Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Monday, July 29th, 2024
“To me, he’s such a good example of the difference between perception and reality,” Borland said. “He’s like the type of player you would create as a kid in Madden — 6-1, 240-plus pounds, fast, looked cool, wore a visor — and when I got to San Francisco, he was soft-spoken, really supportive and a great leader in a way that didn’t draw attention to him. The epitome of speak softly and carry a big stick.”
Willis’ soft-spoken approach to leadership didn’t always carry over to the meeting rooms, though. According to Whitner, Willis “pissed a lot of the players off” because he was “just like a 5-year-old” when it came to firing questions at the coaches about the defense. When teammates would try to slow those queries, Willis would let them know in no uncertain terms that his job as middle linebacker was to know everything about the defense and the game plan…..
“I think people confuse people who are self-contained with lacking intensity,” Borland said. “And I think the opposite is often true. Still waters run deep…. He could probably get you more fired up just by looking at you in the locker room than some guys could with a kind of bull—t speech… I was lucky just to be around him.”
Winters using Warner, 49ers resources in seeking larger role
“My head was on a swivel every day, all day,” he said. “And then trying to balance my role and follow the vets, it was a lot. This year, I have a good grasp of my role, what I need to do, how to be a pro and looking toward Fred and all those guys.”
Winters said he believes he now has a good grasp of the defense and has made strides in recognizing offensive formations, reading keys and getting off blocks. He does not feel as overwhelmed in his second training camp as he was a year ago, he said.
“I came in with a lot of confidence,” Winters said. “Everything isn’t new to me. We are still running the same scheme, the same plays. I think over time, getting those reps for a full year and coming back, consistently watching Fred and Dre, gave me a bunch of confidence to play fast. And I think that’s why I’m excelling right now.”
49ers training camp: With first day in pads near, Dominick Puni’s opportunity is here (paywall)
“Puni is undergoing the most notable crash course because the 49ers have focused all of his efforts so far on right guard. Even as he’s taken those first-team snaps over the past two days, he has also worked with the third team line at the same position — presumably to rack up as many reps as possible should the 49ers need him to deliver there early in his career.
Given that right guard was a particularly leaky spot in front of Purdy last season — the 49ers replaced Burford with Feliciano in the starting lineup down the stretch — and that Burford will miss an estimated three weeks, it’s a specific focus for Puni that makes a lot of sense.”
New Niner De’Vondre Campbell addresses social-media shots at Packers and 49ers (paywall)
“I don’t regret anything I do or say,” Campbell said. “I don’t have any ill will for anybody. I just felt like some things could have gone a little bit differently. That’s the business part of it. I respect it either way. That’s just part of being a man and part of being a professional. You just have to take things as they come.”
Purdy wants ‘Tom Brady kind of feeling’ in leading 49ers to dominant wins
“With as good of a team that we have, I want to get to that point where we get to the third quarter, there’s a couple of drives that are crucial, I’m on top of my stuff, we convert on third downs, and we score touchdowns and the lead just gets out of hand,” Purdy told Silver. “It’s having that Tom Brady kind of feeling. Late in the game, it always felt like Tom was just going to take over and not make it close. I feel like I can get to that.”
Purdy further explained to Silver that he wants to be more assertive with his playmaking in games.
“I want to be dominant,” Purdy told Silver. “Not just win games and feel like, ‘Eh.’ I want to be dominant with consistent decisions and feeling like we’re the top dogs every day.
“There were moments last year in games where I would just — I don’t know what it was in the situation — but we’d be up and it’s, ‘All right, be smart with the ball,’ or ‘Let’s just make sure we don’t mess up.’ I want to break through that and get to this point of just being dominant, for four quarters, man. That’s my mindset.”
“Jordan Mason has looked better than Elijah Mitchell so far.”