Day 13 of training camp for the San Francisco 49ers was relatively quiet, and that’s a good thing. No one was hurt and the Niners are ready for the next two days of practice with the Denver Broncos before Saturday night’s preseason game.

Here are your Fangirl Takeaways from today.

Broncos, Welcome to Santa Clara

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said tomorrow’s practice with the Denver Broncos will be in pads and Thursday’s will not. He sees a lot of value in these joint practices.

“You go against the same coverage in OTAs you go against in minicamp,” Shanahan said. “You go against the same stuff now. You’d like to get different looks and you don’t want to make your defense put in a bunch of stuff they’re not going to run in the season just so you can practice them on offense. So, the more you can go against other teams who have a different type of scheme, I think it helps both sides of your ball…[T]here’s a different competition level, just naturally. Going against guys you haven’t seen, you definitely want to win. Which you do every day, but I think it brings out the most in people, and you get to see how guys compete, how they go against other players. From a schematics standpoint I think it’s very important.”

It should be a very interesting couple of days.

Reuben Foster Is Starting…For Now

Linebacker Reuben Foster continued to practice with the first team, and Shanahan confirmed that he is indeed the starting WILL linebacker, unless someone outperforms him.

“I mean, he started [the] last game,” said Shanahan. “He’s been starting out in these practices. He’s been getting most of the reps, which I believe he needs. But, by no means, no one is just, he could get beat out at any time. If our guys behind him, we’ve got some good players behind him too, if they started performing at a higher level than him, then that wouldn’t be the case.”

Injury Updates

Aaron Lynch is day-to-day, and Jimmie Ward is still on the PUP list. Lynch, Ronald Blair, and DeForest Buckner were doing work on the dreaded hill, and something tells me, they’d rather be practicing.

Shanahan said that although he’s hoping Lynch could be back this week, it’s doubtful right now.

“We knew he wouldn’t go today,” said Shanahan. “We’re going to evaluate him tomorrow when he comes in, and see if he has a chance to practice in those two days. If he doesn’t practice, I wouldn’t expect to see him in the game.”

In terms of Jimmie Ward, Shanahan said they are being “smart” with this injury and not rushing him back. But, in terms of off-field preparation, Ward has lived up to expectations.

“We can bring him to everything, have him pay attention in those walk-thrus, have him really studying in the meeting rooms and try to get all those reps,” said Shanahan. “But, you can’t think for him. He’s going to be there. He’s going to go through it. I’ve been impressed with how Jimmie’s handled it. He’s not just out there checked out because he’s not playing. He really makes the calls, goes through the motions with everyone. He’s definitely out there mentally…Now he’s just got to get fully 100-percent so when he does get back he can just take off without having any setbacks.”

Highlights

In terms of practice itself, it was a pretty uneventful day. Wide receiver DeAndre Smelter had a very nice catch on a pass from C.J. Beathard. NaVorro Bowman broke up a pass meant for Carlos Hyde, while Pita Taumoepenu had a sack. Last but not least, especially if you’re Eric Reid, Reid had a sack on Brian Hoyer, who still threw to Vance McDonald. McDonald couldn’t hang on to it though. Sigh.

Father Knows Best

After his first game as an NFL head coach, Shanahan got some advice from his father, former NFL head coach Mike Shanahan.

“I talked to him the day after our game, asked him what he thought of that…,” said Shanahan. “He told me all the things I did wrong. I learned from him, argued with him a little bit on it…I always talk to him about stuff to get feedback, and it’s been a huge asset to me my whole life in that aspect.”

Specifically, before the end of the first half, Shanahan said he wanted to call a time out before 3rd and 1 but didn’t get to it quickly enough. His father had some thoughts.

“…There was one time I should’ve called a timeout on an explosive play,” Shanahan said. “I tried to hurry up and do it. It was a third-and-one and we got a 30-yarder and tried to hurry up and save a timeout, and just took too long. Shouldn’t have done that. Should’ve called a timeout right away. I knew I was going to get a text about that very fast.”

And Finally…There’s a Basketball Hoop in the Auditorium

“We always compete on turnovers or we have a period and whenever there’s a tie we finish that tiebreaker in here,” said Shanahan. “Between shooting free throws and stuff. Call two people out to do it. Usually offensive and defensively.”

And who’s shooting ability has stood out, so to speak?

“[Defensive line coach Jeff] Zgonina, our coach was really bad,” said Shanahan. “I enjoyed saying that. But, we’ve got a bunch of good football players in here.”

And with that, I bid you a…Go Niners!

Don’t forget to subscribe to my weekly podcast and YouTube channel. Also, make sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram @49ersfangirl. Go Niners!