The New York Jets wanted Vernon Davis to lose his head. They hit the San Francisco tight end after the whistle and yapped in his face all day, even grabbing him by the neck at least once.
The 49ers' most excitable player simply maintained his cool and concentrated on his job, an achievement that left Mike Singletary searching for superlatives to describe his former antagonist's growth into one of the interim coach's favorite players.
"I don't know if there's ever been a tight end that can block better than Vernon Davis," the Hall of Fame linebacker said Monday after his 49ers' (5-8) third win in four games, 24-14 over the Jets.
"For him to be on a defensive end, linebacker -- I don't care who it was -- he was on him, he was driving him, he was moving him, and it wasn't like they didn't know he was coming," Singletary added. "It was very impressive."
That's not what San Francisco's opponents are hoping to hear about Davis, who got a national reputation as a hotheaded malcontent when Singletary kicked him off the field during the coach's first game in late October. Davis slapped the helmet of yapping Seattle safety Brian Russell, drawing a personal foul penalty that led to his very public banishment to the showers.
Davis has been in countless skirmishes with teammates during practices in his three NFL seasons, and he often rips off his helmet to celebrate game-day catches. But while he learns to control his temper, he's turning into one of the 49ers' biggest assets for his blocking role in Frank Gore's running game -- even if he's still not catching as many passes as he'd like.
"I can catch the ball, I can run routes, I can run past anybody you put against me," said Davis, who had three catches for 29 yards against New York. "When you add in the blocking, that sounds like a complete tight end to me."
Gore had 52 yards rushing before getting injured Sunday, but Davis kept blocking for backup DeShaun Foster while also providing protection for Shaun Hill, who passed for 285 yards and two scores. Davis is only the 49ers' fifth-leading receiver with 22 catches for 292 yards, but at least Hill seems more aware of Davis' presence in the offense than Alex Smith or J.T. O'Sullivan ever did.
While Davis repeatedly hit his blocking assignments against the Jets, he also claimed Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis tried to choke him at some point in Sunday's game. Hill confirmed a game-long pattern of attempts to get under Davis' skin.
"Those guys were truly messing with him at times," Hill said. "More so than any play that he made during that game, I was proud of the way he handled himself in those situations. There were times in the past when those defensive guys maybe could have got a penalty out of him, and he did a great job of staying out of those situations."
While the 49ers still don't know who will be their coach or starting quarterback next season, Davis seems to be finding an NFL groove for the first time while playing alongside Hill and Gore, who have led the 49ers to a minor late-season surge.
"We love him, as long as it's within the rules of the game and doesn't cost us," Hill said.
