Unknown San Francisco 49ers Receivers Hoping to Catch On

A month ago, you had to wonder what Arnaz Battle, Dominique Zeigler, and Micheal Spurlock were thinking.

The three wide receivers were all technically part of the San Francisco 49ers’ 80-man roster, but as the sixth, seventh, and eighth men on the depth chart, at a position where most teams typically keep five or at most six guys, the situation looked bleak for them.

Not only had the 49ers drafted Michael Crabtree, the premiere receiver in college football last year, with their first-round pick, but they also acquired Brandon Jones in free agency from the Tennessee Titans and veteran Isaac Bruce committed to return for another campaign in early April.

Add to that trifecta promising youngsters Josh Morgan and Jason Hill, who both showed potential in limited opportunities last season, and it sure looked as though there weren’t going to be enough footballs in camp to go around for anyone else.

Surely these other guys would have a better chance, at least a puncher’s chance, to stick on a roster where receiving talent is in short supply, such as Chicago’s or maybe the New York Jets’.

Fast-forward past 12 days of sweltering practices, however, and lo and behold, what has happened to this team at the receiver spot?

Not only have Zeigler, Battle, and Spurlock all gotten more practice reps than they could’ve possibly imagined coming into camp, but they haven’t wasted a single play among them.

They wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity without breaks along the way, some unfortunate, some not.

Crabtree’s absence is well documented: The former Red Raider is locked in a bitter contract stalemate with the 49ers and doesn’t appear close to signing. According to numerous reports his agent is demanding top-five money for his client despite the fact that Crabtree was picked 10th by San Francisco.

Not only are the 49ers philosophically opposed to caving in on this issue with Crabtree,  but they’d have 31 other front offices seething at them if they did, wary of the dangerous precedent it would set.

Jones’ situation on the other hand was bad luck not bad business. He dove for a ball during a seven-on-seven drill last week, landed on his shoulder awkwardly and suffered a fracture to his right AC joint.

He’ll be out a minimum of eight weeks.

Despite coming over from a different offense, Jones had impressed coaches and teammates with his quick absorption of offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye’s playbook.

Then there’s the mysterious disappearance of Jason Hill. It’s hard to think of another 49er in camp who’s been a bigger non-factor. Day after day, Hill goes through the motions with his routes, passes seldom coming his way.

It’s hard to tell what’s wrong with him but it’s even more difficult to recall his last catch during an 11-on-11 drill. On a good day, he might catch two passes.

Hill’s reps have shrunk considerably and he’s gone from a pre-camp lock to someone who will have to impress during the preseason games to hold on to a job. Maybe he’s just not a practice player.

He certainly is not good enough to think he can just throw his cleats out there on the field and make the team, not with 31 career receptions and two touchdowns to his name.

To me the most glaring thing about Spurlock, Zeigler, and Battle (sounds more like a law firm than a receiving corps) is that it’s obvious they all really want to be here.

Maybe they think this could be their last shot to stick in the league. Maybe head coach Mike Singletary was honest with them about the daunting odds they faced to make the team before camp even started.

Whatever the reason, the three receivers are busting their tails every play, really getting after it, and not letting up in the afternoon practices or on special teams drills.

In fact, versatility is a quality all three share. Not only can they all return kicks—aside from primary returner Allen Rossum all the other reps fall to these three gentlemen—but Battle and Spurlock even bring a passing “Wildcat” dimension to the offense, as we discovered today (see below).

The exhibition games will ultimately decide who makes it and who doesn’t, but regardless of how it plays out the 49ers will be pretty deep at receiver.

And the Bears and Jets will have a phone call or two to make.

 

Tase Me, Bro

The Almaden Mustangs, a title-winning youth football team who got to watch this morning, were treated even further when the Niners used today of all days to break out their version of the “Wildcat” formation, calling their package the “Taser.”

Spurlock, who was Eli Manning’s successor at quarterback at Ole Miss, took the majority of the snaps in this alignment, mostly handing it off to one of the backs or keeping it on the option rollout, but he did attempt—and complete—a pass to Bruce.

Battle, himself an ex-quarterback at Notre Dame, mixed in a few snaps as well, though he didn’t get a chance to throw the ball.

Raye told reporters afterward that running back Michael Robinson (a quarterback at Penn State) would also be getting a chance in the Taser as well once he’s healthy and that he had some success as a coach with the gimmick with ex-Missouri quarterback Brad Smith when he was with the Jets.

Of the three candidates, it is Spurlock who would likely be Raye’s top choice for the Taser job, with the coach praising the ex-Rebel’s shiftiness and saying that Spurlock’s “initial quickness” as a punt and kick returner were assets for quarterbacks in that formation.

For his part, Spurlock said he was excited for the opportunity to be the triggerman simply because it will be a guarantee that on specific play the ball will be in his hands, saying “as a receiver you’re going 110 miles per hour every play and maybe never getting one ball thrown your way, but as a quarterback, you touch it every play.”

 

Injury List Shrinks By Two

The five mainstays of the camp injury list—linebacker Patrick Wills (strained ankle), left guard David Baas (strained foot), cornerback Tarell Brown (sprained left toe), tight end Delanie Walker (concussion) and Robinson (strained groin)—have had no changes to their statuses.

Baas was spotted on the sidelines in a walking boot while the others were in their jerseys and sweatpants and working out with trainers at a side field.

The positive news was that Bruce, who was poked in the eye Monday morning and unavailable for the past three practices, returned to action today. Joining him was fullback Moran Norris, who missed the past two days to deal with a personal matter.

Jones remains the team’s most serious injury so far, while defensive end Ray McDonald is still on the PUP list while he recovers from offseason knee surgery.

Right tackle Marvel Smith, who was signed away from the Steelers as a free agent with the intention of being the starter here, has been practicing sporadically and hasn’t been given full medical clearance to participate daily.

Adam Snyder has used Smith’s absence as a platform to solidify his bid for the job, but still hasn’t won the confidence of coaches, with Raye going only so far as to say that Snyder is on the first team “right now.”

Singletary Pulls the Brakes on Smith’s Practice

49ers quarterbacks Alex Smith and Shaun Hill might be thinking that Head Coach Mike Singletary is putting them through an emotional roller coaster, but as we all saw at Santa Clara Monday afternoon, it could be a whole lot worse.

