SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Yes, the San Francisco 49ers are in the midst of a quarterback competition. They also have plenty of other things to figure out when it comes to their offense before the regular season begins. And coach Chip Kelly has been adamant that the team's four preseason games will be used as a gauge to determine a winner for many of those position battles.
But just because those games will be a barometer for the roster doesn't mean they'll be treated as anything more than the usual round of exhibitions. Which is to say that Kelly and offensive coordinator Curtis Modkins will mostly stick to a vanilla approach when it comes to game planning and play calling.
"We just kind of do what we do and go from there," Modkins said. "Yeah, we're not looking to out-scheme Houston by any means. We're looking to see who can block and who can be in the right places and who steps the right way, whose fundamentals are the right way and whose pad levels are down, can we throw and catch simple routes. There's not any game planning going on for the first game."
According to Modkins, the Niners haven't yet discussed who will start this week at quarterback or anywhere else. Kelly has indicated those discussions will be had later this week, presumably after they complete their practices.
Not that anyone would expect the 49ers to come out in a bunch of exotic formations and reach deep into the bag of tricks for a preseason opener but it's fair to wonder how much the preseason will actually be used to determine a starting quarterback when everything is injected with vanilla flavor. Of course, that could change as the preseason goes on.
"I wouldn't say that," Modkins said. "I think as we get along, as we get to the third preseason game, it might be a little bit more game planning than what normally is. I think there's fundamentals. There's, 'Am I going to the right places?' All those things, it doesn't matter whether it's an exotic game plan or not. That doesn't matter, right? It's football and you're evaluating how they play football. Whether they move the team, am I going to the right places? All those sort of things. So, no. I don't think that matters."
Tuesday's practice lasted a little more than two hours and was one of the longest the team's had in this camp. Ramping back up after a day off seems to be a common practice for the Niners so far in this camp.
Rookie guard Joshua Garnett spent the first week-plus working at right guard next to tackle Anthony Davis. The duo even worked its way from the third-string to the second unit last week. But Garnett got a little taste of something new on Tuesday as he moved over to the left side with the second team. Ian Silberman worked at right guard next to Davis. "I'm kind of showing I can do both sides," Garnett said. "I can go wherever the coaches need me to go and be that versatile guy. ... Wherever they put me, I'm going to go there with a smile on my face."
It was a pretty solid day for both quarterbacks Tuesday as Colin Kaepernick was particularly strong in seven-on-seven drills. The 49ers are working on more situational football this week, which included some red zone work. In 7-on-7, Kaepernick connected for four touchdown passes total, including three from the 15-20 yard range. His best throw of the touchdown tosses was a back shoulder connection to receiver Jerome Simpson. He and Simpson linked up for consecutive touchdowns in those 7-on-7 drills. Blaine Gabbert was efficient again as he completed most of his passes in team drills though he wasn't as good in 7-on-7. Most of those completions came underneath but the Niners appeared to be working on third-and-short passing situations as most of those route combinations didn't ask any wideout to get down the field.
Defensive lineman Arik Armstead did not participate in team drills after he suffered what seemed to be a left arm or shoulder injury over the weekend. The 49ers went with DeForest Buckner and Quinton Dial at end with the first team in 11-on-11.
Running back Carlos Hyde coughed up a fumble on the first play of team drills Tuesday but he rebounded and had a few successful runs thereafter. ... In addition to red zone and short yardage, the 49ers also worked team drills with the offense backed up to its goal line. Kelly said situations would be an emphasis this week.
Hall of Fame defensive lineman Charles Haley was in attendance for the second straight practice and was again unafraid to jump in and help. At one point, he took a couple of reps hitting the bag and offered one-on-one instruction to Buckner and Armstead.
The 49ers are back at it with another practice Wednesday morning but with some new surroundings. The team will practice at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco with about 9,000 ticketed fans expected to attend. It's the first practice at the venue since 2004.