Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Opening comments:
"Alright guys, the injuries from the game. [OL Ben] Garland ended up with a calf strain. He's going to be out awhile. Will go on IR most likely later this week. [RB Raheem] Mostert, high ankle sprain. We'll see how it progresses. Most likely IR. [S Jaquiski] Tartt, groin strain. We'll reevaluate him later in this week. [T] Trent Williams had an ankle sprain, he's getting more imaging this afternoon, so we'll wait and see on that. Go ahead."
In terms of the running back situation, with Mostert likely being out for a few weeks, where do things stand with RB Tevin Coleman and would you basically be looking at RB Jerick McKinnon and RB Jeff Wilson Jr. and maybe even calling up RB Austin Walter on the practice squad?
If you don't mind me jumping ahead with a Patriots question, I think you've faced Patriots head coach Bill Belichick three times as a play caller and you had different teams every time. They were a little different every time, but what about those Patriots teams, was the defenses, was similar? What did you know you had to accomplish each of those times and would you admit that your teams moved the ball pretty well against those Patriots teams?
"Yeah, from what I remember, but it's always pretty similar. They mix up their fronts, they do a lot of different things and they usually always focus on taking your best player away. So, they usually do it on third down. They do it in the red zone. It's very similar to a lot of styles we've gone against the last few weeks, whether it's Miami or the Giants, things like that, but they base their stuff the same way."
With Mostert out, what did you like about what you saw from RB JaMycal Hasty yesterday, especially the way you used him at the end of the game?
"I just like he came in the game and the moment wasn't too big for him. We like to keep our guys fresh. Once we lost Raheem, Jet had been going for a while, it was a perfect time to change the pace and bring in a fresh guy. He was the guy that we had left and he came in and was ready for the occasion. He looked good in practice. Did a good job, I believe, with the Giants when he got a couple opportunities. So, we didn't hesitate to put him in there. It took a while until we lost those guys, but when he came in and gave us a little bit of a spark and helped us out."
"Terminology-wise, usually it's just the same as the run plays. They're all run plays. When we do it to a receiver, we just pitch it to him so he can hit it full speed. When it goes to Deebo, we usually have a Deadpool type of word that goes with it, because that's how it all started. It was called X-Force, which is a run play and we shortened it with Deadpool because that's Deadpool's group that he put together in the movie. I think he called them the X-Force, so we just changed it to Deadpool and then we have plays off of it. So, that's the word we use, but it's the same stuff that we do throughout the game between [FB Kyle Juszczyk] Juice and Raheem. Then sometimes we do it between Raheem and Deebo. You just switch some guys up and whatever runs look good versus the front you're going against."
Coming up on the three-year anniversary of when you were traded for QB Jimmy Garoppolo. Obviously, he's going back to New England this week. What have you learned about him in the three years that you've been with him and are there still things that you want to learn about him and maybe haven't had a chance to just because of injuries or whatever?
"Yeah, the more things you go through with a player, the more situations, the different types of years you go through with someone, the more you guys grow and the more you learn. I think our first year was weird. We just had six games together and he came to an 0-9 team. That year was just trying to learn each other and figure what things were out and figuring out how to get him to the field with knowing what to do. Then the next year we were all excited to go into it and he tore his ACL. So, almost felt like last year was our first year together. Coming off his injury and having that whole year together, where he played a hell of a year and got us all the way to the Super Bowl and now we're here. So, it's almost like we've been with each other for four seasons, but it almost feels like kind of just one, one full one. You always want more time with that. I think you get closer and you learn more about each other through all the experiences you go through and we're still trying to go through that. This year is a different year and I'm excited. He played a hell of a game last night. I know he's pumped to go back to New England. I haven't been there for a while either and looking forward to watching him there."
Last night you mentioned that having more runs than the opponent was one of the things you wanted to do specifically in that game. You obviously had a lot more. You've said other similar things. I think after the Vikings playoff game, you said you wanted to get 30 runs. Is this something that's a goal of yours in every game? You mentioned kind of the totality of the game, what it shows you. Do you know or care that the analytics community hates to hear stuff like that? They say, 'Oh, you're just saying you just run the ball and you're going to win, which is not the way it works.' Again, a Matt Maiocco style question there, but have at the same way.
