Brent Jones on KNBR

Originally posted by WillistheWall:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
Vernon is better period. Brent Jones couldn't hold his jock strap if they were both in their prime. Think about it. If Vernon Davis and Brent Jones are both in their primes Vernon is the starter and Brent is the backup.

Brent Jones played with Montana and Young and had tremendous offensive lines in front of him. Plus he had outstanding WR's drawing attention away from him. Vernon doesn't have that much around him. Average QB play, a terrible O LINE and one WR of any note and even he is no Calvin Johnson or Andre Johnson.

Vernon's more talented and he has better stats in one year but at the same time Jones was more reliable when you needed a catch. Not to mention if Jones didn't have Rice/Taylor on his team he would've had way more catches. One of the reason we go to Vernon so much is because the only other guy that gets open consistently was a rookie who held out 5 games(crabtree obviously). I mean I don't think you'll see Vern get these numbers next year, honestly.

No he won't because they will spread it around more. But he's capable of it if you keep throwing to him.

Originally posted by NinerGM:
It's a sad, sad day in 49er land when people are slamming Brent Jones. Seriously? Wow. Sorry, but he has RINGS (plural) and in my opinion has the chops to back that up. Maybe he wasn't the blocker that Davis might be, but Jones did what he was asked to do with perfection and became a dominant TE during his playing years. Clutch. He was always clutch and a fast healer.

I like Vernon, but he couldn't hold Jones' lil brother's jock right now. Vernon isn't clutch ...... yet.

Brent has every right to be critical...he was one of the best in a long string of outstanding Niner TE's. Ted Kwalick, Russ Francis, Brent, were all great players. It doesn't matter who's throwing the ball to them...the point is, they caught it and dropped very few. Alex was on the money to Vernon time after time...but he dropped way too many...there were some legit TD's among 'em. I'm happy Vernon had a breakout season...but, it should've been an absolute monster year, and it wasn't because he dropped so many. Brent's right...do what he did in 2009 season for a number of years, then he can be in the conversation about the best Niner TE's.

Originally posted by CorvaNinerFan:
Brent has every right to be critical...he was one of the best in a long string of outstanding Niner TE's. Ted Kwalick, Russ Francis, Brent, were all great players. It doesn't matter who's throwing the ball to them...the point is, they caught it and dropped very few. Alex was on the money to Vernon time after time...but he dropped way too many...there were some legit TD's among 'em. I'm happy Vernon had a breakout season...but, it should've been an absolute monster year, and it wasn't because he dropped so many. Brent's right...do what he did in 2009 season for a number of years, then he can be in the conversation about the best Niner TE's.

You're right, Brent has the right to say what he wants. I missed those butter mitts, and Eric Johnson had them too.

That said, VD was the 2nd alternate to the Pro Bowl last year purely as a blocking tight end in the Martz system

This year, well you guys know.

Vernon will never have Brent's mitts.

And I'm OK with that


I think the dropsies will go down with both VD and Crabs with a full offseason / timing with Alex.

Originally posted by stevenking57:

Originally posted by susweel:
I was driving around this morning and I heard him on the Gary Radnich show. Gary asked something like "So is Vernon now the best tight end in 49ers history ?"

Brent said Vernon is a great athlete but I (Brent) never in my entire career including practice dropped as many balls as Vernon does in a season. He also said that Vernon needs to put up good numbers for like 8-9 years before he can be considered the best. He also said that his (Brents) catches were in more meaningful games.

I just thought it was kinda funny how much stuff Brent said about himself. Usually you dont get athletes that are that honest.

When you tell the truth, even about yourself, it's not bragging! Brent played at a high level his whole career and didn't drop balls. Brent wasn't the focus of the Niner O either, some guys named Rice, Taylor, and Craig were passed to first!

And also a reason why BJ ain't in the HoF yet. How sad is that.

I don't have a problem with what he said. Davis has to put up decent stats next season. Teams aren't going to let him get away with Seam routes he has to add something to his repertoire that makes them have to worry about all of it.

To his credit he did score on a BEAUTIFULLY executed TE Waggle this season. And it helped that Smith rolled out like it was a nekkid boot to suck the Defnders off him. We need more of this stuff though and consistently.

I will say though that it would be better if our greats would offer to give the youngsters some helpful tips. Put the ball in Scotties and Sing's court and let them make the decision from there.

"Now listen Vernon you don't have to be a lawn dart, that's my schtick. But you have to find that part of your game that will always be memorable. Jerry had his out route to the sidelines and that overdrive gear when the ball was in his hands. Roger had the knees and the Catfish look. You have to have that SOMETHING. Hear what I'm saying?"

And it's hard to be self deprecating when you are one of the players that is being compared to a guy who has only had one solid season under his belt. Duke puts 3 or 4 in a row and then we can all start to talk about that stuff. Until then it's wishful thinking. It's possible but wishful all the same.

~Ceadder

Originally posted by Jersey9er:
Oh im definitely a VD fan, and Brent Jones as well, but I say thats probably why he didnt make the All PRO TEAM, why he wasnt talked about with the Deion Show.

I mean dont get me wrong VD did some good things this year, but the separation between good and great is consistency. LIke Brent said, he didnt drop many passes, and i like the style that he said it jokingly so to not seem like a shot at VD. But there was truth there.

And i know someone didnt say some crap about QB. Damn, are we that blind to not see that it was Smith throwing the TD's he caught. I watched Gates catch tons of balls this past playoff game from Rivers, and he missed one all game. He isnt as fast as vernon, but with his big body, he caught underthrown passes, too high, in single, double, and triple coverage, and he's always watching his QB.

LIke someone said, sometimes to run the route vernon doenst keep his head up, or consistenly look back to see the QB. Which is why he dropped some key passes, and at least 1td a game on at least 5 games i can think of.

Overall, i think Vernon will only get better. If next year, he catches 95% of all passes that are "throwin in a catchable area". Then i say he's definitely a force to be reckoned with from hear on out. But let me see his numbers next year to see if he's really the truth.

Gates dropped more than one pass, bro. You were talking about last week's game, weren't you??

[ Edited by DertyDonahue on Jan 22, 2010 at 03:55:31 ]

Yeah, I forgot about EJ...great hands. I agree Vernon's drops should go down...for a several reasons. One, he's beginning to realize just how good he can be...as a real offensive weapon. Two, the more he and Alex improve their chemistry, the better combo they'll become. Last, improved OL will benefit both QB and receiver(s).