Why does VD shy away from contact?

People, Vernon is not a particularly agile athlete. He just isn't. He never will be. It doesn't mean he's useless, or not gifted in other ways, but he's simply not a dextrous player. Wishing or asking him to be one is, to be blunt, a waste of time.

Vernon's balance and body awareness have never been particularly great. He also runs fast, but is slightly out of control at his top speeds. He's quick to explode forward but doesn't change direction very well. His coaches and people who knew him at Maryland were open about this. More to the point, all this is obvious to anyone who watches him play.

Basically, Vernon is a weight room freak who has willed himself through extremely hard work into being a very good player.

Balance and body control are at least as important to breaking tackles as power. Vernon will never be a massive tackle breaker in the NFL, no matter what his height/weight/speed stats read. Asking Vernon to "run lower to the ground" like Frank Gore does is like asking Gore to run a 4.4 like Vernon does - it's just not the type of athlete they are.

All golfers are good athletes, and the best work out a lot. Swimming is one exercise, however, where if you swim frequently, you build up muscles in shoulders, back that actually can screw up a good golf swing. When I played a lot, i realized my swing got worse the more I swam. I would assume that may apply to Vernon also, and less wt room, more time catching passes might be a good idea to try for a few months. You can get too muscled up as a receiver. I have wondered if that might not apply to Vernon.

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
All golfers are good athletes, and the best work out a lot. Swimming is one exercise, however, where if you swim frequently, you build up muscles in shoulders, back that actually can screw up a good golf swing. When I played a lot, i realized my swing got worse the more I swam. I would assume that may apply to Vernon also, and less wt room, more time catching passes might be a good idea to try for a few months. You can get too muscled up as a receiver. I have wondered if that might not apply to Vernon.

I've thought about this too. Being a big fight fan, I see it in boxers all the time too - big muscled guys who don't hit hard in the ring.

Still, I doubt it would work. Vernon doesn't seem like a guy whose muscles are blocking him from being more agile - he seems more like a guy who's just not agile to begin with. His best course IMO is probably to focus and max out on the advantages that being a weight room freak gives him: straight line explosion, top speed, durability and stamina, etc.

Some guys have both weight room strength and incredible agility. Willis, Ware, Lawrence Taylor - they have it all, there's practically nothing athletically those guys can't do. Vernon's not in their league. It's no accident that when we call a TE end-around it's generally Delanie Walker getting the ball, despite him being "worse" athletically than VD in every measurable sense.

i noticed that he usually gets his legs torpedoed out from under him

Someone mentioned it in the first page but I feel Vernon Davis has not been the same(after the catch) since the knee injury he suffered from the polamalu hit.

Originally posted by NineFourNiner:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
- 965 yards, 13 TD's.

- 914 yards, 7 TD's.

- Voted to Pro Bowl.

- Fastest and most athletic TE in the game by far.

- One of the best blocking starting TE's in the game.


Not good enough. We have a Sssuuuxxoooorrrsss TE.......

The point... You are missing it....

seriously, wtf

Originally posted by MILFS:

Originally posted by valrod33:
Trade Him

THIS.

THAT

all that buffness for no reason!

Originally posted by obx49:

Originally posted by tankle104:

Originally posted by Crazy49er1313:
Why does he need to bowl ppl over? He's basically a WR who can block lineman. He's fast, elusive, and he uses his large stature when boxing out for catches and running lanes for his routes.

Doesn't everyone remember VD being possibly moved to WR b/c he was faster than any of our WRs and has the best hands on the team? We don't need a Witten (would be nice, but not needed), Ballard or a Boss; VD is in the mold of Tony Gonzalez, Kellen Winslow Jr., Jeremy Shockey, and Jermichael Finley, big WRs who can block and outrun LBs, so play TE.

this isnt all nonsense but the comparison to tony gonzales.. shockey.. is not good. gonzales and shockey had great hands... gonzales is still doing it! his hands are like gold.. only one person in NFL HISTORY has more catches and yards than him.i think he closin in on the touchdowns too if he hasnt already... and thats jery rice. i would take a tight end like guy in new orleans over VD. he has great hands and can block. VD is a top tight end in the league but i dont think he is the best. i think he can have alot of room for improvment in the passing game

I would also add Rob Gronkowski, who is tearing it up right now (those who have to play against him or have him in their fantasy league would understand.) I agree with the OP, VD needs to realize that he is built like a freaking LB and can bull over the smaller DBs with no problem. Vernon needs to also realize that once you hit em a couple of times, they will shy away when you come at them again.

I would also take Witten over him.

Originally posted by johnnyredneat:
People, Vernon is not a particularly agile athlete. He just isn't. He never will be. It doesn't mean he's useless, or not gifted in other ways, but he's simply not a dextrous player. Wishing or asking him to be one is, to be blunt, a waste of time.

Vernon's balance and body awareness have never been particularly great. He also runs fast, but is slightly out of control at his top speeds. He's quick to explode forward but doesn't change direction very well. His coaches and people who knew him at Maryland were open about this. More to the point, all this is obvious to anyone who watches him play.

Basically, Vernon is a weight room freak who has willed himself through extremely hard work into being a very good player.

Balance and body control are at least as important to breaking tackles as power. Vernon will never be a massive tackle breaker in the NFL, no matter what his height/weight/speed stats read. Asking Vernon to "run lower to the ground" like Frank Gore does is like asking Gore to run a 4.4 like Vernon does - it's just not the type of athlete they are.

This. My buddy I had this discussion last week. He's just kind of clumsy. It's like a kid who switched bodies with a big guy (like the movie Big) and just isn't used to the size. He's uncoordinated. Doesn't mean he's a bad player, but he's not particularly good at the things that TEs should be good at, but he does do things other TEs can't.

As Dion once said, that's a business decision.

I find it strange to see six pages of complaining about one of the better players on this team. Most fans in the NFL would love to take this guy from the 49ers if the fans here don't want him. But such as the 49erswebzone - even after the 49ers have started rollin to the top of the NFC, this board is stuck in a rut with complaints that look like a cut & paste from a Nolan era thread.

I agree. It seems like Vernon slows down and tries to juke defenders when he's taking them on from the front/side, if they're trailing then its another story. BYE BYE

Someone needs to show Vernon some old John Mackey film and learn that an increase in momentum will allow the runner a greater chance to run through or over the defender in certain circumstances/conditions.

-NW

Originally posted by LBSI9ers:

As Dion once said, that's a business decision.

+1

Troy P