San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak, and quarterback Brock Purdy spoke to reporters after Thursday's practice as the team gets ready for its Week 11 game against the Arizona Cardinals. Here's everything they said.
Transcripts provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh
I want to make a comparison between Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride and TE George Kittle. Or should there be no comparison?
"Of course. No comparison. But no. It's a good compliment to him, though. He's a hell of a football player. Can block, run, he's the complete package. Very similar to George in that regard. He's made a name for himself pretty quick and he's definitely a player that we've got to pay attention to."
Is he the most dangerous once the ball gets in his hands, kind of like George?
"He can run routes like a receiver. He blocks like a tight end. After the catch, he's violent and he's hard to bring down. Like I said, he's the total package. He's gotten better and better every year he's been in the League and he is a fun player to watch."
Which running back do you think you're going to get this week and how do they look different from one another?
"I'm not sure. But both of them, I have experience with [Arizona Cardinals RB] Michael [Carter]. It's a good group of backs, all of them. They've all got different skill sets. They're unique in that regard and they're all very talented. But, whichever one comes along is who we're going to have to defend. I can give you a long dissertation on each one, but we'll save that one for another day."
How has their offense changed with Arizona Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett versus what you've seen under Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray? Is it more under center stuff? What other things have you seen there?
"Obviously, the zone read's not there, even though Jacoby is capable of keeping it and taking it. As I stand here, they're probably going to run one just to run one maybe. Jacoby's still capable of doing everything that Kyler does. But, for the most part it's very close to the same."
The Rams had some success with three tight end formations. It's a copycat lead. You're going to see it again maybe this week from the Cardinals. What's difficult about matching up with that personnel grouping from alignment, assignment, technique perspective?
"If you have three tight ends who can, like in the Rams case, they've got three guys who are capable of both being effective in the run game and pass game, it becomes a personnel thing. You try to go small, they get big, you try to go big, they get small where they create 11-personnel formations. And you're just able to create more mismatches from a personnel standpoint. I feel like the Rams, as they've gone throughout the year, 13-personnel hadn't been something they've done and over the last three weeks it's just getting bigger and bigger for them. I thought they did a really nice job with it."
What has the response been like this week from the defense in terms of practice and everything based on what happened against the Rams? I'm sure it was a tough film to watch on Monday.
"Like I said, it's a young group and they're eager to learn. They want to fix mistakes, but I thought practice today was outstanding. They're in a good spot. Obviously, everyone has a bad taste in their mouth. Anytime you get 40 dropped on you, it's not fun. But, we've got a good group of guys. They've played really good football before and we've had good games as a group, we've had bad games as a group and we've just got to find that consistency as we continue to go through the year."
This is sort of a RB Christian McCaffrey question, but you look around League and there are a lot of running backs now who are three-down backs who do so much in the pass game. What is that challenge as a defensive coordinator trying to prepare? Because I assume you can throw as many resources at stopping the run, but that guy could still find a way to beat you. What is that like?
"It is a challenge, especially if there are complements around him. A guy like Christian who is an unbelievable running back, but then he's also a really good receiver. So, who do you dedicate to him? You know? So, a lot of times you're having to dedicate a linebacker to him. I've said it a long time ago that it's starting to catch up a little bit, but I felt like the evolution of the running back far outpaced the evolution of the linebacker. Where a lot of linebackers were up until I feel like 2019 and the twenties there, the linebackers were still big, old school run thumpers and here you have guys like Christian McCaffrey running around just creating mismatches. So now you've got to get a linebacker that's capable, but then how are you going to defend the run? So, there's balance. They create all kinds of problems and they're showing up more and more throughout the League."
Are you seeing those guys running more routes than just the old Texas and option routes? Things like that?
"Oh, yeah. You look at Christian, he's got the full repertoire of routes. Study [Detroit Lions RB] Jahmyr Gibbs, same thing. You know, the really special ones, they can run them all."
On the touchdown to Los Angeles Rams WR Davante Adams last week, what was supposed to happen from your perspective, defensively?
