San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans spoke with reporters after Thursday's joint practice with the Minnesota Vikings. Here is everything he had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
CB Qwuantrezz Knight, it looked like he was out there a lot, it looked like he was making a lot of plays, around the ball a whole lot.
"Yeah, Q Knight, he's done a great job and it was fun to see for him these past two days versus these guys. We had to move him around a lot because of injuries in our backend, so he's done a great job of just being a smart player who can move around, play multiple positions and being a guy you can count on. And it was fun to see him make a few plays for us. And he definitely brings some energy to our defense. He's always going to make at least one or two plays a day that sparks the energy for the defense, so it is fun to see Q Knight making plays."
What position is he mainly playing?
"He's playing nickel and we had him play a little safety today as well."
Did his play assure you that you could move on from CB Darqueze Dennard? That you had a couple of good guys playing that spot?
"Well yeah, with that move, we felt like we had some younger guys who can definitely step in and grow and really become the guys that we want to see at that spot. Darqueze was great for us. He's a great pro, handled everything with class. And he did a great job of actually mentoring and helping the young guys behind him. And that's what the NFL is all about for the veteran guys. You pass the game on to the younger guys coming along and Darqueze did a great job of helping [CB Samuel] Womack and Q Knight and [DB Deommodore Lenoir] D-Mo in there. He's helped all those guys and we're thankful for what he did for us."
Is Qwuantrezz a little bit bigger than your typical nickelback, he seems like a guy who has a little more mass to him?
"Yeah, he's a thicker body guy, so he does a good job in a run fit, but all those guys, you can get very different body types. [Denver Broncos DB] K'Waun [Williams] we had him for a long time and he's one of the best to do it. Wasn't a big guy, but he was physical. He had the right mindset, so with that position, for us, it's just you are really a linebacker. So you have to be able to get in there and fit the run, but also quick enough to match guys in the passing game."
What was your conversation like with Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell out there? It looked like maybe they weren't used to the way you guys practiced.
"Yeah, I think it's a different style from what their defense goes against our guys. We attack, we're attack first mentality, so it's a different style I know for their scheme, for their offense and our defense going against them. Well, we're going to practice hard. Our guys are going to be physical and that's how we practice each and every day. We have a standard at which we work every day. And that's what you saw today. We're just playing to our standard."
It looked like our pass rush got after them a lot.
"Yeah, our guys up front have been doing an outstanding job. Again, can't thank [assistant defensive line] coach Darryl Tapp and [defensive line coach] Kris Kocurek enough, those guys have done a great job of working with our D-line and all our guys, we have a lot of depth at that position. So all those guys, they come in in waves and they do a really nice job of working together and running our stunts and games. Those guys do an excellent job of working off of each other and that's what's allowed them to be effective."
Have you determined who's going to start at cornerback on Saturday?
"We're not there yet. We've been down some guys, so we've been moving multiple guys around at the corner spot. So whoever we have, all those guys will see action in the game for sure."
CB Ken Crawley just got here the other day, what has he shown you in this short period of time?
"Crawley is a vet, he's shown that he can step in on short notice and he's been here probably a week, but he's stepped in. He's picking up the defense really well and he's still doing a great job of competing, so I love his competitive spirit. He's been able to make plays on the ball. He's a physical player. He tackles well, so I'm excited to see him actually play in the game this week."