Posted By: B+ (25/09/2008 2:55:07 PM)
Comment: clearly there are mixed feelings about VD and how well he is developing. I find his performance very disappointing. His greatest strength as a receiver seems to be in drawing penalties and not in catching passes. He does look like a good but very expensive blocker. If he can start extending his arms and hanging on to OK passes he should be fine. But, so far his alligator arms and total refusal (as far as I can read) to take responsibility for dropped/missed passes are very bad signs. He needs to get on the same page with reality and not JTO. I hope he can turn things around, but he doesn't even seem to think there is anything to turn around.

Posted By: SB from SF (25/09/2008 1:40:10 PM)
Comment: The signiture VD play of his career so far I think was his 1st catch. The TE screen that he caught and ran by people to score. What's he's got to stop doing is pulling up when he thinks he's going to get hit. He doesn't always need to running deep routs. Just let him catch it 5 or 6 yards down the field and let him run with it. I'd like to see more block and release plays. Personally I think Walker is a much better pass catcher but not a good blocker and that Davis is a better all around TE excelling in blocking and decent at running routes and pass catching.

Posted By: Ryan (25/09/2008 12:40:13 PM)
Comment: To answer your question Gopal, I think the reason we see Vernon Davis so much more is definitely because of his dual strengths. Yes Delanie Walker probably runs better routes and is a better pass catcher; but the fact of the matter is, when he lines up, defenses are really only looking for one thing: a route out of him. Vernon Davis on the other hand, teams need to look for a few things, is he going to block? Is he going to do a short or medium route? or is he taking it deep. Vernon Davis causes WAY more match up problems just because of his blocking...not to mention he opens up the field much more than Delanie.

Posted By: Gopal (25/09/2008 11:33:17 AM)
Comment: Can anyone point out a signature reception in VD's career so far? Also, what do people think of Delanie Walker? I personally think he's a more consistent pass catcher than VD, but probably not nearly as good of a blocker.

Posted By: NJM (25/09/2008 11:27:42 AM)
Comment: Matt, you know the rules and I don't, so I'm just asking for clarification... You've mentioned before rules guiding what journalists cannot report re: practice during the week. I assume specific plays, for example? Reporting that JTO and VD spent extra time playing pitch-and-catch after practice comes close to the line, but doesn't cross it, yes?

Response: When I approached Vernon, we talked about it on the record. He told me about everything I saw, it was never an issue. --Matt M.

Posted By: THA GRINCH (25/09/2008 11:22:51 AM)
Comment: Hey Matt,Ive got a problem with JTO!Its not on the field though,I love the guy but can someone mention to him to stop wearing that San Diego hat?Hes a Nor Cal boy,whats he thinking.They should also change his picture they show on T.V.He looks like a cheeseball with that long hair and it doesnt even look like him anyways.

Posted By: valleyniner (25/09/2008 10:54:45 AM)
Comment: I recall a Browns player getting Staph last year as well. As an educator, we are made aware of how serious staph can be, especially virulent, drug resistant strains that seem to be popping. Matt, do you know if the NFL is educating its players on staph, and if so, how are players reacting to it and protecting against it?

Posted By: Houston 9er (25/09/2008 10:33:39 AM)
Comment: Lou, I agree with you. I was simply pointing out that Martz and JTO totally discounted the importance of timing and chemistry during the preseason when they were asked about the lack of practice time between JTO and the starting receivers. Now it seems as though they are saying chemistry and timing is an important component. I am also jacked up to watch the 9er game. We've been out of power since Hurrican Ike so I've missed the last 2 games. I now have a generator so I get to finally see the JTO show. My 8 yr old son plays for the Saints in his league so he's been talking crap to me all week about the 9ers. It'll be fun to watch the game with him.

Posted By: A.E.S. (25/09/2008 10:11:49 AM)
Comment: illnesses, character issues, and the private lives of players should remain inside the organization and not open to publc opinion. i believe that the team has doctors, counselors, and even chaplains to assist players when issues arise. its good to see j-morgan and k-lew back on the field and in this case, respect the teams perogative to keep the issue private. its dissappointing to read v.d.' 'take' on his recent missed catches. seems he was putting to much blame on 'sully's inability to put the ball in his comfort zone. great receivers make the tough catches whether perfectly thrown or not. to v.d.' defense, going full speed doesn't always allow you to make the adjustments needed to go after a poorly thrown ball, so the ball must be thrown almost perfectly. i'm dating myself but back in the late 60's the niners had a receiver named clifton mcneil who reminds me a lot of v.d. his great speed was his biggest liability because he could not make adjustments on imperfect passes. hopefully the timing between 'sully' and v.d. will get better because i still believe v.d. can 'blow-it-up' once he learns to make some minor adjustments.

