Kyle Shanahan said he “felt like crap” for three or four days.
asserted
he → say → days
For George Kittle, “it was really weird” getting back on his normal sleep schedule.
asserted
it → get → schedule
Fred Warner was groggy for “about a day,” he said.
asserted
he → say → day
“And now we’re ready to rock.”
asserted
we → ’re → ?
The longtime linebacker summed up the general sentiment in the 49ers‘ locker room now a week removed from their arrival home from Melbourne, Australia.
asserted
linebacker → sum → Melbourne
They admitted it took time to adjust to the 17-hour time difference going there.
asserted
it → admit → difference
And they didn’t shy away from the impact the opposite adjustment made coming back.
asserted
adjustment → shy → impact
Clearly, they were better prepared than the Rams last Thursday.
asserted
they → prepare → Rams
But just like the outcome of the rivals’ varying travel strategies, whether the Niners’ jet lag has fully worn off can only be revealed one way — on the field Sunday at Levi’s Stadium against the Dolphins.
asserted
worn → vary → Dolphins
“You know, we can talk about the travel and all that, but that’s whatever,” Shanahan said.
asserted
Shanahan → know → travel
“Our whole team was locked into that game.
asserted
team → lock → game
I could tell from the first practice all the way to the night before the game, to pregame, to the end of the game.
uncertain
I → tell → game
Nothing ever changed with them.
asserted
Nothing → change → them
“That’s the goal, to do that same thing this week.”
asserted
That → ’ → thing
Many 49ers didn’t wait long to resume their normal lives.
asserted
49ers → wait → lives
The time difference allowed Shanahan to catch his son’s high school game the Friday night after they got back.
asserted
they → allow → game
Kittle hit the golf course Saturday morning before watching his Iowa Hawkeyes beat Brock Purdy’s Iowa State Cyclones.
asserted
Hawkeyes → hit → Cyclones
Players were back in the building Monday, going over film and lifting weights, but they didn’t hit the field again until Wednesday, giving them five days to recover after touching down.
By then, at least according to Shanahan, all was back to normal.
uncertain
all → go → Shanahan
“And it actually is our normal schedule now because our times were a little bit different in Australia with the travel to the practice field and stuff,” he said.
asserted
he → say → field
“So, it’s real normal now.
asserted
it → ’ → ?
The season-opening trip robbed them of a cherished annual tradition: the preseason team party that typically takes place the weekend before the regular season.
asserted
that → open → season
Shanahan told his players they would celebrate on the flight back; it turned into a slumber party.
asserted
it → tell → party
“I was so excited for the flight,” running back Christian McCaffrey said, “and then I passed out for like 13 hours.
asserted
I → say → hours
I think I missed the fun part.”
asserted
I → think → part
“I think he beat me by like an hour,” Kittle added.
asserted
Kittle → think → hour
“I think I slept for 11 hours.
asserted
I → think → hours
I literally teleported back here.
asserted
I → teleport → ?
But getting back on my sleep schedule was really weird, for me at least.”
asserted
getting → get → me
Just as they did on their initial transcontinental journey, the 49ers’ training staff spelled out specific plans for the players to help their body clocks readjust.
asserted
clocks → spell → plans
“The next three days after we landed, they did a great job of giving us a regimen,” McCaffrey said.
asserted
McCaffrey → land → regimen
The preparation paid off on the front end.
asserted
preparation → pay → end
The 49ers seem confident that they put the right plan in place to set them up for success on the back end, too.
asserted
they → seem → end
Now, they have to back up their words with their play.
asserted
they → have → play
With the Dolphins’ dreary outlook, there shouldn’t be much in the way of the 49ers playing their football game — as long as they’re as over the jet lag as they claim to be.
uncertain
they → play → lag
The only surprises on the Niners’ final injury report were second-string running back Kaelon Black and kicker Eddie Pineiro, who were both listed as questionable.
asserted
who → list → report
Pineiro missed all three practices with an illness, while Black (quad) was limited Thursday but was back on Friday.
asserted
Black → miss → Friday
While Kittle remains limited in practice as he returns from Achilles surgery in January, he said the long flight had no impact on his calf and, in fact, “I’m actually so confident in my Achilles, my calf, the whole thing,” adding that there had been “zero setbacks, zero stepbacks.”
asserted
I → remain → Achilles
On the same note, Warner said he “felt like himself” and had “no residual effects” after his first game since fracturing his ankle in Week 6 of last season.
asserted
he → say → season
“It had been a long time since I felt football soreness,” he added.
asserted
he → feel → soreness
“I’ll say that.”
asserted
I → say → that
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