After all, the guys could’ve gotten the afternoon off and decided to spend the day at Great America, the amusement park down the road from their practice complex.

24 thrill-seekers on the “Invertigo,” one of the most popular roller coasters at the park, were stuck, suspended 80 feet above the ground as the ride ground to a halt near its peak.

Engineers couldn’t restart the ride and the local fire department had to rescue riders one-by-one. A few of the unfortunate riders had to wait up to four hours in the sweltering 95 degree heat to be saved. 

Thankfully no one was harmed, but the park’s reputation took a huge hit as the story’s been all over Bay Area newspapers and on the Internet as well. It was the third time the Invertigo malfunctioned since it opened nine years ago.

Speaking of reputations taking hits, Smith’s resume added yet another negative bullet point yesterday: First 49er to be banished to The Hill.

The offense was in the midst of a miserable practice. The running backs already had a couple of fumbles (the second one was by Thomas Clayton, I didn’t catch who had the first one) and the coaches were not happy.

Smith dropped back to pass, faced some pressure, rolled right, spotted tight end Vernon Davis and had his pass deflected at the line of scrimmage.

After it touched about fifty people, it wound up in the hands of dime back Marcus Hudson for an interception.

Smith looked at Singletary, sagged his shoulders, and marched toward the team’s steep hill behind onlooking (and at this point flat out gawking) reporters.

He looked depressed, dejected. Was he on the verge of quitting?

Admittedly I haven’t been on the beat very long, but I’d never seen anything like this, and when I asked around, none of the veteran beat writers had either.

It’s true that the hill hasn’t been around very long <!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:””; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:10.0pt; line-height:115%;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

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– Singletary had ordered its construction upon taking over the head coaching job for good late last year <!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:””; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:10.0pt; line-height:115%;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

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– but still the scene was very bizarre.

When the drill ended Smith got up and started to wander down the hill, but was ordered back up by Quarterbacks Coach Mike Johnson. That’s about the time that the picture came into focus a bit and we realized it wasn’t a self-imposed exile by Smith but rather a coach mandated punishment.

Smith sat back down, a bit embarrassed, and was soon joined by injured wide receiver Brandon Jones for some consolation. I’m not a psychic, but I’m guessing Jones will be among Smith’s favorite targets if the two of them ever see the field together this season.

A few minutes after that the entire starting offensive line joined Smith and Jones, and one of them was overheard saying, “We got your back,” to the quarterback.

Smith broke into a smile and cheered up after that.

Finally the practice horn sounded and the whole group descended the hill, with Smith getting a brief talk and a clap on the back from Singletary.

Again, the gesture seemed to lift Smith’s spirits.

Obviously the whole herd of us wanted to speak to Singletary and/or Smith about this after practice and a 49ers official said that we could get the latter since, “It was Alex who decided to go up there.”

I thought it was a punishment?

After keeping everyone waiting for a good half hour <!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:””; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:10.0pt; line-height:115%;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

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– Smith and Hill just had to pick then to test out a new bag of balls with an equipment guy.

49ers Smith Needs To Prove He’s Not As Good As Hill But Better

It’s Aug. 10th, and after minicamps, OTAs and 17 training camp practices, the San Francisco 49ers and head coach Mike Singletary are no closer to figuring out who will be their starting quarterback.

Or, if they have, perhaps they should consider submitting their press conference video to the Academy.

On one hand you have Shaun Hill, who is, if not, at his peak then right at the precipice of it. He is extremely limited athletically, but has the fortune of playing a position where many men before him have done remarkable things without the benefit of having won a genetic lottery.

Hill has the dink-and-dunk arm and at times when he does try to uncork one deep at practice, it makes one wince. 

However, he is 7-3 as a starter, he isn’t mistake prone, and he plays the part of a franchise quarterback remarkably well when it comes to body language and the podium.

He knows he won’t ever convert everyone into a believer, but the only people he really needs to convince are Singletary and the 10 other fellas in his huddle.

Then there’s Alex Smith, whose arm is rather pedestrian by NFL standards, but looks like it was positively Elway-ish when compared to Hill’s.

Smith has made far more impressive throws at camp thus far than Hill has, but more poor ones too.

It doesn’t help him any that despite his efforts to improve his body language, we still see the occasional shoulder slump. And while Smith is friendly and accommodating with the media, it still takes him too long to come up with the right answer at times. Being comfortable in the spotlight doesn’t come naturally to him.

He is the boom-or-bust player who was chosen with the preeminent boom-or-bust draft slot, first overall (in 2005).

As an undrafted free agent making his way in the NFL, Hill has already out-achieved his pedigree. Every completion he throws the rest of his career will be a poke in the eye to the scouts.

Smith, on the other hand, was drafted to lead this team to a Super Bowl, if not multiple Super Bowls. You don’t get picked No. 1 as a quarterback to be merely “good.”

At numero uno, if your bust isn’t in Canton one day, then you’re a bust, period.

It would be generous to say that Smith hasn’t done very much yet in the NFL when the truth is that he has done less than Hill.

The 49ers need badly for Smith to win this competition, if only to convince them that drafting him wasn’t a colossal mistake. And there is some football logic in giving him the job since he has more of an upside than Hill.

Still, Singletary is a defensive coach and one gets the sense that if everything is equal, he’ll sacrifice some play making for a guy who isn’t going to make the big mistake and put the defense in a bad spot, the way J.T. O’Sullivan did so often last October.

It’s up to Smith to prove in the preseason that everything isn’t equal and that he’s Alex Smith: No. 1 overall draft pick and not Alex Smith: J.T. O’Sullivan with a better personality.

 

Leadership Inaction

Much has been made these past two years of Patrick Willis’ status as the team leader.

Whether he is the team’s best or second-best player (behind running back Frank Gore), it is a title he has earned by merit on the field, but also partly by default.

The team is short on stars, there are no marquee quarterbacks, and most of the veteran defenders are solid but unspectacular role players.

Willis has been thrust into the mantle of team leader, at the urging of Singletary and fellow inside linebacker Takeo Spikes.

It is only natural for Singletary to see in Willis what he saw in himself; he plays his coach’s old position and does so nearly as well.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Willis is a born leader.

Just as being the child of Hall-of-Fame athlete is no guarantee of sporting prowess, being a Pro Bowl middle linebacker doesn’t mean that Willis is wired like Singletary or Baltimore’s Ray Lewis. 

