by Morris Phillips
photo credit google images 49ers QB Dylan Thompson
SANTA CLARA–How does an NFL team get prepared for its regular season opener given the never-too-careful climate that has taken hold league-wide in 2015?
Well, if you’re the 49ers and Coach Jim Tomsula, you do it in the controlled-environment of the practice field, away from relative spotlight of pre-season football, which on Thursday night was simply a showcase for guys who may never get an opportunity to play on Sunday.
Dylan Thompson—not Blaine Gabbert or presumptive starter Colin Kaepernick—was the man on Thursday, throwing a pair of touchdown passes in the 49ers 14-12 win over the Chargers that concluded the pre-season. Thompson played the entire 60 minutes, while Gabbert and Kaepernick sported clipboards and offered advice. But when asked if he thought he had done enough to crack the final 53-man roster, Thompson didn’t even offer an opinion. Instead, the undrafted rookie from South Carolina said he would spend some time with his wife and prepare for the powers that be to decide his NFL existence.
Of the 22 players to start on offense and defense for San Francisco Thursday, only one, rush linebacker Aaron Lynch, could legitimately term himself an NFL starter. Lynch hasn’t been healthy for much of pre-season camp, so Thursday was his opportunity to be out on the field and feel the intensity and speed of an official game once again, but little else. The South Florida product recorded a pair of tackles and then spent the rest of the evening on the sideline.
So what of the preparation for opening night, which comes 11 days from now at Levi’s Stadium against the Vikings and their returning superstar Adrian Peterson?
According to Tomsula, the practice on Wednesday and the one to come on Friday will offer much, much more in preparation for the Vikings than Thursday. The first stringers will be on the field for 45 plays each of those two days in a controlled environment, away from the discerning eye of the local media and fans.
“We need the practice time. Instead of going out there today, taking yesterday off, and doing a walk through setting and then coming into this for five, or six or eight plays, I thought it would be better if we were able to get to 45 or 47 plays yesterday and then be able to get those again tomorrow with (the presumptive starters).”
Tomsula went on to say that in his time in the NFL, coaches have been on pins and needles when they played their starters even for just a handful of plays in the fourth and final exhibition. Over the years, according to Tomsula, the “horror” stories accumulated to the point that it became foolish to risk those players just for a few, added reps. Across the league on Thursday, with all 32 teams in action, just about every head coach and team did as Tomsula did, and kept their most essential guys on the sidelines.
So what of note—if anything—transpired on the Levi’s Stadium turf Thursday night?
Bruce Ellington, the second-year receiver from South Carolina, stood out with a 70-yard touchdown on a slant play that saw him outrace the defense for the final 60 yards. Ellington had struggled with a hamstring issue much of camp, and one point, was cornered by Tomsula and questioned about his before and after practice habits that Tomsula felt didn’t display that the young receiver was caring for his body in the way NFL players must. Ellington admitted that when confronted, he heeded Tomsula’s advice.
After his encouraging outing, not only as a receiver, but also returning a kickoff and three punts, Ellington appears to be a real threat to claim the team’s No. 3 receiving role, ahead of Jerome Simpson, who will begin the season on an NFL-mandated, four-game suspension.
Thompson, who delivered the pass to Ellington in stride ahead of the defense, liked how it played in his interests as well, saying “people following the Gametracker back home see 70 yards and think you threw it a long way.”
When Ellington came out, Jarryd Hayne kicked in, finishing with 118 yards in all-purpose yardage as the 27-year old rookie continued his unlikely story from Australian rugby player to legitimate NFL multi-purpose threat. Hayne, with his family present on the sidelines, broke a 28-yard punt return as well as a 19-yard run. This week, the coaches stressed to the powerful back to get his pad level lower and bring his running style closer to how things are done in the NFL. While he wasn’t the whirling dervish from the previous exhibitions, Hayne was effective, and no doubt, the 49ers’ coaching staff noticed.
“Our coaches are always about lowering our shoulders, you know, getting ready for contact. So it was just a situation that, like I said, all that training, all the hours on the field, to finally see it come together,” Hayne said.
The 49ers are well aware of the notoriety surrounding Hayne, no better personified by Tomsula’s bland answers to questions about the former rugby player. Normally, a player of his promise would be cut, and then quickly signed to the practice squad. But with Hayne, one of the other 31 teams would no doubt take a chance on the 6’2” battering ram and find him a spot. Given that, speculation in the stadium on Thursday was that the 49ers might be open to trading backup running back Kendall Hunter to make room for Hayne.
Hunter was effective in just his second game back after missing the entire 2014 season. The smallish, powerful back finished with 21 yards on 10 carries, including a nine-yarder that showed he still has his shiftiness.
On defense, veteran linebacker Philip Wheeler needed to make a statement and did with two tackles and a sack of Chargers’ quarterback Brad Sorenson. Also, Kenneth Acker, the second year cornerback continued to impress with his coverage and physical support around the line of scrimmage.
The 49ers open the regular season at home on Monday, September 14 against the Vikings at 7:20pm.
Morris Phillips is the 49ers beat reporter at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
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