San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen, offensive line/run game coordinator Chris Foerster, and quarterback Brock Purdy spoke to reporters after Thursday's practice as the team prepares for its Week 3 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Here's everything they shared.
Transcripts provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Defensive Coordinator Nick Sorensen
How did CB Charvarius Ward look in practice yesterday? Was it difficult for him to get through the session?
"No, he looked good. He looked good."
He didn't practice today right?
"He didn't. No, he just, there's some soreness and so we're just being smart. We decided to hold him out."
What is CB Renardo Green's state of readiness in case he needs to play more this week?
"He's looked great. He continually gets better. So we've got total confidence in Renardo. He's very competitive, he's always wanting to learn, he is learning. Just feel great about him."
On the Minnesota Vikings WR Jalen Nailor touchdown when they went to the corner, it seemed to be a bust, both guys jumped the flat. Why was there such confusion on that play?
"Yeah, those ones are tough. They sell it really good. We've just got to be disciplined with our eyes and execution."
Now that S Talanoa Hufanga is coming back, what are you getting back with him? Just his personality and everything coming back to the field?
"He's an All-Pro player. He is someone with a lot of experience. He's got great energy, he's a great communicator, he flies around the field, he makes plays. You just, you get a complete player and I think he's really excited too."
Sometimes players get in that, feel isolated when they're coming back. I know he's generally a positive person. How has he been through this journey back?
"He's been great. These last, as he started to ramp up and get into practice, I think he's just been more connected. Like you say, you can feel disconnected, but he makes sure that he's right there. In walk-through, he'll shadow whoever's in, so he is getting himself those actual reps and making sure that you hear him on the side, making all the calls that he'd be making as if he was actually in the game. That's really what you want everyone to do. If you're not getting the rep, you should get a mental rep. He was fully in it. If you can do that, you basically steal reps when you're not actually out there. Obviously, you need the physical reps, but when you can mentally make those calls, put yourself in the play at that time, you are getting better and you are putting yourself into those plays and you're reacting as it's happening rather than just maybe seeing it on tape. It's just different when you're out there and it's not expected. And he did a good job of that. So he was totally preparing himself to be ready."
It's been only been a couple of games obviously, but third down you guys have struggled to get off the field. Particularly third-and-long. What are you seeing there? Why are things struggling?
"I think it's, any time you're not having success, you first look at yourself. I know our players do. I know I do. All of our coaches do. So me personally, I'm like, what can I do better? And then it's always a combination of things. Is it plan, is it execution? And we've just got to be tighter, bottom line, in all of it."
You say you're evaluating yourself, what do you mean?
"Just every part of it. I think all of this is, I think you always do. I think every coach does. I think I did that when I was, no matter what position I've been in, as a coach, as a player, I always felt like if something didn't go right, what could I have done different this week? Or what, could I have given different looks, or do we need a different tweak to this call? So it's, oh no, this just happened because of that. And so, you want to be true to what you're doing in preparation, but I think you should always have a growth mindset and try and be better. We obviously want to perform better, so you always have to fix something that isn't exactly how you want it."
Have Huf's mental reps that you talked about manifested himself this week when he is full-go for the first time on practice?
"Yeah, he has. It's like he hasn't missed a beat. And like I said, he was getting some of those look-team reps too. Anytime if you're not getting our actual reps for the defense and you're kind of on that look team, you try and do the same thing. As you're going through them, what part of this can translate to how we play defense? Well, a lot of it can. There might be some different coverages or something like that, that may be different. But if you translate that to what you're doing, and that goes for any practice squad player, you should, you're trying to steal reps and prepare yourself for the chance to play because it is a long season and a lot of guys end up playing."
He's been playing his best many times over the years, but two games in, in LB Fred Warner's performances, how has he just reiterated and solidified that he's the MVP on the defense?
"I said it a few weeks ago, he is the best linebacker in the game. He is who he is. I think he's been that for a while. I think when I first got it, I was like, 'Golly, this guy is unbelievable.' And it's, he just keeps proving it over and over."
What do you tell your defensive front about what opportunities they might have Sunday against a Rams front that's obviously going through a lot the last couple games?
