McGlinchey vs. Watt was less one-sided than at first glance
HOUSTON — Why was 49ers rookie right tackle Mike McGlinchey nearly impaled in the ground on his first snap against Houston defensive end J.J. Watt on Wednesday?
Well, as it turns out, there was a reason beyond the fact that Watt is a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
On Thursday, left tackle Joe Staley provided a bit of context. Staley said Houston’s coaches had the 49ers’ offensive linemen and Texans’ defensive linemen run one-onone run-blocking drills. Those were foreign to McGlinchey, who had engaged only in one-on-one pass-blocking drills during his first training camp.
As Staley explained, McGlinchey’s inexperience, combined with his opponent, made for a painful moment.
“I don’t think guys were expecting that,” Staley said. “I know Mike had no idea. (He said) ‘One-on-one run? What do you do here?’ I was like, ‘Just come off the ball as hard as you can, like (an) Oklahoma drill, old-school.’ He’s like, ‘All right.’ ”
“It didn’t go well for him the first rep — you could see that. But he told me after that ‘I was just trying to focus and (not) get embarrassed because he’s pretty strong. I was like ‘J.J.’s one of the best in the NFL, so he’s going to be pretty strong.’ ”
Staley, 33, said he intentionally didn’t give McGlinchey any pre-practice pointers for facing Watt.
“I think that’s good,” Staley said. “If it was game situation, obviously, you’re going to do a lot more studying. But I think it’s good for him to go in and figure that stuff out on (his) own. Try to correct what you’re doing on the practice field because it’s practice — it’s the time to do all that stuff. You’re not going to go out there and have a perfect day. You’re going to see what works, what doesn’t work.”
McGlinchey, the No. 9 pick, appeared to learn from his first snap against Watt. McGlinchey had five more one-on-one reps against Watt during the course of the two joint practices and largely held his own on each. On guards: Right guard Joshua Garnett, who returned to practice Sunday after missing two weeks with a knee injury, took first-team snaps in practice and is expected to make his preseason debut when the 49ers meet the Texans on Saturday.
“He looked good on tape yesterday,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He definitely looked healthy yesterday. The test will be after fatigue sets in. Today was his second day in a row. We upped his reps, so I’m looking forward to watching the tape when I get in.”
Meanwhile, right guard Jonathan Cooper, who has been eased back in after undergoing offseason knee surgery, also will make his summer debut Saturday. Cooper worked with the second team in practice.
Garnett and Cooper are competing for the starting spot that was assumed by Mike Person in the preseason opener. Person was the second-team center Thursday. Injury report: Undrafted rookie safety Terrell Williams was carted off the field with a knee injury after colliding with a cement wall during a one-on-one drill.
In addition, linebacker Mark Nzeocha also left practice on a cart with an unspecified injury, and tight end Cole Wick exited, apparently because of heat-related issues.