San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak, and quarterback Brock Purdy spoke with reporters after Thursday's practice as the team prepares for its Week 5 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.
Here's everything they said.
Transcripts provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris
What do you think of DL Sebastian Valdez's performance in these last two games?
"Pretty good. There's always things you can correct, always things you can clean up. But you go out and you evaluate those guys, things that you have. You never get too high, never get too low. Let the guys go out there and play. Felt pretty good."
DL Mykel Williams is clearly excited to get back out there, not activated yet, but what have you seen from him that you like?
"Just the energy. His ability to show that he wants to get out there and play. It's been almost a year, as he said to multiple people. He's just excited and I don't blame him. I'm excited to see him as well. This will be my first time seeing him this week and getting a chance to watch him go out there and play. He's big, he gives us a lot of energy, gives a lot of juice and we'll see where he is by the end of this week and see what happens, but I'm excited about it."
In the past, DB Deommodore Lenoir has campaigned to shadow Seattle Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Has he come up to you and talked about that and what are the considerations that would go into deciding whether that's the best move for the defense as a whole?
"There's always things you can do and that's always something that's definitely within the system. But, those guys nowadays are a little bit different. Back in the day when you shadowed somebody, you moved, the other people didn't move. That was back when [former NFL WR] Marvin Harrison played on one side and [former NFL WR] Reggie Wayne played on one side and they just sat there. But as you see in today's game, there's a bunch of different things that happen, moving parts. People move, they move inside, they move outside, they move into the backfield, particularly these guys and how they game plan. That's not always the best thing for the team at times. He will be matched up with him a bunch. He will match up a little bit. They cannot stay away from each other, but we won't do necessarily the shadow thing where you follow him inside, you follow him outside. There's things we have to do, how we play our game, that won't be able to pinpoint that all the time, but there will definitely be moments that they'll get a chance to get together. I don't know if that's a nice answer of saying no, but it's just one of those things of it's just not the same as it used to be. Back when you played [reporter] Grant [Cohn], receivers stayed on one side and you were able to lock them down over there."
Do you think it's all the routes moving around so much?
"It's a bunch of different things. You have these corners, whether it be [Denver Broncos CB Patrick] Surtain [II] or whether it was [Pittsburgh Steelers CB] Jalen Ramsey or whether it's DMo. Those receivers are all over the place. As you see our guys moving around all over the place, there's not just a stationary X anymore, a stationary Z. It just doesn't work that way. There's definitely times you can, there's definitely got-to-have-it moments you can match those things up. It's definitely dictated by the call at times like some of those things give things away. These quarterbacks nowadays are too smart to just go out there and determine things and dictate things before the snap. You want to be able to sort it out a little bit as they're taking the snap, taking their drop, going through their process, if that makes sense."
What makes him such a unique wide receiver?
"Njigba?"
Yeah.
"I think he's one of the more talented guys. Aggressive hands. He runs through the catch. He is for sure one of the guys that can find soft spots in any area of a defense, whether it's man, whether it's zone, whatever the case may be. He does a nice job of understanding what their schemes are. He's got one of the all-time greats playing opposite of him that he said publicly that's helped him improve his game when it comes to the subtlety of the game. I know how [Seattle Seahawks WR] Cooper Kupp's studying. I know what he's doing. I know he's transitioning that through that room and bringing those guys to a different level of understanding of what it means to be a football player, not just a wideout. You can definitely see that come through as he was the, I think he was the Offensive Player of the Year and just really dominant throughout the process. Very close to being the MVP at that position. Those guys having that kind of experience. I was with Cooper when he was a Triple Crown winner and you see a lot of those similarities and you see also a lot of the dominant traits that he had coming out of college that he's able to translate into a really good player."
You definitely have some fiery guys on the defensive side of the ball. It's maybe too much conversation about it, but given the way last season with the Seahawks, coming into this matchup, are you having any conversations with them about not getting too excited about this one and just going out and executing their job?