"They want to attack. They always, D-Linemen want to get after the quarterback. So we, I think first and foremost as always, we've got to earn that right. And that's with being good on first and second down. Whether it's run game or how [Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew] Stafford operates because he's one of the best that's ever done it. The running back is, utmost respect for how he runs. [Los Angeles Rams RB Kyren] Williams is, he had a heck of a year last year. I know you could sit there and look at his numbers from this year and think, 'No, he's not.' No, this guy is legit. We have a ton of respect in how we studied him last year and how he ran. He's very tough. He's got great vision. He's got the ability to have patience and hit a hole with burst or bounce it and cut it back. But I feel like I've never seen him get knocked backwards. He's always falling forward just because he's got just good body balance and just contact balance too and vision to go along with it. To get to that portion of it for the D-Linemen, you've got to be good on first and second down."
Are you getting enough out of your interior linemen?
"Oh yeah. I feel great about our group."
The signature play of this game was probably the Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson touchdown. And it appeared he was lined up against S George Odom. Is that the matchup that you wanted?
"Yeah, I mean it was, in those situations, they made a great play. He made a great throw and catch. And obviously you just, you want to execute better, and you always look at yourself, like I said, how can we be better in those situations? That goes for myself, the players, everybody. It's just, they made a heck of a play. It was a really good throw, really good catch and finish."
Before halftime, there's a third-and-13, I think Nailor comes across in motion. You guys were in the zone and your nickel bumps out to the outside following Nailor, left Jefferson in slot against Warner, I think it was 16-yard gain. Is that the way that's supposed to be played in that situation?
"Yeah, there was, without getting too deep, we just didn't execute it the exact right way. And you know, some of it wasn't perfect. And again, like I said, it goes to all of us, us preparing the players and taking ownership of that. Just as a group, we all know we want to be better."
DL Nick Bosa was talking about how he had two great back-to-back plays against Minnesota Vikings LT Christian Darrisaw. He had a sack and then he knocked him down on the screen. He said, "That gave me a lot of confidence." I think a lot of people would think Nick Bosa always has confidence. Is that something, you've been around a lot of great players as a coach and a player, is this something a lot of great players have? Just that they're always, not that they're always struggling with confidence or anything, but are they never satisfied? Do they always like feel like I've got to be better?
"Yeah, especially your expectations. Just like you guys are asking me about third down and stuff. I think it's always, you as an athlete, you want to be perfect. You know that it's probably never going to be, but you want it to be. And especially people, when they're really great players like Bosa, all those, all the greats that have ever played. And in any sport, you do want to be the best and you want to be great on every play. So are you maybe disappointed on certain moments? Yes. And then can you get those boosts of confidence like Nick's talking about? Absolutely. We're human. He's going to keep going. He's going to keep plugging and stay great. But yeah, of course we're always going to have those emotional boosts of confidence when you make a play. That's why guys get so excited. And really, that matriculates to anyone. Even if you didn't make the play, that helps your team out too or your teammates."
Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Chris Foerster
Head coach Kyle Shanahan talked about how different the preparation is without former DL Aaron Donald on the Los Angeles Rams, who becomes your focal point on that Rams defensive front?
"I think they've got a good front regardless. [Los Angeles Rams DL Kobie Turner] 91 is kind of the heir apparent if there is a guy that assumes that position. He's a good player, really a guy that wreaked lot of havoc last year and is doing the same this year. You can't put anybody in Aaron Donald's place. There just isn't that focal point. It isn't the same. You're playing a good defense. They've got a lot of good rushers. They're two edge guys are probably the best rushers, 91's a good rusher. They've got three very good rushers, [Los Angeles Rams DL Michael Hoecht] 97's a good rusher. They do a good job with their front five guys that rush the passer. And again, their second level players are good as well. When people ask me about voting for Hall of Fame players, I've got a couple guys I know and they say, here's the list of this year's candidates. Who would you put on? I say if you have to make a game plan around a guy, he's probably Hall of Fame worthy. If you don't, eh, he's probably a really good player and he might get in the Hall of Fame and deservedly so. I'm saying when you talk about a guy that you have to game plan, that's what Aaron Donald was. The whole game plan it feels like we're not even getting ready to play the Rams this week because it's just been so much emphasis has put on him all this time. So there really isn't a guy to replace him. When he is gone, you just have to make sure that you have to take care of your business, but it's a little more balanced of an approach."
