Charles Woodson, the Hall of Fame defensive back turned analyst who knows a thing or two about missing training camp, can imagine the impact the return of Trent Williams will have on his 49ers teammates.
“It’s like getting in a fight, and all of a sudden you look and see your big brother coming and it’s like, `Oh, man. I feel a little better now,’ ” Woodson said in a phone interview. “I think that’s what Trent provides for that team.”
Both Williams and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk are expected to be available for the 49ers’ first fight against the New York Jets Monday night at Levi’s Stadium. Exactly how much they’ll play will be determined by what coach Kyle Shanahan sees on the practice field this week. The serious preparations began Thursday.
Shanahan sounded skeptical before practice Thursday that Aiyuk would jump back into the fray at his usual workload of nearly 100 percent of the snaps.
“My expectations are that I’d be surprised with 98 percent,” Shanahan said. “But I’ll see how the week goes. We’ve had one practice with him. He threw with Brock (Purdy) over the weekend. We’ve got one practice with Trent. … We’ll see how they are these three days and then kind of evaluate it.”
When Woodson held out all of training camp on the franchise tag in 2004 with the Raiders and arrived on Sept. 1, then-coach Norv Turner was dubious about his defensive star having a full-time role, saying he’d likely play in the nickel defense and be eased back into the lineup.
Then in Week 1 against Pittsburgh, Woodson played every snap. He eventually signed with Green Bay in free agency in 2006 before returning to the Raiders in 2013.
Former Raiders defensive back Charles Woodson sat out of training camp in 2004 and played every snap in Week 1 of the regular season. Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group
As much as Shanahan believes in the importance of practice time, it’s also true that special players can do special things, and it won’t surprise anyone to see Williams play every snap and Aiyuk to play a major role even if both may be a little rusty.
With Williams and Aiyuk returning to the same offensive and defensive systems, Woodson, now an analyst at Fox Sports, believes their absence is mitigated to a degree.
“In terms of just playing the game, you work all offseason as far as your training and getting ready to play,” Woodson said. “But you don’t have any game reps, any of the real contact that goes along with tackling, taking on blocks, falling down, getting back up. You’ve just been training on your craft, your footwork, conditioning. The biggest challenge is how your body is going to be able to withstand being back in the game.”
Williams carries with him a Woodson credibility factor to the point where teammates will be surprised if he doesn’t simply pick up where he left off. Williams, 36, has been monitored closely in recent training camps anyway.
Defensive end Nick Bosa, who partially …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
