Skip navigation

Davis' comments puts 49ers on defensive

Video
  King's Notebook: Week 11
Nov. 22: Dan Patrick and Peter King break down the wild finish in Detroit, highlighting the clutch play of Matthew Stafford and the decision making of Eric Mangini.

NBC Sports

Slideshow
Denver Broncos v Washington Redskins
  Sideline support
Check out some of the NFL cheerleaders from across the league.

more photos

Associated Press Sports
updated 4:50 p.m. ET Nov. 11, 2009

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -San Francisco's Vernon Davis put his teammates in a position usually reserved for politicians. The 49ers' outgoing tight end has his teammates spinning his recent comments.

"Things are going to be said," 49ers guard Eric Heitmann said Wednesday. "You see bulletin board material all the time. It's happened to me in the NFL and in college. You can't get emotional about it."

Davis, who caught 10 passes for 102 yards in the 49ers' 34-27 loss to the Tennessee Titans told reporters Tuesday that "We can destroy their front. The guys up front, I think we can destroy them. I don't see anything spectacular about their front line."

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

The Bears defense ranked 15th in the NFL heading into Thursday night's game at Candlestick Park, 21st against the run.

"I talked to him and I know what he meant," 49ers coach Mike Singletary said. "It's a little frustrating but you have to translate and read between the lines. He was not being disrespectful of the Bears. What he meant was 'we can do this."'

The outburst may be a good thing for Singletary, who will be coaching against his former team for the first time as a head coach. The comments lessened the attention on Singletary's relationship with the Bears.

"I'm not glad he said it but I'm not going to think a lot about it," he said. "He said it, it's out there and they'll have their reaction. We'll just go play the game."

Heitmann said he doesn't feel any added pressure to back up Davis' words.

"As a player you have to stay focused," he said. "You can't worry about what is being said. If you get too emotional you can mess up. You have to have a level head to be successful."

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored links