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49ers training camp: Deebo Samuel looks sleek while Brandon Aiyuk soars on Day 1 (paywall)
“I think the heat kind of played a part because Arizona is hot,” he said. “We were doing a lot of running, a lot of cardio, a lot of stuff to kind of trim the fat a little bit. A lot of track working out. Then I got into a routine of flexibility, mobility, and then I got into boxing a little bit.”
“I just remember all through training camp, Jed comes down a lot, asks how the quarterbacks are doing,” Shanahan said. “I would talk about all of them and I would always go to, ‘This Purdy guy’s doing great.’ I remember Brock got in for the first time against Kansas City (in a Week 7 blowout loss) and some mop-up time at the way end and threw a pick on the last deal. And I remember Jed going, ‘I thought you said he was really good.’ I was like, ‘Jed, that was the last drive, that wasn’t a good play.’ (Several weeks later,) Jimmy got hurt and then it was like, I remember Jed always saying, ‘All right, you’ve been saying how good this guy is. So now we’re going to find out.’ I was like, ‘Wait, whoa, whoa, that was in practice. We’ve gotta be patient.’
Notes from Day 1 of training camp, and 5 things I’d be doing right now if I were Nick Bosa
“Lance’s best throw of the day was actually broken up by Fred Warner. He layered a nearly perfect ball towards Deebo Samuel, who was slicing from the middle of the field to the right sideline on a deep drag route. Warner, though, used all of his range, intelligence and athleticism to get fingertips on the throw to break it up.......The next play was outrageous from Brandon Aiyuk and underwhelming from Lance. Lance put plenty of height on the ball to let Aiyuk make a play on it, but once again left the ball to the inside, where Lenoir had an angle to it.
Lance’s lack of precision didn’t matter this time, either. Aiyuk sprung up like a kid wearing moon shoes and made a nonsensical, high-point catch look easy. Then he got in the face of Lenoir — who he exchanged friendly barbs with on social media before camp started — to show him a little extra love.
Sam Darnold had a solid day, and on the whole, looked a bit more precise than Lance did.”
“Completed 5 of 6 pass attempts during 11 on 11s, plus he scrambled for a first down on 3rd and 7. His best throw was his first throw — a 30-yard play-action pass to Ty Davis-Price running wide open up the left sideline. Lance’s only incompletion was a nicely placed touch throw downfield to Deebo Samuel that got broken up at the last second by a leaping Fred Warner, who makes plays like that all the time. Lance seemed to focus on throwing passes to his left, which was an issue for him last year. Not this year. He’s opening his hips early on throws to his left, which is key. Plus his release is much quicker than the past two years (thank you, Jeff Christensen), and he’s throwing short passes much softer, according to Deebo Samuel. Good first day for Lance, who clearly was the best quarterback on the field.”
The Good and Not So Good from Day 1 of 49ers Training Camp 2023
“Beginning to emerge as the go-to guy on third down. Beat Isaiah Oliver over the middle for a 15-yard catch on 3d and 7, then made a leaping 10-yard catch over Deommodore Lenoir on 3rd and 8, popped up and got right in Lenoir’s face to tell him about it. I give it a week before someone on the defense punches Aiyuk. He’s so intense every day. I love it.”
‘Superstar’ Aiyuk brimming with confidence as 49ers camp begins
“If you’re a wide receiver, you see other wide receivers throughout the league, they have a lot of freedom to do a bunch of crazy stuff in their routes and stuff — that’s not really our offense,” Kittle said Wednesday after practice. “[Our offense] is, hey, quarterback does a five-step with a hitch; your route is seven steps. You need to hit seven steps on this landmark instantly so when the quarterback throws the ball, he can look this way, and when he turns, he doesn’t even have to see you. He can just throw it, and he knows that you’re going to be right there.
“And young wide receivers in our offense, it takes them a while to figure that out because they’re like, ‘Oh, I’m just going out there to play catch’ and it’s like, no, that’s not our offense. Our offense is precise. That’s what you have to do, and it takes guys a while to realize the work ethic from the practice and the attention to detail that goes into that.”
Aiyuk began to put it all together in Year 3, turning an already great football player into a bonafide standout.
“He’s learned all that, and now he gets to add his own sauce on top of all that stuff,” Kittle said. “And so now you see those cool plays, the cool catches where he’s ripping it away from people. And he’s just taken another step, and it’s because he has this foundation, this understanding of this awesome offense that gives him the opportunity to go out there and just wrap people up and look like a superstar, which is what he is.”
What Kyle Shanahan said after 49ers’ first training camp practice
“San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters after Wednesday’s practice, the first of training camp. Here is everything he had to say.”
Why every wrinkle to this year’s 49ers quarterback controversies matter (paywall)
“So, yes, this camp competition between Darnold and Lance matters. And, yes, Shanahan is happy that it’s happening, and that it’s a major topic of conversation.”
“The most dynamic pass breakup occurred when Sam Darnold’s deep throw intended for speedster Danny Gray down the right sideline landed incomplete with tough coverage from Ambry Thomas and converging safety Talanoa Hufanga.”
“Hope you guys allow me to change my mind if we do it differently,” Shanahan joked, “But we’ll make sure it’s even for them, whether we split it up that one day, or we give one one practice and the guy the next one that Brock’s not there.”
“Tezino was a standout at San Diego State who spent time with the Carolina Panthers, and more recently with the Pittsburgh Maulers in the USFL, where he played alongside former 49er Reuben Foster.
With Pittsburgh, Tezino had two interceptions and 94 combined tackles, which ranked second most in the league. His nine tackles for a loss and 53 solo tackles both led the league, in which the Maulers finished runners up to the Birmingham Stallions.”
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