A large percentage of the time,
Offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye said he plans for that to change this season. Raye said he wants to utilize
"He's also an excellent in-line blocker," Raye said, "but we would like to use him not as much in blocking in pass situations as we would running routes. So we would like to put him in positions where he is a matchup problem for the defense . . . provided the protection that we have will allow us to do that."
This is not exactly a novel concept. We've heard Norv Turner, Jim Hostler and Mike Martz all say the same things about
In '07 with Hostler calling plays,
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The 49ers' offense opened 11-on-11 in the afternoon session with a trick play that went for a 20-yard TD. Shaun Hill threw a backward pass to Josh Morgan, who then fired to Dominique Zeigler in the end zone.
On the next pass play, Hill hooked up with Delanie Walker, who had beaten linebacker Jeff Ulbrich down the middle of the field.
Later, Hill tried to get pass to
Both quarterbacks looked as good as they have this offseason. Both completed a high percentage of their red-zone passes, mostly underneath. On one of Smith's few incomplete passes, he tried to get the ball deep into coverage for
* * *
In the morning practice, Alex Smith and cornerback Dre' Bly had very strong showings.
Bly jumped routes to break up three passes during a 7-on-7 session. Isaac Bruce described Bly as a "gambler type of cornerback." Bruce said, "You need that in this league." Bruce said teams cannot afford to have cornerbacks who allow the opposition to complete easy passes underneath for three-quarters of a game. He said Bly is not afraid to take some chances.
Smith threw the ball extremely well. His accuracy today was better than in previous days I've seen him this offseason, as he routinely placed the ball in easy-to-catch spots. During a passing drill and a team session, Smith completed nine of 12 passes. Earlier during a period when it was just receivers and corners on the field, he connected with Mark Bradford on a beautifully thrown deep ball against rookie Jahi Word-Daniels.
Shaun Hill completed a lower percentage of his passes, but he and Delanie Walker teamed up for the best play of the day when he hit Delanie Walker on stride down the right sideline.
* * *
Receiver Isaac Bruce is not the most verbal player on the team. He said the best way for the younger receivers to learn from him is to watch him.
"When I came in, there were guys who had been in the league for a while, guys like Flipper Anderson, and if I was interested in being a good receiver in the NFL, I think he was a good guy that I could watch," Bruce said. "I didn't really have to talk to him, I could just watch what he did and just do the same things that he did and get the same results. So, if I'm a mentor, I'll be that. If I'm not, I'm not."
* * *
Offensive tackle Barry Sims sat out most of practice with a right knee strain, but a club spokesman said Sims is expected to practice Sunday.
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Matt, good to hear that you are seeing an improvement in Smith's accuracy. Keep us posted, as I think this is huge if he wants to be a succesful starter in this league.
As far as Davis goes, every year I hear the same thing from the offensive coordinator..."Davis will be a weapon in the passing game" or some similar quote.
We'll see...
Raye would be wise to use ALL the weapons in his arsenal including his Peacekeeper(VD).
Where has Wragge been playing? With his contract extension, and Baas at the end of his contract, are the 49ers brass willing to give Wragge the job next year if Baas disappoints or will cost too much money?
Question: Where has Wragge been playing?
My response: Wragge has been seeing action at center, as well as right guard. The 49ers want to see if Cody Wallace can play guard, so when he shifts over, it's Wragge who plays center. Wragge is signed through 2010, so he certainly has a chance to start if Baas does not return. --Matt M.
Matt,
For the last several years we have good vibes in the early camps, and even into Training Camp, only to see them evaporate. This year ,though, seems different. We have depth in most positions and a mixture of established stars and promising young players. Most importantly, we have focused leadership which is driving everyone to achieve their potential.I'm very hopeful that this season we wont feel like Charlie Brown after Lucie yanks the ball away!
I noticed we were in strong left or strong right formations with the tight end covering the tackles far too much last year. Sims was horrible but Staley also gave up 8.5 sacks also. Some of us wondered what Nolan was thinking when he hired Martz with his 7 step drop offense without a good O line. I understand we will be using more two back schemes which will help. The key to an offensive line is the ability of the left tackle to go naked most of the time against the best pass rushers. Here's to Staley stepping up, He will be the key to improving pass protection.
Good to hear D. Walker's name pop up again -just really like this kid -plays hard all the time it seems! As far as VD goes all I can say is "don't tell me show me"-and he might- we'll see! Sounds like A Smith is coming on a little..curious about the quickness of his release and reads...and of course his ability to lead...but time will tell! Matt if you get a moment would be interested to hear your take on Sheets so far.
Marco -I concur about Sims -just markedly bad play at times last year...really thought Snyder was improving his play in steady increments til he got banged up-my hope of course is for Marvel to come in and stay healthy -then we have something rolling and the running game with the two back scheme could be a very effective weapon. Further, I'm curious to see what Boone brings- kinda like his smart(bleep)ed swagger -now"SHOW ME" son.
Good observation about Staley. He did give up a number of sacks. I am willing to cut him some slack because he was switching from Left to Right tackle at the start of the season. His play did improve a bit in the second half.
I hope Marvel Smith can stay healthy and return to his pro-bowl form. However, the key to the performance of the O-Line is the development of Chilo Rachal. It is not a coincidence that Gore had his best sesaon when running behind Larry Allen. Rachal has ways to go before coming close to the Allen level, but if he can play even half as good as Allen, Gore can have a pro-Bowl season.
Staley should be fine. I put his 1st half struggles due to the switch from right to left but more on Martz' constant 7 step drops & JTO holding onto the ball too long. In Raye's Offense where he'll be emphasizing the run it should be a big change for the better for Staley & the whole OLine. The added rushing reps should help him improve on his run blocking as well. No way in hell Raye leaves his QB & OL hung out to dry in the passing game the way Martz did with his boy JTO. (Damn shame)
The biggest key IMO is the health of Marvel Smith. If he can hold up through the whole year plus get back into form that will be huge. If he can hold his own without needing any help it will free up VD to let Raye use him as a playmaker like he wants to. Otherwise we're right back where we started back to mediocre RT play. I see Snyder as a solid backup OT at best. I hope Boone can beat out Sims so we can finally release him. I have high hopes for Chilo. He has big upside potential & I hope he gets what he's striving for & that's to have his breakout year. Dunno Chilo's stats last year but for a Rookie stepping in I think he more than met expectations & held his own nicely on his side. I predict Rachal's gonna be a BEAST!
I agree with the comments above that say that we've been hearing this "same thing" since VD was drafted. I think his attitude played into his inability to catch a pass in the previous seasons. I also think that he would press too much when the ball was thrown his way.
He is a very good blocker without a doubt but the need for a pass catching tight end is obvious in the NFL. I hope MS's little talk and challenge to him last year continues this year. In a way I think MS's presence this year might be the ticket for VD's hands of stone. We'll see! Maybe he can turn into the guy we thought he'd be when we drafted him so high!
God! I hope so!
Marco: I believe I read that in the 2nd half of last season that Staley gave up 0 sacks. So,either he is 1-getting more experience at LT and getting better as he plays more or
2-Sing being the HC had an effect on how the offense was run and therefore how Staley looked or
3-probably most importantly of all,when Hill came in at QB,his quick release and pocket awareness made it much more difficult to sack the new Niner's QB than to sack the previous bunch (probably some of all 3 reasons).