Observations from Camp II
Again we bring you observations from training camp: Day 3. - Because this was the latter of the two practices, the team was not in full pads. Still, they practiced hard but there was far less hitting as when pads are on, obviously.
- Yesterday Alex Smith's first pass was a botched in route. Today, Smith rolled right, cooly evaded pressure, and found Eric Johnson. Very nice, and an improvement from the previous two days. In fact, Alex Smith looked impressive today. With less wind, he even managed to throw a nice deep pass that was nearly caught (but ultimately dropped) by Rasheed Marshall, who couldn't fight for it against Rayshun Reed.
- Ken Dorsey has improved from last season. He seems poised and the velocity on his passes look better than last year, now that I've seen him throw a bit. Still, on some of the deep outs, Dorsey put a bit too much on his throws or let them sail away. But there are far less "floaters" from him, which is encouraging. Full Story...
- Tim Rattay brought back bad memories of last year today. On a play, he clearly had time to throw, but kept figgiting around in the pocket and then ran into his center and fumbled the ball as the pressure came up on him.
- But, despite that, Rattay did throw several good passes that lead the receivers.
- With Rashaun Woods injured (that bum), we got to see a lot more of Marcus Maxwell and what a sight it was. Man, this guy finally gave me some hope of something. On two or three plays, I remember Maxwell stretched out and making very nice grabs. On one play, Cody Pickett lead him too far on an out route, but Maxwell dove, extended his hands,a nd came away with an impressive catch. He did the same on a deep throw from Alex Smith. Finally, some hope for our WRs. Maxwell has a bit of T.O. in him. He's tall, big, and can make the tough catch. He also has some nice moves. I watched him work on Middlebrooks, and he shook Middlebrooks out and then jumped out a step or two. I'm really digging Maxwell.
- I can't figure out if it was just a warming up drill or actual practicing of plays, but the 49ers surprised the crowd today by starting with some trickery. They practiced 10 or so plays where either Alex Smith or Ken Dorsey lined up at WR, and Arnaz Battle or Rasheed Marshall were the QBs. Then Fleck or another fast WR would come around like they're running a reverse, and Battle/Marshall would dart off and then flick the pass option style to an RB like Barlow or Gore. It confused the D at first.
- Alex Smith also ran the option to start practice from the shotgun.
- Speaking of the shotgun formation, it was used quite a bit in today's practice and all the QBs looked comfortable throwing from it. Smith looked the most comfortable as expected.
- Our D is mean. On several plays when they lined up against the offense, there was a lot of shitfing and heads going up and down. Alex Smith was confused by this one time, where he saw Mike Rumph creep in like he was going to blitz, then creep back, but then come into the middle of the field behind the LBs.
- Rasheed Marshall dropped several balls today. And he has done so the past 3 days. Fortunately he didn't drop any punt returns today.
- All the WRs looked better today with 2 days of practice, but there is still work to be done. It's encouraging to see Maxwell step up now that Woods was hurt (Woods = bum), but we still need more out of this unit.
- Arnaz Battle continues to show that once he has the ball in his hands, he can make some moves.
- PJ Fleck didn't drop any passes today. He simply catches everything that comes his way. He also did well on punt returns.
- Andy Lee should have secured the punting job today. His competition, some guy wearing #1, continously shanked many kicks into the stands.
- Sopoaga looked much more energetic today. This guy looks to be a force in the middle.
- Julian Peterson did not practice in the afternoon, as expected. This gave Andre Carter and Jamie Winborn a lot more reps. Winborn looks good out there. Andre Carter still needs to learn to beat guys inside. He relies too much on his speed outside, but that often leads to him being pushed away from the QB or arriving too late. Carter is a physically impressive and massive guy. He'd be scary good if he could learn to beat defenders inside with his first step ala Jevon Kearse.
- Rayshun Reed looks to be making some noise for that nickle DB spot. He provided some excellent coverages today and knocked down a pass very well, which earned him kudos from Derek Smith.
- Andre Carter was use in pass coverage today. He did well, although I'm not sure if they'd call that holding.
- Kwame Harris looks slow and sluggish. Watching this guy on running warmups where the team merely jogs from sideline to sideline was unintentionally comedic. He's always last, he doesn't look natural at all, and he just seems slow and uninterested as opposed to someone like Jonas Jennings who is intense and in the heat of the battle.
- Patrick Estes allowed Anthony Adams to come crashing in on a play while Estes played the TE position. Figures, since he's just moving from TE to LT. I hope we can use Estes on goaline situations though. He's humungous and if he can catch at all, there are some nice formations we could put him in.
- Frank Gore continues to impress. He's so quick and so fluid. As soon as he catches a pass, he's off. Very Hearst like.
- Terry Jackson is ahead of Maurice Hicks at this point.
- Overall, this was a quicker, cleaner practice than the past two days. Less dropped passes were seen, and overall, the QBs delivered some good, sharp throws. Alex Smith showed off his mobility a lot as well, running around in the pocket, buying time, and finding receivers. He throws well on the run.
- Still with that said, I must re-iterate (as always) that we are a developing team. I'm really not expecting us to win many games with this team due our development status as opposed to having a group of feisty, proven guys who you just comment on how they improve the team. Still, it's a pleasure to watch the team grow and the players seemed improved from Saturday. The defense looks surprisingly good, but could that also just be because of a very questionable and unproven offense?
