Mike Singletary came down hard on Nate Davis. Davis completed 7 of 16 passes for 114 yards and no touchdowns, including a scintillating 65-yard throw to speedster Ted Ginn Jr. He did lead two long field-goal drives, but then had two three-and-outs at the end of the game that seemed to anger Singletary. Particularly galling for Singletary was Davis's third-down flop just shy of the first down marker when he was flushed from the pocket.
"You have to know where the first-down marker is, you don't just fall down," Singletary said with his anger rising. Just before he was going to delve into "I want winners!" -like speech, Singletary stopped himself. "Don't get me started," he smoldered.
Singletary also seemed to be giving up on Davis's competition with David Carr for the second-string quarterback job. "I just think he's competing with himself right now. I'm pulling for him; I'm hoping. He's just inconsistent," Singletary said.
The coach also questioned Davis's work ethic in the off-season, saying Davis needed to study harder to get the plays down and now he has to play catch-up and Singletary isn't sure he can do it. "I'm pulling for him. I'm hoping; he's just inconsistent," Singletary said.
As most people know by now, Davis is dyslexic. A classic element of the learning disability is what's known as the myth of laziness, with teachers, parents and employers believing you're lazy, when actually, it just takes a dyslexic longer to learn certain things. Also dyslexics often have to expend an inordinate amount of energy and concentration on tasks that come easily to others. Dyslexics wear out faster and thus their concentration wanders, leading to inconsistency.
The question is, is this happening to Davis? He spent part of the off-season going over plays with his house mate, wide receiver Dominique Zeigler. Interesting, Zeigler was praised by Alex Smith after the game, with Smith saying that Zeigler knows all the wide receiver positions and is always in the right place. Obviously, Singletary sees the opposite in Davis.
So what's the answer? Disability or not, you can't have a quarterback who doesn't command the huddle or who doesn't know where to go with the ball. But Davis is obviously talented. With a little more patience, can you unlock that talent that everyone sees? What probably doesn't help Davis is having a Hall of Fame player and his current head coach getting upset with him in front of the media.
It might be possible that playing quarterback at the NFL level is beyond Davis's capacity. However, with more patience and understanding, the 49ers might discover a unique talent at quarterback. It would be a shame to give up on him just before Davis captures the offense and unleashes his abundant skills.
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