San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed reporters ahead of Wednesday's practice as the team gears up for its Week 1 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Here's everything he said.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Opening comments:
"Injury Report: [DL] Yetur [Gross-Matos] knee, will not practice, [WR] Jordan Watkins, ankle, will not practice, [WR] Jauan [Jennings] calf, limited, [OL Dominick] Puni, knee, limited, [RB] Jordan James, finger, limited. Go ahead."
Has the team voted on the captains yet?
"Yes. Same as last year with [LB] Fred [Warner], [TE] George [Kittle], [QB] Brock [Purdy], [T] Trent [Williams], [RB] Christian [McCaffrey], [DL] Nick [Bosa] and [FB Kyle Juszsczyk] Juice. [DB Deommodore Lenoir] DMO replaced [Washington Commanders WR] Deebo [Samuel Sr.] so there are eight."
Are you expecting Jauan to play on Sunday?
"Yes."
Everything's fine physically with him?
"He's limited, but yeah, he looked good on Monday. Getting back into it, having all that time off we've got to ease him in and stuff, so we'll see how this week goes. That's why he'll be limited today. But he's healthy enough to play football and hopefully that continues."
Did he get a final MRI? Was there any final testing to make sure the calf was okay?
"Oh yeah, he did. Yep. So, he is good to go."
Did Yetur have a setback?
"No."
How has it been since Jauan came back? You guys looked happy to have him back out there on Monday. Puni lit up when he was asked about Jauan saying he was his favorite player on the team. What does he do for the locker room now that he's actually in there every day?
"Yeah, I mean, it doesn't feel like he's been gone because he's been around every day. So, we get to spend time with him and all that. Having him back on the practice field Monday was awesome. We love J.J., when he is not there, he is greatly missed. The way he carries himself, the energy he plays with and how good of a player he is makes everyone very excited."
Obviously, there's been plenty of talk about his contract situation. Can you say if there's any sort of resolution as far as the business side of things?
"No, I don't think there's totally a resolution. It's the business side. You know, I think I said at the beginning of training camp how badly myself and everyone in this building wants Jauan back in the long term. We want [OL] Colton McKivitz back. Those are two guys that we really hope to keep here. But they're both going into their contract year, and nothing's ever final, but we'll see how it plays out. There's a business side to both sides, but it's something that I think both sides would love to get worked out. Just don't know if we can."
Why was that move made as far as the active roster and the practice squad switching of WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling and WR Russell Gage Jr., and would you expect both of them to be active on Sunday?
"I think they both have a shot to be, a real good shot. There's a lot of layers to that move. It's not as simple as just one thing. A lot of things for now, a lot of things for the future. But my biggest thing was making sure that both of them are still on our team. They both are and they both have as good of a chance to be up playing here on Sunday."
How does Marquez get into the chemistry with Brock Purdy and fit into your scheme?
"I mean, it was nice to have him out at practice Monday. It was nice that, you know, him playing for [Seattle Seahakws offensive coordinator] Klint Kubiak in New Orleans last year for half of the year and then being in Seattle this whole offseason. There's a lot of carryover with just plays and some terminology, and he's a vet who's been around a lot of stuff, so he seems like he's going to pick it up fast. He has in the practices and got the game plan today. Don't want to put too much on him, but we need him to learn it as he goes and be ready to help us on Sunday if he can."
What do you expect to see from that Seahawks offense given your familiarity with Kubiak and Seahawks QB Sam Darnold?
"I think there's some similarities. It's always different how you adjust to your players, but I know they're going to be a balanced team that wants to put Sam in some good situations and give that ball to their good running backs. Then it usually comes down to third down, so it's real similar to us. There's window dressing that's different, but the way that they want a game to go, I think it's going to be very similar to how we want it to go."
I know you don't watch a lot of offensive film, but they didn't run it well last year, Seattle, but they've run it really well this summer. Have you peaked at their run game? Is there anything noticeable?
"Yeah, it's a different style run game. It's very similar to ours in the stuff that they do. I mean, just being with Klint and being with [Seattle Seahawks offensive line coach] John Benton for a long time, who is one of the best O-Line coaches there is. I worked with those guys back in Houston. John was here for a number of times. Klint was here two years ago. So, there's lots of similarities in what they do. They ran it well in the preseason and we'll see how it is Week 1."