Last week they made it to QB Brock Purdy a few times in Minnesota. From your point of view, what did you see going wrong last week and how did you guys kind of focus on the adjustment?
"There were too many pressures. Believe me, you guys know, we've got to do a better job. I say that whether we win or lose, we've got to do a better job upfront. Anytime there's that many sacks in the game, usually there's a lot to go around. The passing game starts and ends, obviously the offensive line has to do their part, running backs and tight ends have to do their part. It's just as much a product of the pass game, where we have to run the right routes to the right depths. Is the quarterback able to make the right reads? Is he making the right reads? Is he throwing the ball in time? If he doesn't do those things, if the ball isn't coming out, if the line isn't protecting, then it's just adds one more layer. So let's say Brock misses a read, I'm not saying how many he did or didn't. I'm not going to go into all that. But let's say he misses a read and goes, 'oh, I should have gone.' He goes back there. Well, that's that second hitch, and then all of a sudden, hey, [OL Dominick] Puni's a little loose or [OL Colton] McKivitz is. If you're throwing the ball on time, nobody would've even noticed a play. But he holds a little bit longer. The receiver busts a route or it's a hot and we miss the hot. Then there's the line. And then we had to play in the game where [TE] George [Kittle] released through the line of scrimmage and picked [OL] Jake Brendel and a guy looped around. The guy that Jake was supposed to block couldn't block him because George was between them. And it just happens. It's football. There's a lot of that going on. Some of it was a product of the Vikings that are a really good defensive front. They do an excellent job of prepping how to rush a quarterback and to get after you. And some of it was us. Some of it was the crowd noise, no excuses. We've got to do a better job. We've handled noise better. We've handled rush fronts like these guys better. We've been sharper. But we weren't sharp overall in the passing game, it starts and ends with the offensive line. We've got to do a better job, a hundred percent. I'm glad you brought it up. And secondly, I do think it's always going to be a group effort. And I got chewed out once by the late Great [former NFL coach] Monte Kiffin when I was in Tampa and I made that point. He said, 'hey, hey, hey.' And Monte always animated, 'hey, hey.' He goes, 'hey, don't cop out like that. You've got to take responsibility.' I said, 'well Monte, I'm just being honest. It wasn't all us.' He goes, 'yeah but you look like you're pointing the finger' and I'm not pointing the finger, so I want to make sure God rest in peace, Monte, I'm not blaming anybody else. It's our fault. We've got to do better. But it is a group effort. Everything has to come together. Can I tell one more story real quick? I'm sorry. We were here in 2015, it was an epic season. [Former NFL coach] Jim Tomsula's one season here. And we went in to do an offensive meeting and we talked pass protections and my assistant had never coached the NFL. He goes, 'we're going to have a good year pass pro, man. We're going to do a good job.' I said, 'dude, let's just wait until the next part of the meeting.' Got the next part of the meeting, they talked about the routes and it was the quarterback coach, the tight end coach, the receiver coach, running back coach. And nobody's fault, they'd never worked together. So it was the most disjointed pass game. And I looked and I said, 'bro, we're giving up 50 sacks this year. There is no way. It doesn't matter how well we block them, it's going to take a long time to get this all tied together.' And we were uncertain at quarterback, receiver, it was all over the board. We weren't very good. We got fired at the end of the season as a result of it. We couldn't throw the football. And it's the way it goes. So there's just so many pieces to it."
You've been around a lot of great, legendary players. There's a lot of really great players on this team. They seem to be kind of stressed, maybe anxiety and it could come across as almost a lack of confidence, which is weird because they're really great but tied to wanting to maintain the standard, staying elite. Is there any sort of common thread with the mindset of really great players and never being like 'yeah I've got this?'
