Head Coach Jim Tomsula
Opening comments:
"Injury report; [DL] Glenn Dorsey and [QB] Colin Kaepernick both had successful surgeries yesterday. Glenn had his knee repaired over here at Stanford and that went really well. Report I got there and the report I got on Colin, he was in Colorado and that went really well. Those are the two reports I have there. I'm not sure the timeline on when Glenn will be placed on the IR, but that's coming. [LB NaVorro] Bowman will be out today, a normal Wednesday. [RB Carlos] Hyde, he's not going to be out at practice today. We'll stay day-to-day with him. And then, [LB Ahmad] Brooks, Ahmad came in and had a bit of a headache. So, the guys put him in the concussion protocol. He wasn't feeling good. Anyways, they're going to monitor that. They wanted to make sure they were on the safe side there. So, that's what I've got. Other than that, we've got a few what I would call normal bumps and bruises."
Is G/C Daniel Kilgore most likely to take that roster spot?
"Well, I'll tell you what's happening with Daniel. Last week was really good with Daniel. I thought he did really good. He took most, if not all of the scout team reps. Getting out there, moving around and working his combinations and took a few with the offense. We'll get him working back in there this week. But again, I don't want to say exactly. We'll see how it goes. We're on the ramp up."
Jim Tomsula Addresses Media in Week 12
How have you seen QB Dylan Thompson evolve and kind of mature being around Colin and QB Blaine Gabbert every day and just maybe grow a little bit in his rookie season?
"Yeah, the one thing I will say there is that he showed up mature. He's a mature guy. That's a rookie that's come in, he's married, he's got a maturity about him. He's still a rookie and he's learning. Every time you see the plateaus you see him fight through them and then you see him get better. So, we're thrilled with the way he's approached things and the way he's worked and worked through the struggles that you normally have and getting better and doing those things. And he understands the offense and he's got all those things."
Maturity might have been the wrong choice of words, but for a rookie to be around two guys like Gabbert and Colin, what does that do for a young player?
"I think it just gives him the perspective on how you go about watching your film. How you go about preparing and the seriousness of it."
Speaking of Blaine, have you talked with him just about now this role is yours since Colin won't be coming back and what you're going to be expecting out of him going forward?
"Yeah, we've talked all along. And again, we do, but it's a week-to-week, I mean our long-range goals right now are the Arizona Cardinals and let's go. Keep preparing the way you prepare and we've talked about that. The guy has always since he walked through the door his approach has been really good. Blaine is attacking it and I feel really good about that."
As far as the short-range goals go, is it weekly or is there a competition now between QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson and Thompson to figure out for that second spot on the 53-man?
"Well, I'd like to tell you that we're trying to promote competition all over the place. So, yeah. I mean, is it likely that Bethel-Thompson will be up this week? No, I don't want to tell you that. That's not likely. He's in here, that's another guy I think a lot of and his approach and he's been here. He's kicking it. He's getting after it and learning his thing. But, I wouldn't say there's anything imminent happening there."
You said that Glenn and Colin, both their surgeries went well. Did you get a chance to talk to either one of them?
"No, what I usually do is once I get from the training room that the surgeries have been completed and get a rundown on how they went, obviously they don't give me specifics just whether it was good and it went well. Then what I usually do is shoot out a text or a voicemail and just tell them, 'Look, I heard everything went well and here we go and now you're in the rest and recovery and then we get to rehab. Here we go. Congrats on the first step.' That's what I do. If they need anything, give me a call."
Is it your understanding that Colin's shoulder got progressively worse after the initial injury occurred?
"I don't know. I don't have a, again this is as honest as I can tell you, the big time that I knew anything about the shoulder was obviously when he came back off that open week and that thing was sore on him. He went into the training room and was evaluated and they had the docs evaluate him and sent him for tests. So, that's quite honestly and then I knew that was ongoing and I was briefed that there was a second opinion, which is not abnormal, everybody. Most all of you, any medical things, it's typical to get second opinions."
With Ahmad not practicing this week, will DT Tank Carradine get some of those outside snaps?
"Yeah. I mean, again, Tank's another guy I thought that had a nice week last week of practice. You don't do this in five days. You don't do this in a week. But, Tank has really, he's changed the way, with his strength and conditioning he's changed the way he's training there. You all have seen him out there. You can see, you can already visibly see that he's slimmed down in the hips and things. And he got, again, the lion's share of the look reps last week playing at that position and some in our defense and looking to keep ramping that up."
Within the course of the game on Sunday, CB Kenneth Acker started and CB Marcus Cromartie went in. Is Cromartie now atop the--?
"No. And I don't want to declare any of those things. We, from the Atlanta game, felt like Cromartie had earned some opportunity. Of course, you see [CB] Dontae [Johnson] going in there and playing the dime for us. So, Cromartie had earned opportunity, quite frankly. So, he was going to get opportunity."
So, that was planned, regardless of how Acker was playing?
