49ers’ preseason takeaway: What a difference in Davis

Mike Davis had no nowhere to go but up after his rookie season, but who expected the 49ers running back to reach such heights Sunday? Yes, it was a preseason game, but the slimmed-down, cutting-on-a-dime Davis looked far shiftier than the first-year version. In 2015, Davis (35 carries, 58 yards) became the sixth running back since 1970 to average less than 2.0 yards a carry with at least 35 attempts in a season the anonymous others: On Sunday, in a 24-13 loss to the Texans, Davis rushed for 71 yards on five carries, ripping off gains of 44 and 17 yards. Chip Kelly was asked if Davis, a fourth-round pick, looked different than the player he'd seen on video in 2015. Some guys really stepped up and really took advantage of that opportunity and some other guys were kind of looking around and kind of caught up in the moment. First quarter 2-8-SF43 (shotgun): Davis right guard pushed ob at HST 13 for 44 yards. Five yards beyond the line of scrimmage, Davis hopped over the would-be shoestring tackles of two defenders and raced down the right sideline. [...] quarter [...] he tried to juke a defender, bounced outside and ran four yards in the wrong direction before he was dragged down by a...