Day 5, practice 8: Smith in good spot
The 49ers were on the field for a monster practice of more than 3 ½ hours (including walk-through, pre-practice stretching and post-practice stretching). And one thing about the quarterback situation is becoming more and more obvious.
Quarterback Alex Smith is putting himself into position to win the 49ers’ starting job.
That’s not to say he’s leading the competition. It’s not to say he will win the competition. All that will be determined by how he performs in the exhibition games. But Smith looks very good on the practice field.
Shaun Hill is having a strong camp, too. But Alex Smith’s best on the practice field has been better than Hill’s best. Of course, as we’ve addressed here in the past, perhaps Hill’s biggest strength is his feel for handling a game situation.
Coach Mike Singletary said he has noticed a maturity in Smith. He says he sees it in Smith’s body language and his command of the huddle. He said Smith seems more confident in himself. This morning, Smith was again very accurate. He is throwing the intermediate and deep balls exceptionally well.
If – IF — Smith can carry over his practice-field success into the exhibition games against the Broncos (Aug 14) and Raiders (Aug. 22), there is a strong chance he will be the starter when the regular season opens.
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Injury update: Guard David Baas (left foot) and running back Michael Robinson (groin) are expected to be out a while with strains. Both will sit out for about a week before they’re even re-evaluated, a club spokesman said.
Defensive end Kentwan Balmer returned to individual work after going down with a mile left knee sprain yesterday, and linebacker Parys Haralson returned to action after sitting out since Saturday with a hip flexor strain.
Other players who missed practice this morning were: G Chilo Rachal (migraine), LB Patrick Willis (ankle), CB Tarell Brown (toe), FB Moran Norris (hamstring) and LB Jay Moore (finger). Of course, Ray McDonald is on PUP and Ricky Jean-Francois is on the non-football illness list.
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Rookie Scott McKillop had a difficult time in a drill in which linebackers man-covered backs and tight ends. Glen Coffee got past him easily on a wheel route. He was guilty of pass interference against Bear Pascoe, and he whiffed on an attempted jam of Thomas Clayton, allowing him to get several steps behind him for a complete pass.
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When center Eric Heitmann got up hobbling after a play, the 49ers had a first-team offensive line of: C Cody Wallace, RG Matt Spanos and LG Tony Wragge. Heitmann returned a little later.
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I’m going to pause briefly for lunch.
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OK, I’m back from lunch.
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The team got in a lot of work this morning, as they have only a special-teams practice scheduled for the afternoon.
The 49ers worked a lot on the running game, as well as the red-zone offense and defense.
Smith had a very good stretch of plays when he lofted a 30-yard TD pass to Vernon Davis over Manny Lawson. Then, he hit Isaac Bruce in stride on a post pattern from about the same distance. Smith put his next pass on the money to Brandon Jones on a deep corner route, but Jones’ feet tangled with Mark Roman’s and the ball fell incomplete.
Shaun Hill had a better completion percentage in 11-on-11, connecting 10 of 13 passes, while Smith completed 5 of 10.
These are only 11-on-11. Obviously, it does not take into account the 7-on-7 passing. During 7-on-7, Smith made some tremendous throws, hitting Josh Morgan over Shawntae Spencer. He drilled a 12-yard out to Dominique Zeigler at the sideline, and he lofted another TD pass to Vernon Davis. That throw – delivered precisely on time — really excited QB coach Mike Johnson.
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Mike Singletary really liked what he saw from today’s elongated practice. He liked the energy and the execution. He said he saw the offense make plays and the defense make plays. “Most important, we have learned how to practice,” Singletary said. “We’re getting good work on both sides.”
The 49ers were on their final play of one 11-on-11 session, Vernon Davis found a soft spot in the defense about 10 yards down field. Hill found him with the pass but
However, the defense knew what was coming and
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