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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