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WR Micheal Spurlock takes a snap in the "Taser" formation.
(Photo: Samuel Lam)
The 49ers invited me to join them today for their morning practice. Thanks to PR Director Bob Lange for setting this all up for me.
The team started the day off with more running drills, but the biggest surprise of the day was that the team ran a handful of "Wildcat" offensive plays. In the play, we saw the quarterback line up at outside wide receiver while the running back would line up in shotgun with the "quarterback". WR Arnaz Battle ran a few plays, but a majorty of the Wildcat snaps were taken by WR Micheal Spurlock.
The first play they ran, Spurlock rolled left and found an open Isaac Bruce for a catch. But most of the plays were either runs by the "quarterback" or the halfback in the backfield.
Offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye, who calls the "Wildcat" formation "taser", wanted to impliment a few of these plays in the offense. When Spurlock was asked about it, he said he was approached by Raye about the opportunity to play quarterback. (Spurlock played quarterback at Ole Miss and was the starting quarterback for his senior year after Eli Manning got drafted).
Spurlock was excited to partake in any opportunity to get on the field. He said that he had ran a few Wildcat plays in Tampa Bay, but never ran it during the regular season. Even though Spurlock doesn't see any of these formations for Friday's exhibition game against Denver, he was willing to play any position the coaches tell him to play (whether it's receiver, kick returner or quarterback).
The highlight of the day came early in practice when Shaun Hill connected with Josh Morgan on a 40-yard touchdown pass. A lot of 3-second drills were used in today's practice, but for the most part, the team didn't have a lot on their plate for the day.
It looks like that they might have a heavier load for the afternoon.
A few notes from practice:
- TE Bear Pascoe has been looking good lately and had a great catch on Marcus Hudson. Damon Huard threw the ball behind Hudson and Pascoe adjusted to catch.
- T Adam Snyder has been getting a lot of reps with the fisrt team. Offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye said that Snyder could earn a starting job. On T Marvel Smith, he said that he can also earn a job once he plays well after being medically cleared to do so. It looks like it's Snyder's job for now.
- Both RB Frank Gore and Glen Coffee looked good today. Raye said that he will look forward to Coffee, Thomas Clayton and Kory Sheets' performance on Friday.
- Spurlock was a little late talking with the media. He said he goes through a cold tub, a hot tub and the steam room right after practice. He was really nice to all of us though.
Some pictures from today's practice found here.
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I have the whole transcript from Jimmy Raye's conference with the media. He had lots of praises for the "Taser" offense and his evaluation of the team offense in general.
On how implementing elements of the Wildcat offense went in practice:
“It was very good. Since the pads have gone on, it was our first foray into it. There are some things about it that are different for us and good. I like what I saw from Micheal Spurlock. We didn’t have Mike Robinson today because he wasn’t working. But he and Arnaz Battle and Micheal are the three guys who we will be practicing that with. The initial introduction of it was very good and we got a good start on it.”
On why Spurlock works well in the Wildcat:
“By trade, he is a former college quarterback. He is also a punt returner and a kick returner so he has running ability and ability to throw the ball. He has great initial quickness and he is a pass threat. The combination of those things and the fact that he is a punt returner who can run with the ball gives you a little more flexibility and a little more lead way.”
On whether Spurlock’s size helps him in the Wildcat:
“That depends on your perspective. I think it is a plus. There are some things, from a quarterback stand point, there are times when the passing lanes are restricted and you would like him a little bit taller. In that phase of it, because he has such good quickness, his initial quickness is a real big plus for him. Then behind those big guys it is kind of hard to find him, then all of a sudden he spurts out of there and he has enough juice to hurt you and go a long way.”
On what he calls the Wildcat offense:
“Taser.”
On whether he has decided on a starting quarterback for Friday’s preseason game:
“You know, I knew you were going to ask that. I knew somebody was. No, we haven’t. As we conclude today’s work, because this is a normal training camp day for us, we’ll start on Thursday thinking about getting ready for Friday and playing Denver. We will meet on that and whatever decision we make after that meeting you will be the first to know.”
On how he evaluates every position:
“I think each position is different. I really evaluate each position differently. Some guys we don’t need to see play. And some guys, from a physical stand point, medically may not be cleared to play. So it will be by position. And I’m sure everybody is interested in the quarterback position but we will make that decision as we go forward. Whoever it is (on Friday), I don’t think it will be any indication of who it is going forward, but we will make that decision after this meeting.”
On how much playing time RB Glen Coffee will get Friday:
“I think he will get a fair amount of reps. I’m interested in seeing Thomas Clayton and the young running back from Purdue, Kory Sheets. I would like to see them all, and hopefully the game will be as such that we can get a good look at all of them. I’d like to see Glen play. He had good OTA sessions. He’s had a good training camp, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he does out there.”
On whether the starting quarterback will switch between the first two preseason games:
“Not at this point. One could conclude that, but we have not made that decision. We will talk about who will go out there when we start the game, then the next week we will approach it the same. Hopefully after that we will have some indication of where we are headed.”
On Coach Mike Singletary’s comment that the quarterback competition may go beyond the third preseason game:
“I think you’d have to ask Coach Singletary that question. I don’t want to try to read anything into what he said. I will say something, he and I did not discuss that. If that is the process, and that is what he said, then that is what we will do.”
On how much input he has in naming a starting quarterback:
“I think it will be a mutual consent. I think he will weigh what I say pretty heavily because I am the one who has looked at it the most and I know what we are looking for in terms of the overall aspect of the play of the position. So I think what I say will be weighed in there at some place, hopefully on the heavy side.”
