CAPTAIN SANTA CLARA: No, Ilona Maher and the American women’s rugby squad at the Olympics did not inspire Joshua Dobbs.
Before Saturday’s preseason game, the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers was spotted warming up with a rugby ball. He has been doing this routine for some time. Three offseasons ago, Dobbs revealed, he was watching some receivers warm up by receiving a rugby ball.
“So I just hopped into their warmup line and started throwing the ball with them,” he said. “Then I picked up a football and it felt tiny. So I just liked how a football felt in my hand after throwing a rugby ball.”
Dobbs claimed the practice boosts his self-assurance. There are no laces and the rugby ball is slicker and fatter. An NFL football is easy for him if he thinks he can hit it accurately with it.
“I feel like I can put a football wherever I want after I throw the rugby ball,” he said.
It is not only a pregame custom, either. He keeps a rugby ball at home and does it before practices.
“I just went to Dick’s and bought one,” he said. “During the offseason I do the same thing before I throw: I get 16 throws with the rugby ball and then hop into my normal warmup with the football.”
Working with guys from the second and third teams on Saturday, Dobbs completed seventy percent of his passes for 146 yards, including a last-ditch interception attempt with one second left. In the fourth quarter, he also scored a rugby-style 6-yard touchdown that propelled him into the end zone.
The Passtronaut took flight 🚀
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 11, 2024
📱 NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4nCVJ pic.twitter.com/VXM9sM2jDw
Dobbs claimed that he and his teammates watched a lot of rugby during the past two weeks, despite the fact that Maher and her bronze-medal-winning squad did not influence their practice.
“Guys have been asking each other, ‘If you had to do an Olympic sport to get a medal, which one would it be?’” he said. “And I’m like, ‘If Christian McCaffrey played on the rugby team he would be unreal.’”
Odds and ends
• During Thursday’s lengthy practice, Dobbs went 7 of 9 in 11-on-11 scenarios, contributing to the 49ers quarterbacks’ excellent day overall.
This was particularly valid for Brock Purdy. He was 21 out of 25, with three incompletes resulting from throwaways when he was unable to locate an open person. Deebo Samuel Sr. and George Kittle were his two favorite targets; they produced impressive catches in traffic on throws that were just out of the defender’s reach. Purdy completed five of five throws to Kittle and five of five throws to Samuel.
The No. 2 quarterback in camp, Brandon Allen, completed 10 of 14 passes. Tanner Mordecai, a rookie, was 0 for 1 and Samuel was 1 of 3.
Mordecai’s two throws were blocked. His pass to Ronnie Bell across the middle was too high; it slipped through the receiver’s hands, and safety Tracy Walker III easily caught it. Subsequently, Mordecai attempted to run Jauan Jennings deep down the sideline, but Jennings and two defensive backs came up for the ball. Cornerback Darrell Luter Jr., who returned to practice after missing last week due to an ankle sprain, was the one who contracted it.
CB Darrell Luter Jr. (no. 28) is back at practice this week and had a nice INT in Thursday’s practice. And yes, that second drill the 49ers do is sort of funny looking. pic.twitter.com/2akhGZzikL
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) August 15, 2024
Dobbs tossed an interception as well. During a red zone practice, he attempted to strike Trent Taylor in the end zone, but nickel cornerback Chase Lucas got in the path of Taylor for the takeaway.
• Jake Tonges or Cameron Latu will probably take the fourth place if the 49ers decide to stick with four tight ends. Latu is the superior obstructor. As of Thursday, Tonges has been the more productive receiver, having caught three of Allen’s five throws and one apiece from Dobbs and Mordecai. At the goal line, one of Allen’s tosses appeared to cross Jalen Graham’s arms and land in Tonges’.
• In one-on-one pass-blocking drills, the 49ers’ interior defensive lineman outperformed their offensive counterparts. Dominick Puni, a rookie right guard, had held up admirably so far in the drill, but Jordan Elliott and Maliek Collins both easily defeated him. Javon Hargrave, on the other hand, defeated left guard Aaron Banks twice with bullrush.
Chris Foerster, the offensive line coach, left the practice early because it was so biased and gathered his guys around him for an aggressive, on-the-spot teaching session.
One thing going for the offensive line is that left tackle Jaylon Moore, who faced Nick Bosa on Thursday alone, performed admirably in one-on-one scenarios.
• On Saturday, the Tennessee Titans called a number of blitzes, which was previously discouraged in the preseason. But Foerster expressed his satisfaction that his guys were given so many hostile looks.
“My philosophy is I want to see everything we can see,” he said. “I want those guys to be prepped. And in other words, if Puni, or whoever these guys are that we’re trying to evaluate, if they just see one front, one defense all the time, what evaluation are you getting other than their physical? This gives them a mental challenge.”
• During practice, two well-known offensive players were observed working out on a side field: receiver Ricky Pearsall (shoulder) and quarterback McCaffrey (calf).
McCaffrey ran a few routes at three-quarter speed and some sideline running. The preseason game on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints is unlikely to feature either.
The following players did not practice: punter Mitch Wishnowsky (knee), running backs Elijah Mitchell (hamstring), Isaac Guerendo (hamstring), and Patrick Taylor Jr. (unknown); cornerbacks Isaac Yiadom (ankle) and Ambry Thomas (arm); offensive linemen Spencer Burford (hand), Jon Feliciano (knee), and Ben Bartch (unknown).
This week’s returners to the field of play include Luter, defensive end Sam Okuayinonu, linebackers Fred Warner and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, tight end Brayden Willis, and receivers Danny Gray and Jacob Cowing.
For a second day in a row, Brandon Aiyuk observed practice from the sidelines. This week, he has made it a habit to leave the weight room halfway through the workout and watch the rest of the team drill portion of practice.
During the practice, Aiyuk, who was wearing a white quarter-sleeve training shirt, engaged in some small talk with Pearsall, Samuel, and Yiadom.
At the conclusion of practice, Jake Moody was 3-of-4 on field goal attempts, missing wide left from 43 yards. His accuracy on kicks from 33, 38, and 48 yards was good.
(Photo: Justin Ford / Getty Images)
