On Friday, the San Francisco 49ers held their eighth of 13 training camp practices at the SAP Performance Facility in Santa Clara, which started at 10:15 a.m.
Practice kicked off with tackle Mike McGlinchey trying to fire up a nonexistent crowd. A rookie is chosen by the veterans to try and hype up the fans in attendance during team warm-ups. The only problem is that Friday's practice was not open to fans.
The #49ers #rookiehypemachine with @mmcglinch68 takes no days off. pic.twitter.com/qaYApOxxfQ
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) August 3, 2018
Below are some notes from Friday's outing.
Offense
Practice included two-minute drills that spanned the length of the field. Neither the first- nor second-team offenses were able to score (field goal or touchdown) during their drives.
At one point, nine straight passes went to tight ends or running backs with only one, a pass to Garrett Celek, falling incomplete.
"Many options for Garoppolo in short/intermediate areas," notes Nick Wagoner of ESPN.
Quarterbacks
Garoppolo had an impressive 30-yard pass completion to wide receiver Pierre Garçon along the left sideline with Richard Sherman in coverage. Sherman went down on the play (more on that below).
Garoppolo's accuracy on intermediate stuff is well documented but he has showed nice touch too, especially today. He dropped one over defender to Garçon early in the team drills as Garçon got free on a deep cross against Sherman and later fit one in to Kittle over Foster/Tartt.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) August 3, 2018
C.J. Beathard had a nice 25-yard pass to wide receiver Aldrick Robinson, who came away with the reception. Beathard is expected to miss Sunday's practice because he will be traveling back from Canton, Ohio, where he will be on Saturday for his grandfather's Pro Football Hall of Fame induction.
Running Backs
Raheem Mostert appeared to have several strong runs. We say "appeared to have" because, as head coach Kyle Shanahan said during a KNBR interview on Thursday, it's not always the long runs that are the most impressive. It depends on what happened on defense. If a player is out of position, those runs come easy.
Tight Ends
George Kittle caught five passes from Garoppolo, including a touchdown, during red-zone drills and six receptions during team drills. He has had a streak of good practices during training camp. Kittle could be on his way to besting his 43-reception, 515-yard, and two-touchdown rookie season.
"During the two-minute drill, Garoppolo had back-to-back completions to Kittle, one on a deep in-cut from right to left and another on a long pass down the middle over the outstretched arm of Reuben Foster," reports Joe Fann of 49ers.com.
Offensive Line
Mike Person started at right guard as Joshua Garnett continues to miss time with a knee injury.
Defensive Line
While DeForest Buckner continues to look like DeForest Buckner, Sheldon Day has also been having a strong training camp.
"(Day) posted a run-stop in the backfield and then a would-be sack on back-to-back plays," reports Fann.
Linebackers
"Foster planted Jerick McKinnon in the backfield on his very first run of the day," reports Fann. "Foster continues to show elite speed in run pursuit."
Defensive Backs
Cornerback Greg Mabin hauled in an interception off of Garoppolo on a pass intended for Garçon.
"Mabin returned it the length of the field for a (might have been) touchdown," reports Wagoner.
Safety Terrell Williams also came away with an interception. His was from a Nick Mullens-thrown pass.
"Williams fared well in the offseason program while the 49ers had three backup safeties rehabilitating injuries," reports Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group. "He'll have to fare even better in the coming exhibitions to land a spot behind starter Jaquiski Tartt."
Rookie D.J. Reed received some reps at safety with the first-team defense.
"There was no word if Adrian Colbert was dinged up or if Robert Saleh just wanted to get the rookie defensive back some extra reps," reports Fann.
Injuries
Sherman left practice early after going down hard while defending on a long completion. Reports state that it did not look too serious and Sherman observed the remainder of practice from the sidelines.
"I didn't see him fall, but they told me out there his hammy got tight on him," Shanahan said after practice. "They took him out, and we'll see after I talk to [head athletic trainer Jeff Ferguson]."
Sherman will get a day to rest since the players have Saturday off.
Pass rushers Jeremiah Attaochu and Cassius Marsh did not practice as they deal with groin injuries. Rookie receiver Dante Pettis also missed practice with the same issue.
"Guys are tight," Shanahan said. "They're all tight and trying to tough through it."
Added Note
Peter Panacy will be taking over the training camp coverage for the 49ers' next practice, which is scheduled for Sunday morning at 10:15 a.m. Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter at @PeterPanacy.