"Clearly not. Did you see [LB Dre] Greenlaw last week? You let these guys go play. These guys are dogs, man. They go hunt, they go play, they play smart, they play fast. They use the week to go out and process those things and then on Sundays it's a lot of fun to go out there and call it to those guys and let those guys go out there and perform. They don't need my motivation. They don't need my ability to rein them back, unless it's something that goes across the lines, but these guys have done a nice job keeping it there, keeping it where it needs to be."
How did Romello Height do with the club? Did he seem to adjust to it as the game went along a little bit?
"He had a couple of really good rushes. Was able to get around there and do some really good things. Obviously it's hard to get on and off blocks sometimes. He got caught up with that [Denver Broncos OL Quinn Meinerz] 77 for that Denver team, that's a pretty tough guy, a couple of times in there and got him in a vulnerable position. But, Romello's a dog and I love the way he competes, the way he plays. He's going to go out there regardless. He might have two clubs on and go out there. He's that kind of guy. So, I'm just fired up he was able to compete and go out there and help us get a win."
What have you seen from his progress from the start?
"It's always hard because of the significant high when he came in, when we're not in pads. Then he hit the rookie stage when you get in there, you're really shocked by him. Then he had a little bit of an injury setback, so he had to go through that process. Then watching him bounce back and go out there and play for us, provide some pressures for us, to be able to go out there and finish I think one deal or two deals whatever it was. He's getting better and better every single week and that's a lot of fun to watch. No different than him, [LB Jaden] Dugger, and all those other rookies that we've got playing for us."
Last week when you were asked about limiting explosive plays, you said that's kind of the way the league is going right now, the direction. Why do you think that is? Not that anyone was ever trying to give up big plays, but why do you think it's become such a priority?
"A lot of it is really if you're able to limit those plays, those explosive plays, that keeps the score down. If you're able to keep the score down, that gives your offense a chance to win every single game. That gives your team the opportunity to go out there and play how it was planned to play throughout the course of the week. We've been able to limit the explosions to be able to play the way we want to play, to be able to dictate the terms. Fortunately or unfortunately, now we've got to go out there and continue to do those things however that works. We've got the guys to be able to do it. They've got the mental stamina to be able to survive throughout the practice, to be able to make the mistakes in practice, to be able to correct those things, take it to the grass and make those things come to life. Those are things that are all helping us."
Is there a balance to be struck there too of obviously if an offense has to execute an 18-play drive, there's a better chance they're going to make a mistake at some point in there versus you also don't want to be on the field for those long drives too.
"There's a lot of that. There's calculated risk at everything we do. There's a calculated risk every time you pressure a person, every time you sit back and cover. All those things come into play. You've got to determine those things, how you're going to play each series, each drive. I don't think it'd ever be the same. I think it won't be always understood, but it'd always be something that there's planned when you go out there."
With the possibility of Mykel coming back, what type of impact does he have and what would your plan be with him?
"Really hard question for me. I wasn't around when he was able to play last year. Obviously, I knew him through the draft process and know what type of player he is, so I'm really excited about him being able to come out there and first and foremost do the really important things that we ask our ends to do, set edges. I'm really fired up to see him go out there and have a chance to be able to affect the passer. So those two things that he was brought here to do are the things that I'm most fired up to see and nobody's more fired up than him, obviously."
Dre isn't playing, obviously, every snap. He comes off occasionally. Are you trying to just manage him and get him through 17 games as a nod to his medical history, or is there something else going on?
"It's hard to say manage when you're talking about Dre. It's just really doing whatever it is to win football games. He comes out at times. We've had packages where he's out. We have packages that he's in. He's in most of them. He's not the green dot, so we can be able to switch those guys in and out of rotation. You do it a lot with linemen. People kind of get wigged out when you do it with the defensive back or you do it with a linebacker. But, realistically that's going to become the norm because people want to play fast. How fast can you play for 50 snaps as opposed to 80? If you go play 89 snaps, you're not going to get the same Dre we got the next week. If that was the case, we wouldn't have got what we got last week. To be able to get what we got last week is what we continue to hunt. Whatever the best formula is for that to happen, I think it's what we're going to do."
Offensive Coordinator Klay Kubiak
What's the biggest challenge going against the Seattle defense?
"Man, there's a lot of challenges. It's such a sound, well-coached scheme. It's not like there's a lot of secrets to how they play. They play excellent fundamental football. They don't give up big plays. They tackle really well. It's like you don't find a lot of like hidden yardage against these guys. They're going to make you earn everything. They're very disciplined and then they have great players. When you combine all those things, it just makes for probably the best defense in this league and it's a huge challenge for us. Going into Seattle, we're up for it and we'll be ready, but it's going to be a challenge."
How do you coach that with the quarterback, be aggressive but be patient? Don't they kind of work against each other in some ways?
"You'd like to say the quarterback should always have that mentality. I think we've never really had a problem with [QB] Brock [Purdy] in terms of being aggressive. We're going to call plays where we're hoping to get big plays and get explosives. And if Brock sees it right and he's feeling confident, he's going to let it rip. But you have to understand what you're going against. You have to understand that there's a nature to the defense you're playing where there is a bend-but-don't-break mentality for them where you got to be disciplined. Good quarterbacks got to find a way to balance those things out. When you look at teams who've had success against Seattle these past couple years, it's guys like [Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew] Stafford. And when Brock's played good against them, it's that. You get your shots when they're there. You make the throw, but you're patient when it's not there and you keep playing. So, Brock knows that. And it's just a big part of this game. It's part of every week, but especially going against these guys."
With Seattle's defense when you look at how well they play against the pass, but then not as well against the run, given how well the offensive line has performed, what are you really hoping to see out of them going into Seattle this week?
"Just continued consistency. We're not asking anybody to do anything different that we haven't asked them already this year. Our O-Line's played pretty well, but like everyone else, everyone is seeking improvement. Everyone's seeking to get better every week. It's Week Five and we feel like we need to continue to take positive steps every week. So I know our guys are up for the challenge. I know they're going to play their butts off. They're going to play hard. And we got to go out there and execute, play it one play at a time, and then just kind of let the chips fall where they may. But we're just expecting those guys to continue consistent play."
What are some of the challenges there?
"It's kind of the things I hit on. It's just really good players, really good scheme, really well coached. They don't give up big plays, make you earn everything, tackle really well. Those are the big things that could go on, but it's an excellent team. So we've got to work it out for us."
You and head coach Kyle Shanahan have talked about trying to get their safeties to creep up. Obviously, the last two games you weren't able to do that. Do you think this year you're better equipped by the personnel or otherwise to kind of get them out of that look?
"It's a good question. I think the nature of their scheme, they never want their safeties playing that aggressive at the line of scrimmage. Just the way they play their corners, it's the way they play their front. It's really hard to kind of to get those guys out of that, but there is a time and a place where if you can run the ball and you can stay on the field, eventually, hopefully you get more people to commit to the box. And that's our goal every week, really, honestly. I think when you look around the league, teams want to play shell until you force them not to. And, these guys, that's why they're a good defense – they can defend the run with their corners, with their two-shell defense. And so our goal is to, like every week, run the ball consistently, stay on the field, stay out of obvious passing situations so that we can try to get the defense to tee off a little bit and we can hopefully take advantage of that. But, that's the goal every week. These guys are especially a big challenge because they defend the run so well from their two-shell."
How big of a deal is Seattle Seahawks S Nick Emmanwori as far as allowing them to stay in nickel and still defend the run effectively?
