NAPA ? Cornerback Nate Clements was across the field when he saw 49ers teammate Shawntae Spencer jawing with Raiders rookie receiver Louis Murphy during the early portion of Wednesday?s joint practice.
?That got my blood flowing,? Clements said. ?It rubbed off on everybody and became contagious.?
The high-intensity practice that ensued was one of the ages. For about 30 minutes when the 49ers? defense was matched against the Raiders? offense, the 49ers feasted on a smorgasbord of interceptions.
?I was talking to Shaun (Hill) and Alex (Smith) and I said, ?You don?t feed us like that in practice,?? veteran cornerback Dre? Bly said. ?They (the Raiders? quarterbacks) fed us today. That buffet was good.?
The 49ers recorded just 12 interceptions last season, and defensive coordinator Greg Manusky has made it an offseason emphasis to promote a more active, aggressive approach. He has stressed turnovers, sacks and hustling to the football, he said.
While the 49ers? pass rush has yet to make much of an impression, the defense does appear to have more of a knack for coming up with interceptions. The 49ers intercepted Denver Broncos starting quarterback Kyle Orton three times in the first half of the teams? exhibition opener Friday night.
And they turned gluttonous on the practice field with seven interceptions during two practices Wednesday.
?This defense is getting a lot of turnovers, and that?s something we lacked last year,? 49ers safety Dashon Goldson said.
Goldson was elevated to the starting lineup in the offseason for that very purpose. He replaces Mark Roman at free safety. Roman had gone two full seasons without an interception. The 49ers also signed Bly, an 11-year pro with 40 career interceptions.
With a combined 20 years of NFL experience, Bly and cornerback Nate Clements agreed they have never witnessed a more one-sided practice than the team?s morning session against the Raiders.
After Spencer and Murphy got into a heated exchange during one-on-one drills, the 49ers clearly exhibited more intensity than the Raiders.
?A Florida guy,? Bly said of Murphy. ?They?ve got two national championships, so I guess you feel like you can come into this league and talk. I was telling one of the guys, national championships on this level is equivalent to a high school state championship. Nobody cares. That?s in the past.
?Murphy got things going, and from that point on, we just dominated practice.?
Clements intercepted Raiders starting quarterback JaMarcus Russell in a 7-on-7 drill, but that was only the appetizer.
Early in the 11-on-11 portion, Clements again picked off a Russell pass. Then, as the decibel level continued to rise along the 49ers? side, there was no stopping the frenzy of turnovers that followed.
Rookie Diyral Briggs locked into Russell?s eyes and stepped in front of a tight end for an interception. Then, Bly got into the act with an interception of Raiders reserve quarterback Bruce Gradkowski.
?For a while, our guys got in a zone,? 49ers coach Mike Singletary said. ?Things started happening.?
Throughout the flurry of interceptions, the 49ers were whooping it up and celebrating their dominating play. And with Clements? third interception of the day, the exuberance reached a crescendo.
?We played at a level they could not match,? Clements said. ?Overall, this is probably the best practice I?ve ever been a part of, defensively.?
Said Goldson, ?We want to play with swagger. As a secondary, we talk about that all the time.?
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49ers. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco at matt.maiocco@pressdemocrat.com
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