I got my answer.
As I wrote here yesterday, I was eager to ask Mike Singletary why Bobby Guillory got all the punt returns (six, including a fair catch) and kickoff returns (two) against the Vikings on Sunday.
Here is what the coach had to say in response today: “We brought the kid in. He’s a quick-twitch guy out here. He caught some punts and I just felt, you know what, why don’t we let him take it? Let’s see how he does, let’s see how he handles it. It was a lot to put on a young kid, but I thought he did a pretty decent job of it.”
Crabtree back. Vernon next?
Alex Smith is starting to get his weapons back. WR Michael Crabtree, who injured his neck on Aug. 11 and had been limited to individual work for about a week, was back on the field for team and 7-on-7 work today. And yes, the hands looked as reliable as ever.
TE Vernon Davis, who injured his knee against the Colts on Aug. 15, did not work with teammates. But Davis caught passes from a Jugs machine after practice, coach Mike Singletary made it sound as though he could resume work any day.
No happy returns for Ginn or Zeigler
Mike Singletary talked for about 11 minutes after the 49ers beat the Vikings 15-10 last night. I sneaked in a question or two, like most of the other reporters in the interview room at Candlestick Park.
But the Niners cut short the press session before I could ask another question: Why didn’t Ted Ginn or Dominique Zeigler or anyone who isn’t named Bobby Guillory get any punt or kickoff returns?
LaBoy, Briggs making it interesting at LB
Preseason games are supposed to answer questions for NFL teams. But they can just as easily create new questions.
The 49ers went into last night’s game against the Vikings hoping to shed some light on the situation at outside linebacker. Travis LaBoy and Diyral Briggs only clouded the issue with dual-core defensive excellence.
This team will probably carry seven or eight linebackers in 2010. Barring injury, the roster should include Patrick Willis, Takeo Spikes, Manny Lawson, Parys Haralson, Matt Wilhelm and NaVorro Bowman. Assuming Ahmad Brooks hasn’t damaged his kidney more severely than anticipated – we could find out more this week – he should be there, too.
49ers 15, Vikings 10
In terms of getting out of the starting gate, the 49ers went from Mr. Ed to Secretariat in a week.
On Aug. 15, the first exhibition game at Indianapolis had begun comically with Michael Robinson’s lost fumble, a miscue that immediately led to a 3-0 deficit. Sunday was a stark contrast. Alex Smith and the first offense coolly marched 70 yards in a 12 plays to begin a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Candlestick Park, finishing the drive on rookie Anthony Dixon’s four-yard touchdown run.
49ers get another crack at Favre
Asked about Brett Favre’s return to the NFL for a 20th season, 49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye upped the ante.
“I’m coming back!” Raye told reporters this week between 49ers practices.
True, Raye hasn’t played quarterback since he was a Michigan State senior in 1968, two years after he piloted the Spartans against Notre Dame in the epic “Game of the Century.”
But aren’t we already nestled comfortably in the theater of the absurd at this point? After dominating the sports tabloids for the third straight offseason, Favre – the Waffle King, the Drama Quarterback – found an even more sensational way to return to the game.
LaBoy still finding his way at LB
With Ahmad Brooks out for gosh-knows-how-long with a lacerated kidney, and with no clear-cut backups to starting outside linebackers Manny Lawson and Parys Haralson, it would seem that veteran Travis LaBoy has a pretty good shot of making the 49ers’ 53-man roster.
So why does LaBoy sound so resigned?
Thursday I asked the Larkspur native how he saw himself fitting into the 49ers’ plans on defense, and this was his reply: “Honestly, to me, it don’t really matter. I’m gonna do the best I can for the time they give me. Whether they keep me or not in the end, I really don’t worry about that.”
Nate Davis may put down his mop
They say the most popular player on every NFL team is the second-string quarterback. Or the third-stringer.
Nate Davis has yet to play in an NFL regular-season game, and his performance during offseason practices and mini-camps was spotty. But Davis remains an intriguing figure to a lot of 49ers fans who remember the strong arm and daring instincts he displayed at Ball State. And let’s face it, the jury is still deliberating on starter Alex Smith.
Davis completed 5 of 6 passes for 84 yards at Indianapolis last Sunday after entering the game in the fourth quarter. Afterward, he admitted that he might be a better game quarterback than a practice quarterback.
Short practice, and a short roster
Notes and observations from this afternoon’s (extremely short) practice…
• On the final day for fans to watch practice, Mike Singletary cut it off after a quick 1 hour, 17 minutes. This thing is definitely getting lighter (dare I say softer?) as it progresses.
• Which is probably a good thing when you look at the Did Not Participate sheet for the afternoon: TE Vernon Davis (knee), DE Ray McDonald (soreness), G/T Adam Snyder (concussion), OLB Brandon Long (knee) and of course the usual WR Kyle Williams (toe), CB Will James (ankle), OLB Ahmad Brooks (kidney) and C Eric Heitmann (fibula). WR Michael Crabtree caught passes from the QBs but did not go against defenders. And here are your veteran courtesies: ILBs Patrick Willis and Takeo Spikes, DE Justin Smith, S Michael Lewis, OLB Travis LaBoy and T Barry Sims. That pretty much left Keaton Kristick, Jehuu Caulcrick, the yard-marker guy and a cameraman in the tower to execute drills.
Center is Baas’ job to lose
Last week, the 49ers pushed the idea that they were starting David Baas at center because they already knew what they had in Tony Wragge. It looked like an open competition for the temporary spot created by Eric Heitmann’s broken fibula.
