San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to reporters following Friday's practice, providing final updates ahead of the team's Week 4 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Here's everything he said.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Opening comments:
"Injuries for the game. We've got [WR] Jordan Watkins, out, [DL] C.J. West, out, [CB] Renardo Green, questionable, [WR] Jauan Jennings, questionable, [QB] Mac Jones, questionable, [OL] Connor Colby, questionable, [WR] Ricky Pearsall, questionable."
Does that mean that QB Brock Purdy will start?
"Yes."
How did Brock just look this week? How much better than last week did he do?
"He looked good. Got to do a lot more than last week and each day he got a lot better."
Did he almost make more progress than you had anticipated, considering he gets fully cleared on a Friday to play?
"Not really. I mean, that was what we were hoping for. We knew it could go either way, but the fact that we even considered him to be an emergency guy last week, just talking to him on Monday and Tuesday, and he wasn't full on Wednesday or Thursday, but you could tell it was going that direction. As long as he woke up today feeling good, we kind of expected it."
Considering the prep work that he was able to get, limited Wednesday, Thursday and then today, feel pretty good about just his level of preparedness going into this game?
"Yeah, definitely. Brock's, he's always prepared. He's played in games with zero practice, and he got, for the most part, all of it this week."
Some of these guys, Jauan and Mac in particular, do you have to worry about or you have to consider the Thursday game coming up when you're thinking about can they play this Sunday?
"Yeah, it's in the back of your mind. But, if guys are good to go and cleared by the medical staff and they feel confident, you don't really think about the next game. You've got to make sure that you get the one that you're thinking about and hopefully they'll feel good on Monday and be ready for the next Thursday game."
What'd you see from WR Demarcus Robinson and where does he slot in?
"It was just good to get him back in practice this week. Obviously having a month off, guys are always rusty coming back in. I think he's done a good job staying in shape and stuff, but getting back into the football stuff, getting in and out of the huddle Friday compared to Wednesday, I thought he came a long way and excited to get him back out there on Sunday, get him a part of our team and get this started with him."
Mac Jones obviously did a really nice job filling in, but just what kind of a lift does it give the team having your starting quarterback back?
"A lot. The guys have so much confidence in Brock. They obviously had a lot in Mac before and even have more after going through those two games with him. But just getting Brock back, just the command he has of the huddle, the confidence he gives guys around him not only in the huddle during the plays and just around the building, it's always nice to have him back in there."
You've had a lot of injuries already and yet you're still three and zero. What do you think that says about the team so far?
"We've had a lot of guys battle. I mean, nothing's gone perfect in any of the three games. There has been a lot of good, but guys have just never wavered. All those games could have gone either way. They found a way to get it done and think that we've got a resilient group and you've got to be even more resilient as you lose a couple more people. But, I know we got those types of guys and hopefully we can just keep getting better throughout practice and better through these experiences and games."
Jacksonville has seven interceptions. When you watch the film, are there any common denominators to how they're picking off all these passes?
"Yeah, I think they get pressure on the quarterback, which makes quarterbacks not always quite as sure when they let the ball go and they've got some DBs who catch the ball. I think they've naturally got some good hands. When they've got their ops, they've came through with it and made guys pay."
In your estimation, how has LB Dee Winters improved this last year?
"I think he has a lot. I think Dee Winters showed us a lot of flashes and the type of player since he's been here, he has shown his flashes of the type of a player he can be. Last year, we were hoping he could get into it and he kept having so many setbacks with injuries. He had a high ankle sprain, I believe it was, that made him miss a number of weeks, and then when he came back he kept zinging it. So, he was just in a little bit, out a little bit. When he got some consistency towards the end of the year, you could just see it get better and better. So, we were kind of hoping this and counting on what he would do this year and just getting all the reps in OTAs, not having any setbacks, being the starter going in. Same thing through training camp without having an injury. He's gotten better each day and that'll continue throughout the year."
LB Fred Warner's influence, I don't know if you could speak to this directly, but are there ways in which he's become a better pro?
"I think everybody becomes a better pro for the most part. Not everybody, but with each year in the League you kind of learn how long the season goes, what it takes to be ready each week, what you've got to do in the offseason to get through an OTAs, through a training camp, through everything. I think Dee has always been a pretty good pro, but he's definitely one of those guys each year he gets better in that way and I think he's one of the better guys in our building that way."
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh created a little buzz yesterday by talking about Jacksonville's ability to diagnose tendencies, if you will. How commonplace is that every week in the NFL? Reciprocal I'm guessing, but can you just describe how much you coaches are aware of it?
"Yeah, I think it's very common. I think he was trying to give them a compliment. I think when the word sign stealing is used in a long compliment that can sometimes go the wrong way. But, I think he was just, they're good at what they do. Everyone tries to do that to a degree, so they're good at it. I think it's more just letting them know that we know."
How good are you at it?
"We don't need to do that (laughter). We truly believe in being fair in every aspect."
You mentioned on the radio yesterday that Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen's really good at running the ball. What is it that he brings that makes him so good at running the football?
"You can just tell he's committed to it. Everyone says they want to run the ball, but what does it look like on the silent tape? How much do your 11 guys play together? How hard do they go regardless of the situation? That doesn't just happen by having tough guys who just decide on Sundays they want to run the ball. It's from talking about running the ball and the importance of what it is every day in the building. You can tell they have a team that believes in it. I saw the same thing at Tampa and I can already see the same thing."
A few years ago, you complimented WR Brandon Aiyuk's stamina being on the field and not having to take very many plays off. Is Ricky up to that level yet? Where is he in terms of that facet of his game?
"Right now, he's probably one of the best I've seen in it. His conditioning is unbelievable. He has been probably as good as it gets when it comes to that. So, it's been great."
Is that Important for a receiver? is it just the consistency of the route throughout a game?
"People don't realize how hard a receiver's got to run every play. There are plays where everyone knows who number one is, but coverage dictates usually who the ball goes to. And there's five routes most of the time on a play and you have no idea when that's coming to you. There can be a route that you haven't got to number four or five in the progression in two years and then all of a sudden in the biggest heat of battle you get there and if you're just going through the motions it can cost you a game. But, a lot of guys when they go hard every single play they've got to miss a lot. And so, you've got to rotate them a lot more or guys try to conserve energy and that's where it's tough. I mean, we get GPSs on all these guys and the receivers run about a thousand more yards in a game than any other position. DB's got to cover them, but they also can see what's in front of them and know when the quarterback throws the other way or know when he is looking the other way. But, wideout is just the output and the amount of yards. It doesn't compare to any other position."
General manager/president of football operations John Lynch said this week that Brandon Aiyuk isn't close to returning. Does that mean weeks, months? Do you have any sense?
"No, I think it's more like when we get kind of an exact target date. That's when you look at it that way. I think we're getting close to that. But just not to have a target date is that's when I start thinking about it and we don't have that yet. So, we're waiting until they give us one."
John also said that DL Nick Bosa was scheduled to undergo surgery today. Do you know if that occurred?
"Yeah, I was told at practice that they had it and they're done. I heard it went great. So, I'll talk to him probably later today. But, like I said earlier in the week, I don't remember always the details of injuries, but I know this was as clean of one as anyone's ever described to me. That's how I heard the surgery went today too."