San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris spoke with reporters on Monday, following the second practice of training camp. Here's everything they had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
QB Brock Purdy
I know your communication with head coach Kyle Shanahan has been limited. What kind of interactions have you had with him? Have you still talked football with him these past few days?
"Well, I shot him a text after I heard the news and stuff, and we had texted back and forth on some things. I haven't talked to him about football or anything. Saw him out on the field today actually the first time in person. And so, just hugged him, told him I loved him and hope he's doing good and everything like that. So, obviously just want him to heal up and glad he's okay and that's first and foremost. So, I'm sure he'll get right and we'll get into football and everything. But, we just want him to be good."
How have the first couple days been without having him in your ear during practice or in meetings and things like that?
"Yeah, I mean, he's our guy. He's the one leading all the team meetings and stuff and going over just situational football, what practice is going to look like. He's our leader. So, it has been weird in terms of not having that, but I will say the assistant coaches have done a good job with stepping up. [Assistant head coach/offensive line] Coach Foerster and [defensive coordinator] Raheem [Morris] and [offensive coordinator] Klay Kubiak stepping up and filling those shoes when we all need it as players, for a coach to lead us and we're able to run practices and go through installs and everything. So, that side of it is really good and positive. But, obviously he's our head coach and we all want him here."
Klay has been relaying the calls to you via walkie-talkie in a practices and that's usually Kyle's role during camp for the most part, right?
"Yeah. Kyle usually is on the walkie-talkie calling plays just like it would be in the game. So, hearing Klay and his voice throughout it is different, but Klay's done such a good job. He called a couple preseason games and he's installed so many, I mean, all of our installs the last couple years in front of the offense. Klay's the man, so he does a great job with that."
Because you've been in this offense now for going on five years, do you have such a control and command over it where it's very second nature anyhow?
"I feel like how a practice rolls and install and everything, there's just a process, and I'm still obviously learning and everything, but when I'm out in the field, I just understand how it goes and what needs to be done and getting guys in and out of the huddle and sort of pushing the tempo. I feel like that's my job. They do a great job of calling the plays and stuff, but I think Klay's done a great job with that too. When Kyle's out, Klay goes in and he reminds me of those things too and what we're trying to get out of practice and stuff. I just try to be me and Klay does a great job of being him too."
How has it been, your connection with WR Mike Evans, and is there any sort of pinch me moment throwing out there with him?
"Yeah, it's been great. We've slowly gotten on the same page over time from OTAs, summer we got together a little bit, and then the first couple days here it's been really fun. Just what he brings to the table in terms of his size and speed and his catching radius, how smart he is with just football in general. For me, it's been really fun. Still getting used to him and everything, but being out there and just giving him a chance and watching him come down with it has been awesome. I grew up watching him and stuff, and to now be able to throw to him and be on the same team and compete together, for sure, I pinch myself and I'm like, this is surreal for me. I'm going to try to give the guy all I've got and go out there and win games together."
How much did the work in Nashville with WR De'Zhaun Stribling, WR Jordan Watkins, QB Mac Jones and TE George Kittle help you out in getting ready for this offseason?
"Yeah, I thought it was huge. We got a couple days of work in. Some guys came in and just emphasizing the simple things, the routes. Obviously getting on the same page when we're trying to throw and getting the timing right and all that. But, those young guys obviously are going to have a huge role in this offense, especially at receiver. So really excited for them to have an opportunity to go out and compete. But, for Stribling, Watkins, the last couple days, they've both been making plays out here early. And so, for Mac and I, we're both excited that we've got guys that are coming in ready to go right off the jump. We've just got to keep building on it. But, those are guys that we're excited about, and we need them this year."
Stribling's been known for his football IQ. Have you recognized that as well?
"One-hundred percent. Just the way he runs routes, the detail of it, obviously we're coaching him up on some stuff and whatnot, like little things, but more than anything he's come in and he understands the route depths and the details and the alignments in our offense. Like all those things are really tough for rookies. And it's not easy. It's a whole other language, but he's done a good job of studying, being on top of it and not even that, just catching a ball and then finishing and it's like, all right, this dude has proven to all of us that he's reliable and we can trust him. But, it is day two of camp. We've got to continue to find out. But, I've got a lot of trust in him right now."
How excited are you to have this much speed at receiver? Seems like you guys have a lot more speed than you've had in the past.
