The good and not so good from Day 3 of 49ers minicamp

SANTA CLARA – Here’s what stood out to me during Day 3 of 49ers minicamp.

THE GOOD

1. CB Keith Reaser. Broke up a pass intended for DeAndrew White, broke up a pass intended for Bruce Ellington, intercepted a pass intended for Aaron Burbridge and forced a fumble by punching the ball out of Mike Davis’ hands – all before 11:45. Reaser was the best player on the field just one day after he was the worst player on the field. I’ve never seen him so intense and determined. Good for him.

2. CB Chris Davis. Intercepted two passes – one intended for DeAndrew White running a shallow crossing route, another intended for Bruce Ellington running a deep corner route – then twisted his right ankle and watched the rest of practice from the sideline.

3. CB Prince Charles Iworah. Swiped a deep pass out of Bruce Miller’s hands while playing zone coverage. Miller should have caught that one.

4. ILB Ray Ray Armstrong. Started at inside linebacker next to NaVorro Bowman, intercepted a pass tipped by Tramaine Brock and intercepted another pass tipped by a ball boy wearing a giant screen on his back.

5. WR Dres Anderson. Beat rookie cornerback Rashard Robinson four times – once with a leaping grab deep down the sideline (didn’t count, didn’t get both feet in bounds. Great grab, though), once with a deep corner route, once with a skinny post (didn’t count, flag on an offensive lineman), and once with a diving catch on an in route. Anderson could have caught a fifth pass for a touchdown – he was wide open in the end zone – but Colin Kaepernick threw the ball behind Anderson and Anderson couldn’t hold on.

6. WR Aaron Burbridge. Played right wide receiver with the second-team offense for the first time this offseason and caught five passes, including a touchdown pass thrown by Thad Lewis. Lewis’ pass was behind Burbridge, who jumped and turned around to make the grab. Made it look easy, unlike Dres Anderson, who dropped a similar pass.

7. WR DiAndre Campbell. Played left wide receiver with the first- and second-team offenses and made the catch of the day – a leaping, contested catch with Tramaine Brock and Eric Reid all over him. Campbell dropped a deep pass two plays later. He was wide open. Clearly needs to become more consistent, although he is improving.

8. TE Vance McDonald. Caught five passes and dropped zero, meaning he didn’t drop a single pass during minicamp. Didn’t bobble any, either. Maybe he finally fixed his issue with drops. Vernon Davis had the same issue when he came into the league.

9. OT John Theus. Played right tackle with the first-team offense during the second half of practice while Joe Staley and Erik Pears split time at left tackle.

10. OG Andrew Tiller. Played right guard with the first-team offense all practice while Brandon Thomas played right guard with the second-team offense. Seems the new coaching staff has discovered what the old coaching staff already knew – Tiller is better than Thomas.

11. K Phil Dawson. Nailed a 58-yard field goal with the wind at his back.

THE NOT SO GOOD

1. QB Blaine Gabbert. Threw two picks and three passes into screens, held the ball too long, took three touch-sacks and completed just 16 of 32 pass attempts during the entire practice. By far his worst day of the offseason.

2. QB Colin Kaepernick. Mostly faced the second-team defense, and completed 10 of 14 pass attempts during 3-on-3s and 7-on-7s. Did not participate during 11-on-11s. Stared down a lot his throws, which he could get away with for a while against backups. Eventually, though, Kaepernick threw back-to-back picks. First, he scrambled to his right and stared down Aaron Burbridge, who was covered by Keith Reaser. Pick. Next, Kaepernick looked to his left and stared down Dres Anderson, who was covered by Tramaine Brock and Ray Ray Armstrong. Pick.

3. OLB Aaron Lynch. Threw two punches at John Theus and connected with Theus’ facemask before Jerry Azzinaro pulled Lynch away, Chip Kelly kicked Lynch out of practice and a referee threw a flag for good measure.

This article has 82 Comments

  1. Read elsewhere that the offense struggled today. Is this because of the QBs, or did other positions struggle too?

    1. Offenses always struggle at first, learning the playbook, especially a new system.

      Defense is more instinctive and read and react, so they are almost always ahead.

      Also, these are just shorts, tshirts and helmet practices, hard to really know without live hitting.

