San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, and quarterbacks Brock Purdy and Mac Jones addressed reporters ahead of Tuesday's practice as the team gears up for its Week 5 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Here's everything they said.
Transcripts provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Head Coach Kyle Shanahan
Opening comments:
"Injuries for today. [WR] Ricky Pearsall, knee, won't practice. [WR] Jordan Watkins, calf, won't practice. [DL] C.J. West, thumb, won't practice. [DL] Robert Beal Jr., ankle, won't practice. [QB Brock] Purdy, toe, won't practice. [WR] Jauan Jennings, ankle/ribs, won't practice. [DL] Yetur [Gross-Matos], knee, limited. [CB] Renardo [Green], neck, limited. [LB] Dee Winters, knee, limited. [DL] Mykel Williams, wrist-oblique, limited. That's it."
With any of those guys you've mentioned are, have you ruled any out from playing?
"No."
What has Brock's progress, if any, been since we last talked to you?
"Not much. That was yesterday."
Is QB Mac Jones totally off the injury list now?
"Yep."
How is that with Mykel Williams' wrist? I mean, he went to the locker room early in that game with it, but how has that hindered him or is it hindering him at all?
"I'm sure it does some. I mean, it's painful, especially a position you play with your hands all the time. He's been dealing with it and he's been battling through it."
This will be your first time facing the Rams with Los Angeles Rams WR Davante Adams and Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua. What kind of challenge do those guys present as a tandem? What have you seen on film so far?
"I mean, just those two great receivers with an unbelievable quarterback. So, huge challenge. Just like when they had Puka and [Seattle Seahawks WR] Cooper [Kupp] going, I mean two huge challenges, especially paired with [Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew] Stafford. Two of the best hands in the League with Puka and Davante and the separation ability, how they can cut, how aggressive they are on their routes. I mean, they're as good as it gets."
The Rams added Los Angeles Rams NT Poona Ford to their D-Line. How has he changed what they look like up front?
"It hasn't changed what they look like. Just added another one. He's a hell of a player. We've looked at him a number of different times, is really good in the run game, also is effective in the pass game, but just add another real good player to that group which allows them to rotate a lot more and keep them fresher."
Obviously, CB Upton Stout won't be on Nacua the whole game, but what about Nacua makes it such a challenging assignment for a nickel?
"How big and physical he is, how good his hands are, and how aggressive he plays tied with how big he is. He's full speed all the time, running through people, attacking edges, and the same way he runs through that football and catches it."
Will the decision to play Brock come down to pain tolerance?
"No, it'll come down to do we feel he could play to 100-percent of his ability and do we feel that he can protect himself with it."
President of football operations and general manager John Lynch said on the radio this morning that he thought that perhaps the second quarter scramble by Brock affected him. "Bothered him," I think were the words he used. Was that part of what Brock was told to do to try to avoid scrambling as much as possible in that game?
"No, he wasn't told that. It was my first time dealing with people with a toe injury like that. I was trying to ask if it was like a high ankle sprain, like is it something you just keep zinging over and over? They said, 'no, it's not like that.' If you ever got caught in an awkward position on a tackle is where you could hurt your toe again. But it doesn't work like an ankle or anything like that. I think they got him on that when they took him down. So, whether it's scrambling or just getting tackled was kind of the worry of it."
RB Christian McCaffrey went on TE George Kittle's show this week and he said that he, at that deadline where you acquired him, he thought he was going to be traded to the Rams. Had that happened, one, how painful would that have been for you, and did you realize the Rams were in the mix for him?
"We heard they were in it, yeah. So, I mean, you hear a lot of things when you're dealing with trades. Sometimes they're real, sometimes they're not. People always do it left and right, usually just trying to get a few more picks out of it and stuff. So, I guess it was true, but glad he ended up here."
You've had a lot of success it seems like with the dirty kickoffs. What's sort of the challenge of dealing with those?
