San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, and offensive line/run game coordinator Chris Foerster spoke with reporters from The Greenbrier in West Virginia after Thursday's practice. The team is preparing for its Week 6 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. Here is everything they had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
QB Jimmy Garoppolo
We saw you racing, I think it was RB Jeff Wilson Jr. between sessions there. It looked like you gave him a run for his money.
"Maybe, I don't know. I think Jeff's got me beat in that one. But yeah, it's fun out here man. I know it's a new environment for everybody, but just trying to make the best of it and enjoy West Virginia."
When you were rehabbing your shoulder, did that allow you to work on other things? I don't know, flexibility, speed things, things like that, lower body stuff?
"Yeah, especially lower body. I just got to lift a little more weights in the lower body, more running, drop backs, things like that. Yeah, I think it was kind of blessing in disguise. Got to beef up a little bit in some areas and make the best of it."
Have you kind of noticed that in your throws, better platform, things like that?
"Yeah. Every year I try to improve little things, level shoulders, just keeping the base wide, little things like that. I still got ways to go, but it's working in the right direction."
Yesterday, head coach Kyle Shanahan talked about how WR Brandon Aiyuk might not be having eye-popping numbers, but he's been playing his ass off. What have you seen from him?
"It's been awesome. I know like everyone says he doesn't get the targets and everything like that. There's so much more to our offense than that and it's just exciting that we have a good group and that it's not all about, hey, I need this catch, I need that catch, or it was supposed to go to me here and I don't know, it's cool to have guys like that all on the same page and B.A.'s, he's been a team player and he's made some big plays for us too. It's coming."
Is the confidence a lot more than it was two weeks ago? Just in terms of this of offense clicking better.
"I think it's moving in the right direction. I think we still got ways to go offensively. We left some points out there on Sunday that we'd like to have back. But the way our defense and special teams are playing right now, we got to keep up with them."
What's your assessment of the Falcons defense? What do they do well?
"They're disciplined, very disciplined. It starts with [Atlanta Falcons DE] Grady Jarrett up front. He's a wrecker in the run game and pass game and just their zone coverages. They're pretty precise and they make you work the ball down the field and we're willing to do that."
So, you haven't got to go against him much, but you did have a couple weeks as the scout team quarterback. What are your impressions of CB Charvarius Ward and what he's brought to the defense?
"Mooney's been impressive. I heard his training camp was awesome. I didn't get to see all of it, but just being out here a little bit, he's made of the right stuff, and he's one of us, and it's good to have a guy like that, especially at corner. He has that ability to be physical at times and then also just his coverage skills, I think speak for themselves."
When you say he's one of us, what exactly does that mean?
"We got a unique team. We got a different type of team, just different personalities, but all of us are pulling in the same direction and it's hard to describe, but you know when one of the guys fits in and when a guy doesn't, and I think those guys who don't, don't last here very long, but when you're made of the right stuff and you're built like one of us, you'll fit in just right."
How impressed have you've been with just how the offensive line has been able to piece together with just the injuries that they've been presented with?
"Really impressed. Like all of us, they got ways to go, but they've been playing great. To mix and match like that with the communication that they have to do in the run game and the pass game, it's tough and I don't think they get enough credit for it, but those guys are awesome. I love them."
Offensive line coach/run game coordinator Chris Foerster talked about how RB Jeff Wilson Jr. is kind of his favorite player just because he comes in every day with a smile, what does that energy bring for you guys?
"Brings me racing him. I don't know. He was dancing and everything. Jeff's a fun guy to have around. A guy who, he's been in the fire with us. You know what you're going to get from him in the huddle. He's awesome. Just locked in and yeah, I can't say enough good things about him, man. Jeff's a good dude off the field and on the field he's a warrior, a guy you want in your corner with you."
How much of an asset is it that this team has been together for so long? So many of you guys.