  2. Grant, other than Vance McDonald, what two or 3 other players are standing out to you compared to their recent past?

  3. Basically, the sort of day that reminds you why you shouldn’t overreact to what happens on any given day of practice.

    1. eh, I’m ready to anoint Driskel the starting QB. If I were the Niners, I’d leak that to the media just to see which of the national writers picks it up (Mike Silver). It would be pretty funny….well maybe not for Jeff Driskel.

  4. yeeesh! both QBs in the no so good group? kind of saw that coming when the first four of the good group were DBs and a linebacker making an interception.

    how’s the tempo and conditioning going for the players? does it look like it’s effecting anyone?

    1. Barrows mentioned T Brown’s conditioning and so has Grant. Will be interesting to see if he improves on that by TC.

      1. “Played just 43 percent of the snaps during 2014 season due to injury and conditioning issues.”

        1. I see that came from the Draft Profile on him. Looks like it might be harder than the team thought to improve his conditioning. Might also be partially due to Tomsula (soft on players) versus Chip.

      2. Sorry I left out that that came from one of his draft profiles. Nothing new with him apparently.

  5. Grant – Eric Rogers seems to have gone quiet in recent practices after some strong OTA’s. Is he still running with the 1’s as the receiver left?

    1. He didn’t participate in team drills during minicamp. Don’t know why.

  6. SANTA CLARA – Here’s what stood out to me during Day 2 of 49ers minicamp.

  7. Hey Grant, does it look like blaine is feeling pressure from kap coming back? he seems to be doing worse each day according to updates

  8. Thanks again for the synopsis Grant. I read elsewhere that Baalke came over and talked to Lynch when he was kicked out of practice. Did you see this, and how long was Baalke with Lynch? Also, how did Harold look in practice?

  9. I’m not very familiar with Chip’s career. Is there any history of him using multiple QBs during games. In other words, is there a chance he might decide to use both CK and BG during games at fairly high percentages (50/50 but could be somewhat different), especially if he feels they are about equal. Or maybe he might feel that one of the QBs would match up better against a particular defense.

    I know this isn’t the sort of thing coaches generally want to do but from a practice point of view it seems like there will be plenty of reps to go around so that might not be a problem. Might also make it tougher for other teams to prepare during the week. Just some offseason stream of consciousness.

  10. “One of the most interesting things to come out of the conversation is that Kaepernick said he hasn’t spoken to 49ers general manager Trent Baalke since reporting for the start of the team’s offseason conditioning program in April.”

    This is one of the reasons I will always vote for T. Baalke aka GM ………….

    No nonsense guy…….

    1. Problem was CK went outside the organization for medical help. He should have at least worked with the 49ers doctors during his rehab.
      Just bitter over the benching!

      1. Man you’re the one sounding bitter right now. Lots of players go outside the organization for medical stuff, no big deal. Look at all the other players who jumped ship last year because of how bad things were here. Its not a coincidence J Smith, Willis, A Davis all got outta dodge. You’d have wanted off this team too. I don’t care if he likes Baalke, I only cares if he plays that he plays well. Same goes for BG.

        1. Wilson, no, it’s not a coincidence that those guys retired. It’s that their time had come. Both Willis and Justin Smith’s body’s were broken beyond repair. Chris Borland was never going to play past his rookie year.

          The only questionable retirement was A. Davis.

          The notion that players prematurely ended their careers because of Tomsula, or Baalke is absolute nonsense, and has been completely debunked. It’s hard to understand why anyone would be rehashing this garbage in June of 2016.

  11. From CK’s presser (taken from Biderman)

    “On wearing a new visor:

    For me, it was something I need to protect my eyes. Been doing a lot of things to make sure my vision’s correct. So the visor’s been there to help with that.”

    Anybody else find that surprising; I don’t recall ever hearing anything about vision problems.

    1. Vision problems? The worm burners, the inability to see WR open on the line of scrimmage pre snap, sailing passes overhead, rifling passes 5 yards away with hot sauce, buddy, vision is the least of his problems!
      Maybe he should take Mary’s advice and take a knee if he doesn’t see the right play develop, avoid injury! Safety first!

  12. Kaepernick sounded contrite, humble, apologetic and determined. Time to forgive, move on and set down that bag of hate. Should prove to be an interesting competition. May the best man win!

    1. Not sure about contrite or apologetic, and to be perfectly honest he shouldn’t need to be either. But I agree he sounded mature, hungry, determined and eager to prove himself with this team. That bodes very well.

      Fingers crossed this offense is indeed a perfect fit for him!