"Really great players. [RB] Christian's [McCaffrey] unique. I mentioned Christian, I think Christian's a really great player. Christian operates at a high anxiety level. There are other good ones. The great ones I've coached, they're not anxious, they're not uptight. [Former QB] Peyton Manning was uptight and anxious, but he was anxious about everything. His whole life was that. He is very organized and manicured, very well kept that way. The great players I've been around are more like [T] Trent [Williams], [former NFL OL] Jonathan Ogden. They were good at what they did. They were confident in what they did. They get beat. I'll never forget when Trent got beat by [former LB] Aldon Smith one year in Washington. We were playing against the Niners and Aldon beat him and he goes, 'Aldon Smith's a good player. He's going to beat you.' No harm no foul. Right? Great corners, right? You have to have that mentality of, 'if I get beat on a go ball, okay, fine, you beat me once. You're not going to beat me again.' The high anxiety guys aren't usually the very productive players. So it's just the opposite of what you're asking. There's a level of a great deal of confidence because they're good at what they do. They have a lot of belief in themselves. They've had a lot of reps to back all that. It's the guys that are trying to get to that level. They're all different. Everybody kind of operates from their own personality. But usually I see it the opposite."
What was your perception of the play where Minnesota Vikings LB Blake Cashman kind of ricocheted up Trent and got the quarterback and they were playing some kind of a game up front. What did you think of that play? Was there a miscommunication between OL Aaron Banks and Williams?
"No, but it's Trent. Trent turned too quick and the guy ran a pick stunt. It's a very common thing that happens. It was a byproduct of what happened. We had a very similar protection earlier and Trent set really good and did a good job on his guy. There's another guy free and it forced kind of the one where Purdy got sacked. He kind of just backed into it and the whole thing kind of collapsed around him. There was that sack. There's a lot to remember. But anyway, kind of collapsed in around him and that next. So Trent was feeling like, well I can't set his vertical because he felt like that was his problem. It wasn't. Purdy kind of ran into Trent. Well, the next time we got a third down, Trent said, 'I got to go set wider.' And it's the exact thing you can't do when they run that pick game because Banks can't necessarily get his hands on a guy just by the angles and what it is. So Trent has to. I say you have to protect yourself from that pick and you have to. It's harder when it comes from depth, you don't see it as quickly. And it came and Trent flipped his hips too soon, which we did the whole game. We did a lot of things too much that caused the problem. But it's good, like I said, I'm glad it happened Week Two and not Week 12. That's something to build on and happened. But that's a hundred percent. That's on Trent. He's got to feel it. He's got to see it. It's a good game by them, not pointing a finger. Trent's got to see that and Banks maybe could have helped. But I don't think Banks could helped much on that one."
Shanahan said putting Christian on IR is a bit of protecting him from himself a little bit so that he's sort of forced to rest. Was that difficult for him to do until he went on IR not be out there testing the Achilles?
"Yeah, I think it kills every guy that can't practice. It really does. I think they want to be out there. They want to compete. They want be able to contribute to the team. Standing on the sideline and watching, it kills them. It just does. Then you have to go through the process of getting better. And the great thing is, like I said, 17 games and hopefully you can be good enough to play beyond that. You got to get yourself ready for the long haul and if you're not ready, you got to do what it takes to get yourself ready. Hurrying back before you're ready, whatever the reasons, it's really difficult. It's hard for all the guys. Christian in particular because he's a guy that wants to be out there and wants to be working."
You're not necessarily involved in the pass game part of it. But with the tight ends in George's situation right now, what's your comfort level with TE Eric Saubert and TE Jake Tonges?
"I've always been the next guy up kind of guy. The second you start worrying about a guy and we don't have this guy and this guy steps in and that guy goes and has the best game of the whole. I've had it before. We've got five offensive linemen. On game day, a guy wakes up with a fever and he can't play and you put the other guy in there and shoot the four other guys play terrible. The one guy you were worried about has the game of his life. You just don't realize it. So you got to assume the other guys are there for a reason. They prepped. They've done their job. Obviously, George Kittle's a great player. Whatever George's status is, I don't know what it's going to be, playing, not playing if the other guys have to step up a little bit more, a lot more, whatever it is. Or maybe George is there all day? But the point of it is, that I think those guys have all prepped to do it and this is their opportunity. I think guys see it like that when all of a sudden, 'okay, this is my chance. This is my op.' And when you get those ops, sometimes they really shine."