Posted By: lumanchu (25/09/2008 9:34:06 AM)
Comment: you said it LodiGrapePicker VD great player, bad attitude, bad outlook on being a team player. How insecure do you have to be to say all those selfish things. Man it's hard to root for players like that.

Posted By: Lou (25/09/2008 9:33:42 AM)
Comment: Hey Houston. What you say is true, that the QB has to trust the receiver will be where he's supposed to be at the right time. On the same note, the receiver has to trust that the QB will get him the ball in the right spot at the right time. On that second deep throw to VD, he slowed up. That's a trust issue, much like that INT that JTO threw against AZ, where Battle slowed up, probably not anticipating a throw to him. I think chemistry is about reading each other; trust is about trusting the other guy will do the right thing everytime. Just my $0.02--can't wait for the NO game!

Posted By: Mike in SF #2 (25/09/2008 9:03:33 AM)
Comment: MM - Its obvious to the casual observer that Justin Smith was a great addition to this defense/team. Hearing about the "Cowboy" chants in the locker room leads me to believe that players a like are enamored by this guy. Can you give us some more details and insights into his team leadership roll? Is he a Bryant Young quiet type that leads by example or is Justin in the mold of a Derek Deese, the kind of player we have been lacking in 9erville, that will yell and get in your face to fire a team up?

Posted By: Houston 9er (25/09/2008 8:54:37 AM)
Comment: All this talk about chemistry is a bit confusing since Martz and JTO both said chemistry and timing aren't important. I believe they said the qb just has to trust that the receiver will be where he's supposed to be at the right time. Now that VD and JTO missed a few opportunities, all of a sudden its a chemistry and timing issue. Very interesting.

Posted By: ShaunF. (25/09/2008 8:31:38 AM)
Comment: Matt, you seemed to know about Shantae Spencers knee injury being out for the season before he did. Is this more 49ers being sketchy when it comes to injuries and illness? Does this mean that they're covering up stuff that has not been reported?

Posted By: DMC (25/09/2008 8:19:38 AM)
Comment: Is seems to me like Mike Nolan told Brian Billick about illness leading up to the game and Brian didn't keep his mouth shut during the broadcast. I could see Nolan not wanting the Cardinals to know which recievers would be used heavily to start the season.

Posted By: Razoreater (25/09/2008 7:46:27 AM)
Comment: That's some dirty dirt. To all you VD venom shooters, give it a rest. He's our lone ranger deep threat let alone the best blocking tight end in the NFL. Once he gets his mojo going look out. To question his toughness or whether or not he'll be with the team next year is retarded.

Posted By: LodiGrapePicker (25/09/2008 7:35:10 AM)
Comment: Wow...I like Davis and expect that someday he will turn out to be a decent player. However, him saying "Just put it up there and let me do the rest" is ironic. Didn't JTO put it up there for him several times in the Detroit game, yet he missed the ball? Part of becoming a GREAT player is admitting to your own mistakes. I hope his ego doesn't get in his way.

Posted By: 949er (25/09/2008 7:23:13 AM)
Comment: I still think Vernon will break out and he remains one of my favorite players. However, "Just put it up there and let me do the rest"??? JTO did so, Vern. TWICE against the Lions. What did you do?

Posted By: mike in MD (25/09/2008 7:19:28 AM)
Comment: 10 minutes extra of practice, that's it? Seems a little short. 20-30 minutes seems better. A more efficient JTO to VD connection could really help this Offense. About the chemistry thing..I disagree, you have to develop some kind of chemistry with your receivers since they all run routes differently & don't have the same speed. And vice-versa with the QB on how he throws the ball & his arm strength.

Posted By: Houston 9er (25/09/2008 6:59:29 AM)
Comment: Sounds like the coaches need to jump on VD's a** during those film sessions. Davis comes across like he thinks he did everything right and the passes were off. Very few passes are perfect. Players make plays. VD hasn't shown an ability to make a play but the frustrating part is that he blames the qb every time he misses a ball. VD may be able to run fast but he has Roberto Duran's hands.

Posted By: oneniner (25/09/2008 6:34:28 AM)
Comment: ....the 49ers defense has held three consecutive opponents to under 200 passing yards......hmmm sounds like Coach Nolan knows what he his doing on defense.

Posted By: Steve (25/09/2008 4:22:11 AM)
Comment: In fairness to VD that first ball was badly under thrown. The second one was a good pass and he should have caught it. I don't think he should be reading balls based on past throws. If anything he should have thought the opposite, since JTO would probably try overcompensating after an under throw

Posted By: Dean (25/09/2008 3:57:01 AM)
Comment: Q: Brian Billick, on TV, said you lost 15 pounds . . . Morgan: "I don't know how that got out." Q: Is that true? Morgan: "Yes, sir. How did that get out? That wasn't supposed to get out." Matt- What reason could there be for holding back what seems to be such trivial information?

