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The good and the not so good from day 17 of the 49ers training camp


The good and the not so good from day 17 of the 49ers training camp

SANTA CLARA – Here are the players who stood out on Day 17 of 49ers training camp. Keep in mind that they were supposed to fly to Irvine this week to practice against the Saints but were too injured.

THE GOOD

1. CB Deomodore Lenoir

He ripped the ball out of Deebo Samuel’s hands and intercepted it (more on him in a minute). Lenoir covered Samuel, who was free after a corner route, but Purdy’s pass was too short. Lenoir was in man coverage, turned his head to find the ball, and intercepted it easily. He has now intercepted Purdy’s pass five times in 17 practices. Lenoir is the 49ers’ training camp MVP.

2. WR Brandon Aiyuk

He showed up for practice for the third day in a row. This time he wore a red shirt, a red baseball cap and did sprints with a resistance band around his waist. You’d think he was really injured or something. Maybe he needs to take advantage of his supposed injury to avoid getting fined. Kyle Shanahan says Aiyuk has back pain. Don’t we all?

3. WR Jacob Cowing

Made a 20-yard catch over the middle on a high pass from Joshua Dobbs. The pass wasn’t great, but the catch was. A few plays later, Cowing hit Darrell Luter Jr. with a quick slant route. Cowing has been healthy all week, so he’s steadily improved. Unlike Ricky Pearsall, who is still injured.

4. Linebacker Curtis Robinson

Intercepted a pass from Brandon Allen intended for Cam Latu over the middle. Then dropped a potential interception while covering George Kittle on a pass thrown by Purdy. Robinson had a great training camp. The game seems to have slowed down for him.

5. LB Tatum Bethune

He nearly intercepted a pass from Tanner Mordecai (more on him in a minute). Bethune plays with a ton of confidence for a rookie drafted in the seventh round.

6. TE Eric Saubert

Destroyed rookie safety Malik Mustapha with an easy out route during 1-on-1 drills. Saubert isn’t fast, but he’s clearly a good route runner and a good blocker.

THE NOT SO GOOD

1. Quarterback Brock Purdy

He caught a touchdown pass from Deebo Samuel while running a trick the 49ers call the “Purd Dawg,” but he completed just 8 of 19 passes with one interception. He also threw two passes that were nearly intercepted. The interception was a short-thrown pass intended for Samuel when Purdy had time and space in the pocket to throw. The first dropped pass was a pass Purdy forced downfield to Samuel, who was double-covered. The second dropped pass was an ill-advised back-foot throw in the face of pressure. The pass was intended for Kittle but was thrown extremely short and the only one who could catch it was linebacker Curtis Robinson. This awful performance comes a day after Purdy was nearly perfect. It would be nice if he had two good workouts in a row before the 49ers give him $60 million a season. Because we all know he can play well when he’s cheap, and the 49ers have set him up for success with a great opening script and a great supporting cast. But if he’s truly elite, he’ll consistently make good plays even when the conditions for success aren’t there.

2. QB Brandon Allen

He’s awful. Today he rolled to his right and sailed a five-yard pass over Ronnie Bell’s head. Head coach Kyle Shanahan immediately yelled at Allen, turned away and shook his head in disgust. I felt the same way. What a terrible throw.

3. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs

He’s awful. That’s why the 49ers only gave him five passes during the entire practice. At least Shanahan didn’t yell at him. I almost did.

4. QB Tanner Mordecai

He’s awful. Today he threw a pass that was almost intercepted, just one day after throwing two passes that were intercepted. Aside from Purdy, the 49ers have one of the worst quarterback teams in the NFL.

5. WR Ricky Pearsall

Still injured. He’s in danger of missing all but a few days of training camp. Probably won’t catch more than 15 passes this season.

6. LG Aaron Banks

Broke his pinky yesterday and had to have surgery. The 49ers are hoping he’ll be fit for Week 1. That means the entire left side of their offensive line could be out for the season opener if the 49ers don’t get the Trent Williams issue sorted out soon. And that’s the bright side of the offensive line.

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