Camp Notes 08.07.06
by Vini Chopra – 49ersNews.com

– Today’s practice seemed a bit lethargic/lacking energy. I believe it was more of a walk through than an actual practice, as there were no pads and the drills that the team executed were really being hammered by the coaches from a technical standpoint. It seemed that the team was trying to work on technique, and thus, it made for an uneventful practice.

– Bryan Gilmore had been making splashes since the start of the camp, but today he had one of those days. Gilmore dropped several passes today, which was too bad. However, this is the first time he’s really done that in a practice so whether it’s fluke or not remains to be seen.

– Sammy Davis continues to impress. Not only was he ahead of Mike Rumph on every drill today, but he continus his aggressive play. The guy loves the contact with the 49ers. From a practice standpoint, this trade for Rashaun Woods is looking like a steal in our favor.

– The wind was swirling all over the place today. This made it very difficult for the QBs to throw the deep balls with any kind of accuracy. Smith, Palmer, and Shaun Hill (Dilfer did not practice) all had their passes cut by the wind on several occassions. I know that Candlestick is a windy stadium itself, so hopefully this gives our QBs some practice in those conditions, but a lot of passes were wobbling or being underthrown due to the force of the wind.

– There was one time during offensive practice, where the team was working on blitz pick up on a play. Norv Turner and many of the offensive coaches began to yell at all the players, lead by Jessie Palmer, because the play was broken up rather badly. When they tried the play again, the entire defense was sent on a blitz and Jessie Palmer did not have a prayer.

– Jeremy Newberry walked out to practice with a noticeably bad knee. Nolan was 100% right on in placing Newberry with the 2nds. The experience Heittmann has received at center will be valuable, because right now, things are not looking very good for Newberry.

– Larry Allen’s afternoon practice regiment amuses me. Vetran players don’t usually practicein the afternoon and Allen takes advantage of this. Instead, he walks around a field with the head athletic trainer. Of course, Larry runs the straight aways and walks the corners of the field. He then does some sit ups. At this point, it’s all conditioning for Allen. The man looks like he’s ready to eat someone…preferably a defensive lineman.

– Mike Nolan became noticeably angered at the offense today. He was yelling for a good minute there and telling the offense to run the play again.

– Those were really the only big highlights of practice today. It was noticeably at a slower pace today. The team was likely working on new things, and thus installing things to work on later in the week.

– Oh. CB BJ Tucker was nicked up on a pass break up. He collided with a WR and came up limping. That was the end of his practice, although the injury didn’t seem TOO serious.

– Brandon Williams had a nice catch over the middle of the field, took two steps, then fumbled the ball only to recover it in the end zone.

– Vernon Davis caught a short pass, made a cut that if any less gifted athlete would make that athlete would slip and fall, and then turned up field for a nice gain.