Vin’s TC Report…08.04.07

Today was a team scrimmage with full pads. Though the starting offensive and defensive units didn’t receive too much contact, the 2nd and 3rd stringers went at it.

- The practice began with Andy Lee and Ken Parrish working on punts, with Nate Clements, Taylor Jacobs, Brandon Williams, and Arnaz Battle returning. Andy Lee looked like the more consistent punter and had some nice booms. Ken Parrish looked better than the last time I witnessed him (when his punt hit a woman in the stands), but Andy Lee has the punt battle locked up.

- Nate Clements again muffed some punts. He maybe an extraordinary CB, but thus far his kick punt returning skills haven’t looked too great as he seems to have a problem holding on to the football.

Vin’s TC Report…08.03.07

Here’s my training camp report from 8/3/07:

- Today’s afternoon practice was, once again, non-padded. The 49ers tend to do all of their padded practices in the mornings. Tomorrow will be a good indicator of many of the players on the defensive and offensive lines as I believe that is a team scrimmage with full pads.

- During every practice, the 49ers begin by doing a few runs back and forth from one sideline of the field to the other, where the fans are sitting. It’s just an interesting observation, but this year I’ve noticed that Vernon Davis always leads the team on these runs. He always has to be first. It’s happened during every practice, which goes to show you that he’s a prett solid competitor.

Vin’s TC Report - 08.01.07

Vini is back with another report from TC. Vini was at Wednesday’s open practice.

- Today’s afternoon practice, which was open to the public, was not padded.

- Those who did not participate in the afternoon session included Derek Smith, Frank Gore, and Bryant Young. Darrell Jackson and Michael Robinson had baseball caps on, but did do a few of the walkthroughs. Arnaz Battle did not participate much either.

- The team did some QB and WR pass route drills. The biggest thing that stood out here was that Alex Smith’s deep ball, in his 3rd year, looks really good. All his deep passes had some nice air to them and fell in a position that allowed the WRs to make a play or get into position to make the catch. Alex also showed a nice zip to all his passes, although initially some of his passes were wobbly. He tighted those throws up though with more and more reps.

Bill Walsh Day

In a letter sent to season ticket holders, team owners John and Denise York said the NFL granted their request to have players wear a black, football-shaped decal this season with Walsh’s initials inscribed in white letters on their helmets. Coaches will have a similar decal embroidered on their shirts.

The Yorks also said that a moment of silence will be observed in honor of Walsh at the Aug. 13 exhibition opener against Denver. With the cooperation of the NFL and ESPN, plans also are in the works for a tribute to Walsh during the 49ers’ Sept. 10 season opener against Arizona.

On Monday, John York also asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to issue a proclamation for a statewide “Bill Walsh Day.” Details were still being worked out, but team officials said Schwarzenegger was receptive to the idea.

Derek Who?

Willis had his best day of practice in a 49ers uniform. He drilled WR Brandon Williams, who came across the middle to catch a pass. Then, Willis made a big stop on RB Thomas Clayton. He showed perfect form on his tackles. His goal on every hit, he says is to “wrap and grab cloth.”

When the 49ers did some “live” 11-on-11 work that featured the reserves, Willis was all over the place. He made a tackle of Clayton at the line of scrimmage, and leveled FB Steve Dildine after a 2-yard completion from QB Luke Getsy.

The morning practice concluded when Willis recorded an interception off a pass that CB Sammy Joseph deflected that was intended for C.J. Brewer.

Source: Matt Maiocco

Gore Out with Broken Hand

From Maiocco:

Running back Frank Gore sustained a broken right hand during the morning practice. He is expected to miss at least a week with the injury. Coach Mike Nolan said Gore will be re-evaluated next Monday.

The bone is expected to take four weeks to heal, so it is uncertain if Gore will be play during the exhibition season. This means that Michael Robinson, Maurice Hicks and Thomas Clayton will get extended work during training camp. Nolan said the club could also look to add another running back to the roster.

Bill Walsh 1931-2007

William Ernest Walsh, 75, the Hall of Fame coach who led the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl wins in the 1980s, died at home Monday of leukemia.

Born November 30, 1931, Walsh will be remembered as creator of the West Coast Offense, and one of the most brilliant minds ever to coach football.

Full Story…

Vin’s TC Report Part I

- Today’s practice was not padded. I suspect that the morning practices this year will be, with the afternoon practices (the ones that are generally open to the public) being non-padded. We’ll see as TC goes on though.

- Probably, the summary of the day was that, as far you can judge by shorts and such, the defense looked really good and way ahead of the offense. But, since I’ve attended these training camps for about 4-5 years now, that’s also expected. Of course, the defense I saw out on the field today looked a lot better than in year’s past, but it usually takes the offense at least a few days to gain a rhythm out there.

Maiocco’s TC Report

Our own Vini Chopra attended TC and should have his report shortly, but in the meantime here is a nice writeup from Matt Maiocco:

–A crowd of about 3,000 folks were on hand to watch. There were some cheers and jeers along the way. There were groans when Vernon Davis dropped a pass; and cheers when he made a routine catch just a few moments later.

–Nate Clements dropped a couple punts, but got some cheers when the held onto his third try.

–Pass-rusher Parys Haralson badly beat tackle Kwame Harris with a swim move during a one-on-one drill, provoking quite a reaction from the crowd. (Before someone who was there corrects me, I’ll point out my mistake. I meant to write it was a “spin” move.) But Harris came back to lock up Haralson on the next drill.

–In direct contrast, Joe Staley received a couple cheers for his two one-on-one plays against Roderick Green. The crowd made no secret of their preference of Staley over Harris for the starting job at right tackle.

Full TC Report

Vin’s TC Preview and More…

Vin’s Training Camp Preview, Positional Breakdown + Top Training Camp Battles
by Vini Chopra 

Well, on the eve of training camp I decided to analyze the 49er roster and look at where the biggest positional battles will take place during this training camp. After going through the roster, and logistically projecting the players that will most likely earn a roster spot it’s safe to say that this will be a very tough team to make this year. A couple years ago, whenever the 49ers drafted a player or signed someone you could lock that player into a starting role or at least having a place somewhere on the depth chart. That’s not the case anymore. The NFL roster limit is 53 players. From my breakdown and the players that I feel are penciled in to make the team, there will only 1 or 2 spots up for grabs. And that could be a decision between Roderick Green, Issac Sopoaga, or Maurice Hicks. So here it goes: