Grant Cohn: Too early for 49ers to start getting hurt

If Al Davis were alive, he'd tell Kyle Shanahan, 'You can't win games in May, but you sure as hell can lose them,' and, 'If you get players hurt during OTAs, you're a dumbs---.'

Those were two of Davis' favorite football axioms. He especially loved the phrase 'dumbs---.'

Shanahan is no dumbs---. But he has violated both axioms this offseason through the structure of his OTAs, and the unrealistic demands he has placed on players three months before the season even starts.

On the second day of OTAs, the 49ers' first-round pick, Nick Bosa, suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain during a competitive, full-speed, one-on-one pass-rushing drill. He will miss the next few weeks. And on the fourth day of OTAs, the 49ers' starting free safety, Jimmie Ward, broke his clavicle diving for a ball without wearing pads. He will miss the next eight to 12 weeks.

Bosa and Ward are two of 20 injured players on the 49ers' 90-man roster. This is a staggering amount of injuries. The 49ers ought to have a helicopter on call to take players from practice straight to the hospital.

But these injuries won't derail the 49ers' season. They don't need players to practice through injury right now. And most should be ready for training camp.

But while these 20 players sit out, the remaining 70 will work extra hard, take extra reps and run extra miles during practice. Meaning they'll have extra risk of suffering their own injuries. Not good.

OTAs shouldn't be strenuous. The purpose of OTAs is to teach players assignments, alignments and techniques. Players don't have to run and hit to learn. They can do walkthroughs and accomplish their offseason goals while protecting themselves from injury.

Football players are not in peak football shape in May. They haven't used their muscles in competitive football settings since December. They're still developing their bodies through aggressive weight training, still building toward the regular season. They're not ready to compete.

Shanahan's OTAs are too aggressive and competitive. He's laying the groundwork in May to lose games in September by getting key players hurt.

Bosa hasn't played since last October. He's had an eight-month layoff while rehabbing from surgery on a core muscle. The 49ers should have used caution and worked him back gradually.

Instead, Bosa was full-go for OTAs. The 49ers even put him in a one-on-one pass-rushing drill in front of the media. Bosa had to rush against an offensive tackle as if the two were playing a real game. That's serious competition. There's a winner and a loser, and the loser gets chewed out by a coach.

Bosa won't allow himself to lose, especially in front of the media. He will exert lots of energy because he wants to please the people watching him and validate being the second pick in the draft. He doesn't want the media to see him go 80% and say, 'Bosa didn't go hard today.'

So he pushed himself more than he should have, and strained his hamstring. Now, he's more susceptible to future hamstring injuries. The next one might be more severe. And he's already falling behind the learning curve.

Shanahan can only blame himself. When Bosa returns for training camp, Shanahan should make sure he works back slowly so he doesn't re-injure himself. Don't make the same mistake twice, Kyle.

Also, the 49ers' new trainers and strength coaches should examine Bosa's quads, even though they're healthy. Quads and hamstrings work together. Hamstrings should be 50-80% as strong as quads. When that ratio is out of whack and the quad is too strong, hamstring strains and pulls occur.

Bosa has the largest quads I've ever seen. They're the size of small kegs. So, his hamstrings may be at the mercy of overly-strong quads. Rehabilitation and proper strength training can fix this issue. Practicing at full speed can't. Bosa must slow down.

The 49ers' defense has a mantra: All gas, no brakes. This macho mentality isn't helpful during May. Shanahan needs to tell the defensive players to lay off the gas until training camp. Bosa took the mantra to heart.

So did Ward. His shoulder injury was predictable. On Tuesday, in front of the media, he dove into rookie wide receiver Deebo Samuel to break up a pass and created a violent collision. Neither player was wearing pads. Ward was out of line, and the 49ers should have rebuked him then. Jim Harbaugh and Vic Fangio would have told Ward to 'stay off the f---ing ground.' I heard them use that phrase a hundred times.

The 49ers' current coaches applauded Ward's effort. Sent him the wrong message. So, two days later, during a practice closed to the media and again without pads, Ward dove again — this time for a ball. And he landed on the ground and broke his clavicle. This injury will interrupt his running, conditioning and strength training, so when he returns, he won't be in peak physical condition.

Ward is competing to be the starting free safety, which explains why he was practicing so hard. Still, had he caught that ball, he wouldn't have won the job. You can't win a starting job in May. You can only lose the job. And Ward may have lost it, depending on how his backups play during his absence.

The coaches let him down. The coaches let the whole team down.

Stay off the f---ing ground. Practice smarter, not harder. Don't be a dumbs---. These are all good lessons for the 49ers to learn.

Grant Cohn covers the 49ers and Bay Area sports for The Press Democrat and pressdemocrat.com in Santa Rosa. You can reach him at grantcohn@gmail.com.