"I think it plays a big role. Myself just not going through the normal offseason and then, plug and play type things. I think it has an effect on game day and I don't know, just being on the same page. We run familiar plays that we've ran in the past, whether it's from this year or years past, I think it just allows us to be moving on the same speed, same page together and makes things smooth out here."
Do you often feel like you've been together longer than anyone you've up against just with how much turnover there is in the NFL today?
"Yeah. I don't know, I haven't put too much thought into it, but I guess, yeah. When you do look around the league, not many teams have, especially our core group here. I think that's a big part of a good team is when your core group can stay together and all work in the same direction, carry the younger guys, bring them along with, that leads to a good team. And that's what we've done here in the past couple years."
What was the celebration at the end of the huddle? Everybody was cheery.
"Oh, that was just [OL Jason] Poe breaking us down. Poe's one of us. He's a character, man. But yeah, I forget exactly what he said, but yeah, it was entertaining."
He seems like he's a very entertaining guy.
"Very entertaining, but he is made the right stuff, he knows one to be that character and when to lock it in and be focused and I love having a guy like that."
Working with quarterbacks coach Brian Griese, is there something that he's brought to you that's been different or particularly helpful?
"I think just the way he sees the game, having played the position, it's different. To coach a quarterback is difficult and I think when you've played it, it's easier to talk the same language because what you're seeing from the pocket isn't the same thing that the coaches are seeing on film. So, when he can see what you're seeing, it just allows you guys to be on the same page, talk the same language. He understands if I can't see this read as well as this read, he might understand that and translate to the coaches, and it's been really cool. I've enjoyed having him and we'll keep growing together."
Defensive Coordinator DeMeco Ryans
It seemed like a lively practice today.
"Yeah, our guys had a ton of energy out there today, so it was good to see. Sometimes you go to a different place, you don't know how guys are going to react, but we had a really great practice day full of energy. Guys were running around, competing against each other, so it was fun to be out here and just step back and see the way they work. It was an awesome practice."
How do you go about replacing a guy like CB Emmanuel Moseley? How hard is it to see through?
"Yeah, first thing it's just tough to see Moseley go down. Just all the things he's battled through and the type of training camp, the season he was having and I was just fired up for him to just have a complete year and he did a lot of great things for us, so that's tough to replace. It's hard to replace a guy. We'll try to do our best with the guys that we have, but losing Moseley definitely hurts, he's just such a great teammate, great person, great player for us, and we're truly going to miss him."
What do you need to see from CB Jason Verrett before you kind of give him the green light to be activated?
"Yeah, we opened Jason's window, so Jason is still working through, so we'll give him that window to see, how he comes through on that. So we're still taking our time with him and when the time is right, we will have him."
Is it your eyes that are going to make that decision? Is it your feedback that you're getting from him?
"It's complete, it's everybody. Everybody's looking at that. It's J.V., it's coaches, it's trainers, everybody is involved in that process. I just want to make sure we do the right thing by J.V."
What are the Falcons biggest challenges?
"Their biggest challenges, one thing about the Falcons is they're physical and they finish, they run the ball. They run the ball, they don't try to hide it, they're not disguising it. They want to run the ball, they want to play smash mouth football and they've done a great job this year of sticking to the run, even when they've been down, they continue to run the ball and they've been successful at it, like top three in the league at running the football, so we have our hands full when it comes to stopping the run this week."
How has CB Ambry Thomas looked in practice the last couple weeks?
"Yeah, Ambry's been fine. Ambry's still working, competing and he's looked fine."
With the next man up mentality, when you look at guys that make a jump from year one to year two to year three, what is it about their offseason program that makes the difference for them?
"What I've seen, it's just how truly committed our guys are to diving in. I think that first year it is always tough because you don't really have an offseason. It's combine, it's prep, it's training for all of those drills and so that second year, that's where you see the biggest jump. When guys just get to focus on football, they understand the scheme that they're in, they understand the techniques that's asked of them. Now they can go away and truly work on those things and get better at playing football. And that's where guys see the biggest jump that year two, if they are truly dedicated to becoming the best player that they can be. So it all starts with the mindset of the player first. Do you want to be the best? Are you going to train like that? Are you going to work and do the extra to be the best or are you just going to be average? And the average guys won't stick around."
