San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo spoke with reporters before today's practice as the team begins preparations for its preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Here is everything they had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan
What's going to be the process with S Jaquiski Tartt now that he's active?
"Going to see how he looks today. Hopefully he can go these three days, show us that he's healthy and can play at a high level. And hopefully he'll get some time in the game."
Is he a possibility with Week 1 being this close to play against the Lions?
"I haven't seen him out there yet, so we're hoping so. We're giving him the chance to do it. I know he feels good right now, which is very encouraging. I think he started feeling a lot better while we were down in L.A. So, I'm just pumped he wants to practice today, feels healthy enough to practice today and we'll evaluate these three practices and decide for Sunday and then decide on our 53."
Is the expectation still for T Trent Williams to practice this week?
"Yeah, Trent's good to go. Yeah, he'll be at practice all week."
Is DL Nick Bosa good to go for practice?
"Yeah, Nick is good to go. He's going to get some team reps today."
What do you want to see out of Nick? Just how he responds?
"I think it's more mental to me with that. He looks great on the side. He looks, good doing all the football movements, in individual and stuff. And to me it's more of his mind, which all guys need coming off a serious injury like that. Nick's ready for football. He just needs to go through some reps and he's back in there and I hope he feels good about it at the end of the day."
What about DL Dee Ford? Anything additional that he's going to ramp up to do this week?
"No, Dee Ford has been good. He's been on a steady pace and I think he's gotten enough reps in this camp. We'll keep continuing with the same pace for these three days and I'll decide on Sunday at the end of the week for him and pretty much all the players. But we're good with the pace he's been on."
What have you liked out of QB Jimmy Garoppolo in the past month? What have you seen?
"I think he's just had more command at this time than he has any of the other years. Jimmy always gets there eventually, but I think he's come in, and I think that's natural with it being his fourth or fifth year. He came in the middle of our first year, but I think it's a lot easier for him just knowing what's coming off my lips before it does. Knowing exactly how to spit it out, where to go. When you don't have to think and all that stuff's effortless, the semantics of play calls and the offense, I think it's a lot easier to play."
Is there anything you can learn from 2012 with former NFL QB Robert Griffin III and apply it to now just given it's a rookie quarterback who is also a running quarterback?
"You learn a lot when you get to experience different types of schemes and stuff. So everything I learned doing that those two years I think has helped me everywhere I've gone. Whether with running quarterbacks or with not, you start to understand defenses the more you can use 11 guys. I learned a ton that year schematically because it was my first time being around it or doing something like that. The stuff helped me throughout my whole career."
From a competitive advantage standpoint, what do you gain by not naming the starting quarterback at this time?
"I look at it more as what do you gain by naming it? If there would be one reason I can think of by naming it that would help it'd be to end those questions. If you could give me another reason that it's a big advantage that helps our team, affects anything that has to do with us then I will name it. But I don't think it does. And you know, why tell people. I know you guys want an answer, which is fine. I get the suspense of it, but I'm not just going to answer it to end your guy's suspense."
This suspense is great. Keep it going.
"Oh, you're welcome. Hey, I'll try to get you more clicks (laughing)."
I know it's a totally different situation going back to 2017. What did you see from Jimmy to know that he was ready? You said you have to see something from QB Trey Lance. What did you see from Jimmy then to know that he was ready to start?
"That he was the best quarterback in our building. So, I saw it pretty fast and pretty early."
A few weeks ago, you said that Trey would play situationally. Has anything or what if anything that he's done during camp has suggested what situationally he might be best at, in that regard?
"It depends who we're playing, what the situation is, what fronts. I don't know when that's going to happen. Could happen today, could happen Week 1, could happen not until the end of the year. But I think we have a guy who has a skillset to come in and do some different things and that's what we've been working him at. And we'll do that when we think it helps us."
Are there challenges doing that, just in terms of getting both guys in and shuttling guys in and out? What are the challenges with that?
"Yeah, I would think so. We do it a little bit in practice. I think I'm doing a little bit of more of it here these next two weeks, just for me to get used to it and stuff, so the guys get used to it. Watching New Orleans [Saints] doing it with [former NFL QB] Drew Brees and [New Orleans Saints QB] Taysom [Hill] has been pretty cool over the last three years. I'm sure that took them some time to kind of get the flow of that. But it's nothing that you can say, 'Hey we did this in practice so this is how it's going to be.' You adjust to that in games and you prepare for everything, but you don't know until you go through it. So that's why I don't sit here and pretend like I have all the answers because I don't. You prepare for every situation, you work the guys to the best of their ability, and then you see what your gameplan is and you figure out what gives you the best chance to win that game. And you try to keep your thoughts just to that."
