Training Camp 2026

Right. Seriously now. I am an Arsenal fan of almost five decades. The team has always played around Highbury Hill (I am not as old as to remember the Woolwich days). They moved to a new ground around 20 years ago down the road on a brownfield site (I think disused gasworks?). Anyway, from around 1978 when I started noticing the team to the time Arsene Wenger took over in 1997, we never had injuries that you would remember. Sure, some players missed time, but on the whole injuries were not major problems. And that in an era of small squads, where the main players would legitimately play all 45 games in a season including cup ties and the odd European match, up to 2 substitutions per game and with defenders allowed up to and including GBH in tackling opponents.

After 1997, and especially after around 2005, Arsenal became one of the most consistently injured teams in the league, on par with what the 9ers have been suffering. And we're talking above all soft tissue, ligament and stress fracture injuries? Why? Magic rays from substations? Chemicals from the disused gasworks? The ground being built over a pet cemetery? The curse of too many 1-0 victories in the George Graham era?

No. Wenger just liked a particular type of very skillful player, especially for wingers, midfielders and fullbacks. On rare occasions like with Thierry Henry, the player came with kevlar ligaments and titanium bones. In most other cases the ballet like skills and high-press simply were too much. A typical Wenger player was Thomas Rosicky. Fantastic when he played - which was about 20% of possible matches since he was stretched out on a physio table the rest of the time. It's not much different under Arteta. Odegaard is great, and so is Gabriel Jesus, but they're as if they're made of glass.

Add to that the fixture bloat. Now we play perhaps 65 games a year, plus exhibitions in the off-season to make money off the Chinese and other "growth" markets abroad. The squad is massive, but in the end the good players will still get 50-55 matches a year. The tackling has eased off because of law changes, but modern football means relentless pressing, and relentless pressing (or getting away from it for the attackers) means training to Olympic levels of peak fitness. After a point the human body says sod it, and breaks down.

The 49ers draft or sign players that fit their scheme. That scheme doesn't necessarily mean the most robust players. The scheme is also very high precision and requires training to a ridiculous level of fitness. Shanahan is famously unforgiving if players are not 100% focused, sloppy, or out of shape even a little. The NFL career is short - these athletes don't want to waste a year of their 3.5 year average in the league barking in Shanahan's doghouse. They push themselves. But there are very few permitted practices together, and too many real games, in a violent sport played in all weathers and in dubious playing surfaces (the astroturf thing is not a conspiracy theory - it's a fact). After a point the human body says sod it, and breaks down.

Alternatively there are magic rays killing our players. I know which theory I'll go for.

Originally posted by 49ers808:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
They can't make that same claim. Emm doesn't play offense. They could only muster up 13 points in each game.

if we had our starters in the last regular season game, we send them on the road and one and done in the playoffs

Instead; they got their second SB before we got one.

Right here.

Originally posted by Memphis9er:

Originally posted by 49ers808:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
They can't make that same claim. Emm doesn't play offense. They could only muster up 13 points in each game.

if we had our starters in the last regular season game, we send them on the road and one and done in the playoffs

Instead; they got their second SB before we got one.

Right here.

Previous page post #357

Originally posted by Heroism:

Originally posted by frenchmov:
I'm not buying the stupid ass substation conspiracy, but it is more than a coincidence that we are top 5 in injuries/games lost since shanny came around. Is it something we are doing/not doing in practice? The types of training we have them do? The type of offense/defense? The age of roster? I don't know

The team has been getting ravaged by injuries all the way back to the Harbaugh era.

Every single team has to deal with injuries, but in 2014 -- no NFL team had it quite as bad as the San Francisco 49ers. After the season was well and done, the 49ers had the most games missed due to injury than any other team in the NFL.

Injuries and one big suspension made them a shell of themselves and unable to compete with the NFL's best. It's not just the number of players who missed games, but more importantly, it's who missed games.

https://www.ninersnation.com/2015/2/10/7985525/49ers-2014-season-set-record-for-missed-games-due-to-injuries

This s**t continued under Chip Kelly and Jim Tomsula as well. It didn't begin with Shanahan.

Yeah, it's been a while, but we had this same injury before going back before Shanahan. Harbaugh's teams had injuries as well.. including Crabtree tearing his Achilles going in motion in training camp after FINALLY breaking out in 2012.

Originally posted by 49ersRing:

Matt Barrows says Connor Colby is running away with the battle for the starting left guard position. He says Colby has put on weight during the offseason and looks very confident compared to last season

"He could end up being the best left guard that they've had there in a… pic.twitter.com/teum6Rs91k

— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) August 5, 2026

Is this good or bad lol

48ers waived cam sample. This was surprising to me because I had him as the 5th DE if mykel had to start the season on the pup. Maybe the injury is more serious. So I guess that spot will now go to the newest guy they just signed today.

Dammit!!! I thought we traded for Jessie Bates!! I hate these damn trade proposals. Especially ESPN!!!

Originally posted by Cisco0623:

Originally posted by 49ersRing:

Matt Barrows says Connor Colby is running away with the battle for the starting left guard position. He says Colby has put on weight during the offseason and looks very confident compared to last season

"He could end up being the best left guard that they've had there in a… pic.twitter.com/teum6Rs91k

— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) August 5, 2026

Is this good or bad lol

It means it wasn't a high bar to begin with lol

Originally posted by Kolohe:
Dammit!!! I thought we traded for Jessie Bates!! I hate these damn trade proposals. Especially ESPN!!!

It would have to be for a 5th rd pick to make sense. Expensive safety on the last yr of his deal who's gonna be 30.

rather allocate trade assets and cash for a more impactful position.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

49ers roster shuffle:

Signed: DE Ogbo Okoronkwo, WR KhaDarel Hodge
Waived: DT Kevin Givens, DE Cam Sample

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) August 5, 2026

Why would they release Givens? Is he injured? Did he come in out of shape?

We know him.. I haven't seen him play horrible or anything, but I have also seen him make plays here and there. For depth, I would think that is what you want.

Originally posted by Afrikan:
Why would they release Givens? Is he injured? Did he come in out of shape?

We know him.. I haven't seen him play horrible or anything, but I have also seen him make plays here and there. For depth, I would think that is what you want.

Givens isn't really a great fit for Morris defense.

Originally posted by 49ersRing:

Matt Barrows says Connor Colby is running away with the battle for the starting left guard position. He says Colby has put on weight during the offseason and looks very confident compared to last season

"He could end up being the best left guard that they've had there in a… pic.twitter.com/teum6Rs91k

— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) August 5, 2026

Sure f**k it I'll get my hopes up for Colby being a good Guard just to be let down later in the year.