"Yeah, it feels good. I feel like we've been able to bring in personnel where guys are, one, healthy, but then two, bringing in other guys that can help us open it up. The third level throws down the field are definitely a thing that we all dove into and looked at this offseason and how we can get those kind of plays and those explosives. But, in order to get those, you need the right guys to do it. And so, I think we have shown that we've got some speed now and obviously we've got to keep building on it and we'll find out as we go. But, from what I've seen the first two days and being able to air it out and get guys out in those positions, man, I'm like, 'Let's go.' It brings a whole other dynamic to our offense."
Did you see that deep pass that was going almost right towards Kyle Shanahan?
"Yeah. I saw it after. I was like, 'Dang, I almost hit Kyle.' I was mad we couldn't complete the throw. But, yeah heads up coach."
When the text came in from Kyle, what was your instant fear and reaction? And then kind of as a leader and captain on this team, how do you weigh who you share that information with?
"Yeah, I got the text from Mandy Shanahan first and when I first read it, I was like, "' don't know, like, is this real?' Kind of thing. And then it sort of sunk in. I called George and I was like, 'Hey, is this' And he goes, 'Yeah, it sounds about right.' So, it hurt really bad just reading that text. I'm like, first off, like, is he okay? What's next? How is he? And all that. So I reached out to him and then he hit me back up. So, once he texted me back, I was like 'All right, he's good.' It's a scary moment because all you care about is life at that moment. Like, is he alive? Is he good? And all that. But after hearing Mandy and then what Kyle had said, I was like, 'All right, Kyle's good. This is going to be a little process and maybe, I don't know what the road recovery looks like, but he's going to be good.' That's all I cared about in that moment. So, I know he's good, just seeing him and talking to him and stuff, and what he said to guys. I have a lot of faith that he'll bounce back quick. But, from that moment too, it's like just sharing with some of the leaders of the team, and then if they're talking to guys, just giving guys a heads up like, 'Hey, coach went through this and this is how he's doing and stuff. He hit me back, so he's good, he's talking.' I shared with some guys, and then when we first got back in the locker room and stuff, just sharing with guys around the locker room area, just giving them a heads up that he's good and all that kind of thing."
A lot of people are saying how this team runs on autopilot, it's a well-oiled machine, everybody's kind of picking out their own role, but doing what they need to do. It's a player-led team. If you guys do get down to Week One and have to go out there without Shanahan because they don't want to rush him back given the concussion, how seamless do you think that would be?
"Yeah obviously, hopefully it's not going to be like that, but if it were I know that we have the right guys in the building. Like I said before, with the assistant coaches, with the head coaching experience, with Raheem and Chris Foerster and Klay Kubiak, we've got guys that can definitely lead this team in moments, especially when we have guys player-wise that are, we've been around the block and understand how this goes and what all goes into winning games in the NFL. We have that. We have older guys that can help the young guys and we can go through installs, we can go through practice, we can go through game prep and understand what it takes. And so, that's the good thing. Obviously, we want our guy with us in Kyle and the goal is when he's ready, he's going to come back in and it's going to be smooth, we're just going to keep going. Obviously, you don't want the worst to happen, but we'll be ready for it, but more than anything we just want Kyle to be good and healthy and ready to come back when he's ready."
How was it dealing with the linebackers and DBs today? They were pretty active on you guys.
"Yeah, they did a good job. I feel like Raheem's done a good job of coaching up our DBs in terms of being sticky and that match coverage, it's real. So, they've done a really good job with it. I think we have the right personnel on the defense to play that kind of defense. And then having [LB] Dre [Greenlaw] and [LB] Fred [Warner] underneath makes it harder too. It's like, those windows are tight. And so, when the defense does a good job of having tight coverage and tipping the ball up in the air, it's real. So, they've done a good job, day two of camp. We're all just going to continue to install more stuff and hopefully the competition level just keeps getting higher and higher."
DB Deommodore Lenoir said that he could travel 20, 30 hours, he just wants to play football. Do you share that sentiment about traveling around the world and playing football?
"One-hundred percent. I love that. Yeah, football is football. I think the prep is definitely going to be a little bit different going across the world. But, more than anything, when it comes down to it, it's like, we're playing in the NFL. It's four quarters of NFL football. And we've all dreamed of this as kids, to be able to do stuff like this. It's football, it's fun, and you've got to do what you've got to do."