Is sprinkling him in more part of the original plan that you've had all along or is it more because he's maybe further along than you expected at this point?
"No. I knew that when you do get a quarterback who does have a different skillset than your starter, regardless of whether they're ready to do a whole game or not or anything like that. I know watching other teams, having some experience myself, I know that can really affect people. You have to prepare for that stuff a lot. Other defenses can't just go out and play against something that you haven't been preparing against. So, whether guys are doing it or not, it always helps that people are preparing to have that threat and if it's effective and we think it helps us then you do it more and more."
You've obviously spent some time in the Bay Area growing up. What was your recollection of the Raiders-49ers rivalry when you were in school?
"When I was here they were in L.A. so it was a little bit different. And my dad was actually the head coach of the L.A. Raiders for about three days. It felt like. I always knew, I've always known there's a big rivalry there, especially when they came back to Oakland. You can tell just being around here with the fans. I think it's a little different now that they moved, but I know it's a little more exciting for a preseason game when you get a team to come back that does have a tradition like that. And anything that can add more excitement to preseason games I'm all for."
This is the dress rehearsal. Does having a little extra juice help along those lines?
"I think it's for the fans and maybe people who watch it on TV. I don't think it affects us very much.
Did you ever meet former Raiders Owner Al Davis?
"Yes, but I was a third grader, so I kept to myself on it. I didn't know everything that was going on. So, I was just a fan around that time."
Are you in full regular season mode this week? Are these practices like regular season practices?
"No. I mean the schedule is, that's my biggest thing. You want to dress rehearsal the times. That's why we had a walk through. That's why we're doing the media now and we'll have lunch, then we'll go back out and do our normal practice. So everything, the meetings and everything are the same, but still the most important thing is how to get your individuals and your team completely ready for Week 1. So yes, you try to spend a whole normal week so they know where they are in Week 1, but our main concern is just getting us as good as we can be. Not just Las Vegas."
I know you won't tell us who, but have you decided on a Week 1 starter?
"I've got a pretty good idea, but as you guys can see with everything I don't know our schedule a couple days from now. So, I've always had a pretty good idea. But, there's lots of days between now and then, at every position."
We may not even be alive.
"I won't say it, but that is a fact. Like that is a fact."
You mentioned in the post-draft press conference that you kind of enjoyed watching everybody squirm over the decision between, at the time people thought, New England Patriots QB Mac Jones or Trey Lance. Are you enjoying watching us squirm right now?
"Not really. I'm not watching it too much. Then it was kind of more, I might've used the word enjoyed, but I was more kind of amazed with all the strong opinions and everyone thinking they knew everything when I knew that no one did. So that was just kind of interesting to watch. I wouldn't say I was having fun watching it, but it was interesting. This situation, I feel like I've talked pretty consistent through this whole time and I get everyone wants to keep talking about stuff and I would love to help you guys and answer you guys but I think you guys all got a pretty good idea and I think our team does also."
Have you talked to general manager John Lynch about making that decision or do you keep it to yourself?
"I talk to John about everything. John's not coming down, he's the same as me, he's not sitting there asking what day it is or anything like that. We're pretty good about that. We know where we're at and we know where we're going."
You've talked a lot about wanting to hold off on naming Lance the starter and telling people you'll wait until you feel like he gives you the best chance of winning. What is it you need to see from him to feel that way?
"I could talk for six days on that. It's about a quarterback giving us the best chance to win and you don't just throw guys out just because of a skillset. You throw guys out because of how they work in your offense, how they work for your team, how the other plays tie to them, and what they're ready to do. We do have a quarterback with a lot of experience who has played at a high level. And we've got a team I think that has got some pretty good experience that has the capability of playing at a high level. So, you're trying to figure out how are our 47 guys, now on gameday, can play at the highest level possible and whether they're starting or whether they're coming in and there's so much that goes into it. That's why you will never get a straight answer from me."
QB Jimmy Garoppolo
Head Coach Kyle Shanahan said he had a pretty good idea of who would be the starting quarterback Week 1. Do you have a pretty good idea?
"Yeah, I have a pretty good idea."
He was smiling about it so, that must mean something right?
"It's whatever he decides, yeah. I have a pretty good idea. I'm pretty happy with where I'm at right now and everything and just the offense as a whole. Yeah, Kyle's the head man. He'll make the call."