DB Deommodore Lenoir, do you see that from him? Is that why he's played more than Ambry?
"Yeah, I've seen D-Mo, his mindset was just different coming into year two. I could just see he had a clear mind and he came in and he worked and he got better and you saw that and you see the fruits of that. Him being on the field and earning an opportunity to be out there with the guys is because of the work that he put in and the mindset that he had that he wanted to be a part of it."
The other week we were talking about being strong on the edges, you're talking about how that gave you some leeway and freedom to make calls. When you take Moseley out of the equation, does that have to an effect on what you feel comfortable doing and things you can call and things like that?
"Yeah, I think anytime you lose a starter, a guy that plays at a high level like Moseley, it's going to be different. It's not the same and so it's going to be a challenge for sure, but the thing about our team and the guys we have is nobody flinches. Everybody has E-Man's back and we're going to strap it up and be ready to go for them and everybody's going to go out and compete at their best to get this one for E-Man."
Along those same lines of having CB Charvarius Ward, how much confidence does that give you? And back to when you guys brought him in, how much input do you have when you guys are pursuing free agents or looking at them and what were your thoughts on him?
"Yeah, we all as coaches, defensive coaches, I look at all the positions along with the position coaches and we come together and everybody has their opinion and we kind of rank guys of where we see them and Mooney was one of those guys that we, of course, we loved. And you don't know if you can get guys because of the contract situation, that's not ours, but just looking at the film and watching the player. I loved his tape and loved what he could bring to our team, so I'm excited about having him and he's been everything that we could have hoped for. He's came out and he's competed every day. He's really challenged guys to become better. And that's the one thing you like in free agents, which you don't know when you get guys in free agency because it's different from the draft process where you're interviewing and you're spending a lot of time meeting with these guys. It's different from the free agent process, so we were lucky to get a great guy and a great player all in one."
With a four-year guy, do you go back to the draft from four years previously and look at how much time you spent around him and kind of reflect on what kind of guy he impressed you to be back then?
"Yeah, I think you always look back at those notes and you can tell like, man, I like this guy. It's always I like this guy when he came out, you like a certain number of guys that you highlight that you want as rookies, you can't get them all, but you always kind of follow those guys that you like and they always stick in your mind. So it's cool when you miss a guy as a rookie, but you're able to come back and get him as a free agent and to get a guy like Mooney, that was an unbelievable pickup for us."
How has DL Charles Omenihu improved since you got him a year ago?
"Yeah, Charles has shown tremendous improvement. When we first got him, he was in a different scheme, asked to do different things, so it takes time to understand how to play our scheme and Charles has done a great job of working with [defensive line] coach [Kris] Kocurek and [assistant defensive line] coach [Darryl] Tapp and you're seeing his length and his physicality, it shows up on Sunday and he's able to make plays because of that."
What was the biggest difference, maybe the biggest adjustment to this school of thought?
"I think it's just the attack style of football. When we're coming off the ball and we're attacking, we're trying to reset the line of scrimmage. So it's not only just attacking, but it's a certain footwork, it's a certain technique, certain things with your hands, your eyes, your keys. So it's a lot of little intricate details that goes into playing D-line for us. It's not just get off the ball and go freely. It's about doing it in a controlled manner that's allows them to continue to be the strength of the team and make plays in the run game and in the pass game."
What do you think of your interior guys who are stepping in for DL Arik Armstead and DL Javon Kinlaw, you know DL Hassan Ridgeway, DL Kevin Givens?
"I think Kevin and Ridge, they've done a great job with the more reps that they've been given, you've seen them, for me, I've seen them get better the more they're out there. Ridge has done a great job playing scout for us. Kevin, he's just been consistent. Ever since Kevin has been here, even last year, Kevin is the same. He continues to make plays for us over and over again, so Kevin has done great. [DL Akeem] Spence has come in a backup role, rotational role, and he's provided some good plays for us as a depth player, so the guys that we have, the way we rotate those guys, I think it helps. Nobody is getting too taxed or too many reps. Guys are able to go out and play fresh, play fast."
