He was the team’s second tight end — Brent Jones’ backup — for five seasons from 1989 to 1993 and a part of two Super Bowl-winning teams.

A stalwart blocker but never much of a receiving threat, Williams was far more recognizable than the average role player not just because of his outgoing personality but also in part for his hair, which he wore in dreadlocks, an unusual fashion at the time. Whenever Williams subbed for the smaller, more nimble Jones, the 49ers would undoubtedly call a running play and whenever Jones checked back in the team would almost assuredly pass, yet even with that obvious tell, opponents were often at the mercy of Bill Walsh’s high-powered West Coast Offense.

Guess what?

Vernon Davis, the No. 6 overall pick of the 2006 draft, is the new Jamie Williams, dreadlocks and all. He’s a blocker. A lunch pail-bringing, blue-collar grunt, albeit with a narcissistic personality and an astronomical salary.

Everyone on the 49ers seems to know it but him.

His head coach, Mike Nolan, can’t stop raving about Davis’ blocking. In fact, it’s safe to say that he’s spent more time extolling Davis’ virtues on the line of scrimmage than he has in praising all five members of his starting offensive line combined, and those gentlemen, you’ll note, are the ones being paid to block. In his Monday news conference with the media, Nolan pointed out that a tight end has three facets of the game to master: run blocking, pass blocking and pass receiving and thusly explained to the gathered crowd that Davis had already mastered two thirds of his craft.

Of course, by this logic one can deduce that Nolan would’ve been equally pleased to have Bubba Paris, the 49ers’ mountainous ex-left tackle, as his current tight end. His hands were probably as good as Davis’ too.

Nolan’s offensive coordinator, the notoriously quirky Mike Martz, spent an unhealthy amount of his Thursday afternoon gushing about Davis, calling him an "unusual blocker at that position," adding, "I don’t know if there’s anybody in the league any better at that."

Only Martz didn’t stop there.

"He’s absolutely an outstanding receiver,” Martz protested. “He’ll have his opportunities for sure. There’s nothing wrong with Vernon. All those things are an indication of nothing other than we’re learning this offense, and as we move along, we’re just trying to win games. The longer we keep the ball, the more opportunities those guys will have, no matter what position they play. We just have to do a better job on third down.”

When Martz was reminded that his outstanding receiver is averaging just one more reception per game than the fans who boo his weekly drops he quickly shot back, “I have no idea what he has. I don’t think about those things to be honest with you. I’m sure anybody with five catches, I don’t care who you are, is probably not satisfied, but that’s not the point, is it? We’re just trying to win. His time will come.”

Then it got truly bizarre.

Martz suggested that if the team actually started regularly throwing to Davis it would set a bad precedent, saying, “With numbers, I think you’ve got to be real careful about anybody… if somebody’s getting a lot of big numbers every week, that’s not necessarily a good thing. That means that you have to rely on that one individual to win and that’s not always a good thing.”

Yes, definitely. The 49ers relying on Jerry Rice to score touchdowns week after week didn’t work out at all.

The resident offensive wizard even went so far as point out Davis’ value as a covered receiver, pointing out that on the second play of last week’s 30-21 loss to the New England Patriots, that a gaggle of Pats on Davis allowed for fellow tight end Delanie Walker to be wide open for J.T. O’Sullivan’s incomplete pass.

“You see how wide open he was?” Martz asked, rhetorically, incredulously. “They were all running with Vernon [Davis], they had three guys chasing Vernon down the field. Delanie [Walker] came inside and had we completed that, he might have been in San Diego before we stopped.”

What has become of this once proud franchise? They’re defending the blocking of a player when their quarterback has been sacked 20 times in five games. They talk up his ability to play decoy when O’Sullivan has thrown five interceptions in the past two contests. Can’t they just admit they erred in drafting him, just as they did the year before when they selected quarterback Alex Smith first overall?

Then again, they haven’t even officially ‘fessed up about Smith yet.

On Sunday the 49ers take on another 2-3 opponent, the battered and bruised Philadelphia Eagles, who will be without star tailback Brian Westbrook (cracked ribs), their best offensive lineman Shawn Andrews (back spasms), and their second-best receiver Reggie Brown (sore groin), among others. If ever Nolan’s bend-but-break-slowly defensive philosophy will work, it will be here against the red-zone troubled Eagles. Meanwhile on defense, Philadelphia relies on blitzing and their trio of talented corners. They cover wide receivers well, but struggle mightily covering backs and tight ends, as evidenced by the eight catches for 109 yards a touchdown that the Redskins’ Chris Cooley managed last week in Washington’s 23-17 win.

If Davis again fails to produce while havoc befalls all around him, then it will be time to throw out the dreaded “B” word.

No, not “Blocker.”

Bust.