Now it seems clear that Wragge won’t get a real shot at the job. While Baas continues to get all the work with the first team, Wragge isn’t even getting most of his snaps at center. He has primarily been working at left guard with the second team as Adam Snyder recovers from a concussion. Getting the No. 2 reps at center the past two days has been Cody Wallace.
Singletary: ‘Stop looking at the QB!’
Oh, yeah, in case you forgot: The 49ers have a head coach prowling the field.
Mike Singletary, for all his scowling charisma, generally is not a vocal presence on the practice field. He strides from drill to drill, letting his assistants do most of the coaching. The running joke around here is that Singletary’s main function during practice is to alternate sporadically between his two catch phrases: “Stay off the ground” and “Catch the ball, son.”
Today, Singletary was in fine form. And it all revolved around one pass-defense technique.
He’s to the 50, to the 40, to the… the…
No wonder Ted Ginn has been looking so fast lately. The 49ers’ 100-yard dashes have been 90 yards long. The past couple of days, the team has practiced on a field that defies standard NFL parameters.
2-minute drills favors defense
The 49ers finished the afternoon practice with a live-action 2-minute drill, always an antidote to the doldrums of camp. It’s just that things didn’t go too well on the offensive side of the ball.
Here’s the setup: Offense takes over on its own 38-yard line 1:25 left.
To start, the first-team O went against the second-team D. Alex Smith’s unit picked up a first down and Smith spiked the ball to stop the clock, making it second down. Then things unraveled:
49ers cut WR Brandon Jones
Monday, the 49ers acknowledged a mistake from recent years and sent DE Kentwan Balmer – a first-round draft choice in 2008 – to division-rival Seattle for the low, low price of a sixth-rounder in 2011.
Today, it was another admission as the Niners released WR Brandon Jones, a guy they handed $5.4 million in guaranteed money on Feb. 29, 2009 – part of a deal that could have paid as much as $16.5 over five years. Jones made $620,000 in base salary in ’09. Combine that with the bonus, and he made more than $6 million – for one catch. That’s what Jones registered last year, playing in eight games after he returned from a fractured shoulder.
On Aug. 2, Jones told the Press Democrat that he had counted on more playing time in 2009.
Nedney moves past groin issue
Is Joe Nedney hurt or isn’t he?
The veteran NFL kicker hadn’t booted a ball in a live drill all summer, but that didn’t necessarily strike me as odd. In my years covering the Raiders, Sebastian Janikowski did a lot more standing around than kicking in training camp, and he and punter Shane Lechler were always first ones off the field.
After Nedney sat out the game at Indianapolis on Sunday, though, coach Mike Singletary intimated he was nursing some sort of injury. Yesterday, Singletary said, “I think Joe is fine. I think he’s been a little sore, but I think he’s fine.”
49ers assistants all the rage at practice
Break out the Fisherman’s Friends. The 49ers assistant coaches must be in need of a good throat coat after spending much of the morning yelling at their players.
Right off the bat, tight ends coach Pete Hoener lit into rookie Nate Byham during 9-on-7. Hoener was livid at Byham’s perceived offense, and after another failed play, the coach angrily pulled him from the huddle. Offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye praised Byham today, but the kid has been a frequent target of Hoener’s tirades.
Jones, LaBoy finally return to practice
Notes and observations from this afternoon’s practice in Santa Clara…
• Small miracles: WR Brandon Jones (hamstring) and LB Travis LaBoy (concussion) both returned to the field today. LaBoy had been out since Aug. 5, Jones since Aug. 7. Jones actually stretched it out and beat CB Patrick Stoudamire on a deep route, but couldn’t quite pull in a pass from Nate Davis in the end zone.
• Missing work were TE Vernon Davis (knee), WR/KR Kyle Williams (toe), G Chris Patrick (shoulder), LB Brandon Long (knee), CB Will James (ankle), C Eric Heitmann (leg) and LB Ahmad Brooks (lacerated kidney). WR Michael Crabtree (neck) caught balls against air, but retired to the sidelines after that.
Westbrook mostly watches on first day
Brian Westbrook was flawless in his first day as a 49er. Mostly because he wasn’t asked to do much of anything.
Westbrook stretched and ran drills with the running backs at the start of this afternoon’s practice, then did a lot of watching and talking. He chatted with running backs coach Tom Rathman. He consulted with trainer Jeff Ferguson – a man he no doubt wants to see very little of this season. He swapped insights with Frank Gore.
But Westbrook didn’t take a single snap in 7-on-7 or team period.
49ers sign RB Westbrook
Hours after trading disgruntled defensive end Kentwan Balmer to the Seahawks, the 49ers made an even bigger splash, signing coveted free-agent running back Brian Westbrook.
Westbrook had been linked to the Denver, St. Louis and Washington over the offseason. Saturday, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen called the Rams frontrunners. Sunday, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan reiterated his interest in the versatile veteran. But it was the 49ers who swooped in and signed Westbrook to a one-year contract.
NFL.com’s Jason LaCanfora reported that he will earn a base salary of $1.25 million, and could receive as much as $2.5 million.
49ers trade Balmer to Seattle
The 49ers dealt Kentwan Balmer, and at the same time dealt him the ultimate insult. They traded the disgruntled defensive end within the division today, to the Seattle Seahawks, effectively suggesting they don’t believe he can help swing the balance of power in the NFC West.
Balmer, a first-round draft choice in 2008, reportedly netted just a sixth-round pick two years later. At that, it may be a conditional pick.