"Yeah. He was going to be on the field. He had earned an opportunity to be on the field. Yes."
The team seemed lethargic early in the game against the Seahawks. Afterwards, I spoke to Ahmad Brooks and asked why the team seemed lethargic. He said he couldn't speak for anyone else, but that it did take him a while to get going for the game. How do you account for that, for the lack of energy coming off a bye week?
"Well I'll tell you, and one of the things that we addressed head on was just the fact of when we come out defensively and Glenn got hurt there and I didn't like our body language. And we have to address that. But, you know, it was like the guys coming in there, it was that idea of attacking that, to make that tackle, attack it. Don't come up and worry about missing. Just go tackle. Let it go. That's what I saw, along with some fit problems where we weren't tuned up in the fit there. And again, there was that counter play happening that hit us a couple times and it's not really new, it was just a little bit different and just fitting that up and being detailed in those fits was where I saw those, our biggest problem."
When you look at the first Arizona game, do you point to some of those things this week and say, "You know, here's mistakes that really hurt us?"
"Yes."
What's your message on that?
"Again, we're not saying anything that you don't hear from everybody in football. You need to play against the opponent. It's hard enough defeating the opponent. Don't do things that make you have to compete against yourself. When you have a mental mistake or you have a penalty, a pre-snap penalty, things like that. Now, you're competing against the opponent and yourself. We want to make sure that we get that just as limited as we can. You'd like to see zero defects. You're always chasing that. But now, when they do, you have to overcome them. We've got to move on to the next play."
What's your favorite Thanksgiving food?
"Whatever my wife cooks. She'll leave a little out on the table there. Whatever it is."
There isn't one specific?
"Yeah, I mean, it's all good. Look at me. I like all food. My wife's a good cook."
What's your schedule? What's the team's schedule tomorrow?
"Well, we'll start a little earlier and the guys will, you should look at that too for the locker room thing, because we're trying to get them out of here. After practice ends, we still want them to do the regeneration stuff and the weight lifting and all that kind of stuff. So, that's more in the afternoon with the lifting now. And then get them home for dinner. We'd like them to be home for dinner with their families. We have guys in here that their families aren't here, that aren't married. We don't want anybody eating alone."
You're hosting?
"Well, if they need to go out there, go head out there. My wife's there, she's got it cooking. The coaches, their meals will be a little later. That will be a little later."
At 3-7, there's starting to become speculation about your future. Have you received any kind of assurances from the front office about whether you're going to be here in 2016?
"No, I mean we haven't had any conversations about any of that. Just to your point right there, we're in a performance-based business and all of us in it get it. So, I don't think or work that way. Just keep my long-term goal is Sunday. It's just where I stay."
QB Blaine Gabbert
When you look back at the film of Sunday, what'd you think of how well you played?
"I think the biggest thing that stood out was we didn't take advantage of our opportunities in the red zone. I think we were second-and-five on the five, first-and-five on the five and took a penalty. Any time you take a penalty or a negative play in the red zone it makes it tough because then you're in second-and-goal, third-and-goal from the 10-yard line. That's shooting yourself in the foot a little bit, but they're things that we can correct, things that we can control and get better at. So, that was a positive, how we got down there. But, once we got down there, everybody's got to focus and execute at a higher level."
When you get down there, is it a different skill set? You're dealing with a smaller field at that point. How do you go about--?
"I think that every team has their red zone concepts, their red zone plays, their red zone runs for that week and the mindset when you get in the red zone, everything does happen faster. So, everybody really has to be on top of their game because those are vital situations in the game because you need touchdowns, especially versus a good team like we faced last week."
Blaine Gabbert: 'We're up to the Challenge'
Everybody who watched the last two games, even offensive coordinator Geep Chryst, has said you look different than you look when you were a starter in Jacksonville. Do you see those differences and how would you describe the differences if you do see them?
"I think just knowing the game plan in and out. Not saying I didn't when I was in Jacksonville, but like I've always said, the experiences of playing, now being 26, in my fifth year. I'm a more mature player. I know where I want to go with the football. You see the pre-snap looks and you can go off of knowledge that you've seen that look in the past and knowing where they're vulnerable, where you're guys are going to pop open. Just from that, just more comfortable in the system."
But, you seem more comfortable in the pocket too, knowing where to go when there's pressure. How do you get better at that when you haven't been playing?
"It's tough. You've got to work hard on that in practice. That's why those scout team reps when you are the backup are so valuable because you are limited in game reps because the starter's taking those. So, when you're going against our defense, you have to simulate that like it's a game. You're not going to be seeing the same looks, the same pressures, the same coverages, but you've got to train yourself to get reps that way."
Do you not feel rusty out there? Are you surprised that you're not as rusty as you might be after two years off?
"You know, there's going to be rust, there's going to be ups and downs. Nobody played perfect. I definitely haven't played perfect the last two weeks. But, I think there's things that you can build off of. There's going to be plays here and there where you make a bonehead mistake, but at the same time that's also a learning experience so you don't make that mistake down the road."
