Vernon Davis defended his relationship with quarterback Colin Kaepernick in response to Randy Moss, who said the San Francisco 49ers stars did not have a good rapport.
Moss, now an analyst with FOX Sports 1 after spending last season with the 49ers, said on a conference call Wednesday that Davis and Kaepernick did not have a strong rapport last season. His words are accurate; Davis’ stats plummeted after Kaepernick took over as the 49ers’ starting quarterback. The Pro Bowl tight end only had six catches for 61 yards in the final six games of the regular season before breaking out with 12 catches for 254 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs.
Davis initially supported the switch from Alex Smith to Kaepernick by saying he felt like the handcuffs were taken off of him, but he later tried to support Smith too by saying the former No. 1 pick would regain the job.
Whatever barriers he and Kaepernick had last season are definitely gone now. Linebacker Patrick Willis said during training camp that the two were unstoppable. Davis agrees.
“I feel me and Colin are on a different level than where we were last year,” Davis said Thursday, via the San Jose Mercury News. “You have to think about it: When a quarterback just steps in, it takes time to learn his receivers.
“I don’t think you can base everything on what happened last year, because a lot can change in six months. Colin is a different man. Some of the things I learned this training camp, I didn’t learn last training camp.”
It was obvious immediately that Kaepernick liked targeting his receivers more than his tight end. His usage of the team’s weapons was completely different than Smith’s. Michael Crabtree’s numbers exploded for the first time since he was drafted by the team. But with Crabtree out, and he and Davis working well in training camp, I would expect the two to have a great connection this season. We’re going to see very few zero, one, or two catch games for Davis this season.
