Turf aside, Kittle might be ready
Tight end George Kittle’s injured knee is feeling better every day, “so that’s awesome,” he said after a second straight day of 49ers practice.
That does not mean he is a lock to return from a onegame absence and play in Sunday’s game against the New York Giants, or does it sound like the MetLife Stadium turf will scare him if it’s his call to play or not.
“It’s a turf field. It is what is. I’ve got to go play football,” Kittle said Thursday in a video call from the 49ers’ practice grounds in West Virginia. “I’m not concerned because I haven’t played on it yet, so we’ll see what happens.”
What he and the 49ers saw last Sunday was obviously concerning, at least at the start of the 31-13 rout of the New York Jets. Once defensive linemen Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas got carted off with first-quarter knee injuries, Kittle could not bear to watch more live action on his television back in the Bay Area.
“I watched the first quarter and I saw two injuries and I went outside and did my workout,” Kittle said. “I decided I was bad luck watching the game on TV.”
Several of Kittle’s teammates felt the bad luck was created by MetLife Stadium’s new synthetic turf, which has been cleared to host Sunday’s game after visits by the NFL, players’ union and independent inspectors, the league announced.
This time, whether he plays or not, Kittle will be with his team.
“Watching the Niners play on TV is not really fun when I should be on the field with them,” Kittle said. “I’m looking forward to the next time I get the opportunity to play again, whenever that is. I can’t wait.”
He’s had to wait because of a knee that was sprained and bruised by Arizona safety Budda Baker just before halftime of the 49ers’ season- opening loss.
Kittle defended Baker’s hit, calling it “clean” and merely “awkward” once Kittle jumped high for a Jimmy Garoppolo pass.
“He’s the first person who asked if I was OK and apologized for the hit. It’s football. I get hit all the time,” Kittle said. “That’s what you sign up for when you play the game. It was a clean hit.
“If he tried to take it easy on me, I’d give him crap for that. I’m glad he didn’t. He plays at an All-Pro level every week. I mean, 15 tackles against us, that’s a pretty big deal as a starting safety.”
Kittle is a pretty big deal, too. He is a two-time AllPro, a two-time captain and an overall catalyst to a team that’s been hit hard by injuries, including to Garoppolo, whose ankle sprain Sunday might prompt the 49ers to start Nick Mullens for the first time since a 3-5 finish to 2018.
Kittle said he sees the “same old Nick” who is as locked in, confident and prepared as ever, with a “rocket for an arm. He’s slinging it.”
T hat suggests coach Kyle Shanahan won’t significantly alter his game plan whichever quarterback plays, in what’s been a run- oriented scheme, anyhow. Garoppolo did not practice Thursday, or did running backs Raheem Mostert ( knee) and Tev in Coleman ( knee), defensive end Dee Ford ( back) or linebacker Dre Greenlaw (quadriceps).
“We’re definitely in good hands if Jimmy can’t go; I don’t know if he’s going to play or not,” Kittle said. “If Nick gets the green light, I know he’s going to rip it. I
can’t wait to watch it.”
Whether he’ll watch it from the sideline or the field is a question that might not be answered until inactives are posted 90 minutes before kickoff Sunday.
DID GAROPPOLO INJURY REVEAL FLAW IN OFFICIALS’ FACE MASKS? >> Garoppolo’s high-ankle sprain Sunday is worth revisiting, not to actually analyze his health, but rather the NFL’s safety measures regarding officials’ face coverings.
If of f icia ls c a nnot promptly stop plays because masks interfere with their whistles, then, well, what’s an injured player to do?
“There have been no issues. Officials have the option of push-button whistles or using their whistle under the face coverings,” a NFL spokesman responded via e-mail Thursday.
No issues, huh? Garoppolo was brought down to a knee by Quinnen Williams’ illegal, low swipe at his ankle, on the 49ers’ second series of their eventual win over the New York Jets. That is just the start of the 49ers’ issues with that play.
As referee Ron Torbert rushed in from 10 yards behind to call the play dead, video replays show Torber t str uggling to blow his whistle, through his mask.
Before Torbert could unhitch his mask with his other hand to whistle and signal for Garoppolo’s safety, Jets defender Tarrell Basham piled onto the 49ers’ prone quarterback. No penalties were called.
“They didn’t call that (illegal hit by Williams) and then they couldn’t blow the whistle because his mask was on,” Shanahan said after Sunday’s win. “He couldn’t get the mask off in time, so while Jimmy’s laying there and they can’t blow a whistle because the mask was on, a guy came and hit him again. So, I thought there should’ve been two penalties on that play.”
PASS RUSH 2.0 >> Ziggy Ansah and Dion Jordan are the next men up, a pair of 2013 top-five draft picks who’ve been tabbed to rescue the 49ers’ pass rush, in the wake of Bosa’s seasonending knee injury and Ford’s concerning back ailment.
Will Jordan slide into Ford’s role as a pass-rush specialist Sunday against the Giants?
“I’m up for anything,”
Jordan said. “I don’t know exactly my role. I know I’m chasing the ball, regardless, and getting to it as fast as I can.”
Jordan said the 49ers’ “attack-style” defense perfectly fits his athleticism and ability to pursue the ball. Even though he did not make the 53-man roster out of training camp, he said Shanahan and general manager John Lynch pitched an acceptable plan of using the practice squad to prepare for this greater role.
As for Ansah’s arrival this week, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was
caught off guard by his 6-foot-5, 265-pound frame.
“He’s a very large human. I was surprised when I first saw him,” Saleh said. “For him, he hasn’t played in a little while and didn’t have training camp. So the expectation for him is to maximize every rep he gets. He looks good, big, powerful and in really good shape.” SANU EXCITED TO HELP >> Veteran Mohamed Sanu wasn’t targeted in 13 snaps during last Sunday’s debut, but he helped advise the 49ers’ younger receivers on the sideline.
“We have a lot of talented young guys and I feel
I can help any way possible, whether making plays or show them how to make plays in critical situations,” Sanu said.
Sanu didn’t make enough plays in New England’s training camp to continue his tenure there, having arrived via a trade for a second-round pick last season.
“It just wasn’t a good fit. Things happen the way they happen,” Sanu said. “I’m focused on what I’ve got here in San Fran and I’m excited to be a part of this team and culture. I’m grateful for my time in New England. It taught me a lot. It just didn’t jell out.”