After the Atlanta game, you said you wanted to show the guys, you know, you told your offensive line I think you were going to stand in there and take it on the chin and G/T Alex Boone said after the game you stood in there and took some pretty big licks. Did you feel that you had to prove that you were a tough guy, that you have that toughness?
"I think that's just, it's every scenario is different. Every play is different. If you have a free runner but a guy's coming open down the field, you've got to deliver the football regardless if a guy's kind of breathing down your neck. And so, I would say every scenario's different. There's sometimes where you've got to leave the pocket and make a play with your feet, throwing the ball on the run, but other times you have to stay in there and throw it."
When you got named the starter, there was, former NFL WR and current ESPN analyst Cris Carter was one, just said some things about you. Do you have thick skin? Did you hear those things? What did you think when you heard that?
"I didn't hear it. But, it's just part of the job description. You're always in the limelight. You're the hero or the goat. It's either the quarterback or the head coach, usually. You get more credit when you win. You get more fault when you lose. But, it's just the nature of the position. I think that's why I enjoy it so much and what makes it so challenging is it's on the quarterback's shoulders every game. You're touching the football every play. And that's why I enjoy it, because of the challenge week in and week out to perform."
Did you take it personally?
"No. I mean, everybody's going to have their opinion, good or bad. You've just got to take it with a grain of salt."
Did you make any boneheaded mistakes against the Seahawks?
"There's a couple throws I'd like to have back, but for the most part there weren't any critical errors, turning the football over. So, from that standpoint, no critical errors, but there were some definite throws I'd like to have better ball placement on."
How does your mindset change now that QB Colin Kaepernick's out for the season and what that means in terms of your approach?
"Just like I've always said, it's day by day. I prepare the same way week in and week out. I trust my routine. I know my routine and the way I prepare every week gets me ready for the games. I'm going to stick that and just keep rolling with it throughout the rest of the season."
Take us into that preparation a little bit. What's your typical day like?
"Mondays is an off day, but it's usually lift and film. Tuesday we have meetings, but it's a day for the quarterbacks to catch up on film, watch games, watch tapes. We also do that Monday night. And then throughout our week we like to come in early just to get good stuff on our own, see the film from kind of an unbiased point of view. And then when we watch it with the coaches it's kind of a second time through. So, you can pick up on little tendencies, little keys here and there and I enjoy that. It's part of my job description, but I love that process and that's something that I enjoy doing throughout the week is trying to get tips on a certain defense, certain coordinator, certain player and just makes that chess game a little more fun."
How have you seen QB Dylan Thompson grow since he got here? Now he's going to take on a bigger role, kind of helping you.
"Yeah. Dylan, he has done a tremendous job and I've tried to take him under my wing, just kind of show him the ropes because coming in as a rookie, I know how that went. I was fortunate to have veterans kind of show me the way. He's done a great job preparing, week in and week out. Even when he was on the practice squad, we were watching film on a consistent basis just getting ready because you never know when your chance is going to come and I'm looking forward to working with him the rest of the year."
Earlier in this season, Arizona Cardinals S Tyrann Mathieu and I think some of the other guys talked about how predictable your offense was. Is there anything that you guys, knowing that you were going to be facing them later in the year, you guys could look at and kind of see what they saw and correct the things that they may or may not have seen?
"I think that any time you play a team the second time, you pick up on keys, pick up on coverages they like to run, pick up on coordinator tendencies. But, they're always going to break those tendencies. They do self scout too. So, you've got to be prepared and ready for anything. But, as a quarterback you just throw it to the open guy. It sounds so simple, but it's so complicated at the same time. And that's where this film study throughout the week when you're preparing for a complicated, really good defense like the Arizona Cardinals have, just makes it kind of a challenge and we're up to it."
You've seen it from the sidelines and the field on Sunday, why do you think this team struggles to get up for road games and what's the difference between playing at home and on the road?
"I wouldn't say we don't get up for road games. We don't have the best record on the road right now and that's something we're always looking to get better at. Road games are tough, having to travel, but at the same time it's fun going into a hostile environment, a loud environment where your backs are up against the wall. But, moving forward here, I look forward to us getting better on the road."
You mentioned there are throws where you have to stand in there and throw when some guy's about to blast you. As I'm sure you may have heard, that was a criticism of yours in Jacksonville. It seems like that's a tough thing to practice, but it seems like you've done a good job at that. I guess, A is was that a fair criticism and if so, how have you improved?
"The biggest thing about the criticisms are when you're not having a good season or you're 2-14 like we were in Jacksonville or 5-11, there's going to be fingers pointed at certain things and whatever those things are, they're out of your control. But, that's just part of the job description as the quarterback. Every quarterback's got to make tough throws when guys are coming free. It's just part of that job. You enjoy it because in those situations, usually big plays happen."
* Transcripts provided by the San Francisco 49ers