- Yesterday Alex Smith's first pass was a botched in route. Today, Smith rolled right, cooly evaded pressure, and found Eric Johnson. Very nice, and an improvement from the previous two days. In fact, Alex Smith looked impressive today. With less wind, he even managed to throw a nice deep pass that was nearly caught (but ultimately dropped) by Rasheed Marshall, who couldn't fight for it against Rayshun Reed.
- Ken Dorsey has improved from last season. He seems poised and the velocity on his passes look better than last year, now that I've seen him throw a bit. Still, on some of the deep outs, Dorsey put a bit too much on his throws or let them sail away. But there are far less "floaters" from him, which is encouraging. Full Story...
- Tim Rattay brought back bad memories of last year today. On a play, he clearly had time to throw, but kept figgiting around in the pocket and then ran into his center and fumbled the ball as the pressure came up on him.
- But, despite that, Rattay did throw several good passes that lead the receivers.
- With Rashaun Woods injured (that bum), we got to see a lot more of Marcus Maxwell and what a sight it was. Man, this guy finally gave me some hope of something. On two or three plays, I remember Maxwell stretched out and making very nice grabs. On one play, Cody Pickett lead him too far on an out route, but Maxwell dove, extended his hands,a nd came away with an impressive catch. He did the same on a deep throw from Alex Smith. Finally, some hope for our WRs. Maxwell has a bit of T.O. in him. He's tall, big, and can make the tough catch. He also has some nice moves. I watched him work on Middlebrooks, and he shook Middlebrooks out and then jumped out a step or two. I'm really digging Maxwell.
- I can't figure out if it was just a warming up drill or actual practicing of plays, but the 49ers surprised the crowd today by starting with some trickery. They practiced 10 or so plays where either Alex Smith or Ken Dorsey lined up at WR, and Arnaz Battle or Rasheed Marshall were the QBs. Then Fleck or another fast WR would come around like they're running a reverse, and Battle/Marshall would dart off and then flick the pass option style to an RB like Barlow or Gore. It confused the D at first.
- Alex Smith also ran the option to start practice from the shotgun.
- Speaking of the shotgun formation, it was used quite a bit in today's practice and all the QBs looked comfortable throwing from it. Smith looked the most comfortable as expected.
- Our D is mean. On several plays when they lined up against the offense, there was a lot of shitfing and heads going up and down. Alex Smith was confused by this one time, where he saw Mike Rumph creep in like he was going to blitz, then creep back, but then come into the middle of the field behind the LBs.
- Rasheed Marshall dropped several balls today. And he has done so the past 3 days. Fortunately he didn't drop any punt returns today.
- All the WRs looked better today with 2 days of practice, but there is still work to be done. It's encouraging to see Maxwell step up now that Woods was hurt (Woods = bum), but we still need more out of this unit.
- Arnaz Battle continues to show that once he has the ball in his hands, he can make some moves.
- PJ Fleck didn't drop any passes today. He simply catches everything that comes his way. He also did well on punt returns.
- Andy Lee should have secured the punting job today. His competition, some guy wearing #1, continously shanked many kicks into the stands.
- Sopoaga looked much more energetic today. This guy looks to be a force in the middle.
- Julian Peterson did not practice in the afternoon, as expected. This gave Andre Carter and Jamie Winborn a lot more reps. Winborn looks good out there. Andre Carter still needs to learn to beat guys inside. He relies too much on his speed outside, but that often leads to him being pushed away from the QB or arriving too late. Carter is a physically impressive and massive guy. He'd be scary good if he could learn to beat defenders inside with his first step ala Jevon Kearse.
- Rayshun Reed looks to be making some noise for that nickle DB spot. He provided some excellent coverages today and knocked down a pass very well, which earned him kudos from Derek Smith.
- Andre Carter was use in pass coverage today. He did well, although I'm not sure if they'd call that holding.
- Kwame Harris looks slow and sluggish. Watching this guy on running warmups where the team merely jogs from sideline to sideline was unintentionally comedic. He's always last, he doesn't look natural at all, and he just seems slow and uninterested as opposed to someone like Jonas Jennings who is intense and in the heat of the battle.
- Patrick Estes allowed Anthony Adams to come crashing in on a play while Estes played the TE position. Figures, since he's just moving from TE to LT. I hope we can use Estes on goaline situations though. He's humungous and if he can catch at all, there are some nice formations we could put him in.
- Frank Gore continues to impress. He's so quick and so fluid. As soon as he catches a pass, he's off. Very Hearst like.
- Terry Jackson is ahead of Maurice Hicks at this point.
- Overall, this was a quicker, cleaner practice than the past two days. Less dropped passes were seen, and overall, the QBs delivered some good, sharp throws. Alex Smith showed off his mobility a lot as well, running around in the pocket, buying time, and finding receivers. He throws well on the run.
- Still with that said, I must re-iterate (as always) that we are a developing team. I'm really not expecting us to win many games with this team due our development status as opposed to having a group of feisty, proven guys who you just comment on how they improve the team. Still, it's a pleasure to watch the team grow and the players seemed improved from Saturday. The defense looks surprisingly good, but could that also just be because of a very questionable and unproven offense?
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