Niners expect rough training camp

SANTA CLARA ? As the veterans reported Thursday for 49ers training camp, the first thing that got their attention was the practice schedule.

Defensive end Justin Smith, who enters his ninth professional season, was in for a surprise.

?I saw the practice schedule and it looks brutal,? Smith said.

What caught his eye was the advance notice that the club would have tackling drills under coach Mike Singletary, whose talent as a tackler led to induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Chicago Bears linebacker.

?I?ve never done tackling drills in the NFL,? Smith said. ?It?s back to basics.?

It?s also back to the 1980s when Singletary?s coaches were Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan. The 49ers have 13 practice days without a break, beginning Saturday, leading up to their first exhibition game on Aug. 14 against the Denver Broncos. Ten of those days will include two practices.

?The first couple of weeks, those mostly will be padded practices,? Singletary said.

While the team has trust that Singletary, as a former player, knows what he?s doing, there also is clearly a higher risk of injuries if he follows through with such a demanding schedule.

?That much contact is going to open up (the possibility) of something, like injuries,? 49ers linebacker Takeo Spikes.

But the thought of a physically demanding training camp is not catching anybody by surprise. Spikes said he spent an intense five weeks of training in Atlanta with several NFL players, including teammate Parys Haralson and the New York Giants? Osi Umenyiora.

Also, linebacker Patrick Willis incorporated mixed martial arts training into his regimen during a three-week session in Las Vegas with fighting legend Randy Couture.

Willis said he improved his leverage, as well as the quickness in his hands and feet through mixed martial arts. Like Smith, he said he expects Singletary?s training camp to be ?brutal.?

?He?s from the old school,? Willis said. ?He?s all about pounding, pounding, pounding.?

CRABTREE UPDATE

The Raiders signed Darrius Heyward-Bey, the top receiver chosen, to a reported five-year, $38.25 million contract with $23.5 million guaranteed. Heyward-Bey was the seventh overall draft pick.

As the 10th pick, Michael Crabtree should expect in the neighborhood of between $16-17 million in guaranteed money. However, Crabtree?s agent, Eugene Parker, has not backed off his demand that Crabtree receive a contract commensurate to what a top-five draft pick should receive.

Crabtree was scheduled to report to the 49ers on Tuesday. The team?s first full practice is scheduled for Saturday.

The 49ers? filled the roster spot earmarked for Crabtree with the signing of defensive lineman Babatunde Oshinowo (Stanford). Oshinowo was a sixth-round pick of the Browns in 2006, and has also been with Chicago, Philadelphia and Carolina.

For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco via e-mail at matt.maiocco@pressdemocrat.com.