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Team
Afternoon Session Day Two
Quarterback Monitor - Afternoon Practice
One correction from the morning session, Alex Smith threw two interceptions, one in seven-on-seven drills when Arnaz Battle slipped, got up, but couldn't make the catch. Linebacker Parys Haralson picked off the deflected pass, and as he ran towards the end zone, you could hear Haralson yelling, "Yoo-hooo, Yoo-hooo."
In the afternoon, Smith ruled the day. Shaun Hill was intercepted three times, one by rookie linebacker Larry Grant, who made an athletic play, another by rookie cornerback Reggie Smith when Smith cut off receiver Bryant Johnson's route, and the last one by Shawntae Spencer in seven-on-seven drills when Hill was trying to throw the ball away. Spencer made a leaping catch.
Hill did throw a touchdown pass to receiver Dominique Zeigler when somebody dropped a coverage and left him wide open. In all, Hill, very unofficially, went 13 for 20 with the three interceptions, including one drop by Ashley Lelie on a deep pass. The ball was right over Lelie's shoulder but he dropped it while in traffic.
Smith, very unofficially, went 13 for 17, but finished strong, completing his last eight straight passes in seven-on-seven drills. Many of them were difficult over the middle throws.
EYES AND EARS
Here are some random observations from the day:
-The second practice was far more spirited, probably because the team played in front of a crowd, than in the morning session. The quarterbacks and receivers were different players in one-on-one drills in the afternoon than they were in the morning when there were several errant throws and dropped passes. In the second practice, Shaun Hill and J.T. O'Sullivan threw to receivers with cornerbacks covering them, and on the other side of the field, rookie Kyle Wright and Alex Smith threw to backs and tight ends with linebacker and safeties in coverage. I watched Hill and O'Sullivan mainly, and O'Sullivan impressed. His arm looked strong and he completed several long passes including one in particular to rookie speedster Robert Jordan.
-Arnaz Battle came out for the second practice without a helmet and observed. The 49ers said it was a planned rest for Battle, who's still recovering from an ankle sprain from OTA's. Curious. It will be interesting to see if he practices tomorrow.
-Between practice, I heard a voice sing, "I'm a drug dealer." It was Nate Clements who was lying in a ice tub and singing along with his ipod.
-Josh Morgan again showed well in the second practice. He was very personable when I talked to him afterwards. I'll will write something on him tomorrow.
-Cornerback Marcus Hudson got something going with a fan in the crowd during the afternoon practice. After making a few plays, Hudson pointed to the fan and jabbered.
-Secondary coach Johnnie Lynn kept a running dialogue going with the crowd in the afternoon practice. After running back Frank Gore made a devastating cut, Lynn said, "I like that one myself." When his secondary left Dominique Zeigler open for a long reception, he told his secondary, "I want that one back!" Four plays later Shawntae Spencer picked off Shaun Hill. When Hudson knocked away a long pass, Lynn looked at the crowd and yelled, "That's a great play!" and crowd responded with cheers.
-When cornerback Allen Rossum stoned Cam Colvin at the line of scrimmage, Hudson yelled out "Game Over!"
-Tight end Vernon Davis turned Manny Lawson around twice on a one-on-one drill.
-Overall with the quarterbacks, Hill seemed more instinctive, but he made a lot of mistakes. Smith kept with it and broke through at the end in the seven-on-seven drills.
-At the end of the afternoon session, an appreciative crowd cheered the 49ers off the field.
| July 25 2008 at 06:53 PM
More, More, More
Sidewinder asked about Tully Banta-Cain; he worked at Justin Smith's spot with the second team. Some other notes from the first practice: Damane Duckett replaced Joe Staley at left tackle with the first team.
I asked Dashon Goldson about if he's heard that he could be competing for the starting job with Mark Roman. "Nah," he said, "They don't tell you anything like that."
He did say he feels more comfortable in the defense this season and that's just reacting rather than thinking. If he does win the starting job, he might have to take over Mark Roman's role as the quarterback of the defense. General Manager Scot McCloughan didn't see a problem with that.
"You find somebody to do it, not that Dashon can't do it, but you'd like to have a guy with experience back there," McCloughan said. Calling the defense might fall on strong safety Michael Lewis. "Dashon is a smart kid, he could develop into that."