Your offensive line played much cleaner last night. What was the difference between this week and last week? Where was the communication breakdown last week versus the better communication and better execution this week?
"Well, I think if we threw it a ton and they were at 11 guys walking around, doing some third down blitzes on first and second down, there probably would have been some miscommunication then because that just is what happens. When you get one dimensional like that and you're going against some fronts that you don't draw up much and guys are moving around. Defensive guys get paid too, and that's why they're good at confusing you. I thought, that's as good of a scheme as you can go against with the Rams, but we weren't in as many bad situations. We were able to stay much more balanced. Really the way we came out, running the ball at the beginning, even some of those are passing stats just because we tossed it, but it was run plays. The way we did that really settles everyone down, allows our O-Line to kind of tee off and get into the groove of the game. You ended up not having to throw it nearly as much. So, when you have less bad opportunities or bad situations you put guys in, of course they're going to do better. It's also a little bit why, I think we haven't played great in all these games by no means and our O-Line can definitely play better at times, but I think they have gotten a little bit of a bad rap here over the last few weeks and taking most of the blame for a lot of stuff. They have been doing a lot of good things, too. And I think that's been missed for obvious reasons, because we haven't played good enough as a team. We limited some of those situations we put them in and I think they did the good things they have been doing and they did it throughout the whole game, which got to show a lot more and when you do that, you have a lot less mistakes."
That was obviously a very successful offensive game plan last night and it made a lot of sense and you do have a lot of guys that can run after catch, et cetera, et cetera. I guess my question is, is there anything to the idea that Jimmy came in to that game perhaps not brimming with confidence and there was an element of maybe have a little safer game plan for him, just to make him feel comfortable?
"We game plan whatever we think gives us the best chance to win. It's awesome if you can always make your quarterback feel comfortable or your O-Line or anybody, but you can't do that just anytime you want. It has to do with what the defense is doing and everything we put together has to do with the fronts and coverages that we're going against, the personnel that we're going against, what gives all of our players the best chance to be successful in whatever type of scheme you're attacking. Then you try to help the players out, whatever makes it the easiest, but they do a scheme that's pretty specific that led to us wanting to do a lot of that stuff. When it is that way, I think it does take pressure off the quarterback, but by no means are we going into that game saying, 'Hey, we have to do that.' It's what you see on tape and what you decide to go with."
"Well, I mean [general manager] John [Lynch] and his group, they're always looking into all possibilities on that stuff. They're watching film on the whole league day in and day out. They're always on the phone and stuff, whether it's John or other guys, some of the scouts or whoever. They're always having that dialogue to see where people are at, but action doesn't always happen. I know we're not in the mood to just giving up a bunch of our draft picks either. We had to do that last year to make a number of key moves that I think helped us, but we don't want another draft to where we don't have too many picks. So, it's real important for us to keep our draft picks, but if we find any situation where the right guy's there who we think can help us this year and without risking hurting us in the future, that's something I don't think we'd ever hesitate at and we'd look forward to doing it, but those things don't always come up."
You had mentioned the PUP guys being pushed back to likely Week 10 or 12. What's the status of C Weston Richburg? You had said at the end of last season he expected to be ready for training camp. Did he have a setback?
"Yeah, Richburg, he had the knee from last year and then he had shoulder surgery that happened during the offseason also. The shoulder surgery really set him back. I'm not sure which one has set him back the worst right now, but I know we're not going to get him until at least Week 12. There was two things that happened to him in the offseason, so there was another thing added that was different than the last day of the season."
Along those lines, you're going to be on your third string center here with OL Hroniss Grasu for at least a couple of weeks. How was he in Week 1 and has he been in the system training in the background now to make you comfortable that he can sustain that position for an indefinite period of time?
When Jimmy stepped to the podium yesterday, TE George Kittle let out a big 'Whoo.' There's a clip that kind of went viral on social media. One, did you see that? And secondly, how important was last night's win? George obviously was excited. The team was excited. So, what's it like to have George be a leader and pick the guys up when maybe things are down?
"I didn't see it, but I feel like I did just by hearing you imitate him because I know exactly that sound. George is awesome to have around. Everyone knows he's one of our best players. He's also, him and [WR Kendrick] Bourne are probably our team mascots. Just the way they act and their personality each day. George was fired up. He's got to chill out a little bit. He's way too aggressive when he celebrates with me. I can't handle too many more of those hits. Him, [T Mike] McGlinchey and [OL] Laken [Tomlinson] are the worst. But, no, he's like that with everybody. He never changes. You think even on a bad day he'll be worse, but he always finds a way to be upbeat and positive. It's like why he's a true WWE, walking NFL football player."
You were talking a little bit about continuing to learn things about Jimmy Garoppolo. How in the last week has he handled some of the criticism after last Sunday's game? There were things out there about Garoppolo's time may be done with the 49ers. He wasn't worth the time. I think some of the worst criticism probably he's seen during his time with your organization. How did he deal with all of that and what is his mentality and confidence like this week having bounced back last night against the Rams?
"Yeah, I think that's one of the most impressive things about Jimmy. When you think the pressure might get to him and stuff, which you would think it does to everybody. It is human nature and it's a very tough position. Whether you play good or bad, if the result's not good, you're going to get questioned a lot and people are going to point the finger at a quarterback a lot. The tough game that our whole team had verse Miami with him getting taken out there in that game. Yeah, it was tough, but the way he came into work on Monday, you couldn't tell. He's very mentally strong. When things happen like that, he does a very good job of not listening to it. I know everyone says that, but I think Jimmy really does simplify his world and not try to really- he's not really involved in a lot of that stuff. The more narrow you can be, really, as a coach, as a quarterback and just focusing on what you do in the building and the family that you hang out at home, I think helps a lot that way. I think Jimmy does that as well as any quarterback I've been around. When you are having people on you like that and you come in to work on Monday and then you go into the huddle on Wednesday in practice and guys can hear it in your voice how you call a play, kind of how you walk around. He walks confident and tall each day. He doesn't have the demeanor of a guy who's worried about much. He has a demeanor of a guy who has a lot of confidence and believes he's going to win. I think that's the coolest part about him because whether he's playing good or bad, our team believes in him and you can see how those guys are in the huddle. When Jimmy's in there, you can tell the team believes. That's one of the most important things with giving us a chance to win."
"Yes. Me personally, that's what enjoy most probably about the sport. I love dealing with the type of people we get to deal with. I love the athletes and I love the coaches, but what I enjoy is the X's and O's part and doing that stuff. There's five guys to cover, you'll see how many numbers they use to cover them and what, and you try to figure it out. It's always fun, but it's a lot more fun when it works. So, those are the things we work at, usually Monday and Tuesday hard and you practice it Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and you keep adjusting all the way up to kick off. Then you adjust throughout the game and when it's all said and done, you live with the results."
When it comes to Belichick, his success obviously speaks for itself, but within the coaching circles, what is it about the way he operates that other coaches envy and maybe try to replicate?
"I can't speak for anyone else, but I just love his attention to detail. I love that he's not a BSer. He is a very smart person who looks at football very hard in all three phases and tries to do what's best from a common-sense standpoint and from his experience with teaching people. I love that he's not going to sit there and try to make up some raw-raw story to get guys to go. He's just going to keep it real, hold guys accountable and I think he has the experience and the preparation in what he's done to be one of the most knowledgeable guys to ever coach in this game. His consistency has to do with him just being himself, which he seems like all the time. I think his players really respect him for it because he obviously knows what he's talking about."
I'm not going to ask you about your change of hat after you drilled me last week, but I will ask you about your change at backup quarterback. What was the thought process to going back to QB Nick Mullens and is this something that, is it open ended for the rest of the season?