Observations from Camp IX
Vin is back again with more observations from camp. First practice after the Niners preseason opener.- During stretching, all the players seemed very relaxed and loose. There was a lot of laughter during the stretches and at one point Tony Parrish and some other DBs even made the mascot Sourdough Sam breakdance which was met with laughter from the entire team and the crowd at hand. Signs of what a win can do for the morale of a team.
- One of those laughing and having a good time was QB Tim Rattay. In the previous weeks, Rattay was almost expressionless with a workman's like demeanor and intensity to him. But the win and impression he cast on Saturday gave Rattay something to smile about all day.
- Another thing that might have given Rattay something to smile about: He threw no incompletions the entire practice, aside from one dropped pass by Johnnie Morton. Rattay's throws are very sharp today. Looks like he carried Saturday's momentum into today's practice.
More Camp Notes...
- And as Rattay's momentum carried him to a solid and sharp practice, Alex Smith's welcome to the NFL might have thwarted some of the confidence that Smith was showing last week. Today, though the team did some very basic routes and throws, Smith missed many throws. On a screen pass to Frank Gore he simply overthrew the pass. Many of his passes were hitting WRs on the wrong shoulders and some of his deep outs were overthrown and uncatchable. It was the sloppiest Smith has looked and he showed some regression compared to his more upbeat practices a week ago.
- Smith still had some solid throws in practice though, including a nice deep ball to Brandon Lloyd (but one that wobbled in mid air). Rattay just looked much sharper and more accurate.
- Ken Dorsey didn't seem to take advantage of Smith's day. Dorsey just hasn't done anything spectacular in practice for about a week and a half now. He's starting to look like a backup.
- Frank Gore was back and what a glorious site to see that was. His quickness and shiftiness was pleasant to watch. What I love about Gore is that he can ease out of holes and slip underneath defenders unnoticed. He's very quick and will make an excellent compliment to Kevan Barlow.
- In fact, all of our RBs: Barlow, Gore, Hicks, and Jackson should make the team as they have all showed promise.
- Marcus Maxwell was back out and running and showed little to no signs of last week's injury. Good to see him back. He was running with the 3rd stringers, along with Rashaun Woods.
- Mark your calendar everyone: 8/15/05 --- We FINALLY had a Rashaun Woods sighting. This was by far Woods' best practice all summer. He looked solid today. He caught everything thrown to him and after practice when he was running he had a beautiful stride. As harsh as I am on Woods, he's a dark horse that could be very helpful to our receiving corps. What makes no sense is that when you see this guy in an actual practice while healthy (which is a rare occassion) he looks really damn good. His physique is right where you want a WR to be, he runs well, and aside from his somewhat skinny and long legs (he probably hasn't built those up due to his plethora of leg injuries) from a technical standpoint, Woods has the feel of a WR. He showed a lot of that today. Now, if he could only show that kind of enthusiasm and work ethic for a long period of time he could make some noise. It was also nice to see him working and talking with Jerry Sullivan after practice.
- Jonas Jennings returned and immediately made his presence known. He picked up Andre Carter nicely and also held Corey Smith in check later in practice. He shows great positioning and he's a quick LT. We need him out on the field.
- Brandon Lloyd is starting to look like a playmaker and #1 WR again.
- Arnaz Battle has improved mightly from the beginning of camp as well. He's catching the football more consistently now.
- Rasheed Marshall, on the other hand, still needs to work on his hand work. Today he dropped a pass from Alex Smith that was pretty much textbook and rudimentary.
- PJ Fleck and Fred Amey should be special teams contributors. Fleck looked quick out there returning kicks and making cuts.
- Speaking of making cuts: It's true. Barlow simply performs better when pushed by Frank Gore. When Gore showcased some of his quickness and shiftiness Barlow too ran with more agility and fluidness.
- The defense looked really energetic today. They were barking calls and tauntin the offense all practice.
- Overall, you could sense that the team was much more at ease and happy after actually winning a game. The practice seemed to concentrate much more on technique today. Tim Rattay carried over his momentum from Saturday and looked like the best QB out there. Smith, on the other hand, seemed to still be thinking about Saturday and missed some throws. What a difference a half of real NFL action makes. Jennings and Gore returning added some spark to the offense. We have work to do, but that win against the Raiders added a very noticeable boost in confidence and morale to our young team and guys like Lloyd, Battle, Rattay, and Derrick Johnson acted like the playmakers they proved to be on Saturday.
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