HERE'S THE REST OF THE Q&A; WITH MCCLOUGHAN
There was a lot of drop off in covering the second receiver last year, why was that: "You know why, because Nate is our best corner and a dam good corner. But we feel good (about the second corner) You know Walt (Harris) is Walt. He's an older guy and he gets by with more instincts and knowing how to play than he does with his quickness and speed. He's to the point where you got to make sure you take care of him. You can see out here, he doesn't practice all the time. You got to make sure he's as fresh as possible. The thing that's important now a days is your third corner. This game is made, rule-wise, penalty-wise, for the offense to be productive. And the corner is a hard, hard position. You've got to get over failure quick, because you are going to get beat no matter what. The huge thing for a corner, especially in man coverage, is pass rush. You give the quarterback time, he'll pick everybody apart. Teams recognize who the best corner is and for us, it's Nate."
Who's going to compete for the nickel corner spot: "Tarrell Brown, Donald Strickland, Marcus Hudson, Shawntae Spencer. We have some DB's which is nice. Inside (covering the slot receiver) you have to be quicker than fast, because things happen so fast in there. You got to be physical because you are close to the line of scrimmage, close to the run plays. Not everybody can do it. You can have a dam good corner, who's not a good nickel guy, because of the physical nature. It takes a different animal to be that nickel corner. There are some good nickel guys who aren't good outside on the island as a corner. You can get away with a lack of speed as the nickel because it's all about quickness. Inside you got a lot of help over the top with safeties, but you have to be able to step up and tackle the running back too.
Do you like the competition at safety and right guard: "When we are talking about the safety or the right guard spot (where Chilo Rachal and Tony Wragge are competing) we are not afraid to put a young guy in there because it's so close (talent wise). You look at tackle before we signed Barry Sims, our third tackle was (Adam) Snyder but after that, the fallout is so great, you're scared. With those spots the fall out is not that much. The older guys have experience, but once the young guy plays he just might take over. It's a good problem to have.
With receiver is the competition at every spot?: "I think so. You can count for sure four (will make the team) and it will be interesting to see if we keep five or six on the roster.
THE TUSSLING LINEMEN:
While I wasn't watching the pass-rush drills the entire time, here's what I saw.
Justin Smith got the best of Adam Snyder on consecutive pass rushes. ... Isaac Sopoaga had trouble with jumping offsides. ... Free-agent LaJuan Ramsey looked good against rookie Cody Wallace. ... Jeb Terry then handled Ramsey on two straights rushes. ... Tony Wragge handled the bull rushes of Sopoaga well. ... Tully Banta-Cain got by free-agent Walter Curry. ... Jonas Jennings did well against Ray McDonald, but beat Wragge handily on one play. ... Smith got the best of Chilo Rachal.
| July 25 2008 at 03:56 PM
"Candlestick" is back
No more Monster Park. Vice President of Communications Lisa Lang announced in a just-concluded conference call that the team is changing its sponsorship agreement with Monster Cable and that includes dissolving the naming rights.
"We are changing the name back to Candlestick Park," Lang pronounced. Most 49ers purists continued to call Monster Park Candlestick anyway, but they may be gratified knowing the stadium is reverting back to its original name.
This isn't completely magnanimous on the part of the 49ers, the city of San Francisco's Prop H limits possible naming rights for Candlestick to four corporations - Monster, Virgin Airlines, Organic Inc. and Wells Fargo. Macro Media was also on the list but they are now owned by another company. Lang said the team will not seek naming rights for any of the other approved companies and that "Candlestick" will remain "Candlestick" for as long as the team plays there.
Unfortunately, Monster Park's naming demise will hurt San Francisco's cash-strapped Rec and Park division more than the team. The 49ers and the city split the $1.4 annual stipend from Monster.
Lang said the stadium drive in Santa Clara is on track and the team still anticipates a 2012 opening. Lang admitted Santa Clara will have to vote on a measure and the team hopes to get the bill on the ballot for the November Presidential election. Lang said over the past year that Jed York has conducted a series of "living room" chats in homes in Santa Clara three times a week to inform residents of the stadium measure.
| February 29 2008 at 11:40 AM
Welcome to the Niner Insider
Welcome to the new blog by Veteran 49ers writer Kevin Lynch.
Through analysis and some statistical breakdowns, Kevin will try to make sense of what the 49ers are doing on and off the field. And make watching the team on Sundays much more compelling.
You already know Kevin: he covered the 49ers for The Sporting Green, and most recently has been writing in our Niners Turf Blog. In fact, you'll see some fresh versions of his latest Niner Turf Blog entries duplicated here, just to get things started.
| November 09 2007 at 01:57 PM
Veteran 49ers writers Kevin Lynch and David White analyze the stats with an insider's insight.
By Kevin Lynch, David White, Read Bios
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