What's it been like in practice so far getting some new looks from this Raheem Morris defense? He's adding, you know, some of his own stuff, and T Trent Williams was talking about it yesterday, just, I guess, keeping things fresh after so many years, going up against kind of the same thing.
"Yeah. I was talking to Fred about that. It's just, it is different. You know, in camp, it's usually the four-down, traditional stud defensive linemen with three linebackers and a strong quarter-shell defense. And now it's like, all right, we've got five down, he gives us all these different kind of looks and the shell's always changing and stuff. So, Raheem's done a good job with I think trying to disguise things against the quarterback, but also the techniques that the DBs are playing with now, too. That's a whole other thing. So, I like it. It feels, for me it's fun because going into the season, I feel like this is the kind of stuff that we're starting to see more in the NFL. And so, for us on offense, it gives us good practice and good reps and stuff. You've got to win in your one-on-one matchups and things like that. So, I think overall across the board, it's been good work on both sides of the ball."
The sticky coverage that you were talking about, does Stribling's size kind of stand out in those scenarios? A crowded defensive backfield and developing that trust?
"Yeah. I think he's done a good job with, obviously the footwork and getting off the line and stuff, but the other half of football is up top, using your hands at receiver and still trying to create separation obviously legally. But, that's a part of the thing, using your strength against the DB and stuff. So, having Stribling with his speed, but also his strength, like, that's something that you need at receiver, and he's shown that the first couple days here. So, I'm excited to keep building with him and I know he's going to continue to do it over and over again."
Your locker's next to Greenlaw, and he was gone. Obviously, you guys are friends. He's now back in the room. What does his presence mean to the room?
"Oh, it's huge. Obviously when he came back, it was like, all right, he's like one of our brothers that came back and it's almost like, let's pick up where we left off after that season when he left. But, just his presence, the dog that he has, when he steps on the field, it's like everyone feeds off that kind of energy. And being on offense, I'll look across the ball and be like, 'oh shoot. You've got Dre Greenlaw next to Fred again, and they're flying around and they're filling the gaps. You could feel them.' And so, just having him in our locker room and his presence is a real thing. And he looks out for all the young guys too. He's a real brother, but the minute that dude steps on the field, it's like, you've got to be ready. We all just want to go to war with him. So, I think it was a huge addition to get him back."
Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris
How is everything going from your perspective out there? I know some changes have been made and guys having to adjust to a new defensive scheme. How's that going?
"It's a lot of fun being a part of a new organization and watching how these guys practice. We watched a little bit in OTA days, but, obviously, the speed is different, the tempo is different. There's different ways you can't really compete in those situations, but now we're starting to be competitive. You start to see that competitive spirit, particularly from my linebacker position with the two guys that lead there. It just kind of spreads throughout the defense, so it's really fun to watch a player-led team do player-led things.
Executive Vice President of Communications Corry Rush just informed us that DL Romello Height had cramps. When you first saw him go down, were you concerned about him?
"No, I had [LB] Fred [Warner] over there with the helmet, and I just reached over to him and asked him, 'What was that? Was that just cramps?' And he gave me the thumbs up, so I knew right away. So, there was no real concern from that standpoint from those guys telling us. I knew that would be a question when he got carted off, but obviously he had some real severe cramps. He's going in to get ready and get that taken care of."
Can you speak to what you saw from him throughout the offseason program. Obviously, the pads haven't come on, but what's been your impression of him?
"A guy with a high capacity. Obviously, a guy with great energy. He brings a lot of juice to us and brings some things to us that we needed, that we went out and got in the draft. Really pleased with what he's done so far. Obviously, there's always kind of putting the cart before the horse when you talk about upfront people before they actually play the game, but he's done a nice job for everything that he's had to test for right now. According to his tests and the markers that he's been asked to meet, he's met those markers."
What do LB Larry Worth III and LB Nick Martin look like to you so far?
"Larry has done a great job. Talking about a guy that gives us some length and a guy that gives us some size in that position group and gives us some really good athleticism. Then, obviously, Nick, we know what he is with the speed. We know what he is with the element of doing some things. Getting him out there, giving those guys a chance to go out there and compete, I think has really been good. I'm very pleased with everybody. I'd be hard pressed to come up here and tell you I'm disappointed in anyone in particular. I'm really excited about the group. I'm really excited about the learning curve. I'm really excited about where we're going."
