This might be the kind of stretch you expect in the closing days before football season finally starts. Eric Branch wrote a great article that includes an interview with San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach Steve Logan. The article focuses on his work with Colin Kaepernick, and the thinning up of the playbook.
Logan talked about the depth of the playbook previously, and the hope that thinning it out would improve efficiency. The idea being that Kap was stretched a bit thin in the past, and it impacted his ability to fully execute the plays in the playbook. By thinning the playbook, the hope is that the offense can focus in on the plays they need to execute, and become intimately familiar with them.
There was one part that jumped out at me as something we have not talked about much. Branch mentioned that it helped having only three quarterbacks in the offseason and training camp rotation. Additionally, Jim Tomsula emphasized tempo and speeding up the process, which would seemingly result in even more reps for the quarterbacks.
They say practice makes perfect (or permanent, if that's your preferred slogan) and Kurt Warner repeatedly mentioned that this offseason. Warner was talking specifically about improving Kap's mechanics, but the idea applies to the basics of learning the new playbook. The more reps, the better. In the past, the team has had four or five quarterbacks at times in the offseason. This year, there were never more than three. Combine that with an increased tempo, and the 49ers quarterbacks are getting more opportunities to improve their skills and knowledge of the plays.
Could this be something that makes a difference in 2015? Or am I just grasping at straws? The back-end of a 4- or 5-man QB rotation is inherently looking at fewer reps during the offseason workout program and training camp. And yet, they are still taking reps away from others.