
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Trent Williams said worries that he’s tipping plays are a far bigger deal on social media than they are on the playing field.
The 49ers’ veteran left tackle essentially acknowledged that defenders sometimes can tell from his stance whether the play is a run or a pass. For example, Bears defensive end Dominique Robinson earlier this year said his Week 1 sack against Williams was aided by the fact he read Williams’ outside leg — he kicked it twice — and knew the play would be a pass.
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Williams, however, said Friday that knowing whether a play is a run or pass isn’t a practical advantage because there are so many variables within a play.
“Just because you know it’s a run doesn’t mean you know what type of run,” he said. “We just installed 50 runs with six different looks to each run. So I could show you run all day. Do you know which of the 50 runs we’re running?”
Similarly, he said there are times — such as on a screen — when an offensive lineman wants his opponent to think a pass play is coming because then they will overcommit on their pass rush.
“There are plays where we want it to look like a run and we pass it,” he said. “There are plays where we want it to look like a pass and we run it.”
Williams has been to nine Pro Bowls and, according to Pro Football Focus, he hasn’t allowed a sack this season. On the Week 1 sack in Chicago, Williams initially blocked Robinson well, but quarterback Trey Lance couldn’t find an open receiver and Robinson tackled him when he tried to vacate the pocket. It also was a third-and-5 play and thus a likely pass play.
“On most dropback passes, you know it’s a pass because you look at personnel, you look at down and distance, you look at the time of the game,” Williams said. “We’re in a four-minute offense, how often are we going to pass the ball? If we’re in a two-minute offense, how often are we going to run the ball?”
Offensive line coach Chris Foerster wasn’t as dismissive, saying that as a position coach he’s always trying to make sure players aren’t forecasting the play. And he noted that just because Williams isn’t being beaten doesn’t mean a tip isn’t affecting his teammates.
“It’s also, what about (Mike) McGlinchey on the other said where one (defensive) guy says to the other guy, ‘Hey, it’s pass!’?” Forester said. “Now all of a sudden there’s no run keys on the other side.”
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Defensive end Nick Bosa said he knows some players who play his position pay attention to tells. But it’s not something he’s ever been concerned with, especially since the 49ers’ system asks the defensive linemen to fire off the line of scrimmage no matter whether it’s a pass or run play.
“I’m not huge on pre-snap stuff,” he said. “I know a lot of guys (are). I’ll look at the formations a little bit and that will help me in the run game.”
Said Williams: “If that was the end-all-be-all, it’d be a big deal. Since it’s not, it’s only a discussion on social media, and not here.”
Odds and ends
• An inch and a half of snow chased the 49ers into an indoor facility Friday as they prepared to play in Mexico City, where it was 74 degrees.
It was still cold inside Air Force’s field house — the temperature outside was around 15 degrees and most players remained bundled during the practice — but there was no wind, and a pair of heaters on either sideline provided some respite from the chill.
“It was definitely not as cold in the indoor (facility) as it was outside,” Williams said. “So I was happy for that.”
Today’s practice spot — Air Force’s indoor facility pic.twitter.com/YqH0VYeicJ
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) November 18, 2022
The 49ers flew to Colorado so they could better adjust to Mexico City’s altitude and thus get a leg up on the Cardinals, who are arriving in Mexico City on Saturday evening. But they didn’t expect a cold snap that roughly corresponded with their stay and which plunged temperatures into the teens Friday. Sunday’s high temperature here is expected to be 51 degrees, which is right around the average for this time of year.
“It’s been an interesting trip,” Bosa said. “It’s definitely testing our fortitude and our ability to stay positive.”
Jimmy Garoppolo, who spoke to the media after Bosa, elaborated by noting there have been a lot of moving parts to the week of practice.
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“It’s like when we went to the Greenbrier,” he said. “The schedule’s not the same, your (body clock) is not the same, you’ve got to adjust and roll with the punches a little bit. But we’ve done it before.”
• Linebacker Dre Greenlaw said he hasn’t heard from the league yet on whether he’ll be fined for his hit Sunday on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, one that resulted in a 15-yard penalty and got him ejected.
Greenlaw described it as a “bang-bang” play that became even harder to judge because Herbert was being propelled forward by a tackle from Fred Warner when Greenlaw hit him.
“I remember at the time trying to go in with my shoulder on the hit,” Greenlaw said. “It happened so fast. It came closer than I expected. It was a bang-bang play. I definitely didn’t mean to get ejected or hurt anybody. It’s part of football.”
Defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans said his players have to know the league is sensitive to big hits on quarterbacks.
“The thing is when the quarterback is running, we know you can’t get a violent hit on the quarterback, so you have to be smart when the quarterback runs the ball, we have to ease up a bit,” he said. “We have to ease up and make sure that we’re especially not hitting him in the head or neck area.”
• Defensive ends Samson Ebukam and Bosa practiced Friday after missing Thursday’s session. Ebukam has been dealing with a quadriceps injury and was listed as a limited participant Friday; Bosa was given a veteran’s rest day Thursday after he played all but two defensive snaps against the Chargers.
Bosa said the fact the 49ers held the ball for nearly 37 minutes against the Chargers allowed him plenty of rest.
“When I need a break I’ll take it,” he said. “But the last game I felt good. I was feeling fresh.”
Cornerback Charvarius Ward missed his second straight practice while dealing with a personal matter. He was expected to rejoin the team Friday afternoon, which would allow him to practice Saturday.
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Arik Armstead (ankle) did not practice. Wide receiver Danny Gray (ankle) practiced in full.
For the Cardinals, quarterback Kyler Murray (hamstring) was limited for the second straight day and quarterback Colt McCoy (knee) practiced in full after being limited Thursday.
(Photo: Kelley L Cox / USA Today)
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