The San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens conducted the first of three open practices on Saturday, and it appears the 49ers emerged relatively healthy. Vance McDonald and Lawrence Okoye did not participate in practice. Okoye is getting over an ankle injury suffered on Thursday, while McDonald's status is unknown. The beat writers believed it to be minor, but we'll wait and see what's up. Demarcus Dobbs was back at practice after suffering an ankle injury on Thursday.
Jonathan Martin
It is hard to figure out exactly what's going on with Martin. Matt Barrows reported that Martin fared well in one-on-one drills against Elvis Dumervil. Barrows said Martin had good feet, and seemed to do better against speed rushers, as compared to power rushers.
However, it also sounds like Martin still had some issues, and consistency seems to be a problem for him. MMQB's Greg Bedard was on hand today, and he tweeted this:
49ers RT Jonathan Martin was smoked twice by Elvis Dumervil in one-on-ones. Later, Suggs put Martin on his rear. Harbaugh replaced him.
— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) August 9, 2014
It is possible Martin did well in most other aspects of practice. Matt Maiocco mentioned Suggs putting Martin down, but then said Martin was replaced because he was slow getting up. It remains to be seen if Harbaugh replaced him because there was concern he might have hurt himself, or if he was simply a temporary demotion.
Short passing game
It sounds like the 49ers had a good day in terms of completion percentage, but the reports make it sound like the team worked on some shorter stuff. It remains to be seen what exactly we'll see from the 49ers offense this season. The preseason is probably not going to be telling us a whole anytime soon. We'll see the occasional interesting play mixed in, but for the most part, we'll probably see mostly vanilla play-calling.
Assorted non-49ers beat writer tweets
The joint practice means we see some Ravens beat writers on hand. Additionally, given that it is Jim and John together again, some national media made it out. Here are a few tweets from Ravens and national folks:
49ers C Marcus Martin beat a pretty good young DT (Lewis-Moore) in back-to-back 1-on-1s.
— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) August 9, 2014
Kaepernick's mechanics and vision have improved slightly but he's still frustratingly inconsistent in both areas.
— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) August 9, 2014
49ers rookie WR Bruce Ellington isn't quite as polished as the Saints' Brandin Cooks, but he's darn impressive
— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) August 9, 2014
49ers defensive lineman quinton dial told me 'it's too hot to fight out here'
— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) August 9, 2014
49ers first-team offense performed well against Ravens first-team defense. Steve Smith had a real good practice. Chykie Brown struggled
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) August 9, 2014
Jimmy Smith was only defensive back that held up well for #Ravens. Kaepernick completed passes at will today.
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) August 9, 2014
During 11-on-11, #49ers WR Stevie Johnson made a great sideline catch with Jimmy Smith in coverage. Rare completion against the #Ravens CB.
— Luke Jones (@BaltimoreLuke) August 9, 2014
Quote of the day from an unnamed media member on #49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert: "He kind of has that Uncle Rico throwing motion."
— Luke Jones (@BaltimoreLuke) August 9, 2014
Participation
DNP: Vance McDonald (unknown), Lawrence Okoye (ankle), CB Tramaine Brock (ankle), Michael Crabtree (hamstring), LaMIchael James (elbow), Justin Smith (shoulder), Ray McDonald (leg), Anthony Davis (shoulder)
Warmups, no practice: Brandon Lloyd (hamstring)
Practice Reports
Matt Barrows
Cam Inman
Matt Maiocco
Bill Williamson
49ers.com
Jamison Hensley - Ravens ESPN.com writer