"I expect it to be physical and intense, everything training camp should be. If you know Singletary, he's known for his intensity. I expect it to be a physical, intense training camp with a lot of competition." -- Joe Staley, Offensive tackle
Training Camp begins tomorrow and there are a lot of storylines in the media that will be circulating as camp carries on. Lost in the shuffle are a couple mini subplots that will intrigue the more-than-casual fans. Here are a couple details of camp that I'll be keeping an eye out for...
1. Nate Davis vs Practice Squad
The 49ers currently have four quarterbacks battling for a roster spot and Nate Davis is in distant 4th, trying to catch up with the other 3 veterans. Here's the dilemma: Teams typically hold onto three QBs throughout the season (starter, back up, emergency back up). Having a 4th QB can be considered a waste of a roster spot because it is extremely rare for a team to have to resort to their 4th QB. However, the 49ers see a lot of potential in Davis and for good reason. He's a talented young QB with tremendous arm strength and decent mobility. If the Niners decided to place him on waivers, he'd be available for the 31 other teams to snag him for their roster. Is it a chance the Niners are willing to take? It will depend on how Davis performs in training camp and whether he proves he is worthy of taking up an open spot.
2. Same nose tackles, same problems?
Early in the season last year, the biggest glaring hole on the team was in the middle of the defensive line where opponents' running backs would run through at will. As the season progressed, that hole seemed to close a bit but there was still that feeling that the position should still be addressed at some point. Well, the offseason came and went and alas, there was no upgrade at nose tackle. Just as the linebackers will be counted on to provide a pass rush despite the inability to do so in the past, the nose tackles, specifically Aubrayo Franklin and Isaac Sopoaga, have their work cut out for them, too. Remember, the 3-4 revolves around the nose tackle's ability to collapse the pocket, thus the success of the defense will fall on the shoulders of these two very large men.
3. Reggie Smith's role...
Apparently, he's a strong safety. What I want to know is how he will fare in his new position. According to the Matts, he's not even the primary back up (Mark Roman is backing up both Dashon Goldson and Michael Lewis). In addition, the 49ers are holding rookie safety Curtis Taylor in high regard, as well. If that's the case, Reggie Smith might be relegated to special teams ace. That's sort of a let down for a highly-touted 3rd round pick with high expectations. It will be interesting to see how he develops.
4. Tackling drills? Really?
NFL practices NEVER involve tackling drills. In most coaches' and players' minds, tackling drills are for freshman/JV football teams that have yet to learn how to take a ball carrier down. The reason why NFL teams never do them is because of the injury risk. When there's full contact tackling, there's always an injury risk. The question is: Will it work? It's a high risk, high reward situation. The idea can either fail and lead to a dessimated team even before the season starts OR it can succeed and result in the most fysical, defensively-sound football team in the league.
5. Ball distribution
For the first time in a long, long, LONG time, the 49ers have some good depth at the WR position. If Arnaz Battle is struggling to keep his roster spot, you know our offense is doing good. However, it's gonna be tough on the coaching staff to figure out how to get all these talented WRs the ball. You pretty much got 5 WRs fighting for the same spot and 2 others fighting for the last spot and possibly 7 WRs complaining about not getting enough opportunities. Lastly, the QB rotation can't help the WRs' cause. Chemistry will be a huge factor in how the offense progresses over the season, and a disruption in the amount of reps each player gets can hinder the offense's development.
6. Al Harris
The primary criticism of the 49ers' offseason was their negligence in acquiring a pass rush specialist. I like to think they actually did pick one up, even though he'll never leave the sidelines. Al Harris was hired as a pass rush specialist coach and it will be his job to light a fire under the ass of the team's stagnant pass rush. The talent is there. Parys Haralson managed 8 sacks on part time duty. Ahmad Brooks moves like a panther at 260+ pounds. Manny Lawson is one of the most athletic linebackers in the NFL. However, the production just hasn't been there. It will be Harris' job to make sure the team made the right choice in not picking up another linebacker.
7. New uniforms
Apparently, the new uniforms aren't just for show. The way the pants are crafted were made so that they allow more flexibility and less resistance to motion. Will it make a difference? I doubt it, but if the team starts breaking more 20+ yard runs and 50+ yard passes, some uniform manufacturer is going to start feeling really good about themselves.
8. Michael Spurlock who?
Before the draft, I predicted the 49ers would draft a potential successor to Allen Rossum at some point in the draft. It never happened. Instead, Michael Spurlock, a journeyman WR, was signed mainly for depth especially as a return man. While not a household name for most fans, he will always be remembered by Buccaneers fans as the first Buc ever to take a kick off return all the way for a touchdown. Despite his celebrity status in Tampa, he'll need more than that to retain a roster spot in a crowded WR corp. It will be interesting to see if the 49ers will be willing to offer him a spot on the roster in case ol' Allen Rossum goes down with an injury again. Surely, the team would like to avoid a situation similar to last year when they were forced to plug in Dominique Zeigler on punt returns.
9. Leadership
Without question, the head guy in charge is Mike Singletary. He is the be all, end all of the team. However, as Singletary has stated before, the team is in dire need of leaders consisting of players on the team willing to take on the role. Who are those players exactly? Patrick Willis immediately comes to mind. Justin Smith, Takeo Spikes, and Nate Clements were leaders even before they came to the team. Joe Staley claims to be taking upon the leadership role, as well. Other than him, Eric Heitmann, Frank Gore, Shaun Hill, and even Vernon Davis are also fit to lead on offense. Steve Young has said before that the reason why the Niners were so successful in the past was because the team consisted of leaders who were dedicating to winning. This year, many of our players are shedding their former roles of developing players and our entering the league as seasoned veterans. Even with all the additional talent, this newfound swagger may be the key factor in the team's future success.
10. Results?
Singletary's approach to training camp is a little different than the norm, but you can't always assume that's a good thing. We'll have to wait and see if his approach really works and produces the results we're expecting. So far, the outlook appears very positive. The players have responded extremely well and are already looking sharper than they have at this point of the year. Whether they can carry this over into the regular season has yet to be seen.
