Just as advertised, Mike Singletary inaugurated Training Camp 2010 with a rousing nutcracker drill. The linemen, linebackers, fullbacks and tight ends were divided into three adjacent stations, with battles rotating quickly among the three.
It was a violent and fast-moving spectacle, and Singletary had to stop the action a couple times early to warn players not to hit after the three-second whistle. The second time he threatened to make the whole team run if the whistle wasn’t obeyed. He also commanded his assistants to blow the whistle if the grapplers turned sideways.
Meanwhile, receivers, running backs and DBs did something vaguely nutcrackery on a nearby piece of field. But the attention was focused on the big guys.
As Singletary explained afterward, he will add movement to some of his nutcracker drills. Today’s was the original: Two men lined up face to face, slamming into one another like sumo wrestlers upon the first whistle.
“Today was just being fundamentally sound,” Singletary said. “It is as simple as that. We got a quick whistle. You make contact, eyes up, butt down, back flat, making sure your feet are shoulder-width apart. So just basic one-on-one, in terms of how to come off the ball and how to attack.”
The nutcracker is all about getting beneath your opponent.
“The thing we’re trying to have our guys do is understand what leverage is,” the coach said. “In football, the low guy normally wins. You can be big, you can be strong, you can be fast, but if you can’t bend, and if you don’t have leverage, chances are you’re gonna lose a lot (of) those individual battles.”
Fullback Moran Norris expressed a similar sentiment. “The lower man wins,” he said. “And I don’t care how big you are. If they’re lower than you, their pads lower than you, 9 out of 10 times they’re gonna win the battle.”
I saw the Raiders run the Oklahoma drill under Art Shell in 2006. I vividly remember tight end Courtney Anderson taking out Pro Bowl defensive end and all-around scary dude Derrick Burgess one time. As for the 49ers version I witnessed today, here are a few observations:
• Norris is not to be trifled with. He was constantly pushing opponents backward.
• I was surprised that LB Patrick Willis didn’t outright dominate people. I’m used to him being the best player on the field. Willis looked like just another player in the nutcracker, which I suppose is testament to how well he moves and how quickly he diagnoses in live action.
• Rookie G Mike Iupati looked very strong in the drill. T Anthony Davis held his own.
• Interesting to hear assistant O-line coach Ray Brown exhorting his guys to look the opponent in the eye, Tyson-like, while awaiting their turns. Most ignored him and stared at the ground, perhaps not wanting to be overly dramatic.
• Strong performances by young defensive lineman Khalif Mitchell, and by offensive linemen Chilo Rachal, David Baas and Brian de la Puente. Of course, de la Puente’s best work came against rookie LB Keaton Kristick, whom he outweighs by about 70 pounds.
• Singletary seems profoundly weary of answering nutcracker questions. Today, he said, “If we’re going 9-on-7, or if we’re going team, if you take that one guy and just put him over here and go against that guy, that’s all our nutcracker is. We don’t have any drills where guys just bang each other until the other one drops.”
The coach has a point. The biggest hit of the day was FB Brit Miller laying the wood to blitzing LB Parys Haralson. And the one injury was to G David Baas, who is believed to have a mild concussion. Neither occurred during the nutcracker.
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