  13. Kaep just confirmed my position on his relationship with the FO. It is irreparably damaged, but Chip likes and wants Kaep, so that is why he talked about the coaches being -phenomenal.

    Chip is Kaep’s lifeline, and Chip probably threatened to quit if Kaep was traded. Baalke was threatening to trade Kaep right up to the day before the draft, but posters were upset that Kaep did not rescind asking permission to talk with other teams. Too bad they did not understand why Kaep felt so insulted. Baalke, when he sent the leaker Marathe to demand a pay cut, stabbed Kaep in the back one more time, so Kaep’s reaction was understandable. He probably concluded that the Niners were trying to get rid of him.

    He also confirmed the toxic relationship with the doctors, but considering the incompetent treatment they gave him, he is perfectly justified in his position. Considering that a Niner doctor killed himself after allegations of sexual misconduct, those doctors need more scrutiny.

    I am glad that Kaep has forgiven them, and has moved forward. Sounds like the team is being professional and understanding. It did not look like Kaep was being shunned or ostracized. Hopefully, there will be a spirited and fair competition for the starting job.

    Sounds like Kaep did a good job with his interview. He was contrite, forthcoming and honest. He even extended the interview, so they got to ask him more questions. Based on this PC, Kaep has learned from his mistakes, improved greatly, and has matured more.

    1. Second person to say he sounded contrite. How so? Only area he appeared to acknowledge any wrong doing was in terms of his performance… and it wasn’t in a contrite way, just owning up to the fact he didn’t play well.

      Can’t be contrite without insinuating/ acknowledging you are at fault.

      1. Kaep could have thrown his O line and the past coaches under the bus, or used his injuries as an excuse. Instead, Kaep admitted that he played poorly. That was the contrition I was seeing. He also said that he has learned from his mistakes, and has matured. He said he needed to get better. That sounds contrite to me.

        1. I guess I have a different opinion on what contrition is. He didn’t sound contrite at all to me. Just acknowledging he (a) played poorly last year and (b) has grown as a person.

          Contrite = remorseful about something you did wrong.

      2. He said he’s not the same person and has grown and matured in his relationships. Speaking from his soul, he acknowledged things needed to change and he’s taken the proper steps. In fact, it almost sounds as if he took Steve Young’s advice to heart….

        1. Same as with Seb, I guess I just have a different opinion as to what contrite means. To me there is a difference to acknowledging you had weaknesses and have grown as an individual vs being truly remorseful about what you did and who you were previously.

          1. I’m pretty sure you have to arrive at that realization to illicit said change, but I could be wrong….

            1. Not that anyone cares, but I’m with Scooter on this one. A component to contrition is being sorry for something done intentionally, negligently, or through a lack of conscientiousness. I hope CK’s poor play last year wasn’t in any of those categories.

            2. I guess we disagree on that too then. I like to think I am continually trying to grow as a person. Not typically because I am remorseful about or regret what I have done in the past, just because I think I can always be or do better.

              Contrition goes well beyond just feeling like you could have done something better or differently in the past. Contrition requires sincere and deep guilt and remorse over an action or thought. Nothing Kaep said suggests he is feeling particularly guilty or remorseful over what has happened, just that he has grown and changed as a result.

              Anyway, I’ll stop lecturing now. JPN will no doubt swoop in shortly and explain/ demonstrate why I am wrong!

              1. Scooter wrote: “Anyway, I’ll stop lecturing now. JPN will no doubt swoop in shortly and explain/ demonstrate why I am wrong!”

                I was not aware I was prone to swooping. ;)

                Seriously, I agree with you, Scooter. Kap was not contrite, nor does he need to be. Acknowledgement of a challenge, acceptance of the outcome of that challenge, and growth from understanding the challenge and the outcome thereof do not necessarily constitute contrition.

                Scooter also wrote: “I like to think I am continually trying to grow as a person. Not typically because I am remorseful about or regret what I have done in the past, just because I think I can always be or do better.”

                That was nicely put, and I am giving it a big ol’ +1.

              2. For the sake of being ‘correct’, even though, interestingly, the ‘correct’ form here is actually deleterious to the efficacy of the communication as it strikes readers as odd:

                “The above post really is me,” should read, “The above poster really is I.” ;)

              3. Oh, there’s definitely some swooping JPN… ;-)

                Thanks for the clarification.

              4. I beg to differ. Kaep stated that injuries or no injuries, he did not play his best football, and he was looking forward to redeem himself.

