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Niners’ Franklin hurts knee, Nolan optimistic of his return

This might be some bad news for the defense. Tackle Aubrayo Franklin got caught when two offensive linemen rolled over on his leg. He grabbed his left knee in pain.

Franklin was slated to help anchor the inside of the new 3-4 defense, but it may look like there will be quick changes to that plan. However, Coach Mike Nolan is staying optimistic, saying that it looks only to be a sprain.

“The fear would be it would be something other than a sprain,” said Nolan, who coached Franklin when both were with the Ravens. “It would be a piece of adversity, something we would need to do a good job responding to.”

Franklin has mentioned that it doesn’t look as bad as it seemed out in the field and assured teammate Isaac Sopoaga that’s it’s not seriously hurting him or anything like that.

Here are some notes on the Niners camp:
Zak Keasey, who once played linebacker, now is filling in for the fullback position. With Frank Gore’s injury and Michael Robinson suffering from dehydration, Keasey is filling in the new position. Right now, he’s just learning the ropes.

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Vernon Davis and Larry Allen got into a brawl the other day and teammates had to separate them. However, Bryant Young assured that it wasn’t as big as it seemed.

“We all get in scuffles now and then. It happens. I’ve been in a few of them myself,” Young said. “We all wantto do well in this game and emotions fly high. You just have to stay under control.”

Knowing Allen and Davis, they aren’t the kind of people to hold grudges. Both are really competitive players, and knowing Davis’ personality, he doesn’t want to be anywhere but the top. His emotions sometimes gets the best of him, like spiking the ball after a score on scrimmage, but he has learned to not get too emotional.

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And a very positive quote from Darrell Jackson on his opportunities to line up against Nate Clements.

“He’s a great corner, and any time you go against cornerbacks like that, you’re going to have your good battles in the NFL,” Jackson said. “Nate knows what he’s doing and he’s very smart. I push him, he pushes me, and that’s how we get each other better.”

Good to hear Jackson so upbeat after some criticism of his lack of desire to play his best during camp.

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And on another note, PASTABOWL turned out to be a great success. Many players worked hard to get tips, a little side competition to a great event that featured great food. Check out the report at the Niners’ website.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 6th, 2007 at 2:10 pm and is filed under 3-4 defense, 49ers, Aubrayo Franklin, Larry Allen, Zak Keasey, Darrell Jackson, Injury, Nate Clements, 2007 Season Preview, Vernon Davis, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.