Babb: Tight end Davis says 49ers will beat Chiefs

[Tribal Warfare]

Tight end Davis says 49ers will beat Chiefs
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star

San Francisco tight end Vernon Davis, whom Chiefs coach Todd Haley complimented Wednesday as one of the league’s best at his position, all but guaranteed that the winless 49ers would defeat unbeaten Kansas City when the teams meet Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

“We have to win this one. We will win this one,” Davis said during a conference call with Kansas City reporters. “I’m pretty confident that we will pull this one out.”

Davis, a fifth-year player, was then asked whether he was guaranteeing a San Francisco win, and he didn’t retreat.

“We will win this game. We have the team to do it,” he said. “We’ve just got to get rid of all the mistakes. Without the mistakes, there’s no telling where we can go. There’s no limit.”

The 49ers lost a thriller Monday night to New Orleans, the defending Super Bowl champion. San Francisco, a popular pick during the preseason to win the NFC West, was blown out by Seattle in its first game.

As often happens, word spread quickly through the Chiefs’ locker room that Davis had promised a win. Defensive lineman Shaun Smith is the team’s loudest trash talker, and he was — as best as can be — reserved when told about Davis’ comments.

“That’s just Vernon Davis being Vernon Davis,” Smith said. “You know him. ... That’s just a guy trying to get some locker-room talk, some locker-room chatter. That’s also a guy trying to get his team going.

“For him to put out there on line, guaranteeing victory, that’s him. We’ll see what happens on Sunday.”

Communication breakdown

Chiefs coach Todd Haley acknowledged Wednesday that, for both of his team’s games, there were problems getting play calls between the coaches’ box and quarterback Matt Cassel. Haley said the problems were because of technology, possibly high-definition signal interference and he has since heard that other teams have had similar problems.

Several times in Kansas City’s wins against San Diego and Cleveland, Cassel signaled to the sideline that he was confused, and the Chiefs had to hurry to get a play call in before the play clock expired.

“You just don’t know for sure when the quarterback is hearing what is being said,” Haley said. “Sometimes, when you’re unaware of that and somebody doesn’t see it early enough, then you can get pressed for time.”

Haley said the Chiefs could have someone on standby to signal plays the old-fashioned way, using hand gestures to convey calls to Cassel, who would then convey them to the huddle.

Jackson still has noticeable limp

Second-year defensive end Tyson Jackson continued to walk with a noticeable limp on Wednesday, more than a week after suffering a left knee injury in the team’s win against the Chargers.

Jackson missed Sunday’s game at Cleveland, and he didn’t participate in Wednesday’s practice.

Other injuries

Offensive tackle Ryan O’Callaghan (groin) missed another practice, and it’s unclear whether he’ll return to the lineup Sunday. Defensive end Wallace Gilberry (back), outside linebacker Tamba Hali (foot) and free safety Jon McGraw (hamstring) were limited Wednesday.

[BillSelfsTrophycase]

Tight end Davis says 49ers will beat Chiefs

So many ways to go with this

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Someone queue up Ray Lewis saying the game needed to be played on the field, and not talked about in the media.

[michaelj_58]

that'll do pig,that'll do

[big nasty kcnut]

Bring it sister. It's time for the chiefs to win.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

I hate it that Hali is having a nagging foot injury. It probably won't get better until after the season. You know, cause he kinda uses his feet a lot during the game.