My perception is that Brendel might have struggled when I watched all 22. I might be wrong. But you have a lot of centers here. You're obviously going with him. He's the starter. Why is he better than your other options at center?
"Well, first of all, he had a better game than he did the first game. Everybody did for the most part, hard to believe with the sack production and things like that. But we did take a step forward in a lot of ways. I think some of the bad plays stood out and so that's it. Right now he's a much better option, quickness, intelligence, experience, one-on-one pass blocking ability, ability to finish in the run game on the second level. His ability to snap off on double teams. I just listed off about seven or eight things there that he's better than [OL Ben] Bartch. He's better than [OL Nick] Zakelj. He's better than [OL Drake] Nugent. He's better than a lot of players, as to why he was an alternate last year at the Pro Bowl level because he does have a lot of those traits that do those things. He's never perfect like all of us. Every year's different and we got to work our way into this year and see. Maybe some of these issues that we've seen willstick around, maybe they won't. We'll have to see."
With RB Jordan Mason looking as good as he has through the first couple weeks. When you guys are running zone, for a younger player like RB Isaac Guerendo, what are some of the challenges of just adapting to this scheme? How can you as a coach kind of expedite that when you guys are forced to dole out carries that normally would go to Christian if he was healthy?
"It's really hard. You just have to coach me. You have to have the right kind of guys that can learn on the fly. They can watch other people and learn without taking the reps. He's doing some of the things. Mas [RB Jordan Mason] had some problems early, when he was getting carries. One of the primary things in zone running is they want to take the ball and cut back too soon. It happened to all our guys in the game and there's a reason we call it you got to press the line of scrimmage. When you're zone running, when you're double teaming on the line of scrimmage, the runner has to keep pressing the double teams to bring those second level defenders so you can zone to block them. If he cuts back too quick while we're double teaming, the linebacker just goes, 'oh, I'm going to go make the play.' The runner's tied completely together with the line. And so if you don't press the line of scrimmage or can't press the line of scrimmage because there's a whiff and somebody's in the backfield immediately, we can't block second level defenders and Isaac's run, he cut back entirely too quick. But sometimes you get the ball and you see this hole, you're like, I got to go. No, not yet. And it takes reps, patience, to press the line of scrimmage and get to those holes and eventually they do open up. But you have to have that patience and that's hard to get. But you just have watch it, you have to study it out here in practice, we have to do it. [Running backs coach] Bobby [Turner Jr.] drills it in his drill work, but there's nothing like those live reps. But Mason was the same way. You can see their helmet stripe. When we watch the all 22, as soon as they get the ball, if they go like this [turns head], not if you're running an outside zone, they're looking too soon. You got to press and then that hole will appear. But if you see that helmet stripe, go there, nine times out of 10, they don't go press where they should. And all of a sudden, we can't get to that second level of defenders to block again. There's a lot to it. It's not as simple as that. If it were, I don't know what would happen, but it's not that simple."
QB Brock Purdy
I think you said at the Super Bowl that you figured the way the Chiefs played you guys, that would be a blueprint for other teams moving forward. Have you seen that over the first two games? Any kind of similarities in defensive approach to you and your offense?
"Honestly, I don't think so. Just the way the Jets run their defense, they ran it that way. The way Minnesota runs their defense, they ran it that way. Every team that we've played so far, it's only been two games, but in the two games that we've played each defense has done what they've done. They are who they are and they compete that way. I don't think I really have seen much of any similarities with Kansas City. Each team has their own style of defense."
Is the Rams style still similar, even though former Los Angeles Rams DL Aaron Donald is not in there, they still have a lot of emphasis with the D-Line coming at you?
"Yeah. They've got some young guys up there that are hungry and fly around and they're aggressive. So we've got a lot of respect for them. And then their scheme outside of that, I think, is a little similar to how it was last year and stuff, in terms of the coordinator that had left. Very similar in that regard. But, the guys up front still bring it."
After the game, you seemed to compliment Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores' scheme a little bit. What is the challenge of that? Is it that mentally, he speeds you up and then slows you down and you've got to find the soft spots in the zone, you've got to find the rushers, who's coming and how many? What's the challenge of that defense?