On whether he has used the Taser before:
“The first opportunity I had was in New York when we drafted a kid out of Missouri named Brad Smith, who was truly a great option quarterback at Missouri. I think he was the all-time leading yardage getter in the history of college football. We drafted him, knowing he wouldn’t be a quarterback, as a wide receiver. We used him in that package at the Jets his first year in the league and got some mileage out of it. It wasn’t a big part of what we did, but it was something we used particularly against the New England Patriots because they were a base 3-4 team. We’ve had some experience with it and some success with it with Brad Smith at the Jets.”
On how close the offense is to becoming exactly what he wants:
“The vision is clear. You have to remember we are in a training camp environment. So as you install and start to build the blocks going forward, there are minor setbacks in personnel with injuries and guys missing practice, guys not being available for personal reasons or contract reasons. Going forward, you have to temper that with where you are in the evaluation process. Then Friday night will be a real evaluation because it will be the first time they are live and hitting. The temperament of guys will change and their personality. You will see what their game-day personality is like and you will see how they function in competition. So the evaluation, the training camp evaluation, will be on-going. Then we will get another look at that Tuesday and Wednesday up in Napa. The process and the vision will hopefully all culminate and come together by the time we are ready to kick it for the championship run in the 16-game schedule.”
On which wide receiver position Spurlock is most comfortable in:
“The movement one. The position that motions. The Z-position as we would refer to it as, or the flanker. He is a guy that can play numerous positions, and that position shifts and motions and moves. So you have to find out where he is in the alignment and how to account for him because of his ability to run reverses and arounds and throw the ball and catch the ball and be in the backfield possibly as a quarterback. So it is the flanker position as you would know it. We call it the Z.”
On how he plans to use the tight ends this year:
“In Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker and Joe Jon Finley, those players at that position, if the vision you asked me about earlier goes in full cycle, that is a very valuable position in our offense. The opportunity for success there is very high and the use of that position is maximized. The fact the he (Davis) brings so many exceptional skills in teams of blocking and running and catching and speed, it just enhances our ability to use him and use that position.”
On what he hopes to see from the offense in the first preseason game:
“Right now, I’m hoping that all of the work that they put in from the beginning of the installation of this through the offseason programs and the OTAs and the training camp, I’m hoping to see that they gain some measure of success or have some success in executing what they’ve been doing in the training camp periods and the then the game. And that way they can build on it and go forward and then they’ll feel like their energy and the work that they put in will be justified.”
On whether Micheal Spurlock would be cut if he played just one position:
“I don’t think so. I think evaluation process, and maybe I see it differently, I think the evaluation process at that position is wide open. The production, it’s not like he’s a first-year guy, he’s a guy who’s played football in the National Football League. He’s very much in the mix as a wide receiver. The fact that the can bring some added dimensions in terms of the kicking game as a returner and in the Taser package, and he has some other things. It’s kind of like, the more you can do, the higher your chances are.”
On what he’s seen from Arnaz Battle:
“I like what I’ve seen of him. I think they’re totally different players. Micheal is a sudden, quick, initial quickness type of guy. Arnaz Battle is a bigger, stronger, more physical receiver, probably in the line of his true qualities are as a receiver from the transformation that he’s made from college to being a receiver. He’s played it longer. I see them differently. They have some similar traits, but they are very dissimilar in their physical abilities.”
On whether there is intention to eventually move Marvel Smith into the first-team offense:
“If his play dictates that. He’s being evaluated along with Adam Snyder. I think the rep count is basically pretty close. When we make the decision to give him some more reps with the first unit, it will be from the medical staff that gives us clearance to practice him a little more. If his play to that point dictates that he’s deserved or earned the right to get some snaps with the first team, we will do that going forward.”
On whether Adam Snyder is the starting right tackle:
“I think it’s accurate to say that Adam is practicing with the first unit. I don’t think it would be fair to say he is the starter. I think it’s accurate to say he’s practicing with the first unit.”
On the area of offense that needs the most work:
“I don’t think you can evaluate that until you actually, until they actually, physically play football against the guy down the street. It’s kind of like fighting your brother, and you do pretty well at that and then you have to go to school the first day and then there’s another guy walking down the street who knocks your hat off and you’ve got to fight another guy. All of the things that you have to evaluate, the process eventually comes down to really playing football. And we haven’t, as yet, done that. So, I don’t know that there’s something, right now, glaring that I say, ‘This has got to be fixed before we go,’ because, right now, most of what we’ve done has been OK. And now, once the real football starts, and there are live contact situations Friday night, then there may be something – even though there will be a limited deal on our part – it may be something that rears its head and we say, ‘Oh boy. There’s a void here,’ or, ‘There’s a need for this to be fixed.’”
On the reports concerning Michael Crabtree’s possibly missing the first regular season game:
“You are surely asking the wrong guy. I wouldn’t have any idea on any reports [about] Michael Crabtree or any updates on him. Obviously, he’s missing an opportunity to join his teammates [to] bond and learn what we are doing and help us going into a championship season, if in fact he is the player that we think he is. If and when he does become a part of it we’ll have to accelerate the process to try to get him familiar with the quarterback and the system. It’s a detriment at this point but like I said earlier, we’ll embrace him when he comes. It’s the business side of it that we really don’t have control over and we’ll embrace him when he comes. It’s not him; it’s the business that he’s involved in. He needs to get that fixed and when he does get that fixed and then we’ll try to fix him. Hopefully that will help us and then we’ll go forward.”
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