We had a good talk with former NFL QB Drew Brees after practice on Friday after you did. One of the things he said that you and him were talking about was your quick release and how you studied him and Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. Can you just talk about that aspect of your game and how you worked on it and got better at it?
"Yeah, it's going back to when I first became a quarterback. Those were two of the first guys that I started watching and just seeing how they play the game. Obviously, having been with [Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB] Tom [Brady] for a while, learned a lot of things from him too. But those two guys Drew and Aaron, I thought did it at a high level. Just a more similar style to me I guess. And yeah, I tried to copy them as much as I could."
Did Drew have any other advice on the situation you're in which is kind of parallel to where he was 15 years ago?
"A little bit. We were just kind of talking ball really. We talked about the situation for a little bit and how him and [New Orleans Saints QB] Taysom [Hill] did it. And it's a thing that I wasn't really used to, I guess you could say. Just the in and out part of it. So, I was trying to pick his brain, how he handled that. He'd come out for a play or two and then go back in, how that all works."
What kind of advice did he give you on that?
"I'll keep that between me and him, but just kind of a stay ready type of thing. Yeah, it's a different type of flow to the game. As a quarterback you're used to being out there the whole time. And so, it's just something that you've just got to get reps at and get used to it."
Do you have to actually practice coming out for a few different plays or whatever and then go back in to get used to that?
"Yeah. Yeah. It's happened a little bit in training camp just with some of the different types of things we're doing with [QB] Trey [Lance]. But yeah, whenever I'm out there, I'll be ready to roll. It's just one of those things, it is what it is."
After what you went through in New England with Tom, do you have any advice for Trey for all the quarterback questions he gets on a daily basis?
"I'm sure he's handling it like a champ. Trey's a good dude. He's pretty even keeled for the most part. I think that's a big part of it, but I'm sure he's doing a great job with it. Advice for it? I don't know, just be yourself I guess."
Having watched film from the last game, what takeaways do you have from it?
"Pretty much the same thing that I thought out there. We left some stuff out there. There was a couple of places that we should have easily had. Plays that we've made before and we should have made in that one. But yeah, like I said, the interception, me and [WR Brandon Aiyuk] B.A. have hit that a million times out here. We've just got to come up with it and we've got to make it work. But other than that, I thought it was like I said before, it was a pretty good drive."
Kyle said you came in this training camp with more command than you've had in the past. Did you feel that, did you notice that yourself?
"Yeah. It's not something that I tried to do in the offseason. I've always had a leadership quality, I guess you could say, but I think just understanding the offense and having a better feel for where guys are, how to get guys in certain spots, calling the plays, all those little things that go into it. I think that it just comes with experience and that's one thing that I've noticed out here and it's paying off."
Does it take a while to get ahold of that with this offensive in particular?
"This offense is just different. We've cut down some of the verbiage and things like that, which makes it easier. But it's just it's a different type of offense. It's constantly changing. We're trying new things this day and the next day we try this with it. There's just a lot of moving parts that you have to as a quarterback, mentally hone in on it and focus. And once you do, it becomes a lot easier."
You mentioned some of the moving parts, all the pre-snap motion stuff you guys do. What kind of workload does that add to your plate in terms of having to know where guys are? What kind of chaos might it add before a play?
"Yeah, it adds a lot of work throughout the week. That's why, once we get into the game planning part of it, it's totally different than what we've been doing in training camp. Training camp, you've got the entire playbook, everything's at Kyle's access just like that and you just have to be able to recall it. Once we get into the gameplan, it's kind of more condensed and you kind of have an idea of what you're doing going into the game. And so, it allows you to focus more and hone in on those little things."
What's the biggest focus for you in a dress rehearsal game for your first team offense?
"One, having all the guys out there will be really nice, getting into a little rhythm. We haven't had that in one of these games yet. So, getting into the rhythm, feeling everyone in the huddle, just seeing where everyone's at with everything, how we move, the tempo in and out of the huddle, all those little things. That's really what you look for in the dress rehearsal."
Obviously, as we've discussed all summer, drafting a quarterback in the first round and what that means for you. But they drafted a right guard in the second round and it means something for OL Daniel Brunskill. How has he responded and what do you appreciate about him as a player?
"Dan, he's a hard worker, man. He's a hard-nose dude. Comes in, you know what you're getting every day out of him. He has a little bit of sarcasm that keeps you on your toes, but I like that about him and he just fits in with the crew. All five of those guys up front and all the guys, interchanging, it's a good group we've got in there and I'm glad to be behind those guys."