"Caught us in goal line defense. I won't get into too specifics with the schematic part of it, but it's kind of shitty."
How are DL Clelin Ferrell and DL Keion White acclimating to defensive line coach Kris Kocurek and what you guys want?
"I think he's doing a nice job. He definitely has something to him. Really excited about him and getting his feet underneath him in our system. We're asking him to do things that we feel like he can do, and I think he agrees with some of the things we're asking. But, I think it's just a matter of him getting used to our calls, our words, our techniques, playing with your line games with your teammates and working off one another. So, there's time on task there, but I think he's doing a really nice job."
It's always a challenge for the DBs when there's not a lot of rush. How do you keep these guys from fracturing and pointing the finger? Just how do you keep them together through the pressure kind of mounting a little bit?
"I don't think that'll be an issue. You know, the challenge is always for the D-Line to get them in a hitch and it's always the job of the backend to see if you can get an extra hitch from the quarterback. So, we're rush and coverage. We play off one another, we feed off one another, and I'd be shocked if that ever happened here."
QB Brock Purdy is closer and closer to a return now. But, in previous weeks, were there times when he would help out the defense as a scout QB? If so, what was it like having him out there?
"It was fun having him out there. It's amazing, all these really good quarterbacks like [QB] Mac [Jones] now, even Brock, they're no-look passing and they're trying some stuff, which is what you're supposed to do as a scout-team quarterback. I'm like, 'can you guys chill on that? Because we have a young group (laughter).' But, it's great when you have those guys. I mean, even [QB] Adrian [Martinez] does a really nice job back there from a mobility standpoint. But, these quarterbacks, especially when they're veteran-like, they're working on their craft and they can get guys to run routes exactly the way we need them run. So, they're very beneficial."
As far as the pass rush goes, given the injuries you've suffered so far this year, do you look at that as something you're going to have to scheme up for the most part this year?
"I think Kocurek does a really nice job working from a schematics standpoint. We always have our pressure system and try to find a way to create free runners and all that and trying to create edges where we're leveraged the proper way. But, at the end of the day, you've got to win your one-on-one. I do think we have guys that are capable. I think [DL Bryce] Huff is still one of the better ones in football. I think [DL] Sam's [Okuayinonu] proven to be pretty damn good. I think [DL] Alfred [Collins] getting back in there is going to help. [DL] Kalia [Davis] finally got that cast off of him, so he can be more effective. So, it's a work in progress because there's been a lot of moving parts and there is continuity that comes into play with that group, but I'm not too worried. The main focus is for us to get better and better and better so we're peaking when we hit January. Especially with this young group. And like I've told you guys, there's going to be ups, there's going to be downs. Last week was down obviously, but hopefully we can get back on the horse."
LB Tatum Bethune told us yesterday that LB Fred Warner's giving them a little space to kind of learn on their own instead of being in there saying, "okay, this is what you guys need to do." Where have you seen that learning curve on correcting their mistakes?
"There's so much learning. And it's fun. I was talking to the staff about it and I was recalling, Wednesday with a young group is a little rougher than, because it's a new game plan, right? And I told Tatum yesterday, I said, 'If Fred tells you that his Wednesdays were awesome his first couple years he's lying,' (Laughter). There is a learning curve there. But, you trust because of how hard they work and how important it is to them. You trust that by Sunday they'll hit the ground running. That's on me too. Just finding that balance of what they are and we're all learning one another. I'm actually having a ton of fun doing it. There are frustrating moments for sure, but there's a lot of fun because coaches are learning players, players learning coaches, and we're all learning this thing together. Like I said, we're going to get better every single week. I'm confident in that. The main goal is to continue getting better so that way, like I said, in January we're hitting the ground running and let's see if we can do something pretty cool."
Offensive Coordinator Klay Kubiak
How is QB Brock Purdy feeling and looking?
