Safety’s debut offsets rookie mistakes with promise
Sure enough, 49ers’ first-round pick Eric Reid made a rookie mistake that he was lamenting after his NFL debut Sunday.
Fortunately for the hard-hitting safety, it had nothing to do with his on-field play: Reid forgot to keep the ball as a memento after his secondquarter interception in San Francisco’s 34-28 win over Green Bay at Candlestick Park.
“I didn’t keep the ball,” Reid said. “I don’t know what I was thinking, but I wish I would have kept it.”
That wasn’t Reid’s only error — he also missed at least two tackles — but his six-tackle performance strongly suggested the 49ers didn’t err when they traded up to select him with the No. 18 pick in April.
Reid, who defended a pass and had a specialteams tackle, scooped up his interception inches from the ground after the ball clanged off the hands of Packers tight end Jermichael Finley. Reid also had several helmet-rattling collisions with Green Bay receivers and closed quickly to drop quarterback Aaron Rodgers for a 7-yard gain when it appeared he would scramble for a first down with less than six minutes left. The Packers were forced to punt two plays later.
In the second quarter, Reid had another interception that was nullified by a penalty. He saved a would-be touchdown when he leaped in tandem with wideout Randall Cobb and wrestled away the ball in the end zone.
“He missed a couple tackles, but he made a couple big hits out there,” safety Donte Whitner said. “We expect that. He’ll work on the missed tackles, but he did a great job. For his first game, going against one of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League, the stage wasn’t too big for him.”