In describing the events that led to his sack for a safety on Saturday night, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick said the Denver Broncos called the right coverage for that particular play.
And, of course, that begged the question, why didn’t Kaepernick recognize the coverage with his pre-snap read and change the play to something more advantageous?
On Sunday, coach Jim Tomsula said Kaepernick had no other options because the team does not game plan in the exhibition season because the 49ers do not want to telegraph their tendencies for regular season opponents.
“I’m not going to get too deep into answering that question, but I will tell you he will have latitude. He hasn’t up to now,” Tomsula said. “We haven’t game-planned, so its’s been very few . . . we may have opposite of a call or something like that, but we’ve not gotten into a lot of that in these preseason games.
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“If we start doing that in the preseason and everybody starts watching the tape, they see what happens on the safety. “
Kaepernick was sacked as the right tackle Erik Pears and right guard Ian Silberman were beaten on the play. Running back Carlos Hyde could have been a quick outlet, but he ran into the back of fullback Bruce Miller, forcing Kaepernick to take the sack.
“They had the right coverage called for what we had up, so it was something we got stuck, our running back got hung up, didn’t get a chance to get the ball out,” Kaepernick said.
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In the past four seasons under Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman, the 49ers often had two play calls in the huddle, and the quarterback surveyed the defense before determining which play to run.
---The 49ers' coaches were in meetings on Sunday and they're deciding on their starting offensive line for the regular season. Tomsula said he would meet with players on Monday and inform them of the decisions.
---The 49ers made no cuts on Sunday, Tomsula said. The 49ers have to make 14 moves to get to the 75-player roster maximum by Tuesday at 1 p.m.
---Outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who remains excused from team activities after the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office charged him with misdemeanor sexual battery, is not currently scheduled to return to practice at any point, Tomsula said.
“That’s day-to-day. I have not been updated on that at all, so it’s exactly where it is,” he said.
---Projected starting outside linebacker Aaron Lynch started the second half while Corey Lemonier and Eli Harold played in the first half against the Broncos. Those players are competing to fill the role vacated with Brooks’ absence. Tomsula said he wanted to see Lemonier and Harold on the field together against better competition.
“I like seeing them on the field together, and I like seeing them against the best the opponent has out there,” he said.
As far as his review of their performances, Tomsula said, “Ahh, I would get overly exaggerated in it being terrific. I don’t think it was bad at all. I think there were ups and downs and the consistency of it. That’s what we’re trying to sort out by doing that.”
---Center Daniel Kilgore is still weeks away from getting back on the field after undergoing a follow-up surgery in June on his left lower leg. Kilgore sustained a season-ending fracture in mid-October. It is not known whether Kilgore will open the season on the physically unable to perform list and miss a mandatory six games or if the 49ers will keep him on the 53-man roster with the hope that he can return early in the season.
---Running back Kendall Hunter carried seven times for just 15 yards in his first game action since the NFC Championship game at Seattle in January 2014. Hunter missed all of last season with a torn ACL he sustained early in training camp.
“That was his first live action,” Tomsula said. “I think he did some good things. Again, that was Kendall’s first live action in, what, a year.”
---The 49ers play their exhibition finale on Thursday night against the Chargers at Levi’s Stadium. In speaking about the front-line starters, Tomsula said, “If they do play, it won’t be a lot.”