"Just how hard they are to catch. I want to say they've had 23 kickoffs and 21 of them have been dirty balls. They're number two in the League, the other team who's number one, Carolina, they've been great at kicking those dirty balls too. So, anytime you can't catch it clean, the timing of just how you block and everything's off. So those guys get back there a lot faster. When the timing's off like that and you don't know where the runner is tied to the blockers. Also, a lot more penalties happen too with holdings and stuff. So, the dirty ball's a huge part of this game with the new kickoffs. It's not an easy thing to do for everybody."
Are you guys looking to using the dirty ball more often on your kicks?
"You always look into it. Every team does. But, the issue is if that ball comes up short of the 20, if it goes out of bounds, it's not really easy to always do a dirty ball. You just miss it a little bit and it's out of balance or short or you kick a touchback like that. That's real risky too. I think you guys saw that with Arizona last Thursday night. So, there's a lot of risky things to it."
After the game, Christian said in a lot of ways that the team is really close to doing everything that you should do out there on the field, especially in the run game. When you look back at the tape from the game, did you see the same thing?
"Yeah, I see that. I mean, you'd have to watch all 20 of the clips to do it, but that's usually how the run game is. You've got to break some big ones, and when you don't break any, we had about three opportunities to and a lot of people are involved in that, but we've got to stick with it more by being in some different games to get more opportunities of that. But, it's no one quick thing. It's everyone still going to work. Eleven guys blocking, 11 guys getting after it and doing better on other downs also."
During a normal week you're immediately correcting all the mistakes that you made in the game you just had before you move on. Does that not happen this week?
"No, we don't have time to. I mean, we watch it all as coaches and stuff, but we don't review it today. We came here and it was Wednesday morning and I think it's already Thursday for us and by the end of today it's Friday and tomorrow's Saturday. So, we've got to get going, but we'll get to it eventually."
Do you just assume that guys are doing it on their own?
"I mean, position coaches will do it with guys. They won't sit and review the whole game, but they'll review specific things that we've got to change or we've got to get fixed. You're not going to review a guy dropping a ball or something like that, but when someone's having a missed assignment or doing something wrong, those are things you definitely get corrected."
How concerned are you with this offense that you haven't scored a rushing touchdown so far?
"I get concerned with scoring points. I don't really care how we do it, so I'd like to score more points. If you score a lot of points and they're all passing, I don't care. If you score a lot of points and they're all rushing, I don't care. I just want to score points."
It's pretty rare for your team to play four or five on the road so early in the season. And I know you're focused on this game, but how challenging is this block of games coming up?
"I'm not sure. I don't even know who we have after the Rams. I know we've got three days off to think about that. But I mean, it is what it is. It's always a challenge when you have more on the road, but that means you get more at home later at some time. So, it's all how the schedule goes out and the health of your team when you're doing it and stuff like that and could be a disadvantage, it could end up be an advantage, so don't look too much into it."
What NFL coaches do you think could beat up defensive coordinator Robert Saleh?
"Just me. That's about it (laughter)."
What about Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell?
"Yeah, I would probably bet on Dan over a lot of people. Saleh's too nice usually, but seemed like someone struck a chord the other day, but I don't think there's any fights going on. It was kind of comical now to look back at it."
You said previously that you thought C.J. West could play with a cast on his thumb. Did that change after the surgery?
"No. It's something that we're looking into and still considering this week, so that's why we haven't ruled him out. That's stuff he's experimenting with right now."
Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh
Can you kind of take us through from your comments Thursday and how that may or may not have been misinterpreted by the Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach?