How much has DL Drake Jackson improved since Week One?
"Yeah, Drake is still coming. Drake is competing. He's getting better. He's getting there. Yeah, he still has a ways to go, but he's doing a good job of being dialed in with everything that we're asking him to do."
Do you expect to see Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts on Sunday and when you're doing scout team stuff for him, do you put a receiver there or do you put the tight end there?
"Yeah, we do expect to see Kyle Pitts. I know he's back at practice, so we expect to see him out there and scout team guys, whoever gets it, it could be a tight end, could be a receiver and that's kind of like who Kyle Pitts is. Sometimes he can line up inside and be a blocker. Sometimes he's out as a wide receiver running go balls, so he does a little bit of everything and I know he's an intricate piece to what they have on their offense that allows them to do many different things out of multiple personnel groupings because of the flexibility that Kyle gives them."
How has the other tight TE Parker Hesse looked and does he give them a different look when he's in the backfield?
"Yeah, I think what's cool about their offense is they have all these different tight ends and backs, but they all kind of play the same position, so they do a lot of different things with a lot of different people and I think it's cool for them because they can get to a lot of different plays with multiple people and try to confuse defenses and they do a good job of mixing it up."
Atlanta Falcons QB Marcus Mariota's runs are coming in a bunch of different ways, whether they're designed or– do you worry about getting flushed out with that pass rush and him turning on the edge?
"Yeah, well first things first for this week we're worried about stopping the run. That's one thing that we're committed to and we know they're going to be committed to it as well."
How has Mariota changed and evolved the system watching him so far?
"Yeah, I think the thing with Mariota is, what he brings to that team, his ability with the quarterback run threat. Like when an offense has that has that threat, it's tough on a defense you have to account for the quarterback, you have to play 11-on-11 football. So he brings that element to them, which makes them even better because they're really good at just running normal runs and then you throw in the quarterback run element. It's a lot to defend. So we have our hands full, but we're up for the challenge."
Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator Chris Foerster
You had said a couple weeks ago, RB Jeff Wilson Jr. is one of your favorite players and your son's favorite player. I'm sure there's a lot of different things that go into that, but what are some qualities about him that makes you say that?
"Oh, Jeff comes here with a smile on his face every day. He works as hard as anybody. He's pleasant to be around. He's always trying to get better. He's tough as nails. It's hard to get him out of a game. He's diligent. He's a very professional player as far as his preparation, I could keep going. He runs hard, he finishes. He's a good teammate. He's a great person to coach. Jeff's a consummate pro. He comes here every day. And what I love about him too is that I get grumpy and Jeff doesn't. He comes to work every day with a smile on his face ready to work. And he is a pleasure to be around and I'm really happy that when he has gotten his opportunities, he's been able to have some success."
How would you describe the overall offensive mood right now after getting a nice game like that in Carolina compared to where you were maybe two, three weeks ago?
"It's nice to have the production obviously, so like I said, it's always nice to walk in after a win and talk about your production, but in the same sense, it's still about how we're doing. You still are going evaluate every step you take and all the little things that we could be doing better and we're still not there. Like we talked about even early in the season when there wasn't the production, there was a lot of good things going on, but yet we just weren't getting the production. Right now, I'm not saying it's the opposite now, but it is. You just don't know. All of a sudden you break one run and you make one big play on a throw and the next thing you know, you're scoring a bunch of points, but yet you've still got a lot to work on, so I think the overall mood is that it's nice to win. It's nice to be a little more productive, but at the same time, I think everybody knows there's a lot of work still to do."
How do you think OL Jaylon Moore did this past week?
