Day 11, practice 19: Blitz-happy defense
The 49ers’ defense is making sure that the 49ers’ offense will be ready for the regular season.
“We’re seeing more blitzes in practice that we’ll ever see in a game,” Shaun Hill said.
The 49ers’ defense has been turning up the heat in practice, as defensive coordinator Greg Manusky has already installed every blitz package that the team will take into the regular season. It is keeping the 49ers’ offense on its collective toes.
The offense sputtered for most of this morning’s practice, as free defenders ran at the quarterback throughout the session. Jeff Ulbrich, Dre’ Bly and Dashon Goldson were among the 49ers’ defenders who get to the quarterback.
The 49ers’ offense welcomes all the different looks, but it is much more difficult to get everything blocked in training camp because they are not game-planning for the opponent. Both Hill and Alex Smith said it only helps to get subjected to as many blitzes as they’ve seen through 11 days of practices.
And Smith said he is not concerned that Broncos defensive coordinator Mike Nolan might throw a few wrinkles at the 49ers on Friday in the exhibition opener.
“There’s not much we haven’t seen,” he said.
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Patrick Willis (ankle), Isaac Bruce (eye), Delanie Walker (concussion), Moran Norris (personal), David Baas (foot), Michael Robinson (groin) and Tarell Brown (toe) are among those who did not practice this morning.
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Here are some of the deets from practice:
–Kentwan Balmer batted down a Smith pass at the line of scrimmage..
–Curtis Taylor broke free from the left side to block a field-goal attempt during special-teams work.
–Justin Smith easily beat Joe Toledo for a sack.
–Nate Davis connected with Dominique Zeigler on a nice toss, then Jahi Word-Daniels broke up the next play, also intended for Zeigler.
–Cody Wallace had a snap over Hill’s head out of the shotgun formation, and spare center Matt Spanos and Damon Huard had a poor center-quarterback exchange.
–Goldson recorded his first interception of camp, as he took away a Smith pass from Josh Morgan, who nearly tore Goldson’s helmet off in the process of attempting to come up with the ball.
–Morgan averted what could have been a serious leg injury while making a leaping downfield catch against Bly in a 7-on-7 drill. Although he appeared to land awkwardly, Morgan got up and hobbled back to the huddle. He continued to practice.
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The 49ers’ second practice of the day (4 p.m.) will concentrate on special teams.
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