"Good. You know, he has done more this week than he's been doing and he's had a couple good days and we have to see how these next 48 hours go, but he's had one of his better weeks in terms of coming back from the injury and we're hoping for the best."
Would you call his practices "aggressive"?
"[Laughs] I don't know what that means. He's had good practices. He just looks more confident and that's been the goal. So, if we can kind of get through these few days with him progressing, we hope it stays in that direction."
How does his arm strength and lower body mechanics look compared to the way it looked this summer?
"I wouldn't say I noticed a difference. I mean, I think that's the goal is that it needs to look the same. He needs to be just as confident as he was in training camp, as he was in Week One. And I feel like if we saw something that concerned us, we wouldn't be going this direction. So, I would say it looks the same to me."
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said yesterday that he could kind of feel that Brock was back up to normal speed. Did you also get that same sense that you could feel that he was just the way the ball was coming out?
"Yeah, I think Brock looks good. I mean, I agree with that. I think he's had some good practices and again, that's been our goal. We don't want to put him back on the field unless we feel confident that he can be his normal self."
Did the rain complicate things today?
"Initially, it was bad. It was coming down, but you know, our guys didn't really care and it ended up kind of stopping there in the middle of practice, so we had a good day."
What about WR Ricky Pearsall? What have you seen from him this week?
"Yeah, he looks good. He's been getting limited reps just kind of easing him back in, but he's looked good. I think Ricky, his mind is he wants to play, but we have to get through this week, kind of like Brock, and just get through it healthy and just get him back into it. But we're happy with where he is at."
Is he a full go or would you say he might be on a snap count this week?
"We'll see, I think it's too early to tell from that regard. I think he's a guy when he is on the field, who's going to want to stay in there if he can go, but we have to be careful with him. We have to be smart and we'll see how it goes."
Kyle was saying that RB Brian Robinson Jr. has had his best game four weeks in a row. What have you seen from him in terms of just more comfort level with the offense or the fact that maybe he got the ball three or four times in a row and gained some rhythm? What's gone into that?
"I think both of those things. I think the more he is out there, the longer he is here, the more comfortable he gets with our scheme and kind of how we see things in the run game. He's been able to get into a rhythm, in my opinion. Look at the New York game and last game where he's able to kind of stay out there for a drive and just get multiple runs in a row and just kind of impose his will on people. And then I think, when you look at his confidence, the things he's done for us in the kicking game, he's contributed to our team in meaningful ways and his confidence has grown and we just hope it stays in that direction. He's doing a good job."
Brock Purdy looked ready before Week Four, but ultimately wasn't. When you're watching him on the practice field this week and you think he looks ready, is that in the back of your mind?
"It's a fair question, but no, not really. I think you learn from those instances. You kind of learn more about Brock, he learns more about himself and how his body reacts to things. I think any player's going to want to go, any player's going to want to push through things, but then you learn through the experiences, okay, what can I really push through? What maybe was wrong then that that needs to feel better this time around? So, I think it's just a learning experience for everyone."
What did Seattle do in the run game last week to Arizona and is there a way you guys can replicate what they did?
"Yeah, I mean, they did a heck of a job. I think they had, I don't remember how many carries it was, but they got out to a big lead in that game and really early, I think it was like 35-0 in the second quarter. So, they were able to commit to the run game, really the whole second half of the game. They blocked them well, they had a good scheme. Their backs do a good job breaking tackles. I mean, they put together a nice game plan. So yeah, there's things we look at in that game that we can hopefully try to take advantage of, but we have to do what we do. We have to execute, we have to be better than we were last week and hopefully have some good run game."
RB Christian McCaffrey's ability to be flexed or put in motion or whatever, basically whatever you want to do with him. Why is it difficult to get him and Robinson on the field at the same time?
"We've done it a little bit here and there but you know, I mean, we could. It's definitely something that we talk about and that we do have in. It's not like something we're opposed to at all. But I think the way games have gone, we just haven't gone that direction. But it's definitely something we do talk about and we have in from week to week."