                To me, that sounds like he was admitting he did not play well, made mistakes, and wanted redemption. Contrition does not only mean remorse, for sins, it can also mean regret for mistakes.

      3. Scooter I think people hear what they want sometimes. A lot of people feel he has something to apologize for and hear that in his tones and words. He’s definitely much more relaxed and handled the press well compared to the last few years. He definitely got some coaching during the offseason.

        1. Agree he sounded very comfortable and relaxed during the media session. Much more mature than in the past.

  14. Since Grant mentioned Kaep staring down his receivers, I have a solution.

    Kaep should practice facing in one direction while looking in another direction. Looking off the safeties may be a good way to practice deception. It also may help the intended target make the catch easier because the defense is concentrating on covering a different part of the field.

    1. Ever wonder why this idea isn’t picking up traction?

      If you read some other reports you’ll see that it was a broken play, all the WR’s were covered, Kap scrambles and forces the ball to the WR. That’s not really a time for looking off safeties. He should have thrown the ball away.

      1. Wilson I truly hope that Chip will see that Grant mentioned that he saw Kaep staring down the receivers. I hope Chip does something about it.

        I concede that he should not be looking off the safeties every play, or try to do that when looking for the third option while scrambling. However, if Kaep had done that in the 2013 NFCCG, he would have seen 2 wide open receivers on the left side.

        1. Seb NFL coaches don’t go to blogs for advice or input. They film every practice. He sees this before everyone else. He’s addressing it. These guys know so much more than writers do. Grant has no idea what play was called or if the ball was supposed to go to a certain reciever or not. At some point every QB stares down a reciever because they have to make the throw. The point is CK going through his reads?

          1. Wilson, I agree that JH was too arrogant to take other people’s advice, and Tomsula was too clueless, but Chip is different. I think Chip will do everything in his power to try to win. His championing of Kaep and keeping him on the team just proves that to me, since he was smart enough to insist Kaep stays, when I, and so many others thought that Kaep was long gone.

            Bob Lange, who is the PR guy, should monitor the blogs, or should if he is competent. It sure seemed like they read every word TK wrote. Jed himself said he read the blogs, and got the message loud and clear.

            Grant is not chopped liver, and if I can appreciate his insights, maybe the Niners can learn from him , too.

            1. Non-sense Seb. What a waste of coaches time. Grant is a writer. He gets paid to speculate, commentate and evaluate. Its a professional arm chair QB job. Very few people can do Grant’s job let alone provide help to NFL coaches. Its way easier to criticize than to create. Ever seen a journalist become a coach? Nope, plenty of coaches become journalists or commentators. No one that we read has what it takes to coach a player or build a team. Just remember how much more Kelly knows that Cohn from his lesson on zone read vs. read option. Grants a good writer as he tries to peel back the curtain of the NFL for us. But don’t mistake that for something that can help coaches do their jobs better.

              How many times will we hear this? Please don’t perpetuate it. They don’t need help from anyone here. Its a terrible idea.

              1. Wilson, you can downplay the value of ideas, but if an idea is good, it does not matter if it was thought up by by a blogger, or Bill Walsh.

                Totally discounting the fact that any person, coaches included, cannot learn something from an idea written on a blog, is tantamount to book burning. I truly hope that Chip is smart enough to be able to recognize a good idea, and is flexible and amenable enough to accept ideas.

                If I write that they should consider time outs to be precious, and only used for legitimate challenges and the last 2 minutes of each half, they should not automatically dismiss the idea just because it was written on a blog.

                If they want to win, they should get serious and thoroughly study the subject. That means monitoring the blogs. Of course, the coaches should not waste time reading every word, but there should be analysts who can winnow through the chafe and find those nuggets of wisdom. Ideas are powerful, and can be the difference between winning and losing. If Grant notices that the QBs are staring down their receivers, maybe they can go back, review the film, and act on it if they deem it worthy of attention.

              2. Seb oh the irony. People on this blog have given you lots of great advice and you’ve listened to none of it.

                Book burning? There’s an m word coming to mind for this kind of stupid accusation. I love ideas and good ideas.

                But the myth you’re holding onto isn’t based in real life. No one here has put in the 10,000 hours at NFL coaching to be an expert at it to generate new and valid ideas.

                What your suggesting aren’t good ideas, it’s obvious things that people in NFL already know. NFL coaches don’t need your help with QB’s staring down recievers or timeouts.

