SANTA CLARA — The training camp portion of the 49ers’ preseason is winding down.
The 49ers will actually have a game plan of sorts in place Saturday when they host the Los Angeles Chargers at Levi’s Stadium in their final exhibition game.
It’s a jigsaw puzzle, with lots of injuries that have caused missed days but nothing serious in terms of losing core players for weeks at a time.
Despite the mix and match nature of practice, the 49ers have come a long way in terms of energy and intensity. Coach Kyle Shanahan volunteered that it’s all the young faces that have given the rest of the team a youthful enthusiasm.
“Our guys go as hard as they can. But vets are vets,” Shanahan said Tuesday. “It’s a little more fake and false enthusiasm than anything else. They’re not really excited about camp. So when you have young guys out there making plays, to me those are the loud ones.”
Excuse me?
Shanahan watches practice much closer than I do, but the tone for this camp has been driven by two veterans, and there has been nothing fake or false about tight end George Kittle and linebacker Fred Warner. They are the walking embodiment of the year’s favorite term among the assistant coaching staff.
They stack practices. Play after play, day after day. They are the centrifugal force around which the rest of the team has revolved since late July.
The 49ers wisely have some key veterans, most prominently Nick Bosa, Christian McCaffrey and Trent Williams, on schedules designed to keep them fresh and out of the fray from time to time. Quarterback Brock Purdy is a leader in a more reserved, analytical way. Deommodore Lenoir is stepping up to push the secondary.
I’ve missed one practice since training camp began. I heard that was the day Kittle was given his lone veteran’s day. Warner, held back for most of the offseason, hasn’t missed any.
The best part of it is they’ve both been at the top of their game physically and equally as dominant mentally.
Simply put, neither has had a bad day since camp began. They set the tone and the example. They lead through words and action backed up by deeds that will put Kittle in the Hall of Fame some day and maybe Warner as well. Pretty impressive for players who were drafted in the fifth round (Kittle in 2017) and third round (Warner in 2018).
Running back Isaac Guerendo returned to practice Tuesday and twice ran into the line only to be bear-hugged by Warner, who followed orders and did not tackle to the ground. Kittle did what Kittle does. Make catches in traffic and squaring up blocking attempts on defenders even if he’s forbidden from pile-driving them into the ground, WWE style.
They keep up a running dialogue with their teammates, encouraging, correcting, competing. I remember a couple of Raiders who would stage practice fights to get their teammates fired up. With Kittle and Warner, there’s no need.
Last week defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said he’s never seen two players who enjoyed practice more.
“It’s hard to find people who love it,” Saleh said. “I mean, (Warner) loves to practice. Kittle loves practice. They just love the game so much. How can you not been inspired when you’re looking at a guy who’s been in the league awhile, has made all those plays, and in practice still loves talking his crap and winning one-on-ones? It’s important. You wish you had 53 guys like them, but you hope they pull people with them.”
Defensive tackle Kalia Davis has noticed.
“I just like being around those guys, because if I’m having a down day and their energy out there is going to bring me up,” Davis said.
Linebacker Curtis Robinson, cleared last week after ACL surgery, was caught up in the energy Tuesday.
“Even if you have a full 90-man roster you’re going to have days where you feel a little sluggish, a little sorry for yourself,” Robinson said. “It’s important to have guys on both sides of the ball like George, like Fred, who can really remind you why we’re out here and really set the tone. You won’t see a day where George and Fred aren’t 110 to the wall. When camp is dragging you need a wakeup call.”
Kittle (second team) and Warner (first team) managed to have All-Pro seasons last year even with the misery of the Super Bowl LVIII overtime loss hanging around the collective neck of the franchise like a wet rope.
A shoulder injury kept Kittle from raising his right arm above his head late in the fourth quarter and took him out of the picture from overtime. Warner saw teammate Dre Greenlaw rupture his Achilles early, then watched as Patrick Mahomes converted a fourth-and-1 keeper with an 8-yard gain to convert a fourth down with 6:05 left in overtime.
Make a play, the 49ers win. It didn’t happen. Chiefs 25, 49ers 22.
Whatever residual effects of that loss fed into last season, they’re motivation now.
“Last camp I was coming off a shoulder reconstructive surgery so that was kind of slowing me out of the gate,” Kittle said. “I feel nice, fast, Brock’s throwing the ball and I’m having a great time out there.”
Aside from Kittle’s shoulder, Warner played with a chip fracture in his ankle after Week 4 and never missed a game, his All-Pro status gained more on reputation than actual play.
There’s a lot of tread on the tires of both men, although neither is showing any signs of it. That’s a good thing for the 49ers, because they’re only going as far as Kittle and Warner can take them.