"I think that's just schematically their personnel. That's how they want to play defense. He's a really versatile player who can play a lot of positions. He can play on the line of scrimmage. He can play a stacked linebacker. He can play out in space over receivers. I think they want him on the field. I don't think there's a lot you do to get them to get him off the field. He's one of their best players. But they do have different personnel groups that they'll deploy and a lot of that's just to kind of change it up on you too. So, we expect him to be on the field most of the game for sure."
You guys are 57% on third-down and I think it's third-and-four is the average, which is a low number, but that's still an incredible percentage. When you look at that, is there anything that you can point to? Do you look at it as the ultimate team stat in some ways?
"100%. It's definitely a unit stat in terms of it. We're staying out of these long passing situations. It has a lot to do with how you run the ball. Staying ahead of the chains is a big thing. It has a lot to do with how we've protected. We don't have a lot of negative plays in the pass game where we're getting sacked and we're behind the chains. We've been pretty good playing penalty-free football. So it all adds up and allows you to stay ahead of the chains. And when you get to second-and-seven, 'Okay, now I can get to third-and-three, third-and-four.' That's kind of the goal. You want to stay out of those long situations where defenses have an advantage. It's also been four weeks and we got to continue to do the things we've been doing, but it's only four weeks and we got to continue to get better every week. And, one of these days we're going to face a lot of those situations that are third-and-longer. Are we ready for those moments too? Are we ready to execute within the passing game? So whatever it takes to win. So far so good in terms of how we've executed on third down and been in those manageable situations."
What do you think of TE Brayden Willis filling in for FB Kyle Juszczyk?
"Yeah, we're excited to get him a few more ops this week. Brayden's been here a while, feels like a while and has just been a very consistent, solid player for us. Really physical, smart guy. So excited to see what he can do and get out there."
QB Brock Purdy
No quarterback likes to be pressured, but you're completing 73-percent right now against the blitz. Does it clarify things to you when you do see extra rushers? How do you make sense of that?
"I think obviously [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] does a good job with giving us answers and stuff when we do have pressure looks and stuff. So, sort of just trusting in that and just being on top of it. When we do get pressure, knowing where the ball needs to go and whether we're picked up in protection or not, he's always done a really good job with allowing the quarterback to still play fast and have answers and stuff. So, it's just my job to be on top of it, study and when I get the look, make the defense pay for that. Sometimes defenses do a really good job of scheming things up and making it hard on us and you've got to be smart with the ball too."
What makes the Seahawks defense so tough from a quarterback's perspective?
"They fly around, for one. Their scheme is really good too. They're all really well coached with their great defensive line, their secondary, everybody's tied in together. Obviously you don't ever see really big explosive plays on them. It feels like it's a bend-but-don't-break kind of defense and you've got to go earn every yard all throughout the game for four quarters. They've done a really good job with that. Then on top of that, like I said, they've got guys that if you watch the film they're flying around, they're hitting and they just play with a lot of energy and stuff. I think they've played with each other now for a good amount of time so they understand what each guy does really well. They play 11 as one for sure, so really good defense and we respect the heck out of them."
Obviously you can't spend a lot of time thinking about what happened last year, but how much did not scoring any touchdowns in those last couple of games fester with you or even still does it sit with you right now?
"Obviously watching the film and stuff, they did a really good job against us and sort of like the things that I just said with out-physicaling us and getting to the ball fast and flying around and closing the windows in the pass game and stuff. They did a really good job with all that. Obviously for me it sucked how last year ended and not getting in the end zone and scoring and stuff like that. So for sure went back and watched some stuff this offseason. Sort of just like, 'All right, what was it? How could I have played better? And what did I need to do?' Sort of just being hard on myself in that regard. But, every game is new. Every moment is different. So for me I'm just excited for obviously Week Five against these guys back up in Seattle and ready for the challenge."
Every moment, as you just mentioned, is different. When you think about the past times you've been to Lumen Field and played, what do you feel like you can expect to be different this time around, whether that's a personal thing as far as performance or just overall general overarching?
