SANTA CLARA, Calif. — “It’s a great place to learn to fly.”
Joshua Dobbs made that statement on Wednesday in reference to his other passion. After majoring in aerospace engineering at the University of Tennessee, the new quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers has been training in the Bay Area to become a licensed pilot.
The quote, however, also applies to his day job.
When the 49ers faced the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4 of the previous season, Dobbs mentioned he was on the opposing side of the field. It was during that game that Brock Purdy went 20 of 21 and broke the franchise record for single-game completion %. Like Sam Darnold a year ago, Dobbs expressed his admiration for such efficiency and his want to learn more about Kyle Shanahan’s offensive scheme.
“Learning from the guy that really created (the scheme) within the NFL — I jumped at that opportunity,” he said.
After being moved from the Cleveland Browns to the Cardinals in late August and then again from the Cardinals to the Minnesota Vikings on October 31, Dobbs too required some stability following the 2023 season. He started 13 games, completed about 63 percent of his passes, and ran for 421 yards and six touchdowns despite the turmoil.
Up until then in his career, Dobbs had been viewed as a journeyman backup, but all of a sudden he was a valuable asset. In March, he inked a one-year, $2.25 million contract with the 49ers to challenge Brandon Allen for Purdy’s backup spot.
The 29-year-old Dobbs struggled to get going throughout training camp. Even on what appeared to be simple tosses to the sideline, he had trouble during the first three workouts. But he has improved since then, as evidenced by his effective 7-of-9 performance on Wednesday in 11-on-11 play. This featured a ball to backup tight end Brayden Willis that was aggressive and downfield in the face of a strong pass rush, the kind of play for which Dobbs has made a name for himself in camp.
Regarding the other endeavor, Dobbs stated that he began flying lessons in the spring and has already accrued 35 hours of flight time. However, he plans to put that on hold until the end of the season. He remarked that when traveling to the coast and back toward the Central Valley, he had appreciated both the beauty and the bustle of Northern California.
“There’s a lot of airplanes in the air out here, that’s for sure,” he said. “I didn’t notice that until I started training.”
He also mentioned the parallels between conducting a Shanahan offensive and flying in congested airspace.
“You talk to the FAA. They say a call, you’ve got to repeat it back to them very specifically,” he said. “You’ve got a lot of stuff going on just like when you’re sitting in the pocket and you have to call out one of coach Shanahan’s plays. It can get real wordy in there. So there’s been good crossover between the two.”
Odds & ends
• Ricky Pearsall, a rookie receiver, had the busiest day of training camp on Wednesday. First off, he is healed from the hamstring ailment that prevented him from participating in the first four practices. With Danny Gray, Tay Martin, Jacob Cowing, Brandon Aiyuk, and Jauan Jennings all out for 11-on-11 drills, the 49ers were also noticeably thin on receivers.
Pearsall dropped his second drop in as many days, a Purdy pass that was just behind him, after starting carefully. But things only got hotter from there, as Allen tipped a highly tough throw to him along the sideline. He also gave his opponent a shake in the end zone during a red-zone drill, which up Purdy’s passing lanes for a touchdown pass to himself.
“Glad to have him back,” Allen said. “I think you see the explosion in him. He’s quick out of his breaks, he’s a really good route runner. He’s definitely gonna help us in that sense.”
• Two days prior, Purdy and the 49ers offense had trouble in the red zone, as Purdy threw two end-zone interceptions. He was far more effective on Wednesday, going 4-of-4 in the drill and scoring touchdowns against George Kittle, Pearsall, and Deebo Samuel Sr.
On the other hand, Allen hit Ronnie Bell with a great touchdown pass after pump-faking one way and Bell outmuscled Ambry Thomas to get the ball.
After practicing with seven interceptions in a straight on Monday and Tuesday, Purdy did not throw any on Wednesday and finished 10-of-13 overall in 11-on-11 scenarios.
Heating up at #49ersCamp 🔥 pic.twitter.com/EDjFttLjJB
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) July 30, 2024
• The 49ers’ offensive line was missing a significant portion of practice. While Jon Feliciano (knee) and Spencer Burford (hand) are sidelined due to injuries, Trent Williams is still waiting on a contract.
The squad did not practice on Wednesday with youngster Jarrett Kingston or left guard Aaron Banks (unknown cause). Interior linemen Nick Zakelj, Ben Bartch, and Dominick Puni had more snaps as a result. Puni was a right guard for both the starting lineup and the reserve squad.
Puni also performed admirably in early practice one-on-one pass-blocking scenarios; this is the second day in a row that he has shown at ease in that exercise. The 49ers’ most potent defensive lineman, defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, was the opponent in both of his matches, which he split. In their last match of the session, he prevailed over T.Y. McGill. To start the 11-on-11 round, Puni also had a knockdown block against safety George Odum deep down the field on an outside run by Christian McCaffrey.
In winning one-on-one contests against Leonard Floyd and Nick Bosa, left tackle Jaylon Moore again displayed superb form, riding them safely out of the pocket. Floyd, on the other hand, looks to be battling with a hand ailment that may be impacting his pass rush but has not prevented him from practicing.
• Given the large number of missing linemen, it was to be expected that the defense would win several pass-rush possessions during the 11-on-11 drill. While cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. and safety Malik Mustapha scored on blitzes out of the defensive backfield, Elliott, Bosa, and Robert Beal Jr. all broke into the backfield for potential sacks.
• The sessions have become livelier — and louder — since pads went on on Monday.
On Wednesday, Dee Winters and Jalen Graham, the team’s two second-year linebackers, produced significant plays in the offensive backfield. Allen attempted a quick pass to tight end Jake Tonges, but Graham stopped it. Winters, on the other hand, appeared a lot like former 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman, who also wore number 53, when he sprinted into the backfield to stop Jordan Mason’s outside run.
The greatest hit came from safety Tayler Hawkins, who knocked tight end Cameron Latu onto his back after breaking up an Allen deep ball over the middle.
• On Wednesday, Pearsall was only one of the numerous players handling kick returns. The group, which consisted mostly of receivers and running backs, rehearsed fielding kicks that special teams coordinator Brian Schneider called “dirty balls”—that is, kicks that land in front of returners and take strange bounces. Conversely, kicker Jake Moody has been honing his ground-based kicks.
“If we can get the returner to not catch it cleanly, that’s the only advantage I see for a kickoff team — or if it hits the ground and goes into the end zone and now the ball’s at the 20,” Schneider said.
• Moody was 4-of-4 on field goals Wednesday, making him 22-of-23 overall this summer.
• Nick Sorensen, the defensive coordinator, announced that Brandon Staley, his top assistant, will be present in the coach’s booth during games this season. The 49ers’ opening preseason matchup is against the Tennessee Titans on August 10.
• The 49ers players will resume practice on Friday after taking a day off on Thursday.
(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
