Vernon Davis Thinks Bucs Quit
October 10th, 2011
Anyone who’s been on the field in any team sport knows you can sense pretty quickly when an opposing team has mailed it in.
If it can’t be seen easily, then it surely can be felt. And 49ers tight end Vernon Davis got the quitting vibe from the Buccaneers yesterday, so he told SFGate.com.
“They were really frustrated.” Davis said. “I mean, I felt like they gave up. That’s what I saw. I felt like they gave up. I was trying to tell, I think it was Barber, Ronde, I was telling him: ‘Get your guys. Get your guys. Y’all got to play harder, y’all got to play harder.’”
Now Joe’s not about to say the Bucs quit, though maybe they should have because that’s probably better than the alternative.
But Joe will say the Bucs’ clearly lost it mentally late. Two great chances at an interception on the same drive were dropped. Sean Jones came in way late to spear a guy in the head. Dakoda Watson had a senseless “leverage” penalty during a Niners’ field goal attempt that took points off the board and led to a Niners touchdown. Myron Lewis caught a punt out of the hands of a guy who had called a fair catch.
Sadly, there’s more.
What the hell were Bucs coaches thinking punting on 4th-and-8 from the Niners 42 yard line trailing 41-3 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter? That surely could be construed as quitting.
Then the Niners break off a 90-yard, six-minute drive with a bunch of backups in the game.
Brutal.
October 10th, 2011 at 8:05 am
I know I quit watching.
October 10th, 2011 at 8:26 am
They quit at halftime. Let’s just call it what it is.
October 10th, 2011 at 8:27 am
I think the scheduling on that one was kind of BS. You could tell that the 49’ers had ample amount of game planning time.
I don’t know how hard it is to game plan after a late Monday night game and then be able to install it while simultaneously moving the team to the opposite coast. Probably even harder with such a young team.
The NFL wants to make games more competitive, but I put most of the blame on them for poor scheduling.
October 10th, 2011 at 8:38 am
I hate to say it, but they did quit, and there is no excuse. That was embarassing as a fan and the players should be embarassed by that as well.
October 10th, 2011 at 8:39 am
That said that was only one game, lets see what happens this week before everyone climbs out on that ledge.
October 10th, 2011 at 8:51 am
IF I had been embarassed with a 21-0 defeat last year, I would say the exact same thing whether true or not! You can’t quit something you never got started!
October 10th, 2011 at 8:57 am
Raheem surrendered on that punt…
Until Freeman is able to anticipate throws to the open receiver, and stops hesitating, nothing will change.
I would rather see him go down as a gunslinger in a loss this bad, his stats sucked anyway if that is what he is worried about.
He has no confidence, and his receivers don’t help. Seeing wooden fingers Williams playing volleyball with the other team is getting old.
October 10th, 2011 at 9:06 am
I don’t know about quit, but they sure let frustration get the best of them. How many 15 yard penalties in the second half did they get, including one on Rah?
I think that game blinded me it hurt my eyes so badly.
October 10th, 2011 at 9:24 am
“Vernon Davis thought”- Since when? I though the biggest knock on him was his I.Q scores.!! I don’t care what he, or any other pet rock smart imbecile has to say. I didn’t see quit. I saw confusion, and lack of confidence. I saw guys trying to do to much, and not maintaining their assignments.
In short, I saw a cocky young team get confused, then manhandled. They learned a valuable lesson. And we paid the price for having the leagues youngest team. Ruud would have known how to adjust the defense, to stop some of that over balancing the line they were doing. Foster didn’t. But he will next time. A lot of players ” won’t be fooled again”.
It’s over- time to play the saints. We beat them 8 games ago- without McCoy- we can beat them again! Just pray we get Blount back!
October 10th, 2011 at 9:34 am
By the way, yeah- down 42-3, with 10 minutes left, you punt. It’s not your day. You punt, you throw in the third stringers, the winning team calls off the dogs. You fight again another day. That has been the way in Pro football since the beginning. This ain’t college. You don’t run the score up on pros, because they will hold a grudge. There is a point when all concerned call it a day. No problem there for me. We weren’t gonna win. Get out with no more injuries, save paybacks for the Saints. It’s all you can do on a day like that.
October 10th, 2011 at 9:35 am
“We beat them 8 games ago- without McCoy- we can beat them again!”
Pretty tall order, but I like you positivism. Lets do it!!!
