Week two of training camp is underway for the San Francisco 49ers and Tuesday’s practice saw accuracy, player returns, interceptions and a couple minor injuries.
DeForest Buckner – Really Good Football Player
DeForest Buckner continues to dominate on the defensive line. He has had a very solid camp and that continued today with two would-be sacks on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
“I think everyone knows how talented Buck is,” said Shanahan. “He is a big man. When you’re a big man, you don’t always need perfect technique which is an advantage he has. But, I think he is taking huge steps forward this year, just watching how he moves, some of his different pass rushes having more tools to use. He always has what he was born with, size and power. That’s where it starts.”
In addition, Buckner is showing versatility in where he can line up, which is something the Niners’ D is looking for across the line.
“…[W]e’d like to move him all over,” Shanahan said. “When we’re trying to rush the quarterback with our entire group, it gives you a lot of different options. We have some versatility there. We have some outside guys who can play inside, some inside guys who can play outside and hopefully we can continue to develop that depth so that every one of them who’s up on game day who’s rushing the quarterback is always 100-percent fresh and ready to go.”
Overall, the 49ers’ pass rush saw its best practice today.
Richard Sherman
In Sunday’s practice, cornerback Richard Sherman got beat pretty handily by Marquise Goodwin in One-on-Ones. Granted, Goodwin is incredibly fast – Kyle Juszczyck said today sometimes it looks like he’s floating – and Sherman is just returning to the practice field post-injury.
Today, it was Sherman vs Pierre Garçon for a number of drills. In one of those Sherman had a would-be interception.
“I thought Richard has been great,” Shanahan said. “He got his first time out with two days of no pads, then he got the day off on our first day. Today was his second day after a day off, which helped him recover a little bit from his one day of pads. We’ll see when we watch the film, but I was happy with him out there.”
In red zone drills, Sherman got in the way of a Garoppolo to Garçon pass, forcing an incompletion. Point Sherman.
Touchdowns and Interceptions
Adrian Colbert intercepted Garoppolo in team drills on a play-action pass that was meant for Marquise Goodwin.
“It’s funny, our middle-third safeties never cut anything,” Shanahan said. “We usually have someone just run through that guy on that play so we can throw underneath, but they never cut anything so we took Pierre and put him on a different route just in case Marquise wasn’t open. Of course, the one time we did it, Colbert didn’t back up and made a great key. I think he was flat-footed because of the run fake and then shot his guns and made the catch and got a pick-six, so it was a hell of a play by him.”
At least it was all in the family (Goodwin and Colbert are cousins).
Otherwise, Garoppolo was incredibly accurate, going 14-of-16. During red zone drills, QB1 connected with Jerick McKinnon for two touchdowns Matt Breida, who continues to have a strong training camp, for another.
Highlights of the Day
Two of the day’s highlights came on Garoppolo passes.
One was a 35-yard beauty down the right sideline to rookie Richie James, and the other was a one-handed catch by Garrett Celek. In a game, Cassius Marsh would have sacked Garoppolo; but in practice, it was a very nice catch. #Celek Time
It was a good day for the Iowa, as the third highlight was a 40-yarder from C.J. Beathard to George Kittle. Go Hawkeyes.
Welcome Back
WR Trent Taylor, Dekoda Watson, and Jonathan Cooper were activated from the PUP list, while Malcolm Smith and Marcell Harris were activated from the NFI list. Taylor went right to work and appeared to be moving around well.
Arik Armstead is week-to-week with a hamstring injury; Cole Hikutini is out this week with a groin injury; and Joshua Garnett is day-to-day nursing a knee injury. LB Brock Coyle left practice after individuals with tightness and DB Jimmie Ward came out with tightness after one-on-ones.
Because, football.
The 49ers are back at it tomorrow, so be sure to follow me here and @49ersfangirl on Instagram and Twitter. Go Niners!
