During last year’s training camp, several 49ers players were injured during the “nutcracker” drill, in which two players go head-to-head and see which one can drive the other backward -- or flat on his back.
But if you think those injuries will stop the 49ers from doing the nutcracker drill in this year’s training camp, then you don’t know 49ers coach Mike Singletary, who got excited talking to reporters this week about using the drill again.
“I know you guys don’t like the nutcracker,” Singletary said. “I know that. I understand. We are going to do the nutcracker drill. Everybody knows it, they’ll be prepared for it.”
Singletary did, however, allow for the possibility that the nutcracker could be modified to make it more about learning proper technique and less about, in Singletary’s works, “knocking the crap out of each other.”
“I really had the coaches get together and look at the nutcracker and instead of just one guy getting on one side and the other guy getting on the other side and just knocking the crap out of each other, we’re trying to get more out of it,” he said.
But this is Mike Singletary we’re talking about, and so it’s no surprise that he says, “It definitely will be in our camp.”