Last year after games, Willis proudly held court at his locker whenever the Niners won but refused to speak to the media after losses, a la LeBron James after the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated in the playoffs.

Some would argue that shows he is such an intense competitor that it’s too painful for him to rehash losses.

I argue that a leader is accountable in good times and bad. If you take the roses—and Willis does—you have to take the thorns. It’s not like anyone was going to personally blame him for the defeats anyway.

Fast forward to the present and we have Willis missing over a week with what his coach described as “a very slight ankle strain.”

If it’s so slight, why do we see Willis on the field in basketball shorts, taking day after day off while his teammates sweat through another two more grueling practices?

The obvious argument, of course, is that Willis is too valuable to risk and that it is wise for the team to be as cautious with his injury as possible.

Singletary himself said that they cannot risk rushing Willis back on the field before he’s fully recovered because he’d want to do too much too soon and that he wouldn’t know how to ease back into the flow.

Willis certainly looks healthy enough jogging on the side field, and he doesn’t seem to have a limp.

Still, one has to wonder how it’s going over with his teammates, seeing a guy in shorts leading the pre-practice stretches and shouting the macho battle cries, only to skip the actual practice part of practice.

It’s one thing to have Singletary there leading them and barking orders in shorts. He’s the coach and he’s put in his time in this game. His resume speaks for itself.

Willis hasn’t earned that level of respect, not yet. And the guess here is that he’s going to lose what respect he has earned if he doesn’t get back out on the field for real, and soon.

 

Youth vs. Experience at Right Corner

Cornerback Tarell Brown, who’s been out since the second day of camp with a sprained toe on his left foot, was still watching practice in his sweatpants on Monday and seems unlikely to be ready for the Broncos game on Friday.

Dre’ Bly has been getting all the first team reps in his place and should have plenty of motivation to show his best against the team that cut him, but so far he hasn’t been able to put any distance between himself and Brown in the competition for the starting job opposite Nate Clements.

Bly has looked inconsistent in camp, which isn’t a surprise at all given his gambling style of play. He’ll jump a route on one play and look great deflecting a pass or making the pick. However, he’ll try it the next time and get burned on a double move. Plus, at 32 years of age, Bly’s recovery speed isn’t what it once was.

Singletary was asked if the fact that Bly is practicing and Brown isn’t is opening up a gap for Bly and his quick “no” was an ominous sign for the 11-year veteran. I believe the team will give the younger Brown, who already has two years under defensive coordinator Greg Manusky’s system, every chance to win the job.

 

Same Old, Same Old

As was the case with Willis and Brown, no one else has come off (or come on) the team’s injury report.

Starting left guard David Baas is still not around camp and his strained foot will be re-evaluated midweek. However, with him not being a spectator is not a good sign.

All purpose back Michael Robinson continues to be bothered by a sore groin and he too will be checked out again before long.

Backup tight end Delanie Walker missed his third-straight day with a concussion but was out on the field jogging around. He is listed as day-to-day.

Wide receiver Isaac Bruce was poked in the eye in the morning practice and missed some reps but he should be fine for the afternoon.

Cornerback Terrail Lambert was crumpled in a heap on the ground after colliding with another defensive back while attempting to intercept a wayward Smith pass and was fine after being checked out by trainers.

Perhaps the largest bruise he suffered on the play was to his ego. Not only did he not come up with the pick but somehow it deflected into the hands of receiver Michael Spurlock.

Finally, rookie running back Glen Coffee took it easy in the morning with a sore ankle, but he’s going to give it a go in the afternoon as well.

Fullback Moran Norris isn’t hurt, but missed another day of camp to attend to a serious personal matter. Singletary didn’t know how long he’ll be gone.

Brandon Jones’ Injury Will Complicate Singletary’s Life, on and off the Field

All in all the San Francisco 49ers will be extremely pleased if every training camp practice from this point forward is undramatic as Thursday morning’s.

No freak injuries, no fights, no bizarre demands from Michael Crabtree’s cousin.

Instead, the morning session was so eventful that just about all of the storylines had to do with events that transpired the day before.

The headline item, obviously, is the first major injury of camp. Of course it just had to come to a player, wide receiver Brandon Jones, who just happens to play the same position as Crabtree, the 10th pick out of the draft out of Texas Tech University.

Jones has what 49ers head coach Mike Singletary described as “a little bit of a fracture” of the AC joint in his right shoulder. Initially it was thought to be a sprain, a two week injury, but X-rays taken Thursday morning confirmed that it was a lot more serious and that Jones will be out for eight weeks.

Jones suffered the injury while attempting to make a diving catch during a 7-on-7 drill.

While Jones wasn’t mounting all that serious of a challenge to Josh Morgan for a starting job, he was head and shoulders (no pun intended) the top candidate for the receiver job, a spot that will now be open for Jason Hill, Arnaz Battle, and Dominique Zeigler to compete over.

Singletary said in his media session Thursday that Jones’ injury will have no influence on the negotiations with Crabtree and that he is confident in the group of receivers on hand.

On one hand, there is the temptation to believe his sincerity. After all, Michael Spurlock is an NFL-quality receiver, and right now he’s running sixth on the wideout totem pole, and that’s not counting Crabtree or Jones.

But playing the devil’s advocate, what’s Singletary supposed to say—that Jones’ injury changes everything, the coaches and front office are in full panic mode and that they are prepared to offer Crabtree 10 million more dollars in his signing bonus than they were two days ago?

The only concession Singletary would make to the repercussions of Jones’ fractured wing was that the team “may or may not” bring in another receiver off the street for a workout, but that’s hardly an admission of concern. 

We’ll have to see what the following days bring with this one.

All we know at this point is that the injury to Jones has opened the door even further for the media (particularly the national types who wouldn’t know Dominique Zeigler from Dominique Wilkins) to bombard Singletary with Crabtree questions. For a coach who is desperate to just focus on the day-to-day happenings on the field, it must be getting pretty annoying.

I’m guessing that in a couple of days Singletary will want to hug the next reporter who asks him about the right tackle battle between Adam Snyder and Marvel “Veteran’s Day Off” Smith.

 

The Defense Doesn’t Rest

It probably wasn’t a coincidence that on the morning outside linebacker Parys Haralson returned to fully practicing, the defense had their best morning of practice since the first day of camp.

