Never has one rather small action had such big NFL repercussions. I'm talking about the unnecessary roughness penalty Vernon Davis drew the last time the Seahawks visited Candlestick Park. Judging from the aftermath - Davis being kicked out of the game; Mike Singletary letting fly his "I want winners" speech - you might think Davis' on-field action was reprehensible. Actually it was kind of tame. After being taunted by safety Brian Russell, Davis merely gave Russell a tap underneath his chin strap.
What it set off, however, was a fiery post-game speech that arguably was the catalyst for the 49ers' strong finish and for Singletary winning the head-coaching job for 2009. The 49ers also have wrapped their entire advertising campaign around Singletary sound bites, many of which came from that post-game rant. (Davis says he hasn't seen a cut of the ticket-sale revenue).
Davis, meanwhile, heard a lot of "go-to-the-locker-room jokes" from opposing players last year and got a bunch of jabs Sunday in Arizona. He expects them to continue. "I'm sure they're going to try to do something to get me fired up and try to get me to go back to the locker room," he said today. "But it ain't happening. I plan on playing the game with a lot of discipline. They will not get to me. There's not anything they can do to get me fired up."
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Wide receiver Brandon Jones is wearing a black jersey in practice today as he works himself back from a broken shoulder suffered early in training camp. The QBs also wear black, which signals the player is not to be hit.
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Singletary on Parys Haralson: "He's a guy that is constantly working at his craft, nd to me that's a sign of someone who can be very successful at what they do."
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One of the best blocks in Sunday's game was delivered by guard Chilo Rachal. The only problem was that Rachal decked his own guy - receiver Isaac Bruce, who went flying backward for about five yards. Rachal was aiming at two Cardinals, both of whom ducked out of the way at the last second. Rachal admitted there were a few seconds of panic after he realized he had hit a future Hall of Famer. "When you pull, you have to hit what you're pulling for," he said.
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Jeff Ulbrich on the Visa logo on his left shoulder pad: "Do we get a better APR?"
-- Matt Barrows
