS sucks like they think he does, that means CK sucks twice ass much then. You’re right. CK has had the same time to learn the system as AS. He was given a legit shot at becoming the starter last year. He is supposedly more gifted than AS. CK was picked in the 2nd round and without AS even being on the team at the time. So….why isn’t he the starter?
From what I’ve seen, if CK were the starter instead of AS, we’d be in the cellar of our division. So, if AS sucks, what depths does one have to dive to get below him? All they are doing is proving that CK is worse than a sucky QB by insulting AS. They are indeed insulting CK much more than any actual fan has by doing so. If they had any brains/heart they wouldnt insult the Niners starting QB who has more wins than any other QB since last year in order to make the case for CK. They would instead focus on how much better CK is (even though he hasn’t proven it at all) rather than hating on AS by making him into a girl or some such nonsense.
*sucks twice as much*
@undercenter
All very good points as usual. But I respectfully have to disagree with a couple here.
1. Alex Smith may have the same amount of time under Harbaugh’ wings as CK, but by discounting his NFL experience over CK’ is an unfair assessment.
2. AS is not going anywhere soon. He is the ‘lone’ leader of the offense and his position is established.
*There are definite areas in AS’ game that need attention (which I’ve stated ad nauseam) but those areas can be masked if the team continues to win.
CK is a talent and his time will come. Harbaugh is molding and chipping away at him and preparing him for the future. But the future may be 2-3 years away.
This also gives AS ample time to correct some obvious gaps in his game.
Remember I said that as long as the team is winning, his issues will be masked.
If the team falls off the cliff for any reason, then AS’ QB flaws will suddenly become extremely magnified and the grumblings will really begin to cascade.
AES
I am not at all claiming who is better then who and who has more experience then who, I was trying to point out if AS is as bad as some claim then that is saying something about Kap. I have stated before I didnt think Kap would be a good WCO GB but I see promise in the man. I am not trying to belittle Kap at all just trying to point out to the AS critics that actually they are also attacking Kap. To put it short if Kap can not beat AS out and AS is what some call him, a girl or Alice or all the other demeaning names where does that put Kap? He cant beat out a girl named Alice. All good AES.
To not Target your best weapon on offense once in an entire game is bad QBing and bad coaching.
Davis still contributed to the win, just not the way we’re used to seeing him do it. It was just one game and I’m sure we’ll see plenty of balls thrown his way over the remainder of the season starting next game.
Grant using SD as a model is not a good way to go. We know that P. Rivers forces the action(understatement) so its no surprize that he would lock on to Gates and try to feed it to him ever time possible. Remember D.Walker went 6 weeks without a catch so in our O its not unheard of for the TE not to catch a pass. Especially after being a star in the first 3 games of the season, teams are starting to concentrate on stopping VD. Didn’t he have over 100 yard vs the Bills? That was only two weeks ago, too early to sound the alarm.
Im more concerned about the continued stupid penalties that our D is getting. Whether its Aldon’s unnecesary roughnes or DG’s personal foul or Mac jumping offsides we need to limit those “mental” mistakes. I dont ming PI or facemask as much because those are in the heat of battle but a dumb penalty could cost us one of these games
undercenter says:
October 20, 2012 at 2:36 pm
AES
I am not at all claiming who is better then who and who has more experience then who, I was trying to point out if AS is as bad as some claim then that is saying something about Kap. I have stated before I didnt think Kap would be a good WCO GB but I see promise in the man. I am not trying to belittle Kap at all just trying to point out to the AS critics that actually they are also attacking Kap. To put it short if Kap can not beat AS out and AS is what some call him, a girl or Alice or all the other demeaning names where does that put Kap? He cant beat out a girl named Alice. All good AES.
@undercenter
Well the gist of your post is really a shot at CK. While on one hand you say that critiqueing AS is like critiqueing CK, you dismiss that notion in the same context by saying if people call AS Alice what does that say about CK?
Just little confusing under.
There’s no comparision between AS and CK. These two are totally different players defined by their styles of play. To even attempt to judge between the two players is unfair.
While AS is not yet a finished product, CK is in the infant stage of his career. The team cannot win with a full season of CK’ style of play. AS has already proven that he can win. CK may be years from becoming a full fledged (pocket passing is a must) QB in the league.
Those who have called AS Alice should not be given any recognition here, and certainly don’t have any value in my book.
AES
Sorry about the confusion, my man, let me be very clear about this. I am not at all putting CK down. I was neutral on him coming into the season and I have moved toward the positive side of him. I really can not be more clear at my attempt to say that those that are saying that AS is pure junk really disses CK. The clairity to me, evolves from that the critics that are way too harsh on AS, as we both know CK does not suck. If he does not suck but cant unseat AS, should tell all that AS isnt as bad as some say. Its all about the best player playing and if the critics say AS is horriable and CK cant unseat horriable where does that leave CK. You see, I dont see AS as horriable so I dont believe CK is bad either. Its the critics that are demeaning CK as well as AS. If one cant beat out horriable then what good is he? There is lots of rookies and second year QBs starting, but CK cant unseat AS. So either AS is better then some say or CK is worst then some say. Thats my take on the critics. AS has been a dissapointment to me so far this year but he is the best we have at the moment and he is the Niners QB, so be it. Thanks for responding to my feeble attempt at trying to be real.
Also I am not comparing players. Comparing players and teams and stats and all that stuff doesnt hold water with me. Too many variables that are dis-similiar, so comparisions for me have very little validitity to me.
@undercenter
I got you undercenter. I see now where you were going with it.
At first blush your comments seemed like an underhanded poke at CK which would have put you among the growing category of posters here who are conveniently targeting him for AS’ shortcomings.
CK was used perfectly against the Jets and the Bills. The NYG’ and the C-hawks knew exactly how to shoot a defensive end 3-4 yrds to the flat and virtually wait for CK to run into them.
If Harbaugh is going to continue to insert CK he will need to devise something beside the QB option run for CK and the offense to find success.
Which is something that Harbaugh and Co are probably already working on.
My guess is that CK will be used in packages involving JMic James in the near future. Harbaugh will utilize all of his weapons and a CK and JMic James in the same backfield could be dynamic.