                Seb most of us here on the blog know this. We don’t take ourselves too seriously. You on the other hand have some fanatasy that you have something to offer NFL coaches. You don’t recognize or are ignorant of the knowledge difference between us and professionals.

                Good ideas are a valuable commodity, but generally good ideas come from disciplined people working in their craft for a long time. People who’ve devoted their life to their craft.

                They don’t come from people who spend a few minutes each day posting on a blog.

              3. Wilson, your problem is you think screeds and insults are good advice.

                Coaches do not need to hear that QBs should not stare down the receiver? Yup, that is exactly what the former Niner coaches did. They refused to think that was important, and did nothing about it.

                Coaches are so all knowing that they do not need to get different opinions? That close mindedness is rampant on this blog, too.

                Coaches spend 10,000 hours so they do not need outside advice? But when a team goes 5-11, maybe they should realize that 10,000 hours were not enough, and they studied the wrong things.

                No, I do not take myself too seriously, otherwise, I would flood the team with emails. I post here because I like it here, and if you cannot disagree without being disagreeable, it is not my problem. Your refusal to accept different ideas, then get upset that some one has the temerity to propose different ideas, is the type of close mindedness that is exactly like book burning. To some, books posed a threat to them, so they had to get rid of them. Some would want to burn The Art of War.

                Saying that my ideas are too simple,and that they do not need my advice, belie the fact that they lost badly last year. They are the professionals, but professionals get fired all the time because they lose. Chip was fired, so I really hope he learns from his mistakes, is receptive to new ideas, and changes.

                Before the 2013 NFCCG, I advocated practicing looking off the DBs. Obviously, they did not take my advice. Too bad they did not do that, because Kaep would have seen 2 wide open receivers. I will still say they should practice looking off the DBs. I will not think that since they ignored my advice, they know more than me so I will not give that advice any more. No, I will calmly keep repeating that advice, and if they continue to ignore it, they will continue to lose, like last year.

                Hopefully, Chip is smart enough, and will use every bit of advice, no matter where it comes from, in order to win. Arrogance and hubris to think that they need no help is what this team endured the last few years. Maybe they should be more humble, and acknowledge the fact that they do not have all the answers.

              4. What you don’t realize Sebnnoying is that “your ideas” are elementary at best. They are equivalent to what someone who has never watched or played football in their life would suggest.
                The self awareness storm needs to sweep your house ASAP!

              5. Coaches need input, they don’t need your input. Or for that matter they don’t really need anyone’s input here. Last years staff was a joke. You just don’t get it. I poke a whole in your fantasy and you get offended. You’re the definition of close minded. You think your opinions are truth and won’t hear anything else. Good day.

              6. Wilson, the book burning jab must really have hurt you. No, I do not think that only my ideas are the ones that count. I am receptive to other opinions.

                But I will also defend myself, and my ideas. You cannot shout me down.

                Have a nice day.

              7. You’re the only one who’s shouting and defensive. Take a look. Take a breath man.

    1. Oh, so only football coaches can post on here? No, I have never been a head coach of an NFL team before. I am just a die hard faithful Niner fan.

      However, I have played sports. My sport was soccer due to my small frame, and my position was left fullback. If you know anything about soccer, usually the fastest player was the right forward, so I would have to contend with the fastest player on their team.

      I have also coached. The soccer coach back then on my high school team never coached or played soccer before, so I had to explain strategies, directed players, formulated schemes, and help evaluate who should play where. During games, I would tell players who to cover, and try to get them into position, all while being on the field. After I graduated, I volunteered coaching, and we won our division that year.
      I would help him talk about team concepts, how to use a double team to steal the ball, the give and go, how to support and devise drills to practice those concepts.

      Back then, soccer was pretty new, so my soccer coach at the university was the former coach of another sport. I would help explain concepts and show him strategies while we watched other soccer matches, but when the team was assembled, I did not usurp his authority, but was content to be a team player. I did show him some drills, but he was a coach, and had coached before, so he may have been lacking in the nuances of the game, but he knew enough to lead the team. Also, other soccer players were more skilled and had a better grasp on coaching fundamentals, so I let them help him. We all learned together, had fun, competed hard, but did not win a lot. Eventually, by my junior year, the team was competitive.

      So yes, I have coached, have learned team concepts and strategies, and helped win games. But also I freely admit that I have not played football, or coached a football team. If not being a football coach disqualifies anyone from discussing coaching, only Old Coach would be allowed to post.

