2007 Senior Bowl - South Practice 1/25 John Clifford

2007-01-25

Thursday’s South practice began with warm ups and special teams, but gave us something to look at before it was over…   Ray McDonald almost broke up a flea flicker, with Johnnie Lee Higgins making an athletic catch.  That followed with more double reverses and then Kevin Kolb running a shot gun draw.  If practice is any indication, from both squads, Saturday’s game should have its share of surprise and trick plays.   2 QBs/2 WRs – From the 35, Martrez Milner began the drill with a drop.  His inconsistency is brutal.  Courtney Taylor had a drop, but saved a pass from Jordan Palmer at his feet on the next rep with a nice play to get back to the ball.  Chansi Stuckey stretched to reel in a great one-handed catch running to the corner of the end zone, one of the few plays to draw "oohs and ahhs" from the crowd.  Jordan Palmer’s pass to Chris Davis on an out route came up way short.  Courtney Taylor made a nice adjustment on his out route from Kevin Kolb.  Jordan Palmer hit Dwayne Bowe on a deep out, a nice play from both players.  On the very next play, a pass from Chris Leak to Dwayne Bowe resulted in another drop in the end zone, and in the spotlight since it prompted Norv Turner to shout, "Oh my word" in a half-comical/half-frustrated tone.   11-on-11 – From the 40, Jonathan Wade made a great break up on a Chris Leak pass to Johnnie Lee Higgins in the end zone.  From the 20, Jordan Palmer zipped a ball to Chansi Stuckey on an inside route for a TD.  It was a nice throw, threading the needle from a good over the top delivery, but there’s something with Palmer not getting the ball out quickly enough too often.   QB w/skill positions – From the 40, Chris Leak checks down to Le’Ron McClain, something he opts to do frequently.  For all the talk about Troy Smith and his size, he’s demonstrated he can make a variety of throws and plays, Leak simply hasn’t at all (which perhaps explains the lack of discussion to begin with).  Jordan Palmer was a bit high on a screen to Joe Newton, but it hit his hands, Newton couldn’t hold on for what might’ve been his first drop of the week.  In coverage, David Irons and Aaron Ross look like they love being on an island, both looked good in coverage.   Red Zone – Dwayne Bowe couldn't hang on to a ball that was tough to handle, but those are the ones that have been a problem too often this week.  By the showboating on a 40-yard run back to the middle of the field on an INT, drawing a lot of attention, I assumed it was Brandon Meriweather, the glare from the sun (finally there was some sunshine) made it tough to make out the predominantly all-white uniform and helmet, but it may have been Jonathan Wade.  Nonetheless, both players showed good ball skills throughout the week, particularly Wade.  Juwan Simpson showed excellent coverage, but dropped an INT from Jordan Palmer.  Palmer was admonished by Norv Turner for not getting the ball out quickly enough.  Kevin Kolb did a good job of finding Joe Newton in the back of the end zone.  Dwayne Bowe made a very nice grab with his hands on a pass from Kevin Kolb, holding on after falling down.  Bowe’s 20-yard flip of the ball seemed to reveal something about his frustration over other drops and at the same time being pleased with not letting one get away.   11-on-11 (2 min.  offense) – Martrez Milner made an excellent catch over the middle in traffic.  He can make the tough play look easy and botching the easy play an art form.  Kenny Irons dropped another screen pass.  This had to hurt him this week in contrast to Lorenzo Booker.  Dwayne Bowe had his best catch of the week, from the 20, capping the 2-minute drive with a TD in the corner of the end zone, all hands at the top of his leap.  Martrez Milner had another drop of the next play.   Other notables – Some of the 49ers staff asked Moses and Pittman to hang out after practice to work on OLB coverage drills (backpedal, getting to the flat, jumping routes, catching passes, etc.).  They struggled a bit, being put on the spot, but I'm not sure that's nearly as significant, or at all, compared to the mere fact that the staff asked for that extra time to take a look.   Chansi Stuckey and Jonathan Wade. Chris Leak, Jordan Palmer, Kenny Irons, Dwayne Bowe and Martrez Milner.