I think Kyle referred to it a little bit too, but the use of a fullback, the use of extra tight ends, all that stuff kind of contributes too.
"Yeah, and it depends on how teams are playing you, like some teams might treat that just as Christian as another receiver and is that something you want? Is that how you want the defense to look at you? Just depends week to week, you know. But when we put a fullback out there, we really kind of feel like we know what we're going to get from the defense. So, some of that's part of it. It's just not something we do a lot, but if we started doing it more, you'd probably get a feel for how teams want to play you. But you know, it's just kind of something we week to week we look at."
Is that a big factor in choosing personnel groupings – your ability to anticipate the coverage you're going to get when you use it?
"It's part of it. I think defenses get better and better all the time about not letting you get a beat on that. I think that's what most good defenses do now in this League is you don't know what they're going to be in. But you try to, especially as games go on, how are they playing us in these personnel groups? Are we getting a feel for what they're doing? You try to anticipate as best you can. I mean, that's how you game plan people. But like I said, it's the NFL and defensive coordinators are really good at saying, 'Hey, we've done this before, we're going to change it up. We're not going to let them get a beat on us.' So, it's part of the challenge every week."
Does Arizona's defense look any different to you now that they've added DE Walter Nolen III up front?
"No. I mean, not schematically. They look better. I mean, he's a really dynamic interior player. But they look like the defense they've been all year, which in my opinion is a very good defense. You know, they've had some really tough losses in terms of one possession games that they've been in throughout the year. It's a really good team and they're going to play hard. They're physical and it's just going to be a challenge. And he only adds to that because he's a really talented player."
When you watched the film from last week, what'd you see from the offensive line? Have you seen some growth there?
"Yeah, I mean I thought in protection we did a good job. We dropped back a lot and I don't know if we had any sacks, maybe one sack. So, we thought we held up pretty good in protection. I thought there were instances in the game where we were running the ball well, but just the way the game went, we weren't able to kind of commit to the run for four quarters. I thought the guys played well. There's things we have to clean up, like always, but I think that group is growing and cohering and hopefully we get some consistency with the same guys out there week to week."
If the QB Mac Jones era is over with the 49ers, how gratifying was it to watch him sort of put his career back together?
"I don't look at it that way at all. I mean, Mac's a member of our team. Right now, he's our backup. Mac's going to be ready when his number's called again. How gratifying was it that he played well? Very, because he deserved it and he earned it. And he had a great offseason. He's a great teammate and when he gets his opp again, he's going to be ready. So that's how I look at it."
QB Brock Purdy
How have the last couple of days gone for you? You're kind of ramping up a bit.
"Yeah, I feel really good. I feel healthy and excited to be back and ready to go and lead the guys. So, I'm really excited about this week. It's been a good week so far and we've got a couple more days, obviously, got to finish out strong this week, but I feel really good."
Is your expectation that you'll start on Sunday?
"Yes. Yep."
How frustrating has this all been over the last several weeks?
"Yeah, it's been frustrating, obviously. Going into year four, I wanted to come in and play my best ball so far in my career and was really excited about it. We come in, play Seattle and win on the road and just feeling really good about the year and then all of a sudden, like, I'm just dealing with the toe thing and it has been frustrating. Just the time missed and seeing our team and the opportunity to go and win games, put a season together and feel good about it. So, it's just been frustrating for sure. But, at the same time, this is just the cards that I've been dealt with and I'm not trying to be, 'woe was me,' kind of thing. We still have seven games here to go and put something together and our goals are right in front of us. So, that's how I'm looking at it. I'm excited about it."
Was Jacksonville, playing against Jacksonville, was that a mistake?
"No. Going into that week, I felt good. I really did. And I thought I was going to be good to go. I just unfortunately got caught in a bad position with my toe again and just reaggravated it. And so, that's sort of just what happened. And looking back on it, I'm a competitor, I want to go out and lead and I felt good throughout the week to be able to go out and lead our guys to win and play good quarterback. It's just unfortunate that I got caught in that position."
