Camp Notes: Day 3
by Vini Chopra – 49ersNews.com
07.31.06 – Okay, another day, another practice.
Today was the first padded practice open to the public, and there was definitely a different kind of intensity in the air. In general, people were banging each other and colliding against one another like nothing else I’ve witnessed before at a TC. Lots of contact. You could hear the "POP!" all the way into the bleachers. It was very intense and very fun. You could tell that the players were loving their first real contact in front of fans, and put on a show from time to time.
- One of the players who lived on this mentality today, and the guy who really leaped out, was Vernon Davis. Remember those reports that questioned VD’s blocking ability? That was answered somewhat today, and the guy looks like he loves to block as much as he loves to go out and catch passes. And when I say loves to block, that’s an understatement. The intensity he showed, just by being out there and picking up blitzes from the LBs when the team was practicing that, was something I haven’t seen a player exhibit in quite a long time.
- Among the highlights of VDs blocking was when he went one on one with David Dixon (at least that’s who I believe this player was, as "#51" is unlisted on the official roster they hand out). Dixon earned a lot of attention himself today, as he had a real bullrusher mentality. Instead of fancy moves, the guy was just going toe to toe with blockers and running right at them, taking them off of their guard. When VD came along, Dixon was stopped in his tracks and owned. The two proceeded to wrestle a bit before VD showed off his triumph and raised up his arms, yelling. Even Jeff Ulbrich couldn’t get by Vernon Davis today.
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