You open a season in two loud buildings in Seattle and New Orleans. Is that problematic early in the season before everything is totally jelled?
"It can be. I mean, that's why we're really working on it hard, started doing that last week. We're going to do it all this week. Usually that's enough, but there are a number of new guys who are just hopping in, so they've got to get used to the cadences and all the differences with motions and things like that. But yeah, it's always a challenge. We challenge them throughout the week and hopefully by Sunday it will feel like second nature to us."
Obviously DL Mykel Williams missed a little time with the knee, but how did you see him come along from when he got here to where he is now? What's kind of his state of readiness for what I would assume is a big role?
"Well, he's looked good in the last few practices he's been a part of, and it'll get more and more each day this week. I think it's always hard when you miss a lot of camp. You know, he got hurt before the Denver preseason game and didn't come back until after the last preseason game. So, it's always tough to catch that up. But health-wise, he is doing good. He's hopping in and getting all the reps and just keeps getting better the more reps he gets."
Would you say that the youth on defense presents your biggest challenge this season?
"I think it's possible. I mean, there's a number of challenges, depends how they go. We also have some vets stepping up, so they might not all have to go right away. We're going to play a lot of young guys as this year goes. We're going to start out doing that. Getting a lot of those guys back has been nice, but those guys missing a lot of camp too has been a struggle, starting with Mykel and looking at guys like [CB Upton] Stout and things like that. Getting [DL] C.J. West back here last week too. So hopefully we have a good week of practice, get them back in the thick of things and they have a good first game."
How is DL Alfred Collins' progress from coming back from the injury?
"He's been awesome. I mean, missing OTAs, missing the offseason, you never know. Especially with such a big guy when they can't go through all the conditioning or the stuff we're doing, it's usually a worry because you're rehabbing the calf so much and all the stuff that he had. But, when he came back, it took him a little bit of time to get his legs under him. That was a cool thing to watch. I was always nervous he was going to get hurt and then miss the next two weeks or something like that. But he fought through it, was able to stay healthy, kept grinding every day, eventually got his conditioning, got his legs back and thought he had a real good camp and gives him a chance to have a real good year."
Did it add any umph or excitement to open against the division rival?
"I guess a little. I mean, usually when it's all said and done, the division games count more. To me, the umph's always there for the first game anyways. You've just got to think about it all week, you just wait till the first kickoff and then you kind of feel normal once that happens. There's always unknowns with both teams, whether it's a division opponent or not. You always feel that way until the ball's kicked and then you feel pretty normal again."
You guys were pretty clear when you got RB Brian Robinson Jr. that he was going to be the backup running back, and I think president of football operations and general manager John Lynch even said that you were kind of hoping James was, but the finger kind of slowed him down. Does that mean RB Isaac Guerendo got lost a little bit here? What has gone on with him this summer?
"I don't think that he's gotten lost. I just think he's competing. I think he was the third back last year, then a couple guys got hurt and he got an opportunity, and I thought he did well in his opportunity. But that didn't mean he was the first or second back all of a sudden. He had to come into camp and still compete with guys. He got hurt really early and missed a lot of time to compete. We brought Brian in. We've studied him over his career and based off of that we put him ahead of him. That's how we are starting out and we'll see how it goes throughout the year."
What makes Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald a good defensive play caller?
"Play calling's play calling to a degree. To me it's just how he runs his whole scheme. I mean, they've got a threat of everything. It's a sound defense in how it starts out, real hard to get big plays on. When you say sound and hard to get plays on, that usually sounds real conservative, which it is in those areas, but they also know how to put pressure on you. He does a good job calling his blitzes. He times them out right, does good ones to stop the run, good ones to stop the pass, and has a rolodex of coverages. So, it's always hard to get a beat."
What's the impact of assistant head coach defense Gus Bradley so far? He's obviously a former NFL head coach. What has he added to your staff?
"Gus has been a stud. Never got a chance to work with him until this year. He's probably like the most upbeat guy on our staff. I love having him around. He's a great guy to hang out with and [defensive coordinator Robert] Saleh a ton. You know, Saleh, I would say Gus mentored Saleh early in his career, especially at Jacksonville. Then they've been separate for a while. So now for them to get back together after they started together, they see it a lot different, but they're always from the same foundation. To have someone like that to bounce ideas off of and where he went to and where Saleh has gone to, I think is really cool for Saleh to have and just for our building to have. Gus is talking to everybody. It's not just the defense. You see random people in his room all the time. He cares a lot about people. He is a real easy guy to talk to. He has that relationship with really everybody in our building and he has done it real fast."