Evaluating the whole secondary, there's a lot of options. You have a lot of guys back, but it seems like you're taking a look at everybody?
"It really feels like a great problem. You never have enough great secondary players. You never have enough good secondary players. You never have enough competition. I think the scouting department, [president of football operations/general manager] John Lynch and everybody involved in that whole area has really done a nice job of bringing people in to compete. They've done a nice job in the draft over the past couple of years in the guys that are already here. Obviously, you've got some vets, some pros, some highly competitive people, highly competitive men that you enjoy watching every single day."
How did you digest the news about what happened to head coach Kyle Shanahan? And, what's the last few days been like here just getting everything organized?
"Really, you digest it first as a friend. Then you kind of take it in and you're really thankful. You just kind of sit back and you hope for the best and you're thankful that it wasn't worse. Then you watch them bounce back and be able to do things they're able to do and you want them to ease back into it. Then you become like this caring figure of just, take your time. You've got great leadership amongst the coaches. You've got a great player-led team. You've got people that have been around here for the last 10 years with him that know exactly what he wants and what he demands. And all the new guys, like myself, we caught up pretty quickly. It's nice to be around that type of a group. It's nice to be around that type of organization just in general. Now he's doing whatever he needs to get done to get ready, which we know he will. He's very capable of doing that."
You haven't worked with LBs Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw together before, but I'm sure you've watched them. What have you seen from them so far being back together?
"It's fun being on their side. Going against those guys is always something that you were concerned with. How fast they play. How violent they play. Things they're able to do from a communication standpoint and a physical standpoint. That's always awesome. Watching those two communicate with each other in the huddle and the energy that they bring every single day to not only just the field, but the meeting room, the building, the presence, the ideas, the thought process, it's really fun to go into that linebacker room and be a fly on the wall. You sit in the back every once in a while, you get a question. Those two are going to give you high-level questions, not the, 'What are we supposed to do?' It's more of the, 'What is this for?' That is really intriguing when you're talking about a coach and being able to communicate that way with the guys."
Are you getting intel as far as your safety battle is concerned? I know it's early, but are you starting to get that?
"Let's be honest, the secondary practice, they've all looked the part. They've all done some really good things. Obviously, there's always going to be corrections.That's what you need coaches for. That's what we're out there for. That's the really good part. It is a lot of fun to watch guys compete at a very high level.You're talking about Tig [S Ji'Ayir Brown], you're talking about Sig [S Marques Sigle], you're talking about [S] Malik [Mustapha], you're talking about some of the young guys that were brought in. [S] Ashtyn [Davis] just being brought in. There's some young guys here that have done some really good things, like moving people in the back end. You see [DB] Siran [Neal] back there a little bit. Watching guys be able to compete at a very high level is a lot of fun."
How excited are you to unleash DL Nick Bosa this season?
"Another guy you're happy to be on his team. Finally to watch that guy and what he's able to do, the amount of power he plays with, the speed, the presence, he's one of the calmest players I've ever been around in my life. And he brings this certain ease and a certain ability to move just effortlessly every single day. So, the excitement to be able to call him when he goes out there. And obviously, he's just doing a couple things. He's limited and working his way back, but he looks excellent. That's always a good time for us."
What's the difference between the weak side linebacker spot and the strong side as far as traits that you want to see in your in your players?
"Obviously, a little bit different the way you speak. It's probably the MIKE has all the same characteristics that you think about. Just think of Fred, right? Then you talk about the weak side linebacker with the ability to move and have the ability to be moving like a Greenlaw and all the traits that he possesses in coverage and some of the different things. And then you talk about that other guy that's going to be out there that has the ability to be able to move in space, be able to play in the four-down front, be to play in the five-down front, be able to do different things. So, the versatility of those guys, it's absolutely phenomenal. And it's a lot of fun. So, we just asked about a couple different guys that look different than what we had with Fred. Larry and Nick, completely two different looking guys, but to be able to move those guys around, the interchangeable pieces, to go out there and be able to get those jobs done. I think that's what's the most fun about it all."
Is Nick Martin's speed the asset for him when he's lining up at that strong side spot?
