jdub2k4;1578585 said:
Well it doesn't seem to me like Allen dominated Davis like many here try to make it seem. The reports state that Allen and Davis went at each other furiously and had to be separated by the other players AND coaching staff....doesn't sound like a dominated fight to me, which would have been over in a matter of seconds. It does sound to me like Davis AND Allen got in their share of licks and also each took some lumps in the process. So I don't know if it was a clear victory for either. However, I personally think it was Allen that got beat up.
Why? If they both took their lumps, how do you make that leap? Just based on what's been reported, I don't know you can tell one way or the other.
Needless to say, it's still something I'd love to have seen.
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Davis' rule: Fire is OK, ire is not
John Crumpacker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Vernon Davis: distracting diva or emotional linchpin?
The distinction can be a fine one and at times the 49ers' second-year tight end walks a borderline between the two extremes. His tussle with offensive teammate Larry Allen in Saturday's scrimmage is the latest example of Davis' tempestuous nature.
While a heated physical confrontation between offensive players on the sideline - as was the case Saturday - will draw TV cameras but no penalty flags, the concern with Davis is that during games his emotional displays might result in behavior interpreted by officials as taunting, one of the NFL's points of emphasis for 2007.
"Me and coach Nolan been talking," Davis said after Monday morning's practice, an uneventful one on the scale of rumbles and wrangles. "I know what to do and what not to do. Sometimes, when I get too excited, yeah (I have to watch it). You just think about the things you can't do, like spiking the ball after a catch."
One of Mike Nolan's jobs as head coach is to monitor Davis' emotional state, much as an investor checks the vicissitudes of the stock market from day to day. Indeed, Nolan made a huge investment in Davis when he anointed him the 49ers' top draft pick in 2006.
The 49ers are counting on Davis being a big part of their offense this season with his athletic ability and unreal speed for a tight end. Along with that, the club hopes his histrionics are not misinterpreted by the men in the striped shirts.
"He is so passionate, so emotional about things," Nolan said of Davis. "The officials are going to have a tendency to throw a flag on it, because they think it's taunting. A guy that's as emotional as he is ... has to be very careful."
When a crew of officials visited camp last week, they showed a DVD of rule changes and points of emphasis to players, coaches and reporters covering the team. Getting in an opponent's face after a play, even if the attempt is not to menace, intimidate or belittle, will result in a 15-yard penalty for taunting.
"He needs to be more aware of it, that's all," Nolan said. "And I think he will be. It will help him grow up, help him mature. Vernon's not going to back down from anybody. That's what you love about him. He's not intimidated by anybody."
Nolan thus far seems inclined to give Davis the freedom to express himself, as long as the behavior does not result in penalties or the kind of fighting which results in injury.
"My concern is that someone is going to misunderstand that," Nolan said. "There's also players that sometimes misunderstand it, just like the other day out here."
Davis and Allen both said there is no carry over from Saturday's fracas and that they are fine with each other. Allen implied Davis' youth and immaturity were at fault, while Davis said the blame should be shared equally.
"We're cool," Allen said. "He's young. He'll be all right. We exchanged some words. That's about it."
Asked if he was surprised to be tangling with an offensive teammate, Allen said, "Not with Vernon."
For his part, Davis said, "We're cool. We're fine. Just words, things that happen at practice. Guys get into it. What goes on, on the field stays on the field."
"It's like every once in a while you have someone on the team you get into it with," Davis said. "Heat of battle. It's part of being teammates."
Davis is an excitable player by nature and said he uses his effusiveness to get his teammates charged during practice "just to get them going. In the morning, everybody is not in tune. I think I'm that one guy who can get everybody going. That's the kind of guy you need on a team."
Davis, however, nixed any comparisons to a former 49ers wide receiver that created controversy here and elsewhere, fellow named Terrell Owens. Davis said he's no T.O. in training.
"We're two totally different players," Davis said. "He's a totally different guy than I am, especially off the field. I'm going to play, show off when I catch the ball. When it comes down to team, I need these guys the most. That's how I get open. If I run routes by myself, I'm pretty sure I won't get open."
It's a fine line Davis walks. He appears to know which side to stay on, not to say he won't dance near the border now and then.
John York announces team's Bill Walsh tribute plans. E3
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/07/SPEPRE4U32.DTL
Things had cooled down Monday after the team took a Sunday respite from its training-camp schedule.
"I think he will be all right," said Allen, 35. "He's young. We exchanged some words and that's about it."
Davis agreed. "We're cool," he said. "Both of us were at fault. We were just communicating. One didn't like how the communication was going. It happens to everybody. Once in a while you just get into it with somebody. It's part of being a teammate."
http://www.mercurynews.com/49ersheadlines/ci_6562209
