By Jenny Vrentas
Pro Football Writers of America
MIAMI—The 49ers held a 50-minute walk-through in the University of Miami’s indoor facility Saturday afternoon, before bussing over to Hard Rock Stadium for a look at the venue the day before Super Bowl LIV.
The walk-through was efficient and focused as the 49ers did a final review of their gameplan with the doors of the fieldhouse closed for privacy and no music playing. Players wore dri-fit shirts printed with their numbers, shorts and sneakers. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was the only player wearing a helmet so he could listen to head coach Kyle Shanahan relay the play calls through the radio. Garoppolo executed handoffs and lightly tossed the ball on pass plays as the 49ers lined up against the scout team in different situations. The offense and defense worked on different ends of the field, and the session ended with a 7-minute special teams period.
“We’re as ready as we can be,” Shanahan said. “We just need the game to get here. It’s been two weeks of (practice), and we are itching to go.”
No players will carry an injury designation into the game. Shanahan said linebacker Kwon Alexander, running back Tevin Coleman and safety Jaquiski Tartt—who had been limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday before participating fully on Friday—will be “full go” for the game.
The 49ers players on injured reserve watched the walk-through. Everyone gathered at midfield for a final huddle, and cornerback Richard Sherman, who will be playing in his third Super Bowl, broke it down with a Niners chant. After the walk-through ended at 1 p.m., the players boarded the buses en route to Hard Rock Stadium.
“I just want the guys to see it,” Shanahan said. “Usually the locker room is different; the field is a little bit different. Instead of them going there and being in awe of everything tomorrow, I’d rather them do it today.”
While all of their football work was done at the University of Miami, Shanahan planned to use the time at Hard Rock Stadium to walk through the Super Bowl’s 29-minute halftime period (more than twice as long as the usual intermission), to get a feel for how long the break will be. He told the players they should hydrate and stretch for the first 15 minutes, then they will get into their normal halftime routine at the 13-minute mark.
“It’s going to feel like forever,” Shanahan said. “We’re not used to that.”
Shanahan said the team would follow its regular schedule the night before a game with position meetings followed by a team meeting. No special guests are planned. “Just us,” he said. As for the message he’ll give to his team on the eve of the final game of the season, “I like to see how I feel right before it,” Shanahan said. “I am a pretty spur-of-the moment guy.”
No team meetings are planned for Sunday morning. “Let the guys sleep in,” Shanahan said, “and we’ll meet them at the stadium tomorrow.”