Haralson and his bookend Manny Lawson terrorized quarterbacks Alex Smith and Shaun Hill all day (well, as much as anyone who isn’t allowed to be touched can be terrorized, one supposes). The pressure the two linebackers brought from the edge was the major reason why neither quarterback could seemingly complete a pass over 10 yards in 11-on-11 drills.

Haralson led the team with eight sacks last season and he, Lawson, end Justin Smith, and perhaps even last year’s former first round pick Kentwan Balmer will have to ratchet up the heat to compensate for a wobbly back six in coverage.

Maybe the offense just had a bad day. Left tackle Joe Staley, the guy who Haralson blew by a half dozen times this morning, is a pretty good player. After having a pretty good handle on guys like Ahmad Brooks and Marques Harris, to all of a sudden deal with a rested Haralson must have felt like he was facing Lawrence Taylor in his prime.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings there.

 

Vernon Being Vernon

Maybe some 49ers have started to buy in to the idea that Crabtree will not be riding into town on a white horse to save them. Someone has to step up and fill the void, not just making the plays that Crabtree was supposed to make, but also to be the designated diva as well.

Vernon Davis is ready and willing to do both.

Davis gave an impromptu interview outside the locker room—sans shirt—and touched on a variety of topics.

He attributed his sparring session with Harris yesterday to “just being competitive” and reasoned that “sometimes it’s just bound to happen.”

He explained that he didn’t feel at all guilty about being the reason that Singletary made the whole team run a dozen gassers across the width of the field, saying that, “A few guys were mad, but there’ll be times when they’ll be making us run.” It would’ve been a fair point if any of the dozen reporters on hand could remember any 49er on the current roster starting a training camp fight other than Davis.

Finally, Davis said that he didn’t think the absence of Jones would lead to more passes coming his way because offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye’s playbook is already “very tight end friendly” and that Davis has already “been catching a lot of balls and it’s going to continue to be that way.”

Mr. Davis is, as they say in showbiz, “ready for his close-up.”

 

Injuries:

Nothing new to report aside from Jones.

Fullback Moran Norris and linebacker Jay Moore returned in limited capacity, while linebacker Patrick Willis (strained ankle) and cornerback Tarell Brown (sprained toe) continue to be listed as “day-to-day.”

Running back Michael Robinson was on the field in sweat pants but won’t be cleared to return from his strained groin until at least the middle of next week. Left guard David Baas and his strained foot were nowhere to be seen.

No ‘Porpoise’ For Fighting at Camp Singletary

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For the first five days of practices, a training camp that San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Mike Singletary promised would be “Physical with a ‘F’” has been largely been Boring with a “Zzzz.”

There have been no controversies, no outlandish predictions, and most disappointing for us beat guys, no skirmishes.

Thursday morning, however, it all changed.

The day started ominously enough, with rain clouds overhead, and since the team doesn’t have an indoor practice facility, we all had to brave the torturous elements and find somewhere with a tent to use our BlackBerries.

Soon enough the concern was moot and the sun broke through and calm was restored.

Also, the 49ers were having referees on hand to enforce the rules, and the immediate thought at the time was that if the linebackers decided to flagrantly hold on every pass play like they did during the Wednesday practice, the zebras were going to be exhausted before lunch.

The defense, roasted to a fine crisp for the better part of this past week, started off on the right foot however, with linebacker Takeo Spikes intercepting an Alex Smith pass on his first drop back.

The guys in the white unis forcing a few incomplete passes was another sign that today would be different, but we were just entering the realm of the weird.

First, Josh Morgan scared everyone with what looked like a freakish injury (see below).

Then, Vernon Davis, the star of camp and, naturally, the hero of yesterday’s post, reverted to his old ways and was involved in our first donnybrook of training camp.

His opponent was reserve linebacker Marques Harris. Apparently Davis wasn’t thrilled with Harris’ coverage techniques during a passing drill and claimed he was being held rather severely by Harris, the ex- Charger.

Personally, I didn’t notice any flags on the field.

The two combatants exchanged words and soon after, a livid Singletary dragged Davis off the field and gave him a long, private lecture.

“Everybody thinks I hate the guy,” Singletary said of Davis afterward. “I love the guy. I’m so thankful that he’s on our team. The guy has so much passion; no one works harder than he does. But it’s just one of those things where he’s continuing to understand that I look at him as one of the leaders of our team; and [his actions today were] unacceptable.”

While Mike Nolan, Singletary’s predecessor in San Francisco, was fond of training camp fights; subscribing to the philosophy that guys who care enough to fight will care enough to play hard, Singletary doesn’t believe that such displays are a positive in team building but rather a deterrant.

“I respect his ideas but mine are just a little bit different,” Singletary said of Nolan. T”his team, we have a lot of young guys and I’m trying to develop men first, and then warriors, and then winners. That’s where I want to go and in order to that we need everyone coming together.”

To further drive the point home, he made the whole team run the width of the field a dozen times as punishment for Davis’ loss of composure.

A few minutes after that a news chopper was hovering overhead and its noisy rotors made the rest of the practice (and the interview sessions for Smith and fellow would be starting quarterback Shaun Hill) aggravating, to put it mildly.

For most of the day the word was that the ‘copter was shooting footage of two dolphins who wandered into a channel and were stranded. It turned out to be one porpoise stuck in San Tomas Aquinas Creek.

The misunderstanding was either a classic episode of “phone tag” or another sad example of the state of media today.

Not as sad as how the episode turned out for the porpoise, however.

The afternoon session was far less dramatic but both quarterbacks were far sharper than they were in the morning and neither had much difficulty marching their teammates down the field in a two minute drill situation for touchdowns.

Smith was 6-of-8 with the first team with the score going to (who else) Davis, while Hill was a perfect 8-of-8 with the second unit, with the touchdown going to Dominique Zeigler.

Maybe they could sign “Flipper” Anderson

Speaking of receivers, it’s getting ugly between the 49ers and unsigned first round pick Michael Crabtree.

The All-America receiver out of Texas Tech was in the news today as several published reports had David Wells, Crabtree’s cousin and adviser, making threats on Crabtree’s behalf saying that the former Red Raider was prepared to sit out the entire season and re-enter the draft next spring.

