SANTA CLARA — Chip Kelly’s golden retriever Henry was the star of the show Thursday at 49ers practice.
Seriously.
There was nothing big to glean from the team’s one hour, 10 minute session outside of Levi’s Stadium. Without shoulder pads or live hitting, it was essentially a glorified walk-through.
Colin Kaepernick received his first day of “scheduled rest” according to a 49ers team spokesman. There’s speculation amongst the media that it could be a sore shoulder following January surgery. Kaepernick had no visible wraps on his arm, though, and did wear his helmet, taking mental reps of play-calls on the sideline. The spokesman would not confirm if Kaepernick would participate Friday against the Texans. Should he miss practice on Friday, this story would have some legs.
The intensity may have been turned down a notch from Wednesday’s frustrating day at Kezar Stadium, but it still wasn’t a flawless afternoon from Blaine Gabbert. The quarterback threw an interception after a pass intended for Bruce Ellington was tipped by Eric Reid into the outstretched arms of Jaquiski Tartt. Gabbert did fire a touchdown later on in a red-zone period to tight end Blake Bell, who beat Eli Harold in coverage.
As expected, Thad Lewis filled in as the second-string quarterback, followed by Jeff Driskel. The 49ers will have a tough decision to make at that position come September. Do they want a smart, collected Lewis to play mediator between Kaepernick and Gabbert in the quarterback meeting room this season? Creating harmony and lessening tension at that position is arguably worth a roster spot. Driskel seems like the ideal practice squad candidate, but remember, the opposing 31 teams can poach any player off your practice squad. It wouldn’t be a good look to lose a sixth-round pick right off the bat — and Driskel hasn’t looked half bad at all during camp.
Kudos to Kelly for sticking to his original schedule of a light practice day. After the slop fest that occured in front of the Faithful in San Francisco one day prior, some coaches around the league wouldn’t have rewarded their players. But Kelly is someone who sticks to his guns — rest and recovery outweigh running your players into the ground.
The 49ers badly need a strong practice Friday when the Texans roll into town. Houston won the AFC South last season, and they’ve improved their football team by adding Brock Oswelier as their quarterback.
“For us defensively,” defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil said, “it’s going to be huge just from a player evaluation standpoint and then it’s a totally different offensive scheme. It’ll be a lot more two-back formations, stuff we need to see to get ready for the season. So, it’ll be a big test for our defense.”
That’s not even mentioning J.J. Watt, Vince Wilfork and the other beasts that make Houston’s defense one of the more intimidating in the league. The 11-on-11 scrimmages against another live defense will be Kaepernick and Gabbert’s biggest test of the summer thus far.
And whichever quarterback looks shinier against the Texans could be the one starting on Sunday in the preseason opener.
Back to Kelly’s golden retriever. The head coach and his dog Henry roamed around the practice field for a solid 20 minutes. Several players went up to pet Henry in between their weight lifting sessions.
It was a reminder that the mood in Santa Clara is still bright and cheery. But with the season approaching at rapid speed, tension is in the forecast for September.