Last week, Colin Kaepernick took a mild, indirect shot at the San Francisco 49ers' former offensive coaching staff. On Monday, tight end Vernon Davis took it a step further.
The Sacramento Bee is reporting that Davis had praise for new tight ends coach Tony Sparano, whom he compared to former 49ers coach and current Carolina Panthers assistant Pete Hoener, whom Davis credits for turning him in a Pro Bowl-level tight end.
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"Tony Sparano -- he's really, really similar to Pete Hoener," Davis said last week to the Bee. "No-nonsense, tough. It's all about helping you get better. They just want to see you get better, and that's what I love about Sparano. He's a good coach, a great coach."
In contrast, apparently to the previous staff, in which Davis finished with 26 receptions for 245 and two touchdowns in 2014 - all career lows. Both his touchdowns came in the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
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NFL.com suggested that Davis didn't have the same level of aggression after returning from a late September back injury that forced him to miss a couple of games.
Davis, added, however, that the 49ers' game-planning and play-calling under former offensive coordinator Greg Roman left a lot to be desired, as far as the tight ends were concerned.
"Whenever I'd run, like, my deep over routes there was a safety sitting over there already," Davis said to the Bee. "It was just game planning. And nothing really ever opened up. But I wasn't really ever a factor in the offense last year. ... The first game, yeah. But the second game, the tight ends (weren't) really involved as a whole."
Coach Jim Tomsula said last week that the 31-year-old Davis "looks extremely fast. Catching the ball really well," NFL.com reported. Davis participated in offseason workouts this offseason after skipping out in May and June of 2014.
And Davis is hopeful that the offense in 2015 is more tight end-friendly.
"New offensive coordinator Geep Chryst is emphasizing fewer multiple wide receiver sets, which means the tight ends will be more prominently featured in 2015, per Barrows," according to NFL.com. "That adjustment is welcome news for Davis in a contract year."
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