Ladies and gentleman, training camp has come to end for the San Francisco 49ers and now the fun begins with the 49ers taking on the Denver Broncos at Levi’s Stadium Saturday night. Let’s take a look at how the 49ers ended training camp.
Fight Club
Today’s practice was certainly eventful, as tempers flared and three fights broke out. And everyone was getting along so well.
The first came after a Brian Hoyer pick-6. While Justin Simmons was running taking his interception to the end zone, wide receiver Pierre Garçon was given a block he did not like. Chaos ensued.
And then, over on the other side of the field where the 49ers defense was taking on the Broncos offense, rookie Pita Taumoepenu got into it with a Denver O-lineman and a fight broke out. The whole defense came to Pita T’s, well, defense, including Reuben Foster who was not participating in any contact drills due to a mild AC joint sprain (Don’t worry. It’s not serious. He may even play Saturday).
“I think that’s football,” said linebacker NaVorro Bowman. “We see each other on Sundays and that’s our professional time to understand that we can get kicked out…But this is our time to really be human, be men, really compete, sometimes past the whistle. It makes the team stronger sometimes.”
The fight cleared but wasn’t cleared up as they al got into again a few minutes later.
Par for the course at a joint practice and head coach Kyle Shanahan wasn’t too concerned about it.
“You kind of expect it a little bit,” said Shanahan. “Especially the second day when guys come back and it started brewing a little bit at the end of the first practice and then it usually carries over to the next day. Guys are competing hard. The one that I saw, it looked like someone got between [Denver Broncos CB] Aqib [Talib] and [WR] Pierre [Garçon]. At the end of the practice they were sitting laughing with each other, talking. Guys are competitive and guys support their teammates, and everyone’s got each other’s backs. So, anytime there’s a little scuffle on the field it’s really hard to keep people back on both sides because everyone is so protective of each other.”
Kyle Shanahan on the Anthem Protests
Shanahan was asked about players protesting the National Anthem and his thoughts on it. His response could not have been better.
“I’m not going to tell anyone what to do or not to do. I see stuff on TV also, things that are going on in this country and this world. I think anybody who sees that stuff and doesn’t get the feeling that they’d like to do something about it to end that stuff, I think something’s wrong with you. I completely understand why guys want to do stuff and want to speak up. I think there’s lots of different ways to do it. I know me personally, I’d always stand for the flag. I do that because, you know, it’s something I’ve always done. I see most people do it. And when I’m down there doing the National Anthem I’m pretty locked into my job at hand and thinking of what’s about to go on and my responsibilities as a coach, my responsibilities in my job. I’m so focused on that, I’m not thinking about much else. For a player, if they see that differently and they want to do something about that, I completely understand their intentions and why. Because I think everyone can agree there’s lots of stuff that’s pretty sad to see right now…I think everyone gets kind of what’s going on, to a degree, and understands what’s very wrong about all the stuff. I think everyone wants to do stuff to help, and everyone wants to make a change. I’m not going to sit and tell people how to do that. That’s up to them. That’s why our country is the best country. If someone does decide to do that then, I’ll talk to anybody about anything. I’d like to know what our players are thinking and what’s going on and why they choose to do something, but there’s no need for me to address it until it’s something to talk about.”
QB2 Battle
If you follow me and read my posts, you know that I have been touting rookie C.J. Beathard as QB2 for awhile now. Today, Shanahan said that Beathard will in fact back up Brian Hoyer on Saturday.
In terms of the starters, Shanahan would like to get about 20 plays against Denver.
That’s a wrap. See you all on Saturday night! Go Niners!
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