So, between the NFLPA and Jolly Roger & Co, the NFL has a very structured approach to how the season starts, what happens in these initial gatherings, and who is allowed to do what to whom, Organized Team Activities have started. All this means is the offense walking through plays without pads, no hitting, but defenders kinda standing around providing obstacles. One thing I did hear about was Kappy, Boldin, Crabs, and Lloyd working on the red zone offense. Whether they scored or not wasn’t reported.
The only news coming out of these OTAs so far is the fact that Alex Boone and Vernon Davis haven’t shown up. Boone has voiced his concerns with his contract status right now, and is angling for a raise and extension. Vernon Davis’s absence is not clear at this point, but as of now since these OTAs are voluntary, this isn’t too alarming. But this doesn’t paint a picture of a team totally in harmony either. The rumblings around 4949 Centennial Blvd. is that Colin Kaepernick is looking to break the bank in his desire for a new contract. Is this a factor in Boone and possibly Vernon Davis suddenly wanting to get theirs before Kappy absorbs all the free money laying around the building? This is certainly a possibility. And this also follows along with the fact that Kappy’s signing would preclude keeping guys like Michael Crabtree and Mike Iupati, among others, as their contracts are coming due. Something we’ve all discussed for the last few months. To throw another wrench into the Kappy negotiations, Alex Smith apparently wants $18 mill a year, although his wife (!) has come out and said this is a false claim.
Since nothing is set in stone with the Kappy deal, there’s a ton of uncertainty right now with who can sign and when, not to mention the legal wrangling around Kappy, Aldon Smith, and Chris Culliver. Add the Harbaugh trade to Cleveland, and all the supposed animosity between Harbaugh and Trent Baalke and you have another layer of strange. As far as the rookies go, most are signed, with the exception of Marcus Martin, the center from USC. So, even though it’s the beginning of a brand new season, there’s a lot of weirdness floating around Santa Clara.
The future is now for a lot of the team as it is currently structured. They are poised to once again make a push for the Super Bowl, they have a strong team and a brand new stadium to fill, but a bad season could derail Harbaugh’s job, could concievably drive Kappy among a lot of other players out of here, and could send the team into a death spiral. If there’s any constant in the NFL it’s that it is VERY hard to stay relevant for any length of time, and it is very easy to slip from the perch of being a top-tier team.
Forty Niners Forever 
And, in fairly unsurprising news, Jonaathan Goodwin reu-pped with the Saints.
Matt Barrows of Sac Bee reports last Friday, an OTA day, seeing VD at his Jamba Juice franchise in the South Bay filming a commercial…
If it’s HIS Jamba Juice that commercial would cost him money, not make him immediate money. Now the return on his investment for money made off the commercial is questionable. But with the Niners the money was certain. Setting up a crew to cut a commercial was planned far in advance. I think Vernon’s holding out – and I think he’s a fool to try.
Yeah, reading that article, it sure looks like the Disease is going to hold out.
Click clack roight out the door, motherfucker. The Niners should think about trading him to Cleveland. How about Josh Gordon and a pound of some fine simsimilla?
I don’t begrugde anyone making money. But VD’s MADE a boatload with us. He’s the 2nd highest paid TE in the league. Maybe 3rd. Not sure what Billy Graham is getting from NO but it’s right about the $7 mill mark as well.
The reason I get pissed is directly related to how it affects our chance to win the Super Bowl this season. If VD wants to shit on the hand that feeds him, so be it. I would trade the fucker right now. How does TB sound, click clack? Josh McCown? Kafka? You’ll metamorphose into a run-of -the-mill 2nd tier TE. Just like your future teammate Dashon Goldson went from one of the top FS’s in the league to a heavilly fined afterthought. From glory to ignominy. Welcome to the club. Here’s your sign.
You can’t be pissed at Vernon. The game outside the lines is just as important as the game inside the lines for teams with Super Bowl aspirations. That’s why I hated Singletary and McCloughan so much. They had no clue how to play the game outside the lines. Baalke’s drafts might now be looking more and more questionable (at least to me), but Baalke and Harbaugh can play the game outside the lines (see the Harbaugh interview after the Browns story came out).
If I had to bet, I’m thinking Vernon just thought to himself…. ” $200k is nice but I have other business to take care of to help phase myself out of the game and into professional life after the NFL.” I’m betting Vernon doesn’t holdout. It just doesn’t make sense. He has zero leverage.
ZERO
That’s my point, Spitty. He can fuck around all he wants on his dime. He fucks with the team, I get bent. If I’m Jed, I’m thinking, this is how he repays me? I gave him a fat deal based on promise. Now he’s greedy? Here’s your ticket to Tampa, click clack.
IF he misses the mandatories.
I think you might be overreacting which is downright comical coming from me; however, I jumped ship in Hong Kong…. made my way over to Tibet.
Vernon isn’t holding out. Add it up. If Vernon was holding out, he’d be using this time to talk and politic. In addition, Vernon is getting older. The older players get, the more they need to rest their bodies. Vernon was also working on a commercial and he has no leverage. Put it all together and quit hatin’ on him.
I see an upside to this situation too.
More time for Kaep to work with VMcD and others.
Vernon’s value is blinding speed and excellent blocking ability.
He qualifies as a Freak.
Not a pure pass catcher but, he’s improved since he arrived.
VMcD needs the chance to get familiar with the routes anyway.
He won’t get confused with the blinding speed portion of the equation.
Reminds me a lot of Brent Jones.
Clumsy, awkward maybe but, he had excellent success at Rice as a WR.
Suggests to me that his hands are probably better than VD’s.
I don;t know about that. The knock with him at Rice was his hands. The dropsies.
I’m sure this is all noise, but it’s just more unneccessary thrash coming out of the building. There seems to be a lot of that this year.
BLEEP DROPSIES!
Drop bleepsies!!
New thread is up.