Photo Credit: Chris Mezzavilla
We’re more than a week into camp now, and starting to get a feel for the roster; more specifically, the new guys. Rookies are starting to carve out their niche and veteran additions fighting for some of the back-end roster spots.
Here are a few of the notable goings-on from the last few days.
Garoppolo on ‘most competitive camp’ and his lone zone read
Jimmy Garoppolo described this training camp as, “probably the most competitive camp we’ve had, offense versus defense.”
Now, the immediate response to Garoppolo saying it’s his most competitive camp with the 49ers, is to think about the very obvious quarterback competition (or lack thereof, according to Kyle Shanahan) between him and Trey Lance. But Garoppolo said that’s not what he was referring to, saying it’s strictly about a competition between the offense and defense.
He said at this point in training camp, he doesn’t feel pressure from Lance or concern about his job security. It’s too early for that.
“No, no training camp, you worry about a lot of things and you can’t start worrying about that stuff,” Garoppolo said. “I think offensively we’ve been playing well, I’m pretty happy with where we’re at. You know, Trey’s been, he’s been making some plays. We’ve all got a long way to go. We’re just getting started here in camp.”
One thing which Lance has done plenty of thus far is run the zone read. There have been some designed quarterback runs and scrambles when the pocket collapses and he can’t find a receiver, but the majority of those runs have been on reads, when Lance keeps the ball.
Shanahan said it’s always been a part of the offense, pointing to the four zone reads that C.J. Beathard ran against the Arizona Cardinals last year. He also mentioned one which Garoppolo ran in his first year, in Week 17 against the Houston Texans.
The problem with that play was that Jadeveon Clowney was waiting for Garoppolo. Shanahan said it was the wrong call, so he backed off calling it. Garoppolo laughed about that play on Tuesday.
“I mean, [Shanahan] was pretty confident. He was like, ‘Pull it, we’re going to get the edge on them,’” Garoppolo said. “And as soon as I lined up and saw it was Clowney, I was like, alright, well, I hope we really get the edge on them. And yeah, thankfully we pulled that one out, but that, yeah — that ain’t my strong suit. It was a team decision, we’ll say that.”
I’m fairly confident this is the play Garoppolo is referring to.
He sees Clowney coming and leaves the ball with Carlos Hyde, who rips off a huge chunk before fumbling. I would embed it here but the NFL hates fun, and discernibly me in particular, so unfortunately that’s not an option.
Kinlaw and Hufanga’s high expectations
If you went into Madden and created your ideal defensive tackle, it would look a whole hell of a lot like Javon Kinlaw. He has all the measurables you look for in a DT; size, quick-twitch ability, strength, a soul-piercing stare, etc. He was widely expected to be a project coming out of college. He was as unrefined a rusher as you’ll find, and had to come into a shortened offseason after dealing with a knee issue, which he said “took a toll” on him.
His performance down the stretch of last season improved drastically, which is to say it was simultaneously impressive while still leaving acres of room for improvement. Kinlaw’s focus, among other things, has been to improve his pad level, hand placement and cardio.
He said he watches a lot of Ndamukong Suh because he “always wants to play violent,” which is a harrowing prospect for interior offensive linemen, given Kinlaw has at least a listed inch and six pounds (319) on Suh.
“I want to be able to look back and say I was one of the best guys to do this,” Kinlaw said. “That’s just the mindset that I have. It’s the mindset I’ve had since I started playing this game… I don’t care what anybody thinks about how I am right now or anything like that. I don’t care what they say, one day I will be. That’s my take on that.”
Shanahan’s early assessment of Kinlaw — who’s been limited early and easing his way back into team drills — was optimistic after Tuesday’s padded practice.
“He’s a problem when he’s out there,” Shanahan said. “The offense doesn’t want him out as much as he was today because he messes a lot of stuff up for us, but it was good to see him. And I know he was pumped to get the pads on today too.”
