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Barrows: 49ers defense strikes back vs. Vikings; another rookie nickel jumps out (paywall)
“One of the standouts from the practice was [DB] Qwuantrezz Knight, an undrafted rookie, who in addition to his interception had a nice, diving pass breakup in the end zone during seven-on-seven drills. He was filling in at safety on the interception because the 49ers are a bit thin due to injuries to Jimmie Ward and Dontae Johnson. Knight was a safety at Maryland and Kent State before moving to UCLA where he played the so-called “striker” position, which is a hybrid nickel-safety-linebacker role.”
Branch: 49ers’ practice report: Goodness gracious, Nick Bosa (paywall)
“It was not only a reminder of what Bosa could do in a practice when Williams wasn’t on the other side. It was a glimpse of what could happen if an opponent didn’t consistently account for Bosa with double-teams, as they do in the regular season. Both teams stuck with vanilla scripts during the two practices.”
NFL and NFLPA reach settlement, agree to extend Deshaun Watson’s suspension [report]
“Watson is now scheduled to make his season debut in Week 13 vs. his former team, the Houston Texans, on the road.”
“Completed 12 of 17 passes despite two drops, which is excellent. But he also threw a pick, which is not so excellent. On the pick, Deebo Samuel was opening running from left to right across the middle and Lance’s pass was slightly behind him. Samuel tried to spin and catch the ball the way McCloud did so effortlessly, but Samuel didn’t make a full turn, so cornerback Cameron Dantzler tipped the pass and it got intercepted by Chandon Sullivan. Lance’s worst pass of the day was a check down he airmailed to Jeff Wilson Jr. — Lance seems to sail at least one short pass to the flat every practice. His best play of the day came on 4th and 6, down by 4 with 30 seconds left, when he scrambled to his left and hit Samuel for 15 yards. Overall, Lance did lots of good things today, but he must be more precise when he throws over the middle, otherwise he will throw picks galore this season.”
“We’ve got older guys on this offense,” Williams said. “I’m not going to just, say, force him to anything just because he plays a particular position, and that’s what the outside thinks, this position has to lead the offense. That’s not necessarily true... He’s 22, and he has a natural leader instinct. But when you’ve got myself, (George) Kittle, Deebo, all those guys in the huddle, he’s going to let them say—let us say whatever we’ve got to say. And then he commands the huddle. He’s got a great grip on the offense. That’s all we can ask of him.”
Branch: How 49ers’ Trey Lance lightened up, loosened up and embraced his leadership role (paywall)
“In news conferences, that has been evident in the way Lance has good-naturedly teased reporters, and even his head coach. About the latter: Lance recently discussed how Shanahan stands behind the quarterbacks during practice and often points to where the ball should have been thrown during their post-play interactions.
Lance’s zinger, delivered with a smile: “Even if he couldn’t have made the throw.”
Why Brandon Aiyuk wasn’t a fan of 49ers-Vikings joint practices
“I can’t wait to get into game planning and just working on what you’re going to work on throughout the whole entire week, and then go on and execute on Sundays,” Aiyuk said. “So I’m excited to game plan. We’re obviously not doing that right now. We’re still putting stuff in and just working and getting better, communicating, being on the same page with the quarterback. So we’re not game planning right now, but when we do, it will definitely be exciting.”
“He impressed enough in his first season in Chicago to earn another one-year deal last offseason, but was ranked as the eighth worst safety in football (85 out of 92) last year according to Pro Football Focus. Gipson has 27 career interceptions.”
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