The 49ers are halfway through their season. Today, I’ll give midseason awards for the best offensive and defensive players.
Best offensive player: Runner up – TE Vernon Davis.
It’s not his fault offensive coordinator Greg Roman has preferred calling pass plays for the 49ers wide receivers this season. Davis is the best receiver on the team and the best tight end in the NFL. He has been underutilized in the 49ers passing game, but he’s still caught a team-high four touchdown receptions.
Davis is one of the best blockers in the league, too. He can do it all. He has the ability to catch 100 passes and 15 touchdowns a season and earn multiple All-Pro selections. He’s a Hall of Fame talent.
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I’d give it Frank Gore, he’s the heart and soul of the offense.
BTW, anybody wayching the Giants World Series Parade?
Alex Smith (wearing his giants cap) is driving the car in the giants parade with Matt Cain in it.
I agree, NN. Imho, Davis is our best player on offense, but based on production, even with his limited carries, no one makes this offense go like The Inconvenient Truth.
I had a post and it didn’t go through. Is it waiting approval?
I’ll summarize here: giving the Vernon the award b/c of his potential rather than production makes little sense. Gore, Crabtree and Smith have produced tangible results even if they aren’t as gifted. And I don’t mean this as a slight to Vernon. He’s had a good year and been contributing with his blocking and as a decoy. I don’t hate your choice of an offensive lineman for the top prize but picking Vernon over the other skill players is basically indefensible.
Davis has 4 TDs and averages 15 yards a catch. Crabtree has 3 TDs and averages 11.3 yards a catch.
Davis is the best skill player on the 49ers offense by far.
Davis is the best skill player on the 49ers offense by far.
Best skill player by far or best receiver by far?
I ask because Frank Gore has 4 TDs, averages 5.5 yards/carry and is on pace for a 1300 yard season.
Best skill player. Gore is very good, but Davis is better. Gore is having the best season of his career because the run blocking is top-notch.
Thanks for the clarification. The use of statistics threw me off.
I agree with Grant. Gore’s a very good blocker and is perhaps the best in the league at getting 5.5 yards up the middle when there’s nothing there, but Davis is the best pure TE in the league. He literally can do it all.
Anointing him offensive MVP means that Grant really appreciates the attention defences give him, allowing the offence easy match-ups to exploit elsewhere, and acknowledges that he’s being utilized very well in that afashion. If Grant was hung up on how the 49ers weren’t using their best player properly, it’d be harder to justify naming him MVP, even though he’s the best player…………right Grant? :)
Crabtree has more receptions, more yards and more 1st downs. Did you really pick this off 1 stat? But I would pick Gore over either of them. Our offense runs through him, he’s 6th in rushing yards, 2nd in ypc among rbs (behind only a guy who has 130 fewer yards), and he has the same number of tds as Davis.
I realize that you’re giving much of the credit to the line, and they deserve it, but Gore is great at finding the hole and setting up his blocks with patience.
Crabtree has more receptions, yards and first downs because he’s has had about 20 more targets than Davis.
20 more targets- could this be that he’s been getting open more than Davis? Again you’re falling back on what you perceive to be the potential rather than what the players are actually doing on the field. Crabtree has quite simply done more than Davis. Its indisputable.
Gore has done more than both of them.
No, Crabtree has not been more open than Davis. Roman determines who gets the most touches in the offense. He designs and calls the plays.
Did you catch VD’s tweet this morning? Free Vernon!!
I did. Free like Willy!!
While its true that Roman designs and calls the plays, Alex doesn’t go to his 1st read 100% of the time. Roman also has to make in game adjustments to counter the defensive scheme. They both have to adjust for coverages and coverages have been shifted towards Vernon. Coach Harbaugh has acknowledged as much. Due to this additional attention from defenses Vernon hasn’t been open as often as Crabtree.
In any case this is immaterial to our argument. What if Roman was calling plays that excluded Davis or even if Harbaugh were to bench him? We’re talking about who gets a midseason award on offense. Shouldn’t that award recognize what the players have done on the field? The more we discuss this the less sense your decision makes.