"Every little thing's been different. Last year we were there Week One of the season, so there was a lot of buildup for that. Then the playoff game. And now it's Week Five and both teams are off to a good start. Like I said, every time you go up there, it is a little different, but at the same time, it is a rivalry game where it's the 49ers versus Seahawks and both teams don't like each other. We're going to go on their turf and obviously try to go in and play our style of ball and do what we've got to do to win the game. That's the situation at hand and obviously you've got to go roll the ball out there and play for four quarters and see what happens. That's how I look at it right now and don't want to overcomplicate things."
It's Week Five and it's your first rivalry game, first hostile environment. Does it feel like a long time since you've been in a hostile environment?
"A little bit just because obviously the Australia game was what it was and then we've been home ever since. But, I feel like our team and our offense and myself, we've been in a bunch of these kind of games where you go on the road and it's loud and the operation and stuff needs to be a certain way. It's different. How we communicate is different. So those are all things that we sort of lean back on and remind ourselves of, of our experiences together with that. So, been up into Seattle a bunch of times now. It's a place that we all respect when it comes to their environment, but like I said, if we're on top of our stuff, then we can go and play fast and play our style of ball."
Is there something extra satisfying about winning on the road?
"Yeah, 100-percent. I think backs against the wall, you go up there with really your boys and your team on the sideline, and you can feel the energy in there of everyone wanting you to fail. I think there's something in us as humans that it does make it satisfying when you push through and you follow through and you can jog off the field a winner."
You're averaging career highs in yards per carry and carries per game. Did you come into the season planning to run more? Did you feel like when you watched the tape that was a weapon that you could get more out of?
"I don't think so, but at the same time knowing, all right, I'm healthy, I feel good. I've told people this every offseason. I do the normal sprint training and stuff like that and try to stay mobile just because you never know, pockets collapse and there's times for quarterbacks to go and take 15, 20 yards and stuff. I just want to be ready for those opportunities. But, it's not like watching the film, I watched myself last year and was like, 'Dude, I need to start running the ball more.' I don't think it was really like that. It was more so just like, just be ready just in case it does happen. I'm a quarterback and I pride myself in getting the guys the ball and allowing them to make the plays. And if I have to, then yeah, I can use my legs."
A technical quarterbacking question. Your non-throwing arm. What's the role of the non-throwing arm in throwing and is that something that you've ever felt like you needed to adjust or tweak or anything like that?
"That's a good question. I don't know to be honest. I think as I've gone throughout my life as a thrower and looking at my mechanics and things, that is something that I've looked at. How should the opposite arm be? Should it be tight, like you could have your thumb hold your collar of your shirt and stuff and have it tight, but then other guys are out wide. I don't know. It's something that I look at every once in a while, but I don't think it drastically changes my throwing mechanics and stuff. There's other things that I'd look at rather than that, but it is a good point. A lot of people do look at it, so it's a good question."
Do you keep yours tight to your body?
"I don't know. I think I have more of a baseball background, so it's more out. I don't know. Is that right? Is that wrong? I don't know. Go and complete the ball and keep it simple."
It should be pointing where you're going, right?
"I think, I don't know. Use your glove? Yeah, I don't know. Good questions."
This game has so much hype. Have you seen this AI video of you emerging out of the water off the shores of Seattle like Godzilla and just walking through the city all the way to Lumen Field? It's pretty awesome.
"No, I haven't seen it."
Have you seen the rapping ones?
"Yeah. [WR] Deebo [Samuel Sr.] and all the guys DM them to me on Instagram. It's crazy. They love that."
Do you like them?
"I think they're funny. But, obviously it's not me (laughter)."
More info on: Jaden Dugger, Dre Greenlaw, Romello Height, Kyle Juszczyk, Deommodore Lenoir, Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel, Sebastian Valdez, Mykel Williams, Brayden Willis
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