Would you say that the second injury took longer to recover than the first injury?
"I mean, honestly, I don't really know. Obviously, I reaggravated it and so for me, all the decisions that we made were how do I feel week-by-week and we went from there. Going into the Jacksonville game, I felt good after two weeks of rest and then boom, I got caught in an awkward position. And then this time, after, it's just been take it one week at a time, one day at a time. How do you feel? Can you go this week? No. Can you go next week? We'll see when we get there. And that's just how it's been. And so, here we are after six games I feel really good now. So, that's just the decisions that we've made and the plan that we've had."
Will you play with a steel plate in the toe of your cleat?
"No. I will not."
Is it more about when you're running or your follow through, like where have you felt it over the last few weeks on where it might be tender?
"Just more so movement. Running and scrambling and all those kind of things. You know, dropping back and throwing, it's been pretty good for a while. But, to play quarterback in the NFL, things happen and to be myself and play like myself, I have to move a little bit, and I just wasn't able to get there for a while. But, now I feel really good and I feel ready to go."
In one of the games early, it seemed like every break in the action you were warming up, throwing a lot of throws. Is that your normal routine or is that where you're trying to stay looser or was there something going on there?
"What game are you talking about?"
I guess maybe the first, maybe the second, the Jacksonville game. In the second half. It seemed like every time there was a break in the action, you were playing catch and trying to stay warm. Was that related in any way to the toe?
"No. I've done that my whole career. Like anytime there's a TV timeout or even we're on the field and there's an injury or something I usually go to the sideline and throw. So, I've done that my whole career."
Was there any point during this where surgery was brought to you as an option or something that you had to consider?
"No, no. I had a turf toe variation, if that's what you want to call it, but from multiple sources and doctors and everything, we looked at it and they said there's no need for surgery."
We know you guys are competitive, you're also teammates. When the guy who's replacing you is out there doing as well as he did and you can hear all the chatter that's going on, is there a side of you that says, "Man, I need to get back here earlier" or what's going on in your head when all that's happening?
"Absolutely love [QB] Mac [Jones] and what he has done. He came in and played extremely well and kept our team alive and moving and going. And so, I appreciate him for that and just everything he's brought to our team. But, for me it's been, 'How do I feel physically?' It has nothing to do with I need to get back out there for the political side of things. It's been all about how do I feel really good to go out and lead when I do get back? And so obviously it took six games, sadly, on the second side of things after reaggravating it. But, I want to be smart about this with my career and everything, but at the same time I'm ready to roll and we've got seven games ahead of us that I'm really excited about."
How has this week felt getting back into the timing with guys like RB Christian McCaffrey and TE George Kittle? You haven't played with George since Week 1.
"Yeah, it's been good. Obviously, I've been in every meeting, all the practices, just watching and making sure I'm in the lingo and just the playbook as a whole and game planning and not getting out of it in that regard. It's tough if you do that as a quarterback. So, I've just been watching their movements and stuff the last, really six weeks, eight weeks, the whole season. And so, going back and practicing with them this week especially it's been really good. I feel like we've all picked up where we left off. [Head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] does a good job with coaching the quarterbacks, throwing on time and having a rhythm within the offense. So, for me to just come back in and do my thing and them do their thing, it's been pretty easy."
Kyle mentioned your toe probably won't fully heal this season. How do you navigate that risk for the remainder of the regular season, even potentially playoffs, now that you're returning?
"I'm in a really good spot, best that I've felt this year since hurting it. And when you play this sport, that's just the case. Guys are going to play a little banged up or dealing with certain things. A lot of times you'll even hear what guys are dealing with, but they're just going about their business and playing and doing what it takes. Obviously, this took me out of the game, so everyone knew about it, but guys are always dealing with things. But, that's just the nature of the sport. I take a chance stepping out there every time to hurt my other toe, that's how I'm looking at it. So, I'm going to do whatever it takes to help lead this team, like I said, seven more games this year and make a playoff run and try to go achieve our goal. So, it's right in front of us."