No doubt realizing the incendiary nature of those comments, Eugene Parker, Crabtree’s agent quickly distanced himself from them, saying that he neither makes threats nor negotiates in public and that Wells’ opinion neither represents his or his client’s view. 

The 49ers meanwhile quickly reiterated their stance, saying for the record that they too would not be negotiating through the media and that they have had open and positive communication with Crabtree.

It has been reported that Tyson Jackson, Parker’s other high profile client who was picked third overall by the Kansas City Chiefs, has agreed to terms so perhaps now Parker can devote his whole focus to breeching this impasse between the 49ers and their (potential) new wideout.

Injuries:

For a second it looked real scary there for Josh Morgan (and offered a possibility of leverage for Crabtree and his agent).

The talented sophomore receiver went up high over corner Nate Clements to snare a deep pass around the right hashmarks, but landed on the back of his head for his trouble.

Morgan lay crumpled on the turf and immediately grabbed for the back of his neck and was quickly surrounded by trainers.

Thankfully, everything appears to be fine. Morgan left the field under his own power and was further examined on the sideline. He returned to practice shortly after with no apparent ill affects and was diagnosed with a neck sprain later in the afternoon.

It could stiffen up on him tomorrow, but for his part Morgan didn’t appear to be bothered by it in a post-practice interview session with reporters.

Brandon Jones, Morgan’s challenger for the starting job opposite Isaac Bruce, suffered a sprained shoulder early in the afternoon session and will be re-evaluated tomorrow morning.

Otherwise it was mostly a positive day on the team’s medical front.

Right guard Chilo Rachal who had his own alarming episode on Tuesday afternoon when he had to be carted off the field with a migraine, returned today and seemed no worse for wear.

Fullback Moran Norris (sore hamstring) defensive end Kentwan Balmer (sprained left knee) returned to practice and both participated in individual drills and some team stuff, but were limited.

Outside linebacker Parys Haralson and his balky right hip flexor are being brought along slowly and was again just doing individual drills at practice.

Rookie defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois, who had been on the PUP list with a staph infection passed his physical late last afternoon and was a full participant today.

The team’s serious injuries appear to be to left guard David Baas (strained foot) and running back Michael Robinson (strained groin). Both will be out until at least the middle of next week, when they’re scheduled to be re-evaluated.

Linebackers Patrick Willis (ankle strain) and Jay Moore (lacerated left finger) and cornerback Tarell Brown (sprained left toe) continue to be day-to-day, while defensive end Ray McDonald remains on the PUP list while he recovers from his offseason knee surgery.

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San Francisco 49er Vernon Davis’s Fourth Year Might Be the Charm

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We know San Francisco 49ers’ tight end Vernon Davis has always talked a good game.

You listen to him boast about his ability, and you come away thinking, “If this guy was half as good as he thinks he is, he’d be twice as good as anyone else.”

The man does possess the stats to be confident, however.

As the sixth overall pick of the 2006 draft, Davis was heralded as the physical prototype to which all future tight ends would be measured. He had a defensive end’s physique with a wide receiver’s speed.

He was supposed to be, along with quarterback Alex Smith, the top pick from the year before. They were supposed to be the passing combination that was going to lead the Niners out of the abyss and back into prominence.

Smith’s journey has been well chronicled but less is known, at least nationally, about Davis.

Thus far in Davis’s career he’s built a reputation where he’s seen as the classic “looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane” kind of player. He’s a guy who’s built his reputation on dropping easily catchable balls, celebrating wildly (to the point of drawing 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalties) on the ones he does manage to hold on to, and getting into fights with teammates in training camp.

Most of all, Davis is known nationally as the target of head coach Mike Singletary’s infamous “Can’t play with ’em, can’t win with ’em” rant that the Hall of Fame linebacker delivered after sending Davis to the showers early for multiple offenses during his coaching debut last season (an embarrassing blowout loss to the Seahawks).

It got so bad for Davis last season that then-offensive coordinator Mike Martz felt compelled to defend his play to the press, saying that Davis had already mastered two of the three facets of being a great tight end: run blocking and pass blocking.

Martz added that all Davis needed to work on was the receiving part. Tight ends aren’t drafted sixth overall to block.

Fast forward to 2009 with new offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye.

Davis has been far and away the most dominant player at camp. He’s catching just about every pass thrown to him, whether it’s high, low, inside, or out. He’s sprinting away from defenders after every reception like a child hoarding his Halloween candy. He’s still administering his helmet-crunching blocks, only he’s been asked to deliver far fewer of them.

“Since I’ve been here I haven’t really had the opportunity to showcase what I could do, but now that Jimmy Raye has come in, he’s given me a lot more opportunity to make plays,” Davis explained.

The ex-Maryland Terp has also demonstrated a newfound maturity, not getting into any skirmishes at camp or being overly demonstrative in practice. Every now and then he and Singletary still clash, but Davis actually relishes this, saying that it helps him as a player.

“He gets on me every day,” Davis says of Singletary, “but I know he’s doing it to make me a better player.”

“It’s a blessing to have a coach like him,” he adds.

Maybe this is the year that the light turns on for Davis and perhaps while all the pundits are debating about who should be the starting quarterback or the starting receivers or when the heck Michael Crabtree will sign, ole’ Vernon will quietly (okay, so not so quietly) sneak in and become what he was drafted to be—the No. 1 option.

“I work hard enough for it, so why not?” asked Davis when the possibility was brought up.

It’s getting harder to come up with a valid reason.

 

Bet the “Over”

A developing theme at practice these past few days has been the passing offense and, regardless of whether it’s been Smith or Shaun Hill at the trigger, the fellas are having no difficulties in roasting Greg Manusky’s defense play after play.

There are, of course, a considerable number of excuses to be made here.

The pass rush isn’t going full bore at the quarterbacks and certainly not showing any of their stunts or blitzes yet.

Two of the four linebackers—Patrick Willis and Parys Haralson—have been injured and aren’t participating, but neither, for that matter, is Tarell Brown, who’s competing to be the starting corner.

Still, Smith and Hill are connecting on a high majority of their passes, and not just the dink and dunk stuff. Guys are running wide open out there, particularly Davis and his understudy Delanie Walker. No one on the team can come close to covering them or the running backs.

This potential weakness was highlighted all too well in a Wednesday morning drill when the linebackers took turns covering the tight ends and backs one-on-one in pass patterns.