Have you guys decided on your starting safeties?
"Yes. (laughter)"
Speaking of safety, S Ji'Ayir Brown has kind of had an up-and-down first and second year. Where do you feel like he's at this point?
"I love Ji'Ayir. He got his opportunity when [Denver Broncos S Talanoa Hufanga] Huff got hurt, and he came in I want to say it was seven games his rookie year after Huff got hurt, and I thought had a hell of a year. I thought he battled a lot of stuff last year with injuries and he battled a lot of stuff in this offseason too and then had a setback in training camp where he missed some time. But the more Tig is out there, the better he gets, the more consistent he gets. But it's just been up and down with injuries."
Winning your last three in Seattle, I know different regimes, you've had some different players too, but is there a commonality? That's a very tough place to play, obviously, but do you know in those three wins, what you did right to get those wins?
"I really don't even think about that, totally. I mean, I didn't know that until you just said that. I know to win in Seattle with how loud it is, you have to be on the cadence and on the noise and all that stuff. That's the first way to lose a game when you go up there. I've done that plenty of times, not just here, but other places when I've gone there in my career. So, historically it's been one of the toughest places to play noise-wise and if you don't have that handled sometimes it doesn't even matter what happens in the game."
With the styles that the safeties play, S Jason Pinnock, Ji'Ayir and S Marques Sigle, is there a big advantage in your mind not allowing Seattle to know quite yet who those two starters are going be?
"No, I don't think a huge advantage."
So, who are the two starters?
"Still could be a little advantage. I don't want to give any advantage."
Is there a point in this offseason where you realized that McCaffrey was all the way back and what does he mean to other guys' confidence on the team as far as him being all the way back?
"Just having a player like him, to be the Offensive MVP one year and then really missed a whole next year, was really tough on him, tough on us. I knew Christian was back just once he told me he was healthy. It's not like we were thinking he wouldn't come back from it. You know, you hope that stuff, the arthritis and everything goes away. Which it usually does. He was telling us that early in the offseason, so I felt pretty good about it. Christian's not a liar. So, I didn't think he was. Then we saw him early in OTAs, he looked like the guy we've always known and he's continued that."
How important is it for Christian McCaffrey's confidence to get the ball early in Seattle?
"I don't think it changes his confidence at all. I think it might change his irritation level. Christian's ready whenever that ball touches him, so he would prefer every play. Hopefully, it comes earlier than later, and it usually does with running backs."
Beyond WR Ricky Pearsall and Jauan, it seems like it's wide open who the other receivers could be. How much is this plan kind of fluid as far as how these guys execute the plays out here as you put in the game plan?
"Very fluid. It's guys that we've got a hunch about. There's guys that have been here for a bit, especially like Gage and stuff. He's been around here since last year and had a real good offseason but finished those last two weeks hurt, which made some uncertainty about him, but I've got a much better idea there. Just getting MVS here, guys like [WR] Robbie [Chosen] and stuff who joined later in the deal, [WR] Malik Turner, all those guys have an opportunity to help us. We're going to most likely get five up for the game. [WR] Skyy Moore's another new one. All these guys have been here really the last week, and they've all been working, but they definitely need three more days of practice to see which ones we want to put in which role."
You said in training camp that Christian was not going to change as a dad, that you thought he'd still be a psycho. Is he still a psycho?
"Yeah, that's his DNA. His dad is too in an awesome way."
It was noted on Monday Jauan gave you and John Lynch hugs. So, it's like 'everything's great,' but obviously we don't know. Whatever was going on throughout training camp, has the relationship, do you feel like emerged intact as you begin?
"Yeah, I have no issues with Jauan and relationship. They didn't report on the hugs Saturday, Monday, Tuesday. Jauan is all love. No, that was never personal. It's business. And that's a tough thing about this. I want every player to make as much money as possible. I want every coach. I want everybody to. It's just hard in situations to always do that. But that's something as a coach you're always pulling for. But also, I do understand the business too. Sometimes it's hard when other people don't. So, you've got to communicate with people and stuff like that, so it doesn't become personal. The relationship I've always had with Jauan, never really worried about that."