"No, it's all good. Whatever happened on Sunday doesn't change how I feel. In my heart, genuinely, I was trying to give a compliment. I own the fact that I probably used the wrong choice of words, but however you want to word it, I mean, they're really, really good at putting their players in position to be successful. You know, as coaches, we're always chasing leverage. They're trying to have winning leverage. We're trying to take leverage away. And everyone in the League is trying to find every avenue they can. As a coach watching their tape, I recognize the amount of hours that must be spent to be able to build formations and to find every little indicator they can to give their players a chance to be in a successful position. That's exhausting. Every team does it. Some do it better than others. And it was my way of acknowledging that these guys are really, really, really good at it. And like I said, Sunday doesn't change that. I think [Jacksonville Jaguars head coach] Liam's [Coen] doing a hell of a job. I really do. You can tell that that team is really taking on his personality, and I hope they came out of the game healthy and I wish him the best of luck for throughout the rest of the season. But you know, I wish I could have found a better choice of words, but my intent was always to compliment that football staff."
Have you reached out in the aftermath to the other one?
"No."
Was your intent after the game to seek him out and sort of explain to him what you just explained?
"The intent was to say exactly what I just said. That, you know, I think he's doing a really nice job, which I do. That football team is playing and taking on his personality. They're playing violently on the offensive line and they're running backs are running really hard. I think they're doing a really, really nice job and I just wanted to let him know that I appreciate the way he's going about his business with his football team."
You're universally regarded as a gentle giant. I mean, people that have been around you for a long time have said they've never really seen him mad. I mean, does it take quite a bit to get you to say, I don't know, whatever may have been said?
"I don't know. Everyone has a trigger, I guess."
Speaking of sign stealing, how's Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay doing in that department this year?
"No, you know, it's the same thing. Those guys, they do, like Sean, [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan], [Minnesota Vikings head coach] Kevin O'Connell, all those guys, they do such a great job through formation identification, building formations and putting their players in position to gain leverage. And you know, it's all the same thing. These guys are the best in the world at it and that's why this tree keeps on growing and growing and growing. It's very, very hard to defend. And Sean's no exception. These guys are phenomenal. I mean, you think it's easy, well just defend [Los Angeles Rams WR] Puka [Nacua], well shoot, they're always finding ways to put Puka in different spots to create leverage. Okay, then you've got to deal with [Los Angeles Rams WR] Davante [Adams]. Well, just double both of them. Well then shoot, they've got other guys, and they still manage to find ways to put those guys in winning leverage and they do it with great film study and understanding football and understanding defenses and understanding body language and just trying to find every nugget they can to help their team be in great position. And that's what I was trying to articulate, and obviously I did a poor job with the word. If I said the words 'film study,' I don't think we're really talking about this, but I used signal stealing and that's why I was so adamant about legally, I was just struggling for a word. But for Sean, same thing. I mean, these guys are the best in the world at it and that's why they are where they are."
To clarify, did you not mean sign stealing? You're talking about specifically game planning and studying?
"Yeah, it's just, it's all in, yeah. I had a bad choice of words."
On the LB Fred Warner forced fumble, the ball was on the ground. NFL analyst Brian Baldinger said that your defensive linemen were loafing after it. You saw the play. What did you think?
"You could pick out any play and try to pinpoint different things, but we're always going to strive for tremendous effort. Our D-Line can always be better. I can make an excuse for them on that particular play with the game we were running where we're running a game to our defensive left, the ball came out to our defensive right, they're spinning out trying to find and locate the football and their guys had a head-start on it. But, I'll never question the effort of this football team. Our guys are relentless to the ball. We get 11 hats in the screen about 90-percent of the time. So, if that's a problem to some, it's not a problem in here."
What was your assessment of the pass rush on Sunday?
"I thought Jacksonville did a really nice job kind of negating our ability to rush the passer. I mean, they got rid of the ball elitely fast. They stayed ahead of the chains. The one that the young rookie caught, the 28-yarder on third-and-15, they came out no huddle, caught us in a miscommunication which extended a drive. But overall, I thought we were really good on third down. I thought we did some good things overall, but obviously it wasn't good enough."
You weren't here for seven of these games, but this franchise tied an NFL record with 11 straight games without an interception? It seems like it could be a little flukey, but is there anything that you can point to, like if this is what we're doing wrong or is it just kind of there are chances but it's not happening?
"We had great opportunities on Sunday. Fred had a couple of ops. I think [CB] Upton [Stout] made a hell of a play to get an interception. I can see what the ref saw, but there was a hell of a lot more going on throughout the game than just that. They'll come. We've had opportunities there against Seattle, we were that close on a few. Against New Orleans, same thing. Arizona, I think we had a couple of shots at the ball. You know, they'll come. Sometimes it happens that way."
You mentioned Davante. How are he and Puka working off each other and how that is a tough challenge for you guys to prepare for?
"Yeah, they're incredibly tough. Sean, like I said, he's got two guys and he'll put them everywhere. He'll put them together, he'll put them opposite and they find ways to put them in positions where they're leveraged. I think it starts with the coaching staff and finding ways to utilize both to make sure that they're both viable targets on each down. They're doing a great job. They do a great job at the line of scrimmage getting off and they do a great job at the top of the routes creating separation. They're big, strong, easy targets for the quarterback to get the ball to and are elitely efficient in terms of when they do get the ball in their hands getting vertical and eating up yards."
What does LB Nick Martin need to do to get in uniform to play?
"He's got to dominate special teams first. You know, right now, [LB] Dee Winters is playing at an extremely high level. And the guys after Dee and Fred are outpacing him on special teams. For Nick, he's going to be fine. He is. He needs reps, but he's got to earn those reps. And he's working hard at it. He is. But, you're talking about guys who have been in this League for a while between [LB Luke Gifford] Giff and [LB] Curtis [Robinson], guys who know the game and know how to play special teams and know how to be pros week-in and week-out. Not that he's not being a pro, talking about Nick, but they're just a little bit ahead of him right now in that regard."
QB Brock Purdy
How do you feel physically compared to how you felt after the Week One game?
"I feel a lot better compared to the Week One game for sure. Toe is just a little sore from the game, but nowhere near as bad as after Seattle."
Is it in the same area?
"Yep."
Do you expect to have a certain level of soreness coming back and playing on it on Sunday night?
"Yeah, it's something that we talked about. Playing might lead to some soreness and stuff, so sort of expected it, but with a quick turnaround with a Thursday Night game and everything, it's just tougher. You don't have as many days to get right and heal up and feel better. So it's just where we're at."
Do you think the soreness came from 66 snaps or from specific plays like the scramble that you had?
"I think just an accumulation of a bunch of different plays and movements. It's the NFL, it's a violent game and you got to be explosive in some certain situations. And so I think just playing a game in general and then feeling it the next day."
Hindsight's obviously 20/20, but would it have been better to give yourself another week?
"I was ready to go. I felt pretty good and for me to go out and execute on offense and go through reads and throw the ball throughout the week at practice, I felt great. And so I had a lot of confidence going into the game thinking that was going to be good. So that was our decision and we're rolling with it."
You said you were going to be real honest with yourself watching the film about the toe impacting the high throws. What do you think now that you've seen it?
"Still I don't really know. I missed the throws on film and everything, but is it something that had to do with my toe and whatnot? I couldn't tell you at this point. I'm still trying to get better and feel good with my toe and everything. I think down the road after I feel 100% and good to go and start throwing the ball, maybe I can come back and answer that question, but right now, I still don't know."
You've faced this Rams front before, so whether it's you or QB Mac Jones just what kind of challenge awaits down there?
"Yeah, very talented. I feel like they got some young guys that are just playing passionate right now and are disruptive across the board. Their scheme as a whole is really good. I feel like they're really comfortable playing with each other right now. And so as a whole it's going to be a great challenge for us. We got to have answers and not obviously hold onto the ball too long, get the ball out and be smart with it. And at the end of the day, understand we're playing against a really good pass rush and got to find ways to win still. We respect them a lot."
Does the playing surface factor in at all to your decision to play?
"No."
WR Demarcus Robinson had a great summer. What did you think of him throwing to him this summer?