October 10th, 2011 at 9:37 am
@Capt.Tim couldn’t agree more, take it for the ass-whipping it was a move on, don’t even look at the film, sh**-can it and move on to the Saints.
October 10th, 2011 at 9:44 am
vernon davis is correct bottom line
October 10th, 2011 at 9:45 am
Ok Capt. Tim i give in.. i defended Talib earlier this season but the man just is not playing good football as of late.. he is getting faked out.. WR’s are catching balls over him, on him, beating him, its ridiculous we need to play better period. Worst game i have EVER witnessed as a bucs fan. Just plain terrible. One of my friends said this could be the beginning of the end of our season.. i really hope not i mean it is only one game but that performance yesterday makes you think…
October 10th, 2011 at 9:59 am
Talib has been awful this year. And he doesnt seem to have learned much from anger management class.
I thought he would have a big year.
The Saints are beatable. Cats almost got em on Sunday with a rookie QB. All is not lost………………yet.
October 10th, 2011 at 10:02 am
The worst part is that was not some abberation. This is really our team. Are they going to lose by 45 to every good team? No. This is just what happens when you start slow against a solid football team – they will kill you. This little “we don’t play til the 2nd half” mantra of the Bucs better change real quick or else the beatdowns will continue.
And Rah – how about you show a little control and set an example for your players by showing that stupid penalties ARE NOT OK. Where the hell is the discipline on this team? I haven’t seen it from anyone. D line jumping offsides twice a game, stupid drive advancing personal fouls, dumb illegal shifts. Those are all the coaches responsibility. Raheem does not have this team playing good football right now, and if it doesn’t change soon we will stop talking about the postseason and start talking about the draft.
October 10th, 2011 at 10:18 am
I am not just bashing Talib. Despite my concerns about his off field choices, he is a Buc. He’s playing horribly. My question is why?? What’s happened to him. He is a much better CB than that( although he is not “elite”). I don’t know how his game can just suddenly go to hell that badly.Biggers is playing hard, but has proven he’s not the answer. He can contain WR. He’s got no chance of STOPPING good WR. I don’t see any other CB on the team with the skill set to play the #1 WRs. Meybe Lewis, but he can’t stay On the Field. I think it’s a big problem
October 10th, 2011 at 10:20 am
im normally pretty positive, but this game really got to me. this was no blip on the radar, it’s been coming for some time and it wont be the last we see of it. discipline on the field isn’t learned in a week. these guys have some real growing up to do.
October 10th, 2011 at 10:45 am
I am not comparing Talib as a player to Asomugha. However, I would like to draw a parallel between what has happened to both of them. Asomugha is a man-to-man specialist playing badly in a cover2 zone scheme. Talib was trained and reared in a Tampa2 zone scheme and is struggling to play man-to-man. Both will get better but may be too late!
October 10th, 2011 at 11:14 am
Poor Coaching. As much as the team needs to grow up, so do the Coaches. Hopefully it does not affect the growth of the young core of player. Go Bucs!
October 10th, 2011 at 11:25 am
oh, we’re still 1-0 in our division? cool.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:31 am
The 49ers say every opponent quits.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:39 am
good teams with off days dont get beat 48 – 3. i’m not trying to piss down the legs of the people trying to remain positive, but that was an average 49ers team. there are a ton of guys in that locker room that better take a long hard look in the mirror.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:46 am
I don’t care what Davis says and he should concern himself with winning and the next opponent. i dont see any value in him blasting the bucs. 49ers have had no success and this is the smallest sample of success they have tasted so they should stay focused and move on and leave the puppy Bucs alone.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:56 am
That was Lockout Ball at its best..Bucs lost momentum thanks to all that NFLPA and owners greed..give it another year and a good full summer of training camp…onward…
October 10th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
OK blast Davis for popping off , but After Tampa Bay’s 21-0 win in San Francisco last season, Bucs coach Raheem Morris dubbed his team, “The West Coast Killers,”
Might try it on for size before blasting VD for it ?
October 10th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
ShortyBuc, if that was lockout ball the Bucs were playing, then what game were the 49rs playing?
