In fact, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.at least that’s it san francisco 49ers Apparently, he will be able to tell you about the quality of his current home practice field.
In preparation for the next match against Super Bowl LVIII, kansas city chiefs, the 49ers are practicing at the UNLV facility in Las Vegas. Three standard practices are planned before the game.
However, the quality of the work can be affected by the quality under the player’s feet. The surface at UNLV’s practice field raised concerns this week.
Let me explain.
What is the problem?
Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports report It was revealed earlier this week that the 49ers were dissatisfied with the quality of UNLV’s practice field. Teams want the field to be 70g, but the field the NFL installed (two natural grass fields on top of the original artificial turf field) weighs only 50g. The resulting product was described as “spongy” with visible seams on the surface.
Concerns about the quality of the field were reportedly raised during last week’s visit. The 49ers’ logistics team, made up of members of both ground and equipment staff, first noticed the problem, and general manager John Lynch later inspected the situation as well.
However, the club decided not to take any drastic action such as changing the schedule or moving practice elsewhere in a relatively short period of time.
“We’re not going to do anything wild by completely changing the schedule,” head coach Kyle Shanahan explained Monday. “We’re going to deal with what we got.”
One issue with complaints is that the hardness of the field is not below the safety standards established by all involved. Even though San Francisco players are accustomed to practicing on denser fields, UNLV’s surface is comparable to the NFL, and NFLPA standards stipulate that the hardness must be less than 100g. and this is exactly the case.
How do the 49ers players feel?
San Francisco players have downplayed the issue so far this week, at least publicly.
“I’m going to play football in February. I have no complaints,” tight end George Kittle said during Monday’s Super Bowl opener. “I’m in Las Vegas playing soccer for another week with my teammates in the Super Bowl. Only two teams are doing it. I can’t complain. It’s no problem for me.”
Cornerback Charvarius Ward echoed Kittle’s comments.
“We’re not playing with it, so we’re not tripping up,” he said. “I’m not worried at all. I can run at full speed on any surface. When I was a kid, I used to play soccer on the street.”
But clearly, public statements may not reflect how the organization actually feels about this area. And the team as a whole doesn’t seem satisfied. According to Kyle Posey A Niners Nation reporter said, “Experts don’t have to see or hear Shanahan’s tone or body language to understand that he bit his tongue and was unhappy with the team’s situation.” .
What does the NFL say?
League commissioner Roger Goodell held his annual Super Bowl press conference on Monday. When asked about the quality of the field, he was harsh.
“We have 23 experts,” Goodell said. “We’ve set up a union. They all think this is a very playable surface. It’s softer than what we’ve been practicing on, but that’s how it is. This has been the case in all our tests. It meets the standards very well. That’s what we think — all of our experts, all of our neutral field inspectors — all unanimously say it’s a playable field.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time the league has faced questions regarding aspects of play. Just last year, the actual Super Bowl field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, was deemed slippery and drew criticism from players from both teams.
What happened to George Thoma, a longtime NFL groundskeeper? slammed NFL field director Ed Mangan accused him of watering the playing surface too much and not giving it enough sunlight before the game.
What does the NFLPA say?
Initially, the players’ association refrained from addressing the issue. But on Wednesday, NFLPA President J.C. Tretter sided with the 49ers regarding an opinion offered by Roger Goodell earlier this week.
“Playable is not the same standard as high quality,” Tretter says. “That’s not what we should be doing. We want a quality surface to play and practice on, and we don’t have it there.”
Their fighting words don’t change the way UNLV plays.
What about the Chiefs?
There have been no complaints from the Chiefs about their practice this week.they work at las vegas raiders‘ facility.
Super Bowl LVIII will be held at Allegiant Stadium, the Raiders’ home arena, on a natural grass surface.
Will this be any problem on Sunday?
That’s the big question. Although the 49ers have been forced out of their comfort zone, it looks like they need to accept their fate and make the best of the situation. They plan to practice on the UNLV campus this week, even if the field is in — a view from their vantage point — in substandard shape.
But will being 20g lighter on the practice field really make a difference once the game against the Chiefs begins? It’s probably hard to quantify, but depending on how the game ends, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this story continue beyond Sunday’s Super Bowl.