      1. Seb,

        Chill. It was a question and it was more directed not to the knowledge of the game, but rather on dealing with chaff.

        I, like you, have never coached football (US). My sport is fútbol and I played striker (as well as midfield, defense and goalie) so I know a bit about the sport. I’ve also coached and realize that as in every endeavor you have to formalize a strategy, develop a plan, create a team dynamic and then stick to it. Outside suggestions are always given but if coaches allow outside influence the entire edifice they spend so much time formulating and executing can fall apart.

        I’ve had fans, and other outsiders come and offer suggestions about play, assignments, formations, anything you can think of, and they generally mean well and are even quite knewkegeable but they have no clue about all the other aspects that are important (other team tendencies, types of plays they typaically run, etc.). Most don’t have the time or capacity to research all I these aspects. Generally they know one or two specific points they focus on the tree while the coaches must focus on the tree and the forest.

        I would listen and be grateful but in just about every case these ideas were 86ed. In the cases where they weren’t it was because we were already in the process of doing just that but it could not be implemented immediately given certain realities.

        I state this not as a criticism of you but just a suggestion that maybe you take a step back, enjoy the game, talk about what you’d like to see but realize also that we are far removed (and should be) from management and team strategy.

        This may help tone down the animus that is sometimes exhibited by posters on the site. I know you only respond to posts directed at you but my post was a question and there was defensive posturing from the start. I was seeking to engage a bit and have a healthy back-and-forth. I think some of your suggestions are sound, and I believe others may agree.

        I hope that helps. I don’t want you take offense and if I somehow seem offensive to you, I apologize in advance as this is not my intent.

        I come to the site because there are many knowledgeable fans and it helps me appreciate the game and all that goes into it when I learn from others. Sifting through reams of back-and-forth put downs doesn’t enhance my knowledge and, to be frank, can be tiresome.

        I hope this helps. If not let me know and let’s be civil to one another and treat each other as we would like to be treated ourselves.

        1. East, thank you for such constructive criticism. I will try to tone it down, and stop engaging my detractors.

          I may say a lot, but I do not think I am the smartest person in the room. There are many other posters who I think have strong football knowledge and can present logical reasoning.

          You are correct. If a coach starts listening to the folks in the stands, he may end up in the stands. You were right to accept their advice, but not act upon it if you felt it would not help the team.

          However, I have also had fans whisper in my ear that a certain player was limited due to injury, or was susceptible to a double move, and have acted on that information to help win the game. The trick is to winnow through the chaff to get the salient point.

          Thanks again for being so reasonable, and you do not need to apologize to me at all. I do realize that I fly off the handle at times, and should be more circumspect.

          I will try harder to stick to football, and stop the personal asides.

          GO NINERS!!!!!!

          1. Indeed go niners!!

            You are right during the game small things that weren’t noticed can be helpful so I think you understand my overall point.

            I look forward to seeing some of your points

            And I may take exception to some ideas but know that you are respected.

            1. OT, but since you were a coach, what kind of lineup did you use? I always advocated the 3-3-4, that is, 3 forwards, 3 mid fielders and 4 defenders.

              I always believed in defense first, but I would also use the left or right fullback to help overload a side to work the ball up the side line.

              One main goal would be to create a dangerous play, so the ball would be crossed to land near the penalty mark. That was my basic strategy, but as the game evolved and we assessed who the weaker players were, then we would attack that position.

  15. Seb,

    All formations are very dependent on personnel skills. However, I have long advocated strong midfield play so my formations of choice are 2-4-4 or 3-4-3 the latter highly dependent on the skill and command of both the keeper and sweeper. If i have skilled holding midfielders I would play them deeper to help the attack but it just depends.

    1. Ah, isnt that what Germany uses, the 3-4-3 ? My inspiration was the Orange Crush.

    2. East, some coaches would always stress ball control and working it down the field, but I found that tended to allow the defense to set up, and that made attacking a set up defense a lot harder. I was more interested in getting the ball out quickly and having players streaking down the side lines before the opponent’s forwards and midfielders could run back. However, you are correct to state that every player and situation is different, so adjusting to changing conditions, and utilizing players to their optimum potential is critical for success.

      Likewise with the Niners. I hope Chip can utilize the players so he accentuates their strengths, and hides their weaknesses. I hope he can make the proper adjustments at the critical times, and not wait too long like they did last year.

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