"I think Jaylon bounced back and had a really nice game after he came in at the end of the Denver game and really struggled and then the next week came in and played better and this week was a really good game for him. He was up to the challenge. He gave up a sack, he was late off the count. That's not to say he didn't give it up. He gave it up. You have to get off on the snap count. But he got off late on the count and 53 got the edge on him and got the sack, but Jaylon performed better. He rose up. He was disappointed in himself, how he ended that Denver game and he really came back and has performed."
WR Deebo Samuel talked about mistakes that you guys made in Carolina, other people did too. Was that a theme of the game? The score indicates that we blew this team out, but there's improvements that we could have made in that game?
"Well, I think that everybody's really to a point now where, what are we five games in right now, that you would expect these things to not be as many and there were more probably than anybody would've wanted or expected. And I think that's probably why you think we should be hitting our stride and starting to feel good. And even though maybe it feels like we we're improving and I'm sure we are, incrementally. I think guys still look at it and say, there's still so much work to be done. And it's each player. Deebo could have been talking about I don't know, you'd have to ask him about himself, about the receiver room. But I think overall, there's always work to be done and we are a team that needs to develop and keep working to get better throughout the season."
Is QB Jimmy Garoppolo one of the guys that speaks up and points that out or is that strictly coaches?
"It's coaches. There's not a lot of players that call out other players on our offense, I don't think. Maybe on defense it's different. I've been on a team where [Hall of Fame QB] Peyton Manning was the quarterback and he called out everybody, including the owner and the general manager. We all got called out. I got a great story on that, but it's not for now. So there have been a lot of teams like that. [Hall of Fame WR] Cris Carter with the Minnesota Vikings. The list goes on of players that are really hard on other players and our team's much more coach driven. [Head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] and the coaches and everybody really pointing out what needs to be worked on and improved upon. And then within our groups, we stay on each other and guys are pretty good that way, but it's mostly coach driven."
Does RB Tevin Coleman look more explosive now than a couple years ago when he was on the team or is that an optical illusion?
"I think it's been the same. I think he's always been a real explosive player. I remember him coming out of college and I remember him playing for Kyle in Atlanta and what a good job he did. I remember him with us a couple years ago, but he has also been out a little bit, so maybe there is some freshness or some spring in his legs. We always talk about it when a guy's been out a few weeks and comes back to practice, it's fresh legs. He looks different than everybody else when he gets back out there again because he hasn't had the wear and tear of everyday practice."
Does his experience in the offense make it easy for him to just jump in?
"Yeah, Tev's awesome and we talked about it I think last week or the week before. We just talked about his explosiveness on the field and when these guys were going to get their opportunities and Tev went out there and really did a great job and it's just so nice for him. To get two touchdowns, it's awesome for a guy that was on the practice squad and was not working anywhere and now he's here and scores twice for us. It's really cool."
How is RB Jordan Mason progressing?
"He's doing a good job. Just keeps grinding away and when he is ready he's going to be ready. He's still a young player that's developing and when there's a guy like Tev with experience in the offense and Jeff Wilson as well, it is definitely a challenge for him. But he does a great job. I said every week he works hard and when his opportunity comes, we'll probably be surprised how well he does."
Kyle was just talking about WR Brandon Aiyuk and you talked in the past about his blocking. From a year ago, is his technique better or is that just matter of desire and being a more willing blocker?
"There were times last year that they got cranked up and when you talk about our Rams game that we played in Levi's Stadium, they got after it. The Minnesota game, there's some games that stick out where they competed every single snap. They've never not blocked. That's one thing about Kyle's offense that always goes back to his dad, the receivers are going to block. If you're going to play in this offense, you're going to block. And so Brandon and Deebo and all those guys have embraced it. [WR] Jauan [Jennings], holy cow, those guys really enjoy blocking. Obviously, like any receiver, they want to get their catches and they want to do those things and then it's a give and take with them, but these guys are more than willing to do an excellent job, whatever we ask him to do. And B.A.'s done that his whole career. It's like anything else, the consistency of it and all that, it's maybe being noticed a little bit more now because it's probably more consistent. Like all of his game is more consistent right now."