SANTA CLARA, Calif. — If there was any question on how comfortable quarterback Alex Smith is with the offense, his leadership in the two-minute drill on Wednesday answered a lot of questions.
Starting at their own 21-yard line with 2:17 on the clock and two timeouts, Smith led the first team offense down the field for a 31-yard touchdown pass to tight end Delanie Walker with two seconds remaining on the clock.
Walker ran a route through the middle of the field and cornerback Karl Paymah missed Walker, leaving the tight end wide open in the end zone. On that drive, Smith went 7 of 9 and methodically found receivers near the sidelines to get out of bounds.
"I think it was a good step for us; we did some good things in the two-minute last year," Smith said of his overall thoughts on the last two-minute drill. "It was our first live action in the two-minute since last fall."
Smith said he recognized that tight end Delanie Walker would be wide open once he released the ball. Walker was an important part of the offense, making three catches on the drive.
"Alex (Smith) was just making the reads, they were giving us some coverage and I was getting open," Walker said about his performance on the drive. "We were just really trying to rush and move the ball the ball because it's 'two-minute'. "
On his touchdown, Walker said that the entire offense executed their assignments, which allowed him to score the touchdown.
"I think everyone did their part: the offensive line blocked, receivers ran the routes they were supposed to run and that left me wide open for a touchdown."
Head coach Mike Singletary was also very pleased at the development of the offense on that drive.
"I think the offense did OK; I think Alex (Smith) did a nice job of finding the open receiver," Singletary said during his post-practice conference with the media. "The O-line did a good job. The communication, protection was good. I think overall it was good."
Singletary mentioned that on the defensive side of the drive, it wasn't as good and that they had to look at the mental mistake they had on the touchdown.
The second team ran the same two-minute drill right after the touchdown. With David Carr under center, the drive ended with an interception by safety Curtis Taylor at midfield. The pass was intended for rookie receiver Kyle Williams. However, coaches were telling linebacker Scott McKillop that he was offsides on the play. The OTA session ended after interception.
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Mandatory mini-camp update:
Mandatory mini-camp will begin on Thursday. The 49ers will run an afternoon session on Thursday before running two practices (one in the morning, one in the afternoon) the following next two days. The 49ers have only scheduled those three days for mini-camp.
Head coach Mike Singletary said that he was pleased at the overall performance during the OTAs. With mini-camp starting on Thursday, Singletary said that he doesn't expect nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin and linebacker Manny Lawson to be present. He believes that they both are working to remain in shape and that they would be here when it's necessary.
He did say that cornerbacks Nate Clements and Shawntae Spencer will be at mini-camp.
"We want to make sure that there is a constant build that where we want to go," Singletary said on the progression from OTAs all the way to training camp.
Quarterback Alex Smith also talked about his thoughts on mini-camp.
"I like this chunk like this where it is almost like a college-type spring ball," Smith said of OTAs turning right into mini-camp. "I try to view these last two weeks as one big chunk."
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Other notes from today
- The defense worked with a lot of dime and nickel packages throughout the day, giving cornerbacks Karl Paymah, Tarell Brown and Keith Smith a lot of playing time. Paymah has been playing well all week. Singletary said that Paymah has a lot of potential and the defensive backs are a work in progress.
"I'm OK with what we have," Singletary said. He doesn't feel like he needed to reach out to former 49ers Dre Bly and Walt Harris for help. - Rookie guard Mike Iupati was seen working with the first team during drills a lot more than fellow rookie tackle Anthony Davis.
- A couple players trying to make the team had some big plays today. Undrafted rookie cornerback Tramaine Brock played well against the receivers today, including a nice breakup on a pass intended for Ted Ginn.
Free agent linebacker Martail Burnett batted down a pass from David Carr at the line of scrimmage during team drills. - Wide receivers Jason Hill, Dominique Zeigler and Ted Ginn all had decent days at receiver. Zeigler had a nice 20-yard catch in stride along the sideline from quarterback Alex Smith.
- The team also ran a full simulation of kickoff returns. The team kicking off had to put a neon stretch fabric on their helmets to help differentiate themselves from the receiving team. There were no major standouts in special teams today.
- Defensive end Kentwan Balmer rehabbed his surgically repaired shoulder by working on pushing pads during individual drills.
- Coach Singletary said that he has encouraged his players not to argue with officials during games and that as a leader, he will have to lead by example by not arguing as well. He said that arguing leads to nowhere.
- Rookies will report to training camp on July 30 and the veterans will report the next day. First day of training camp will be August 2.
- The 49ers Hall of Fame's newest inductee will be Jerry Rice.
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