"It's hard to say that. A lot of these guys. We got some fast guys. Fred's pretty fast. Greenlaw's fast. I don't know what the actual timed speeds were, but when they play, they play fast. Nick is one of those guys that can run fast, time fast, move fast, so his speed should be an asset for him to go out there and play. [LB Jaden] Dugger ran really well. There's a bunch of different guys out there. [LB] Tatum [Bethune]. These guys play fast, they run fast, they do really good things. [LB Garret] Wallow, I can name all those guys. They've all stood out in some form or fashion. Larry, all of them. I mean everybody that gets the opportunity. Everybody gets an opportunity to go out there and play. They play at a very high level and they're communicating at a very high level. You got some real adults in that room. I was just telling John and Kyle the other day, you guys are spoiled having these type of linebackers in the room and having the ability to be able to do that with these guys and communicate at the high level."
What does CB Jack Jones bring to your DB room?
"Play making. Jack Jones has been known as a playmaker, and he's also been known to give up some, right? So, you have the ability to get him out there and teach him some fundamentally sound things and be able to have him take advantage of his tools and his assets to have ball skills and catch the ball and score. He certainly brings that. He's done that throughout his career. He's been a marvel at that and he's done a nice job since he's been here. So, I really look forward to watching him continue to grow."
How much of a priority is it for your guys to figure out when to take those shots and when to take the risk?
"That's the biggest key, right? When you play corner in this league, there's always going to be play ops, so to speak. Then you got to learn your play ops and you got to take advantage of them. He's one of those guys that can take advantage of them. And if you give him more coaching, you give him more because you know when it's time not to take those ops, he won't. But if you're out there guessing all the time, you take some ops that aren't necessary. When you can take the ops and you get those opportunities, that's how you make plays. Making plays is just technique and opportunity meeting. He's one of the better ones at it when he's in those meeting rooms listening to it."
You are bringing some new things to this defense. T Trent Williams is pretty candid. He's faced a certain kind of defense all these years in camp and now it looks a little bit different. How have the returners on defense, the early impressions of how they've adapted and taken some of the new stuff that you're implementing?
"Yeah, it really sounds like a question for those guys, but I really think these guys, they love football. That's the common theme around here. The common theme with the guys that we have on our roster is just they're obsessed. So, like they crave more information, they crave energy, they crave the ability to go out there and learn every single day. And it's not like, this is not my defense. This is the defense we're building that's built for the Niners and what we've already had in place, what we've done or what they've done, what I want to be a part of and move forward from there."
What do you want to see from CB Renardo Green in this camp?
"He's showing it. He's shown the ability to go out there and play at an elite level from off, from bump. He's shown the ability to be able to take it from the classroom to the field. He made a big time play today. He's showing up in a big way. He showed up at OTA days. He's exciting. He's got great length. He's got great ball skills. He's got all the ability in the world. And now as you say, time to go out there and do it. So, let him keep continuing to do and continue to grow and continue to play and I think get the best out of players."
What are the benefits of a five-man front as opposed to the four-man front that we've maybe been more accustomed to?
"It's hard to say benefits but you're just talking about different ways to dictate what you want on offense. It's like you get certain runs in a four-down front, that you know you're going to get and you got to fit up. You get certain runs in the five-down front that you know you got to run, you got to fit up. You open up more things in the passing game when you go to the five-man front. You create some versatility with some different people. So, it's just like the benefits and what are the advantages and what you want to be able to do with those things just based on who you're playing and what you're playing. And you give yourself some real options and some different things of that nature. So, to be able to mix those things in like most of the league's doing right now is a lot of fun. We did it a bunch last year and [Tennessee Titans head coach] Robert Saleh did it last year, starting to mess around with it a little bit and we'll mess around with it some and we'll do some different things. But we got what we got and you got to take advantage of the players that you have and do those things the right way."
More info on: Tatum Bethune, Nick Bosa, Ji'Ayir Brown, Ashtyn Davis, Jaden Dugger, Mike Evans, Renardo Green, Dre Greenlaw, Romello Height, Jack Jones, Mac Jones, George Kittle, Deommodore Lenoir, Nick Martin, Malik Mustapha, Siran Neal, Brock Purdy, Marques Sigle, De'Zhaun Stribling, Garret Wallow, Fred Warner, Jordan Watkins, Trent Williams
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