But Kinlaw’s not alone in keeping his bar high. Rookie safety Talanoa Hufanga said after he was drafted that he wants to become a Pro Bowl-caliber special teams player.
It revealed both tact on Hufanga’s part — younger players are often required to play special teams, and a talent for it could be the difference between making the roster — and an indication for his love of the game. He worked with fellow Samoan and legendary safety Troy Polamalu, and said he plays with a sense of joy for the game.
In the early days of camp, he’s failed to make many errors, at least egregious ones, which are usually a good sign for a rookie defensive back.
McGlinchey’s reclaimed confidence
There’s an old football saying that there are two types of offensive linemen; the ones you have to keep fat, and the ones you have to keep skinny. Mike McGlinchey is clearly the latter, which bodes well for him once his football career is over.
Unfortunately, as he made evident last week, it makes it extraordinarily difficult for him to keep weight on. He says he loses about 10-to-15 pounds of weight via sweat every practice, and is constantly force-feeding himself to keep his weight up.
McGlinchey revealed this offseason to KNBR that he gained a significant amount of weight and was hovering between 315-320 pounds. At the start of last season, he told reporters he was roughly 295-300 pounds, earning him the nickname “The Big Slim.”
That was a product, he said, of COVID-19 protocols and the inability to access the team facility and follow nutrition and conditioning plans. In combination with the 49ers being marooned in Arizona amidst a failed, injury-riddled season, it sent McGlinchey to what he described Saturday as a “dark place.”
He lashed out at his critics, telling KNBR that he handled the criticism — which he described as fair — poorly, and that it’s something which will “never happen again.”
He made a concerted effort to reclaim his confidence and any such nicknames by bulking up over the summer, working in concert with the team’s strength and conditioning coach, Dustin Perry. He told reporters that he put on about 25 pounds of weight last season, which maybe points to the fact that he was on the lower end of that range he provided last season.
But there has been a discernible shift and growth in McGlinchey’s confidence as he’s gained weight, saying that because he was so thin, he guarded against bull rushes from defensive end. That approach and overcompensation led to the lowlights of McGlinchey’s career, when he found himself on the ground in striking uncharacteristic ways.
“I was guarding too much of a bull rush and even if I wasn’t getting bulled, I was stopping my feet too much in preparation for the bull.” McGlinchey said. “[The weight] is just something that’s given me a little bit more mental confidence.”
Now, a much heftier McGlinchey seems to have translated that confidence. He looks far more comfortable in the early days of camp in his pass sets. That’s not to say he hasn’t been beaten (hey, even Trent Williams got beaten badly on Tuesday), but it’s not at any sort of alarming rate, and he’s showing well, like when he stuffed and effectively pancaked Dee Ford on Saturday.
Other notes: Corner depth, Sherfield’s early success and receiver notes
- The 49ers signed veteran corner B.W. Webb after injuries to Dontae Johnson (day-to-day, foot), Tim Harris Jr. (out for a few weeks, groin), and Emmanuel Moseley’s continued absence on the Reserve/COVID-19 list
- Trent Sherfield looks likelier to make the 49ers’ roster by the day, with his special teams experience an added bonus to what he’s flashed as a receiver. Outside of the top three of Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and Mohamed Sanu, only Richie James Jr. seems reasonably likely to make the roster, with Sherfield the only other clear, likely candidate. He’s been extremely effective, especially with Trey Lance, catching a roughly 50-plus yard touchdown pass on Saturday. He said he had other offers after being non-tendered by the Arizona Cardinals and was ecstatic to sign with the 49ers. He also had high praise for Lance.
“Trey Lance, he’s a baller, man,” Sherfield said. “He can play. Him and Jimmy, they’re both doing phenomenally well.”
- As for Samuel, he didn’t participate on Tuesday, which was his first absence of camp. He’s looked slightly leaner and said he’s been doing hot yoga to improve his flexibility, but sat out with soreness and groin tightness. Meanwhile Jalen Hurd participated in team drills for the first time. He was not targeted once, but seemed to make it through practice without issue.