"I thought, he's awesome. Very smart and great hands. He's reliable, can run any kind of route that we ask. So he's been in so many different kind of situations and offenses. So for us to be able to add him was huge. And so for him to go back and play the Rams, I'm sure he is going to be on a good one and ready for these guys. I'm excited to watch him."
Did you say not practicing today makes it more doubtful to play on Thursday?
"Honestly, Thursday Night football games they come quick, so anything can happen but I'm still hopeful that I can. So, we'll see."
You have a few extra days after the Thursday game and it's almost like a little mini Bye. Maybe you should not play this game and then have all that extra time, but, you don't look at it that way. If you're cleared, you're going?
"Yeah, 100%. If I can play this game, I'm going to play. Obviously, I want to get right and get healthy and everything, but we need to win this game against the Rams. So that's how I'm looking at it."
And if the game were tonight, you wouldn't feel ready to go?
"Tonight? No, but I have two days."
You mentioned the passion that the Rams defensive line plays with. A couple of your teammates have mentioned the same thing. How does that come through?
"Just film study and what they're putting on tape, the way that they play. They're disruptive, they're pushing back the offensive linemen multiple yards and they have all these different kind of sacks and stopping the run behind the line of scrimmage. You could just tell they're disruptive and passionate, young and strong. So you could feel them on tape. So, that's just the reality of it."
QB Mac Jones
When did it turn for you physically last week from limited to being cleared and ready to go Sunday if needed?
"Really just like I talked about, just day-by-day getting better. And at the end of the day, you just have to ask yourself if you can protect yourself in the game and I felt good to go. So obviously every week guys are dealing with stuff and it's an everyday battle, so you're just working through it."
Did your approach change at all this week?
"No. I've had a few of these Thursday Night deals before and it happens fast. So that's all I know. And really you just have to stick to your rules and it's a quick week. You kind of just go out there like fall camp, you just play the game, and each day is a new practice during fall camp. So that's kind of how we view it. It's very quick and the turnaround's quick, so that's how I'm approaching it."
Are you not watching as much film in a Thursday Night situation? What do you think of the Rams on the film?
"Yeah, obviously you watch and get as much in as you can, but like I said, you kind of go out there and just play ball. But they're really good. They're, in my opinion, the number one defense in the NFL after watching them. I know statistically they're pretty high, but I've really been impressed with them. So, it's going to be a huge challenge. They do a lot of good stuff."
I know you say you have to prepare like a starter every week. How difficult is it? Are there challenges? The last month here it's kind of been you don't know which way it's going to go every week.
"Yeah, sure. Like I say, that's your job as a backup and you know you're not playing the first snap if you're backing up and then everything else is fair game. So, I definitely approach it that way. I have a good system that I believe in and the coaches definitely have us ready to play. So, that's your job as a quarterback whether you're a starter or a backup."
Have there been things along the way, just even in the last month that you've kind of tweaked to knowing that like it is going to go either way kind of thing?
"A little bit. It's just day-to-day, just attacking each day. Honestly, none of that outside noise and things like that affect me. So, I just go through my process, and I know that it gives me a chance on Sunday. That's all you can ask."
When you say that in your opinion, they're the number one defense in the league, what do you see that really jumps out to you?
"I think just the way they play, their mindset. There's always 11 guys on the screen and they have a great defensive line. They play a lot of different schemes. They do a lot of stuff but do it well. So, it's going to be a challenge. I've been impressed with them. So can't wait to go against them."
In your last win, when the game was clinched and K Eddie Piñeiro kicked the game winner, you embraced QB Adrian Martinez and you seemed really emotional in that moment. What was behind that emotion there?
"That feels like a long time ago. So, definitely enjoyed it, but looking forward to going against the team this week. Every win you can get in the NFL is emotional and important, so I understand that. We all understand that and that's the goal and what we're trying to do this week."
You said you took off your brace during the game and then you put it back on in that game. Where are you now as far as playing with the knee brace?
"I'll probably have it on."