Today, the San Francisco 49ers held their first padded practice of training camp. Here is what some of the team beat writers had to say about today's practice.
Matt Barrows, The Sacramento Bee:
Jarryd Hayne's first padded practice was perhaps a tad overhyped. The event brought two crews of Australian television reporters as well as plenty of questions and stories over the past two days.
With veteran runners Reggie Bush and Kendall Hunter being held out of practice, Hayne was part of the rotation at tailback along with Carlos Hyde, Mike Davis and Kendall Gaskins.
The theme so far in training camp is that the quarterbacks simply aren't comfortable behind the 49ers offensive line. Part of that is because the line has been reshuffled more than at any point in the last 10 years. Another factor is that the defensive line and outside linebackers are pretty good.
Several players stood out, especially Dockett, Brooks and Eli Harold. Arik Armstead also has consistently been a handful for offensive linemen one on one.
Dockett looked quick and explosive and otherwise unlike someone who tore his ACL a year ago.
Read all of Matt Barrows' practice notes
Grant Cohn, The Press Democrat:
[Aldon Smith] abused starting left tackle Joe Staley all afternoon. During one-on-one pass-rushing drills, Smith faked to the outside, came back inside and Staley never touched him.
[Arik Armstead] beat starting center Joe Looney once and starting right guard Marcus Martin twice during one on ones.
[Eric Reid] blitzed frequently, which I've never seen him do. Each time he blitzed the Niners failed to block him, and the quarterback had to tuck the ball and scramble.
By my count, [the offensive line] gave up nine sacks during team drills. Nine. And they were even worse at run blocking.
Read all of Grant Cohn's practice notes
Matt Maiocco, CSN Bay Area:
The right side of the 49ers' offensive line struggled immensely, and quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert and Dylan Thompson could rarely get their feet set in the pocket and were constantly on the run.
One estimate had the 49ers' defense rolling up nine sacks (three shared) among the 43 passes attempted during the 11-on-11 periods.
Mario Hull, DiAndre Campbell, Derek Carrier, Quinton Patton, Dres Anderson and DeAndrew White all failed to hold onto catchable throws.
Running back Jarryd Hayne wore pads for the first time as an American football player on Tuesday. The former Australian rugby league star generally looked good and seemed to handle his assignments with aplomb.
Of course, the play of the day is going to belong to the defense because there was not anything to choose as an offensive highlight. On the second play of a two-minute drill, Kaepernick looked to the right side for Quinton Patton. However, cornerback Shareece Wright jumped the route to intercept Kaepernick and take it back for a touchdown.
Cam Inman, The Mercury News:
Hayne's first collision in pass-protection drills came against hard-charging linebacker Nick Moody, and Hayne earned kudos from Rathman for his block. In team drills, Hayne blocked blitzing linebacker Shayne Skov into the ground.
Hayne's ticket to a roster spot is likely as a return specialist, and he showed well in that regard by returning one punt up the field as instructed special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey.
Linebacker NaVorro Bowman had practice off to rest. He instead worked out in the weight room and said he'll be back to practice for Wednesday's session.
Wide receiver Jerome Simpson was excused from practice for personal reasons.
The offensive linemen routinely struggled, although Joe Staley and Alex Boone fared OK in Tuesday's first contact drills of training camp, at least when matched up against Aldon Smith and Quinton Dial on consecutive snaps in a breakout session.
Read all of Cam Inman's practice notes
Chris Biderman, Niners Digest:
The highlight of the day for the defense came when cornerback Shareece Wright picked off Kaepernick along the right sideline, after Kaepernick was forced to make an off-balanced throw to avoid an all-out blitz.
The offensive highlight of the day came when backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert lofted a nicely thrown ball roughly 30 yards down field to undrafted free-agent receiver Dres Anderson, who beat Leon McFadden for the tough grab along the left sideline during a two-minute drill.
[Ian] Williams was disruptive again Tuesday, registering at least one sack of Kaepernick and constantly providing pressure straight up the middle.
