SANTA CLARA –

The third practice of training camp started nearly an hour ago. Now that I’ve seen three, I’d like to share some trends I’ve noticed.

The big activity to begin practice is special teams, and Ted Ginn has returned most of the kickoffs so far.

Coach Jim Tomsula works with the defensive line in the back-left corner of the property, not technically on a playing field, just beyond them next to a fence. These guys are left alone.

Greg Roman works exclusively with Vernon Davis. They talk a lot, and sometimes Roman holds a pad so Vernon Davis can practice blocking. Davis is the only player on the team who works by himself to begin practice.

Alex Smith stands next to quarterbacks coach Geep Chryst. They chat and watch Harbaugh work with Kaepernick.

Harbaugh clearly trusts his coaches to do their jobs well – he doesn’t monitor their work, he monitors Colin Kaepernick.

Vernon Davis must be the focal point of the offense now, since he gets a half hour to an hour of alone time with the offensive coordinator to begin each practice.

Those are my impressions. What do you make of these trends?

I’m going back out to practice. Talk to you guys later.

Follow me on twitter @grantcohn.