Random observations from Day 10 of 49ers training camp

Day 10 of the San Francisco 49ers training camp is officially over and the team will head to Las Vegas for joint practices with the Raiders prior to their preseason matchup on Sunday.

It was a dominant day for the defense, who recorded a whopping ten sacks, while the 49ers' quarterbacks underwhelmed, leaving a sour taste in fans' mouths as training camp comes to an end.

Of course, much of the eyes are on the quarterbacks, as Brock Purdy is returning to practice, while Trey Lance and Sam Darnold are competing for the top backup spot, but there's much more that goes on than meets the eye.

With that said, what are some of my random observations on Day 10 of training camp?

Play-action passing

Play-action passing has been a staple of the Kyle Shanahan offense for a long, long time, as the 49ers' head coach has mastered the art of disguising his runs and passing concepts to free open receivers out of play-action dropbacks and generate positive plays through the air.

That concept has led the 49ers to an above-average aerial attack, despite middling quarterback play over the last six years, but that may have to change in 2023, at least a tad bit, based on a trend during training camp.

A good portion of the 49ers' play-action dropbacks has resulted in sacks thus far, and immediate ones at times in that, indicating some struggles along the offensive line, which could plague the team, as plays can't develop if that's the case.

Of course, it's early and it's practice, but I couldn't let go of the potential thought, given the recurring behavior that the sacks have occurred on play-action without the route pattern having enough time to develop. Let's see if that carries over into the preseason, and more importantly, the regular season.

Context behind sacks

If you've followed my coverage during training camp, one detail that would stand out is the number of sacks that have occurred, with Monday's practice being the cherry on top, as the defense recorded ten sacks on the day, despite there being only 33 dropbacks.

While I did note some issues with pass protection on play-action plays in the point above, I want to also mention the flip side with sacks overall, as there is some context required that onlookers truly don't know as plays are going on.

A question that I have is: are quarterbacks told to go through the process of a play regardless of a sack, given that's the most important part of this portion of the offseason? Because, there are some plays where quarterbacks have taken sacks and gone through the motions of a play over a long period of time when you'd expect a throwaway.

In fact, there have been barely any throwaways in all of camp, leading me to believe that may be on purpose and an instruction from head coach Kyle Shanahan and the coaching staff.

Again, this notion is merely speculation, but more so an observation that came to my mind as I charted sacks and looked at the details of the play in front of me, as I don't expect this volume of sacks as the season comes along.

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