It was, in a word, ugly. None of the defenders could cover worth a lick and the only incompletions came after blatant, desperate holds or other displays of obvious pass interference.

For the most part, the tight ends and backs weren’t running complex routes or making double moves either. It was pretty much one cut and good bye. Either there were speed mismatches, agility mismatches, or the defenders were just guilty of having awful technique.

Usually it was a combination of all three.

The 49ers’ linebackers—particularly Takeo Spikes—and safeties were targeted by opposing defenses last year and expect to be again this season. If the ease in which Smith flicked 30-yarders to Isaac Bruce and Davis this morning was any indication, the offense better score early and often for the team to be competitive.

 

The Daily Dings

Right guard Chilo Rachal was the victim of the most alarming incident Tuesday afternoon, when late in the practice he appeared noticeably woozy and had to be helped by trainers just to stay upright. He was taken off the field in a cart and later diagnosed as having a “migraine,” a condition of which he has no known history. Singletary said he will be “day-to-day.”

Far more serious looking are the injuries to left guard David Baas and running back Michael Robison. The former strained his foot during Tuesday morning’s “nutcracker” drill, while the latter strained his groin. Both will be out at least a week and will be re-examined after a few days.

With both starting guards out today, the team had backups Tony Wragge and Cody Wallace (normally the backup center) starting in their places with the first team.

Willis’s ankle cannot, in all seriousness, be called “slight” anymore after he missed his third straight day, and fellow linebacker Jay Moore was missing again with his lacerated finger.

Brown missed his fourth consecutive day with a sprained left toe and, fullback Moran Norris sat out once more with a sore hammy.

The team did have some positive news, as both Haralson (sore right hip flexor) and defensive end Kentwan Balmer (sprained left knee) returned to action, albeit only for individual drills and not the team stuff.

This Just In: Frank Gore Is The Best Player On The 49ers’ Offense

With the fourth practice session behind us, we’re slowly starting to get a couple of answers to our ever-mounting questions about the San Francisco 49ers, as both Head Coach Mike Singletary and Offensive Coordinator Jimmy Raye were in a talking mood on Monday afternoon.

Obviously the two most oft-asked questions so far have been (and will continue to be): 1) Who’s the starting quarterback? and 2) When will he get the chance to throw it to Michael Crabtree?

But for all the “Quarterback Controversy” mumbo jumbo, this morning practice was a jarring reminder that regardless of who winds up being the guy handing the ball off to him, running back Frank Gore remains the most important player on this offense and that as long as he’s upright and being fed a steady diet of carries, the 49ers have the potential to be an above average offense.

The team worked Gore hard in the morning, both in 9-on-7 and full 11-on-11 drills and he looked to be in Pro Bowl form, changing gears effortlessly in and out of his cuts and looking considerably faster and more elusive than the team’s other running backs.

Even in “thud” drills – basically training camp vernacular for “two hand touch” it was very difficult for any defenders to lay a hand on Gore until he got to the second or third level.

Gore being at his peak will be vital for the offense to have any consistency and the early concern is that he will once again have to be the workhorse. Third round pick Glen Coffee has looked very ordinary so far and has not distinguished himself from the other backs in camp, Thomas Clayton and Kory Sheets, respectively.

 

Raye Likes His Receivers

When the team did work on the passing game, the throws and the routes from both Shaun Hill and Alex Smith looked more crisp and fluid than the first couple of days and both the guys vying for the starting split end job—Josh Morgan and Brandon Jones—continued to impress on what few balls were intended for them, with Jones looking particularly impressive on a leaping grab over dime corner Marcus Hudson.

Raye spoke highly of both receivers in his press conference afterward, saying that he was impressed with Morgan’s explosiveness for such a big receiver and with Jones’ ability to adapt to a new offensive system coming over from the Tennessee Titans.

Raye also added that Morgan and Jones are two of only three wide receivers on the squad who can play both the split end and flanker positions (Morgan can play the slot as well), with Arnaz Battle being the third.

The team continues to install plays where tight ends Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker look like they’re the main options, so for now the wideouts aren’t getting much work.

For the record, Hill looked a bit better than Smith in the morning, but he also got to work with the first team receivers a lot more.

 

Backup defenders getting their chance to impress

With nicks and bruises becoming the norm, several second-teamers are getting an opportunity to audition for bigger roles for Singletary and Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky.

In some cases, such as when Jeff Ulbrich subs in for Patrick Willis (see below) it won’t matter, but one example where it might is with Ahmad Brooks, who is seeing a lot of reps with Parys Haralson continuing to nurse a sore right hip flexor.

Singletary, who is usually frugal with his compliments, said that he was very excited about Brooks and praised the ex-Bengal for “flying around out there making plays.”

Speaking of ex-Bengals, right end Justin Smith was given a day of rest for the morning period so the team could get a look at last year’s first round pick Kentwan Balmer with the first unit. 

Balmer, who’s rookie year was largely a disappointment, did just “OK” according to Singletary.

Another guy looking to start, cornerback Dre’ Bly, didn’t appear to help his cause any this morning when given another chance with the ones while Tarell Brown missed another day with a sprained toe on his left foot.

Bly gave up several completions during the team’s 11-on-11 drills, but was his usual boastful self with the media afterward. We’ll see if he can back it up in the afternoon…

 

Willis Day-to-Day

Immediately when you see the word “injury” connected to the words “Patrick Willis” there is the sense to panic, but the star linebacker suffered what Singletary termed “a very slight ankle strain” late Sunday afternoon and shouldn’t be out very long.

Jeff Ulbrich—he of the pregame Viking chants—replaced Willis.

 

Notes

Fullback Moran Norris returned to practice after two excused days off to deal with an undisclosed personal matter and he “picked up right where he left off in minicamp” according to Raye.

Norris was signed with the expectation to be the team’s lead blocker for Gore and the other running backs and Raye personally doused any speculation that Michael Robinson might challenge him for the job, saying that the former Penn State quarterback isn’t as physical as the hulking Norris.

Raye did praise Robinson for his versatility in the passing game, however.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I Love You, Tomorrow…

After a strong finish Saturday afternoon to what had otherwise been a disastrous first day of practice for Alex Smith, it wasn’t too surprising to see him taking the first reps in all of the team’s passing drills on Sunday, whether they were seven-on-seven, 11-on-11 walk-thrus with all offensive personnel, offensive third teamers and no-hopers playing defense, or the full speed 11-on-11 offense versus defense scrimmaging. 