Response: No idea why the team would not be more forthright. It was just really bad judgment. It will also make everyone extremely skeptical when the club releases information of any kind in the future. --Matt M.

Posted By: ska (25/09/2008 1:06:20 AM)
Comment: Just having Vernon Davis on the field helps the offense tremendously even when he doesn't catch a pass. A) He is a great blocker which helps the run and passing game tremendously and B) Running deep routes even if he does not have the ball thrown to him or catch it stretches the defense and they have to account for him which leaves someone else open. Jed is also right he has drawn a number of key pass interference penaltie already and made some catches for good gains as well. I am tired of people just criticising him without realizing everything he brings to the table. As long as he is working hard and the coaches are pleased with what they are getting from him I am ok with that. He has a big receiving game coming up real soon i predict but I still appreciate his other contributions unlike a lot of you it seems.

Posted By: Lou (24/09/2008 11:03:23 PM)
Comment: VD is a bit of a paradox. His best attribute as a receiver is his ability to separate down the field. However, those are the kind of passes (where he's moving away from the QB), that he seems to have the most problems handling. It'll be interesting to see if Martz starts motioning/lining him up on the outside and running that deep square in that I think is the fundamental pass in his offense. (BTW, anyone else think that the deep square-in in the Martz offense is analogous to the quick slant in the Walsh offense?) I think it'd be interesing to use VD with a receiver on those combo routes with the inside guy clearing the safety for the outside guy to run the square-in. VD could be either guy, in that case.

Posted By: 1st Timer (24/09/2008 11:02:05 PM)
Comment: You must all be joking. This above is exactly what we want to know is going on and what we Need to hear from Vernon Davis. You are not giving him enough credit, as he is saying (and doing, apparently) all the right things at this point. Davis's last statement is very relieving. ''Better late than never.''

Posted By: Jed (24/09/2008 10:27:03 PM)
Comment: The criticism of Vernon is fair, but it seems like he has drawn several PI and defensive holding calls too - and we don't know how those play might have otherwise turned out.

Posted By: Jon in SoCal (24/09/2008 10:15:27 PM)
Comment: We won't have to put the franchise tag on JTO. Just pay Martz a crapload. JTO will stay if Martz stays and go if he goes. I thought there was no chemistry needed in the Martz system. A receiver just has to be there on time.

Posted By: Mike in Sac (24/09/2008 10:05:01 PM)
Comment: Sorry for the folow-up post buy VD sounds like and arrogant jerk. This clown should shut his trap and take a hit like a good tight end. Matt, maybe you can dig out old footage of Charlie Young, Russ Francis, John Frank and Brent Jones (did I miss anyone?) for VD to study? VD could not carry their jocks!

Posted By: Mike in Sac (24/09/2008 9:58:33 PM)
Comment: Sounds like that horrible flesh eating virus....if that was the case these guys are very very lucky.

Posted By: Cyrus (24/09/2008 9:52:38 PM)
Comment: Vernon Davis sounds like he has no clue how to admit a mistake. You should have suggested that when he oils up his arms on the sidelines, he washes it off his hands before he steps on the field.

Posted By: norm in the bay (24/09/2008 9:39:27 PM)
Comment: Do you envision the Niners slapping the franchise tag on O'Sullivan if he does very well?

Posted By: Erik (24/09/2008 9:35:50 PM)
Comment: Matt- Thanks for getting to the bottom of the Morgan situation. Very interesting. Quick question - have you ever seen a rookie with the dreaded "bad character" rep coming out of college be so opposite of that rep as Morgan? Of course, maybe he's not being genuine, but geez, he seems like such a high character guy.

Response: That's why the way the team handled the Morgan "illness" was so perplexing. It almost made you think that he had done something wrong. To answer your question about someone making a very good first impression after having the "bad character" rep, Tarell Brown comes to mind, too. --Matt M.

Posted By: hsully99 (24/09/2008 9:29:55 PM)
Comment: I did not see anything in the Cohn interview about M lawson. being phased out. Wasn't this poor choice of words on your part?

Posted By: JR (24/09/2008 9:28:58 PM)
Comment: With his high salary and propensity to drop very catchable balls, it seems VD is on the verge of playing his last year with the niners. If only his hands were as predictable as his ego. I can't recall a time when he took responsibility for not making a catch. At least he's working after practice. Matt, what is his salary and do you think he'll be back next year?

Posted By: crombiestudd6 (24/09/2008 9:22:07 PM)
Comment: well not to be an idiot but how do u get a staff infection from the infield dirt in oakland?

Posted By: dmatt (24/09/2008 9:06:59 PM)
Comment: Someone else was sick coinciding with Morgan. I can't remember who it was, I am thinking Keith Lewis. Do you know if that was a staff infection too?

Response: Yes, Keith Lewis, and yes, staph infection. --Matt M.