The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Chargers held a joint practice on Tuesday. Kyle Shanahan provided the injury updates. Let’s get right into the action.
Defensive struggles for the 49ers’ secondary
It does not sound like the defensive backs enjoyed the success during the joint practice:
A Chargers account is tweeting multiple clips. Like we did last week with the Titans, we’ll use the opponents’ perspective.
On this play, defensive tackle Alfred Collins makes a tackle for loss:
On this play, Jaden Dugger gets blocked to the ground. However, his job is to ensure the running back doesn’t get outside of him. That doesn’t happen, which allows Dre Greenlaw to scrape through the trash and make a tackle near the line of scrimmage:
Here’s Deommodore Lenoir allowing an easy reception for a first down:
You can’t see the result, but based on the reaction, Lenoir got “mossed” and allowed a touchdown:
Osa Odighizuwa would’ve annihilated Justin Herbert on this play, so the long touchdown would’ve never happened. Sounds like Odighizuwa had himself a day:
Romello Height had a sack. This touchdown never happens in a real game:
It’s still not a great sign seeing Lenoir getting beaten deep and Ji’Ayir Brown being late to see a deep post route when that was his only vertical threat:
That’s rookie wide receiver Brennan Thompson, who ran a 4.26 40-yard dash.
This play is a mess:
Marques Sigle is the deep safety. He takes himself out of the post (middle of the field) for a route that’s being defended, despite a deep crossing route coming his way. Lenoir, who was guarding David Njouku, falls off the route and picks up a crosser from the other side, who Renardo Green is guarding. Two players are wrong, and that’s how you get a coverage bust.
Here’s more miscommunication. Either safety Ji’Ayir Brown is late and needs to recognize the running back sooner, or Green must fall off his receiver and pick up the back:
More often than not, in these quarters coverages, the cornerback is going to defend the No. 1 wide receiver 1-on-1, provided he doesn’t run a route under five yards.
You’d like to see Sigle get over to the tight end quicker and either break the pass up or intercept it:
If the 49ers are going to have a chance this season, Sigle is going to have to process what’s happening faster than that.
I’m more interested in the personnel groupings than the result of this play. For example, on this red zone play, Jack Jones is in at corner instead of Renardo Green (who left after friendly fire with Fred Warner) and Larry Worth III is the third linebacker:
Worth had a beat on the throw, but he lacked the spatial awareness of where he was in relation to the wideout. That should have been an interception.
That would not be the only touchdown Jones surrendered:
Speaking of safeties, here is Brown getting run over by Omarion Hampton:
If you leave your feet to tackle, bad things are going to happen.
It wouldn’t be a practice without Fred Warner punching a ball out:
What an incredible skill that is.
Offense
Kaelon Black was reportedly active early on, as the 49ers are wasting no time throwing him into the mix:
Black is no stranger to big runs either. He finished fourth in the country last season in the percentage of plays that resulted in an EPA of greater than +1.0 — an indication of highly successful, explosive plays for the offense.
As we know, that was a struggle for the 49ers’ offense last season. The offense finished 21st in 10+ yard runs.
Barrows tweeted a clip of one of Black’s gains, and it was probably a 3-yarder:
Here is one of those “layer king” throws from Brock Purdy:
The bigger takeaway is that Carver Willis is getting a shot at left guard, while Robert Jones is playing right guard with Dominick Puni (concussion) out.
Blocks like these are why Jones may no longer be locked in as the starter for left guard:
Shanahan said, “It’s still a competition. No one has really completely made it easy on us yet. I still think we’ve got a lot more time to go. Not a ton, but enough for guys can step up and do it. I think Carver missing that time made him a little bit behind the 8-ball on it, but it’s good that he’s gotten a full week in. Hopefully, he has no setbacks so we can make that opinion here in two weeks.”
De’Zhaun Stribling scored in the red zone:
If he can catch these fade routes, the red zone offense will be difficult to stop:
Here’s Deebo slipping on a slot fade:
Shanahan said he liked how the offense performed at first, but not so much later on: “I thought we struggled a little bit in the move the ball periods. Didn’t score in two-minute. There were some ups and downs. I didn’t really like how we finished the day.”
Brock Purdy said, “Honestly, I don’t think it was our best day. I just feel like we could have come out with a little more chip on our shoulder.”
