How 49ers' DeForest Buckner reminds self of dominance with simple note

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After edge rusher Dee Ford reported to the 49ers’ offseason program after a trade sent him to the Bay Area from the Kansas City Chiefs, his new teammate, DeForest Buckner, let him borrow one of his notebooks.

The first thing Ford noticed upon turning to Page 1 was Buckner’s hand-written reminder to himself.

I can’t be blocked!

Buckner registered a career-best 12 sacks last season, and that came with the 49ers supplying no threat of an outside pass rush. The additions of Ford on one side and rookie Nick Bosa on the other should make it even more difficult to block Buckner this season.

“I can’t be blocked,” Buckner said last week at the 49ers’ state-of-the-franchise event in San Jose. “I approach that every day. That’s my mindset going in every day for practice. That’s how I approach every game. I want to be the best at my position.”

The 49ers are scheduled to conduct an offseason-program-concluding two practices during their mandatory minicamp this week in Santa Clara. All 89 players under contract are required to attend.

The 90th player of the roster is kicker Robbie Gould, whom the 49ers tagged as their franchise player. Gould has yet to sign his one-year deal. He asked for a trade this offseason, and the 49ers said they will not cave in to his demand.

Here are some other takeaways from last week’s event, which was highlighted by the announcement of Joe Staley and the 49ers agreeing on a two-year contract extension:

--The 49ers will add seats to increase of the numbers of fans who can attend training camp this summer, club president Al Guido announced. Last year, 30,000 fans watched practices over the three weeks of camp. The dates and times for practices will be released in the coming weeks.

--Terrell Owens will be inducted into the 49ers Hall of Fame in Week 3, in conjunction with the 49ers’ Sept. 22 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Levi’s Stadium.

--The 49ers will wear their all-white throwback jerseys in Week 8 against the Carolina Panthers. The 49ers wore those throwback jerseys for their last Super Bowl-championship season in 1994. The jerseys were based on the team’s 1955 uniforms.

--The end zone lettering “49ers” will be in the “saloon font” for the entire season, Guido said.

--The 49ers will have two bobblehead giveaway dates, featuring George Kittle (Week 8 against Carolina) and Staley (Week 11 against Arizona).

[RELATED: George Kittle hasn't reached his ceiling, 49ers TE's coach believes]

--The 49ers announced plans for a 240-acre development that includes 700 hotel rooms, a 30-acre park, as well as bars and restaurants to enhance the pre- and post-game experience. The first 50 acres are expected to go under construction in January or February. The project should be completed in three years. The development will strengthen the team’s bids for Super Bowls, the World Cup in 2026 and future Olympic Games, Guido said.

--When the defensive players were asked about what fires them up most about the coming season, they all struck the same chord when outlining their goals for 2019.

Ford: “Winning.”

Richard Sherman: “Get back in the win column, consistently stack these wins.”

Fred Warner: "Win."

Buckner: “Now, we got to show y’all. Now we have to win.”

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