Neither was it much of a surprise that a team official quickly doused any speculation of what that could mean, explaining that every practice play and personnel grouping had been scripted well in advance and that the team just wanted to see Smith and Hill working with different combinations on different plays.

While Smith, whose shoulder seems to be fully recovered from two separate season ending operations, throws a noticeably harder ball than Hill it didn’t help him bridge any of the gap between the two and in fact it’s more likely that the soft-tossing incumbent has lengthened his lead.

Of all the receivers on the team the only one Smith seems to have any kind of chemistry with is newcomer Brandon Jones, while Hill has shown himself capable of completing, or not, passes to all of his wideouts equally.

Both quarterbacks struggled to connect with their receivers on any of the 11-on-11 drills, settling for crossing patterns to the tight ends and dump offs to the backs, though it could be that that was the design of the particular plays practiced today.

While tight ends Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker were catching ball after ball, wideouts Isaac Bruce and Josh Morgan were mostly jogging aimlessly, when they were seeing reps at all.

Jones confirmed after practice that he is indeed gunning for Morgan’s starting spot opposite Bruce and Michael Crabtree being M.I.A. from camp only helps his cause.

None of the coaches stuck around or made themselves available to discuss the various offensive subplots, but there’s always tomorrow.

The Crabtree Contract Dilemma: Rookie Michael Crabtree continues to be absent from camp and and all the available evidence continues to point to him being one of last first rounders, if not the very last, to sign his contract. 

First of all, according to a report from The Denver Post, his agent Eugene Parker is angling for Crabtree to be paid like he was the third pick in the draft instead of the tenth.

Not only is that a preposterous demand if it’s in fact accurate, but it would also leaves Parker with some explaining to do to unsigned Chiefs defensive end Tyson Jackson, whom he also represents, and who just so happens to be the actual third pick of the draft.

Secondly, the 49ers front office is in the unfortunate position of not even being able to use the “draft slotting” argument for Crabtree’s contract as he is smack dab in the middle of a quintet of players—ranging from offensive tackle Eugene Monroe, taken eighth by the Jaguars to running back Knowshon Moreno, taken 12th by the Broncos—who remain unsigned.

Without defensive tackle B.J. Raji (Packers) directly above him or defensive end Aaron Maybin (Bills) right below him getting a deal done, it is very likely the 49ers and Crabtree will continue their standoff, with neither side having any leverage.

Position Battle Updates: The surprise starter in camp thus far continues to be guard/tackle Adam Snyder, who for the second straight day was the first team right tackle in favor of free agent signee Marvel Smith as well as last year’s starter Barry Sims.

Perhaps the team is trying to take it slowly with Smith, who had to go on Injured Reserve last December for a back injury while he was with the Steelers, but for now he’s Snyder’s understudy while Sims is backing up Joe Staley on the left side.

Another free agent signing, Dre’ Bly, got a chance to work with the first team defense while Tarell Brown, his competition for the right corner job, was nursing a sprained toe on his left foot and he seemed to fare well.  

Sitting and Watching, Sitting and Watching: Head Coach Mike Singletary decided to play only first and second teamers in the team’s 11-on-11 drills, outside of the offensive skill positions (quarterback, running back, wide receivers, tight ends).

That meant a lot of young linemen and defensive backs were reduced to watching on the sidelines, just like the rest of us. This is notable mainly for the reason that Curtis Taylor, a seventh round pick out of LSU who is currently on the third string, was one of the stars of the first day and really turned some heads with his strength in the “Nutcracker” drill and his ballhawking on defense.

I was looking forward to seeing more of him, but again, there’s always tomorrow.

Notes: No new injuries to report, but outside linebacker Parys Haralson (right hip flexor) and the aforementioned Brown were held out Sunday afternoon after getting dinged on Sunday.

Defensive-end Ray McDonald continues to be on the PUP list while recovering from offseason knee surgery and rookie defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois was still unable to practice, as he is recovering from a staph infection.

Expected starting fullback Moran Norris, who missed his second straight day of practice for an excused personal matter, did check in to his room late Sunday afternoon and is expected to practice tomorrow morning, according to a team official.

Day 1: Boo Birds, Motivational Speeches, and a Whole Lot of Nutcracking.

The San Francisco 49ers have opened up only two days of training camp practice—today and next Saturday—to their fans because their Santa Clara facility is undergoing renovations.

If they have too many more practices like their first one, however, then nobody will want to come watch them anyway.

Or to hear Head Coach Mike Singletary’s summation of the proceedings, “We’ve got a long way to go. Right now we’re not very good.”

He was being uncharacteristically charitable.

The temptation is to lay all the blame on the quarterbacks as bad reads, knocked-down passes and interceptions ruled the day, but really the whole offense was miserably off sync.

On running plays the blockers struggled to get any push, particularly when starting halfback Frank Gore wasn’t the one getting the reps, and rookie back Glen Coffee and other runners such as Thomas Clayton and Kory Sheets were quickly enveloped by defenders in the backfield.

Meanwhile on passing plays it didn’t matter if it was a 3-on-3 drill, a 6-on-8, or the full 11-on-11, it was a rarity for any of the team’s signal callers, whether it was Shaun Hill (who took the first team reps), Alex Smith, or Damon Huard to complete anything other than a dump off to one of the backs. 

At one point, after fourth-string rookie quarterback Nate Davis connected on a pass, a fan in the stands screamed out, “Complete three in a row and the [starting] job is yours!”

It was interesting to observe however that while both he and Hill struggled equally, that the fans seemed to focus their venom almost exclusively on Smith, booing him after virtually every misfire.

When Smith did complete a pass, he was often greeted with a sarcastic Bronx cheer, as was tight end Vernon Davis whenever he caught a ball.

It’s a good thing for Smith that the fans don’t have a vote on who will be starting because from the sound of the stands, the competition is over before it started.

For his part Singletary cautioned that it’s normal for defenses to be far ahead of offenses when NFL training camps start and also made a point of telling the press that there were so many elements of the offense that were executing poorly that it would be impossible right now to assess the play of the quarterbacks.

To put it another way: I’ll worry about who’s throwing the ball after I make sure the blockers are blocking and the receivers are running the right routes.

