Two players have been conspicuously absent from 49ers training
camp practices, and Jeff Ulbrich has taken notice.
Two players have been conspicuously absent from 49ers training camp practices, and Jeff Ulbrich has taken notice.
The Morgan Hill native isn’t exactly celebrating the team’s short-term loss of linebacker Patrick Willis, but he is relishing the extra playing time with the first-team defense. Ulbrich was doing double shifts last week at training camp in Santa Clara, holding down his usual starting spot on special teams while sharing Willis’ snaps.
Willis, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, was nursing a minor ankle injury.
“You never like to see that,” Ulbrich said Friday. “Unfortunately, Patrick’s hurt. But, at the same time, it’s an opportunity for me to get in there and run the show.”
Playing behind the starting defensive line, Ulbrich had prime opportunities to weigh in. Friday the nine-year veteran nearly intercepted a pass by Shaun Hill, who was throwing to Dominique Zeigler on a short slant. Cornerback Nate Clements reached in front of Zeigler to tip the ball away, and Ulbrich made a diving attempt for it but scooped it off the turf. Ulbrich gave Zeigler a few taps on the helmet afterward.
“I don’t know if we’re further along than we need to be, but we’re further along than where we’ve been – for what that’s worth,” Ulbrich said of the defense. “There’s a million ways I can improve. I constantly work on technique and learning my assignments better; continue to try and develop my leadership skills … and teach these young guys what it takes to be a pro.”
You can’t help but segue to Michael Crabtree, San Francisco’s first-round draft pick who’s still holding out for a hefty contract.
The unsigned wideout was the elephant in the media room last week when it was reported that the receiver is contemplating sitting out the season and re-entering next year’s NFL Draft.
“We don’t talk about it. Hopefully, we don’t ever talk about it,” coach Mike Singletary said when asked if Crabtree’s absence has become a distraction. “The thing we need to do is take care of ourselves out here.
“As I said all along … the most important thing for me all along is look at the guys we have here and try to find the players that we need out of those guys and win football games. Thankfully, we have the guys to do that. But the whole Crabtree thing, as I said before, I’m very excited about him, but I’m going to focus on the those guys out there and be true to them.”
The 49ers’ situation only got worse with Friday’s news that wideout Brandon Jones will be out an estimated eight weeks with a shoulder injury.
Ulbrich said the receiving should be fine – even without Crabtree.
“I think he thinks we drastically need him, whereas I think we’ve got a very talented receiving corps,” the Live Oak High School and Gavilan College product said. “He’s got a lot to prove but he doesn’t think he does.
“I think there’s a universal thing with this new generation. They get some bad advice from agents and family and whatever. … You got to come in and prove yourself. That seems like an old-school mentality, whereas the younger guys are all about striking while the iron’s hot, get money while you can.”
Ulbrich always has been one to go against the grain. The 32-year-old workhorse took a pay cut this offseason to stay with the team that drafted him in 2000. Ulbrich is on his way to having his mug placed on the franchise’s heralded 10-year wall in Santa Clara.
Though there are a couple gray hairs in his beard, Ulbrich still plays with plenty of fire. He loves the team’s more physical approach championed by their Hall of Fame linebacker turned new head coach.
“Without a doubt,” he said when asked if practice has been more intense this summer. “Our morning sessions have included a lot of 9 on 7, which is a physical drill; it’s an all-run drill.
“I like defending the run when I’m fresh and running around. But, about 10 days into camp, I’m begging for more passes.”
Ulbrich may not have the youthful flash of Crabtree or Willis, but – money aside – there’s another reason he is still with the team: The 49ers would beg for more players with his professionalism.