"I just think he does a really good job of disguising some stuff and dropping guys out. He did a really good job with that. In that video, that's all I was trying to say was, just give him his credit. That was a good job that he did there. Nothing more than that. But like I said before in the last couple questions, that's what they've shown on tape and that's what they did in the game. They did do a good job with that, of making it look like one thing and then making it another. And their guys are all tied together really well and they just, it's a bend but don't break kind of defense. They did a great job for four quarters of doing that, and they didn't change it up from what we saw in film. They did it and they executed really well. That was the biggest difference."
So much is made of your supporting cast over the last couple years, ad nauseum almost. But now a lot of them aren't going to be there. How do you feel going into a game with some pretty key guys not playing?
"Yeah, obviously it sucks not having your guys like [WR] Deebo [Samuel Sr.] and [RB] Christian [McCaffrey] and stuff, so it's like, alright, how can we figure out to get the ball to other guys and stuff? But man, we've got playmakers. I've said that before. We've got a really good scheme, great play caller and some great players that step up in the roles and do their job really well. So for me, I still have to do my job, in terms of my reads and my progressions, more so than I need to now change the way I think and make sure I'm getting it to this guy or that guy because a couple guys are out. It's not like that. That's the challenge for me, is how can I continue to be better with my progressions and as a quarterback and handling situations, being as efficient as I can regardless of who is in. That's where my mindset is at with this game. And obviously, I'd love to have my guys back and playing with them, but that's just how it is with this game sometimes."
When you watched the film from last week, did you feel like you weren't deciphering what you were seeing as quickly as you normally do?
"I would say so. There were a couple of plays where I dropped back and for me I just wasn't on top of my progressions and getting off certain reads and holding onto the ball a little bit in certain situations and plays. That's where I had to be better. It's football, you're not always going to be perfect. There's some plays like that, that are going to happen. But for me, I think it happened more than I wanted it to. And so, I had to learn from it and grow from it."
You got TE Eric Saubert the ball a couple times the other day I think. In case, if George can't play this week, what's just kind of your comfort level with him and TE Jake Tonges specifically?
"Yeah, I think Saubert has done a great job just coming in and doing his job well and knowing what our offense is, where his landmarks are supposed to be as a route runner. And then in the run game, he does a great job for our guys. He did a great job towards the end of the game. Two-minute drill, he was right where he needed to be and caught a couple crucial catches and stuff. And he's got experience, he's played for a while now. So for me as a quarterback, it gives me some comfort knowing that he's been in those situations and he's willing to understand what we're trying to do and then execute in the heat of the moment. And then Jake Tonges, just seeing his progression from even last year until now of knowing our offense and being where he needs to be. He's a smooth route runner. He's got great hands. I'm excited for him and his opportunity. He's had a great camp and whenever his number has been called upon at practice or in some preseason games, I think he's done a great job. So, I'm excited for both of them."
49ers fans historically travel really well to SoFi, at times outnumbering the home fans there. Does it feel like a typical road game when you're in that environment and does that help the offense when it comes to communication, maybe not having to go on silent counts in certain situations?
"I think that's huge. For example, last week going into Minnesota with the environment as it was and stuff, our operation, our cadence and everything is completely different than how we rep it at practice. So to be able to go down there and have our Niner fans show up and to be able to use our verbal cadence and stuff, it's huge for us. We're obviously ready for any kind of situation if we do have to go on silent. But more than anything, we're proud to be playing for the Niners and the Faithful show up and have our backs, especially down in L.A. So we're excited for that. And it's nice going down there and being able to hear each other and communicate. It's a big part of the game."
Some of the advanced metrics show that the receivers aren't getting quite the separation, thus far, that they did last year. What does the film show and when they're not getting separation, do you have to throw more 50/50 balls and does that add stress to the whole thing?
"I have no idea what those metrics are or anything, but I think on film, our guys are doing a good job. It just, it comes down to execution between both of us. Being where they need to be and then me trusting and laying the ball and throwing the ball accurately, time and time again. That's just us being hard on ourselves. But that's also the standard that we have and that we've shown over the last couple years. I think our guys are doing a great job. Whatever the metrics are showing, if they're not getting open or stuff, I don't really know if I believe any of that. I think it's really about me being efficient, them doing their job and being on the same page."