We’ll see if the afternoon practice is any crisper. Singletary stopped the drills three separate times in the morning to gather the troops around and let them know he wasn’t particularly pleased with what he was seeing and one gets the sense that at that pace he’ll run out of material—and patience—before long.

 

An Afternoon Taking In “The Nutcracker”

One new wrinkle to Camp Singletary that the holdovers from the previous regime weren’t exposed to was what the coach called “The Nutcracker,” a variation of the popular “Oklahoma” drill that most high school and college coaches employ.

In the Nutcracker the team breaks off into different groups, linemen versus linemen, backs versus linebackers and receivers versus defensive backs, and the guys take turns lining up across each other one-on-one about three yards apart and then slamming into one another.

Generally the guy who gets his pads lowest wins, but sometimes it’s just a strength mismatch regardless of technique.

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Davis was the most talkative 49er in the drill, whether he was engaged in it or cheering on teammates, and he estimated that he got the better of linebacker Parys Haralson—his usual practice field sparring partner—three out of the four times they jousted.

 

Talking The Part

Speaking of soundbites, the best one of Day One went to Hill, who told the media during his press conference, “I keep hearing ‘it’s your job to lose, it’s your job to lose.’ My approach is, “It’s mine to take.”

He didn’t do a whole lot to take it in the first practice, but Smith didn’t exactly gain on him either.

 

A Point That’s Hard To Refute

One wag, who’ll go unnamed, playfully chastised another for “Tweeting” between press conferences, saying, “Now knock that off. How long does it take to type, ‘Nothing happened?'”

 

Notes

Haralson had to leave practice with a right hip-flexor strain and will be further evaluated.

Fullback Moran Norris missed the practice for “personal reasons” and was excused by Singletary. Running back Michael Robinson got the first team reps in his place over the other fullbacks on the roster, Zak Keasey and Brit Miller.

Rookie defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois, a 7th round pick out of LSU, was diagnosed by the team’s doctors with a staph infection that he contracted while home in Miami and is day-to-day while he’s being treated.

There is “nothing new” according to Singletary on the contract negotiations with their unsigned first round pick, wide receiver Michael Crabtree.

Day 1: Boo Birds, Motivational Speeches, and a Whole Lot of Nutcracking.

The San Francisco 49ers have opened up only two days of training camp practice—today and next Saturday—to their fans because their Santa Clara facility is undergoing renovations.

If they have too many more practices like their first one, however, then nobody will want to come watch them anyway.

Or to hear Head Coach Mike Singletary’s summation of the proceedings, “We’ve got a long way to go. Right now we’re not very good.”

He was being uncharacteristically charitable.

The temptation is to lay all the blame on the quarterbacks as bad reads, knocked-down passes and interceptions ruled the day, but really the whole offense was miserably off sync.

On running plays the blockers struggled to get any push, particularly when starting halfback Frank Gore wasn’t the one getting the reps, and rookie back Glen Coffee and other runners such as Thomas Clayton and Kory Sheets were quickly enveloped by defenders in the backfield.

Meanwhile on passing plays it didn’t matter if it was a 3-on-3 drill, a 6-on-8, or the full 11-on-11, it was a rarity for any of the team’s signal callers, whether it was Shaun Hill (who took the first team reps), Alex Smith, or Damon Huard to complete anything other than a dump off to one of the backs. 

At one point, after fourth-string rookie quarterback Nate Davis connected on a pass, a fan in the stands screamed out, “Complete three in a row and the [starting] job is yours!”

It was interesting to observe however that while both he and Hill struggled equally, that the fans seemed to focus their venom almost exclusively on Smith, booing him after virtually every misfire.

When Smith did complete a pass, he was often greeted with a sarcastic Bronx cheer, as was tight end Vernon Davis whenever he caught a ball.

It’s a good thing for Smith that the fans don’t have a vote on who will be starting because from the sound of the stands, the competition is over before it started.

For his part Singletary cautioned that it’s normal for defenses to be far ahead of offenses when NFL training camps start and also made a point of telling the press that there were so many elements of the offense that were executing poorly that it would be impossible right now to assess the play of the quarterbacks.

To put it another way: I’ll worry about who’s throwing the ball after I make sure the blockers are blocking and the receivers are running the right routes.

We’ll see if the afternoon practice is any crisper. Singletary stopped the drills three separate times in the morning to gather the troops around and let them know he wasn’t particularly pleased with what he was seeing and one gets the sense that at that pace he’ll run out of material—and patience—before long.

 

An Afternoon Taking In “The Nutcracker”

One new wrinkle to Camp Singletary that the holdovers from the previous regime weren’t exposed to was what the coach called “The Nutcracker,” a variation of the popular “Oklahoma” drill that most high school and college coaches employ.

In the Nutcracker the team breaks off into different groups, linemen versus linemen, backs versus linebackers and receivers versus defensive backs, and the guys take turns lining up across each other one-on-one about three yards apart and then slamming into one another.

Generally the guy who gets his pads lowest wins, but sometimes it’s just a strength mismatch regardless of technique.

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Davis was the most talkative 49er in the drill, whether he was engaged in it or cheering on teammates, and he estimated that he got the better of linebacker Parys Haralson—his usual practice field sparring partner—three out of the four times they jousted.

 

Talking The Part

Speaking of soundbites, the best one of Day One went to Hill, who told the media during his press conference, “I keep hearing ‘it’s your job to lose, it’s your job to lose.’ My approach is, “It’s mine to take.”

He didn’t do a whole lot to take it in the first practice, but Smith didn’t exactly gain on him either.

 

A Point That’s Hard To Refute

One wag, who’ll go unnamed, playfully chastised another for “Tweeting” between press conferences, saying, “Now knock that off. How long does it take to type, ‘Nothing happened?'”

 

Notes

Haralson had to leave practice with a right hip-flexor strain and will be further evaluated.

Fullback Moran Norris missed the practice for “personal reasons” and was excused by Singletary. Running back Michael Robinson got the first team reps in his place over the other fullbacks on the roster, Zak Keasey and Brit Miller.

Rookie defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois, a 7th round pick out of LSU, was diagnosed by the team’s doctors with a staph infection that he contracted while home in Miami and is day-to-day while he’s being treated.

There is “nothing new” according to Singletary on the contract negotiations with their unsigned first round pick, wide receiver Michael Crabtree.

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