Training camps open with plenty of issues
For the hard-core, this week is like Christmas, Valentine’s Day and the arrival of the Tooth Fairy all wrapped into one. Their love affair resumes with the helmeted ones, who will hone their craft on hot, dry fields, in pads and in shorts, in ice baths and meeting rooms, while fanatics scour social media for reports of ankle twinges, dropped passes and sled technique.
Yes, it’s the opening week for NFL training camps.
For the rest of us, who don’t find romance in the long practice days of August or in glorified scrimmages sold as top-dollar competitions, it’s a time of questions.
And both the Raiders and the 49ers have plenty of issues to keep us intrigued.
They will approach those answers from decidedly different ends of the spectrum. The
Raiders are trying simply to improve, to avoid the embarrassment — and consequential employment changes — that would come from another 4-12 season.
The 49ers are trying, after three years of coming agonizingly close, to win a Super Bowl. One singular overriding goal, just like in the old days.
For both teams, this will be a hugely consequential season. A combustible season. If they don’t meet their respective goals, there probably will be significant changes by the time training camp returns in 2015.
Though the 49ers are considered one of a handful of teams that is Lombardi Trophy-capable, they have plenty of questions as they open training camp: Will Vernon Davis and Alex Boone, both integral to the team’s offensive success, show up at training camp or continue their holdouts? Who will back up Colin Kaepernick? A serious issue, considering that Kaepernick is at his best when he’s running out of the pocket and he was nursing a foot injury for part of last year. Can Blaine Gabbert do the job? Will a running back emerge as a realistic replacement if Frank Gore is injured? Will Marcus Lattimore, currently on the Non-Football Injury list, be able to contribute?
How will the wealth of wide receivers shake out, and will Kaepernick find a red-zone connection with others rather than relying on Michael Crabtree in crunch time?
Can the offensive line find continuity, with center Jonathan Goodwin’s departure and a potential lengthy absence for Boone? Who will take over linebacker NaVorro Bowman’s job? The 49ers’ best defensive player will be out for a while, rehabbing his torn ACL; is there an adequate replacement? When will Commissioner Roger Goodell make a ruling on Aldon Smith, and who will emerge as the 49ers’ lead pass rusher in case of an extended absence?
How will a remade secondary perform, and can anyone really count on Chris Culliver? Will practicing in the shadow of the new stadium put extra pressure on the players? Will they be distracted moving from cramped, familiar quarters into their enormous locker room? Will the offseason drama of Jim Harbaugh’s contract and his relationship with general manager Trent Baalke leak into training camp? Will the new stadium looming (literally over the practice field) and associated revenue streams exacerbate the tension in Harbaugh’s contract situation?
Have the 49ers done what they need to do to dethrone the Seahawks?
For the Raiders, the questions are more about baby steps:
Can Matt Schaub bring leadership and stability to the quarterback position, which has been in flux since Rich Gannon retired in 2004?
Or will Derek Carr, drafted to be the quarterback of the future, take the job earlier than expected?
Can general manager Reggie McKenzie and head coach Dennis Allen tolerate any missteps at quarterback, considering the recent failures with Matt Flynn and Terrelle Pryor?
How will the 49ers’ old secondary look in silver and black? Will Tarell Brown and Carlos Rogers solidify the last line of defense?
An old favorite: Can Darren McFadden stay healthy? Or will hometown addition Maurice Jones-Drew not only push McFadden but also win the starting job? Will top draft pick Khalil Mack be able to make an impact, unlike last year’s top draft pick, D.J. Hayden? Will Mack, a linebacker, really stand up to comparisons with Von Miller?
And will Hayden, a defensive back, be able to rebound from his disappointing rookie year? Will the addition of players, including Jones-Drew, Schaub, Rogers and Justin Tuck, bring a winning mentality to a team that hasn’t been able to close out games? Will McKenzie and Allen get a good start to their make-or-break season? Last year in training camp, they were supremely confident. But when the season started, the wheels promptly came off in the same old ways.
Have the Raiders done enough to compete in the AFC West and keep hope alive through the season? Will owner Mark Davis, already facing the challenges of the Oakland Coliseum, pressure from the commissioner about renting the 49ers’ stadium and doubts about his handpicked general manager, run out of patience?
Yes, there are many questions on both sides of the bay. Plenty to keep us entertained through the long practice days of late July and August.