Here is what some of the San Francisco 49ers beat writers had to say about today's practice held at the team headquarters.
Cam Inman, The Mercury News:
It may have been Kaepernick's best day of camp, and watching from afar were his parents, Rick and Teresa, along with other players' families.
Torrey Smith lined up left and went deep. Kaepernick faked a handoff, then found Anquan Boldin across the middle for a move-the-chains completions.
Jarryd Hayne, who's slated to see plenty of action Saturday, had several carries, two of which resulted in harder-than-usual hits from Desmond Bishop and Ahmad Brooks. Hayne also caught a pass from Blaine Gabbert and showed nice moves up the right sideline.
NaVorro Bowman got sent to the turf when he collided with Davis on the tight end's crossing route. Bowman wondered aloud afterward what Davis was doing, and Davis promptly apologized.
Matt Maiocco, CSN Bay Area:
The best play of the day happened on the first first snap of 11-on-11 drills. Kaepernick lofted a 40-yard pass after a play-action fake toward tight end Vance McDonald, who got open against the coverage of Shareece Wright and Dahl. McDonald sailed out to make a diving catch and he appeared to maintain control after hitting the ground.
Arik Armstead lined up at right defensive end with the second-team defense.
Rookie receiver DeAndrew White continues to make plays on the practice field with a couple of 11-on-11 receptions from Blaine Gabbert. He also made back-to-back excellent catches during 7-on-7, including a touchdown grab against the coverage of Bishop and Keith Reaser.
Cornerback Tramaine Brock had good coverage against Boldin, but Boldin kept his concentration to make the reception of a tipped Kaepernick pass early in practice.
Read all of Matt Maiocco's notes
Chris Biderman, Niners Digest:
The 49ers spent most of the day working in 2-minute scenarios, starting with a "kill-the-clock" situation, where they had a lead in their own territory. In the second half of practice, they worked the drill down 4 points in the opponent's red zone.
The 49ers had their first dust up of camp Wednesday, when right tackle Erik Pears locked up with defensive end Tony Jerod-Eddie after the defense stuffed a Hyde run.
Wednesday was likely the 49ers' last padded practice of the week ahead of Saturday's preseason game against the Houston Texans. The team will likely shorten practice Thursday to recuperate for the trip.
It wasn't a great day for the offensive line, which continues to struggle against San Francisco's deep defensive front.
Read all of Chris Biderman's notes
Matt Barrows, The Sacramento Bee:
Colin Kaepernick had perhaps his best practice of training camp, one that included a big, seam-route throw to tight end Vernon Davis.
Overall, Kaepernick went 11-14 in 11-on-11 or team drills.
Kaepernick was throwing a short-range pass to Boldin when Brock, adept at jumping routes, tried to get in front of the pass. Boldin, who is one of the strongest receivers in the league, essentially screened off the cornerback and instead of an interception, Brock only deflected the ball in the air. Boldin then outmuscled Brock for the reception.
The 49ers offense caught NaVorro Bowman blitzing on the play -- a notable down-side of a blitz-happy defense -- and Bush was uncovered. If he had caught it, it would have gone for a big gain, but the ball went off his hand instead.
Read all of Matt Barrows' notes
Grant Cohn, The Press Democrat:
Torrey Smith: Faced Niners' No. 1 cornerback Tramaine Brock three times during one-on-one drills in the red zone, and beat him all three times.
Jerome Simpson: Caught a first-down pass from Colin Kaepernick on fourth-and-four, and caught a touchdown pass from Blaine Gabbert a few plays later.
Vernon Davis: Made two touchdown grabs – first during seven on sevens, then during an 11-on-11 red-zone drill.
Kaepernick completed 10-of-14 passes during 11-on-11 team drills. Of his four incompletions, one was dropped, one was intentionally thrown away, one was batted down and one was underthrown.
