Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Monday, July 31st, 2023
Maiocco’s 49ers camp observations: Lance, QBs make defense pay
“Lance opened practice with a well-thrown 20-yard completion to eight end George Kittle against cornerback Deommodore Lenoir and linebacker Marcelino McCrary-Ball. Lance also had a 20-yard touchdown pass to veteran receiver Chris Conley against the coverage of cornerback Ambry Thomas and safety Tashaun Gipson.
Darnold delivered a few high-level throws, including touchdowns of 13 and 50 yards to Brandon Aiyuk. On back-to-back plays, Darnold threw deep crossing routes to Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, both of whom made leaping catches, and took it the rest of the way into the end zone.”
What Kyle Shanahan said after 49ers’ fourth training camp practice
“San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters after Sunday’s practice, the fourth of training camp. Here is everything he had to say.”
49ers practice report: Brandon Aiyuk is dominant, Sam Darnold is sharp (paywall)
“Lance’s best play came on his first throw, a perfect 25-yard strike to tight end George Kittle off of play action. The third-year quarterback, however, missed yet another short throw — this one should’ve been a red zone touchdown to Samuel on the rollout — after misfiring on two similar patterns in the 49ers’ prior practice Friday. It’ll be imperative for Lance to demonstrate more consistent accuracy on such bread-and-butter throws as camp continues.”
Tashaun Gipson Sr. has proven to be a perfect match for a 49ers’ leadership role (paywall)
““Huf is who he is — his energy is just so different,” Gipson said. “Huf is young. Some of our rookies are still older than Huf. So he’s still a young kid, but I think no one knows the defense better than Huf, except for Fred (Warner). You hear him back there sometimes more than Fred each and every play.””
49ers’ rushing leader Frank Gore joins franchise’s front office (paywall)
“In April, GM John Lynch — who attended Broncos’ draft meetings run by his close friend, then-Denver GM John Elway, before joining the 49ers — said the franchise’s rushing leader had quietly sat in meetings taking “mental notes.”
“Aiyuk dropped a mention of Jamison on Sunday when speaking about the defensive backs.
“He’s out there balling, he’s out there working, not afraid,” Aiyuk said. “He can get it.”
Jamison (5-9, 185) was rated as a Day 3 draft prospect by NFL.com and was a top 100 recruit in high school. He started 40 games at Texas, totaling six interceptions and 139 tackles while also being one of the team’s key return specialists. He has plenty of competition at cornerback but seems to have played his way into the discussion for a roster spot. “
Shanahan says Brock Purdy will increase workload, discusses Brandon Allen
“In the past, the fourth quarterback on the roster has been completely cut out of practices, or taken a handful of reps. Allen has taken decidedly more than other quarterbacks in the same position, though Purdy’s rest day is also something new for the 49ers.”
“Overall, Darnold got to target Aiyuk four times, Deebo Samuel twice, Jauan Jennings once and Elijah Mitchell once. Which means that Darnold always threw to starters even when he played against the second-string defense. As opposed to Trey Lance, who got to target Kittle once, Samuel once, Chris Conley twice, Ty Davis-Price once and Aiyuk a whopping zero times. Which means Lance mostly played with backups even when he faced the first-string defense. And he didn’t get to play with Christian McCaffrey, who conveniently takes the day off whenever Brock is out. Plus Lance didn’t get to throw to Aiyuk, who has been a cheat code in camp this year. Today, only Darnold and Allen got to throw to Aiyuk.”
Cohn: The Good and Not So Good from Day 4 of 49ers Training Camp 2023
“He’s different than his predecessors, DeMeco Ryans and Robert Saleh. Those two jumped around and celebrated with their players during practices and games. Wilks doesn’t celebrate much. He stands and watches. Between plays, he walks into the huddle to call the play. When a player makes a mistake, Wilks stands and stares at that player for a good 10 seconds, maybe making mental notes. And then when the period ends, Wilks walks over to the player who made the mistake and calmly coaches him. Talks to him. Shows him what to do. Wilks did this today with Ambry Thomas and Deommodore Lenoir. You can tell Wilks is a real teacher who cares deeply about his players.”