October 10th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
ShortyBuc is right. What were the niners playing? Laying in Wait! Yesterdays beating proves that Raheem is a good coach. The fact that he had a short week, and didn’t have enough time with the team, is why they got beat like dogs! Harbaugh is pretty smart! He threw in a bunch of completely new stuff- like 3 tackles on one side. A veteran team would know what to do. A team of rookies doesn’t. They panic, they start trying to do to much, and blowing their assignments- then it all falls apart. 2 years from now, all that crap he threw in wouldn’t bother this team. Now, they are young and inexperienced- and they paid for it yesterday
Forget it. 3-2, move on. We beat the Saints- then Raheem and Josh are the greatest again. It’ll be alright. Just a life lesson
October 10th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
capt. tim, overloading one side of an offensive line is hardly a new concept. good grief, the blame for not adjusting to that falls squarely on coaching. good coaches add wrinkles from game to game. we havent added any since last year.
October 10th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
GotBucs- you are absolutely right, and absolutely wrong.Good teams don’t lose 48-3 because of a short week. But good teams have veteran leadership, who can react to change
We are a good Young team! Youngest in the league! Those teams do lose games badly on short weeks. It happened in Oakland, to Sapp, Brooks, Lynch, and Barber. It happened here.
It shouldn’t happen again
October 10th, 2011 at 1:57 pm
I agree with Sgt Mike. This TEAM needs growing up on all fronts!
October 10th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Gotbbucs….that is NOT an average ’49er team. That is a VERY good ‘complete’ 49er team that should easily win their division and could go deep into the playoffs. They have a stud offensive line, a very good defense, great running back and now finally…a great coach. Alex Smith is playing at a high level and lets not forget he WAS a first round pick. How are they average?? Your problem is you look at last year’s ’49ers and think this is the same team. They are not.
October 10th, 2011 at 2:25 pm
the 49ers are a very good team this season. They knew they needed this win to prove that they are a good team so they prepared for it. All teams, whether good or bad, get blown out sometime in this football age. Do you remember last year when the Patriots went and blew out the Jets and then on the rematch it was the other way around?
I have a feeling that this won’t be the last time we see the 49ers this year and next time it will be in the playoffs where this little stinger will be a reminder and motivation.
October 10th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Let’s hope they quit. If they didn’t then the future doesn’t look too bright. Like us, Davis was expecting a lot more than he saw on the field.
October 10th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
That was the worst coached and prepared team that I have ever seen participate in a NFL game; what is scary is that it is virtually the same thing (a whooping) in the first half every week. The difference Sunday: they got so far ahead that the Team quit, gave up. Why? Because they realized that their talent could not close the gap in coaching and prep that the other team had.
Jim Harbaugh is worth every penny. After all of the fines for breaking and not understanding the rules, rah will be working for free – which is commensurate with his value.
If they lose Sunday – lookout – even Captain Tim will be begging for Gruden!
October 10th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
What’s the difference in the 49ers this year and last year?
COACHING.
Yesterday was a perfect example of what a good head coach does for your team. The 49ers were prepared for everything the predictable Bucs did. It was impressive. And they were disciplined. How many penalties did SF have? Not many.
Raheem sucks. People need to wake up.
We have a Hofstra Safety running our football team. Its embarrassing.
October 10th, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Let’s see, Blown Out by the Steelers, Patriots, and now the 49ers ……
But, we beat Atlanta and Indy ……
It MUST be coaching/preparation
October 10th, 2011 at 7:31 pm
I didn’t read all the comments so forgive me if this has been covered. The Bucs didn’t quit, they never showed up. I was at the game, 50 yrd line row 11, so could see what happened pretty clearly. They were never prepared to play this game. Freeman telegraphed every pass, No pass rush, no one covering receivers, Its been a long time since I’ve seen the Bucs look so bad. There were some horrible no calls early in the game. A helmet to helmet, a block in the back, no holding calls, etc, that just deflated the team right off the bat. I am not blaming the officals, the bucs were not going to win that game. Young team, short week, cross country travel, blah blah blah. Excuses are just that and there is plenty of blame to go around.
I believe this will ultimately turn out to be a good thing for a young team. They now know they can’t phone it in against anyone, despite what they did to the team last time they played. I believe this will make the team more resilient. We will see next week. I still believe.
October 10th, 2011 at 9:47 pm
Sfbuc,
Believe what?
October 10th, 2011 at 9:56 pm
believe in the Bucs and the direction they are headed. I never felt they were Super Bowl contenders, but do believe that they will be a force for a good long while once they mature. I believe in Raheem Morris and the philosophy and direction they are headed.