San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh spoke to reporters following Thursday's practice, as the team begins preparations for their Week 1 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Here's everything he had to say.

Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.


You guys chose DL Jordan Jefferson over DL Evan Anderson and it looks like Jefferson's a lot quicker, a lot more of a pass rusher. What do you like more about Jefferson?

"We'll get to learn him. You know, there was a lot of love for him coming out of the Draft, a big, powerful man, very good at the point of attack. He is coming from a completely different technique. So, we'll take a couple days to learn him and I'll have a better answer for you, I guess is my long answer."

You have so much a new cast on the defensive front. Are your expectations going into this season that they're going to be better at one aspect over the other in terms of either rushing the passer better or stopping the run better?

"Are you talking as an individual or as a group?"

No, the whole defensive front.


"What my opinion is?"

You can say whatever you'd like.

"There's individual traits. As the season goes, I'd like to say we have an idea of the way it's going to look and the way we're going to play our guys and rotate them. But that can change after Week 1. But we feel like we have a good idea of what it's going to look like and we're going to roll out the dice on Sunday and see how it works."

How have DL Mykel Williams and DL C.J. West made up for lost time?

"They're fine. Mykel's going to be fine. C.J., same thing. Anytime for those rookies especially on the D-Line, there's so much nuance on the inside. Anyone who's willing to listen, I've always argued that the interior D-Line is probably the second hardest position for a rookie to excel at just because of how fast everything happens in there and just the different body types and blocking combinations they get. So, they've got a lot of ground that they have to make up."


On that note, CB Upton Stout wasn't able to play in the preseason. Mykel, C.J., S Marques Sigle and DL Alfred Collins missed the offseason. It's never ideal, right? It's not ideal preparation for these guys. How would you assess it and do you expect maybe a few more bumps early on?

"Trying to stay positive (laughter). We're going to pull our inner [DL] Nick Bosa who missed all of his rookie training camp and turned out all right. Probably more of an outlier, right? But no, it's never ideal. They're rookies. They're going to have bumps. But, we've got to coach our butts off. The good news is it's a really cool group of young men who are very deliberate in their approach. So, we have faith in the fact that as long as those booboos are in front of them, we feel like they'll learn from those mistakes and continue to get better."

LB Nick Martin played in all three preseason games. Is that an example of when you can do that, the growth?

"Oh yeah. No, reps are gold. You know, the more reps, the more they see it, the better and faster they'll get. Everybody in the world blinks when the picture changes in every profession, some blink and react, some blink and pause, some blink and freeze. The objective for a lot of these rookies who come in with different variances between their blinking, if you will, reps kind of decrease the time when the picture changes. To answer your question on Nick, that first game was so fast, and he already moves 100-miles an hour, so just to reel it in a little bit and slow it down for him a little bit, he's only going to get better."

You alluded to the idea of that how important it is to have a vet like a Bosa in each room. LB Fred Warner with the linebackers, DB Deommodore Lenoir in the secondary. How has that kind of manifested here at over the last month-plus in terms of like helping those young guys along? What have you seen?


"I think it's been great. Just speaking of Nick, I think he's taken more of a vocal role. I feel like I've seen him having more conversations with teammates. And maybe that's just the way it's been, I'm assuming, because he is kind of an introvert for the most part. But Fred's always talking, trying to help people around him. But, it is a really cool group of veterans that we have. Thankfully we've got a bunch of rookies that understand. Nick Bosa is a really good example. I think he's a really big impact on Alfred in terms of just his regen, his workout regimen, his eating regimen and all that. Because of it, I do think Alfred has taken a major step over the last month in remaking his body, his energy and his overall stamina and strength. So, he's trending up big time. Anytime a veteran is vocal and shares what he's done to get where he is, it's only beneficial. Especially, if the rookie's willing to listen."

You mentioned a few months ago that you tried to say a couple years ahead of offensive trends. How have NFL offenses changed since you last built the defense here the first time? And is it less of a passing league now?

"Yeah, I think teams are going more to run. You kind of feel that. All of us defenses were, we're all sitting back playing a bunch of two-shell and it was kind of like a punch in the mouth in Week 1 last year. [Head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] ran the ball, I think, 41 times on us, it was like four yards a carry and it was just a death by a million paper cuts. But you know, I do think these coordinators are starting to get back to running the football and establishing that to get people from playing those two-shells. So, it does seem to be the evolution as it's going back to the run game."

We just talked to Marques Sigle in the locker room. He said from game one to game three of the preseason, he felt the game slowed down for him. Are you seeing the same thing?

"Yeah, and then it's going to go really, really fast on Sunday (laughter), but he's done a really nice job. All these rookies, if they thought preseason was fast, the regular season is about 100-times faster. So, the good news is that they're capable and they're willing to learn and they're quick studies, so they'll be fine as the time goes."


What growth have you seen from Marques specifically?

"Communication. Just being on your job, being able to communicate on the sideline when something happens, to have the recall to have those conversations. It happened at practice today, we were talking about a route on how to play a certain route concept. He basically cut me off to talk about what his technique was, what he could have done better, where he was in the play, and you come back in and you watch the play really quick and it's like 'alright,' he's recalling it, he's understanding it, he's understands where his body's at. So, there's going to be a lot of those moments where he is like, 'man, I could have.' We all trust that if he's in the same situation he was in practiced today that he'll be in the position that he knows he should have been in. They're all really cool in that regard."

Is that common amongst rookies you coach in that spot to have that level of recall?

"Not all the time. Some, like I said, are quick like him and some take a couple, we will need to see it three or four times. But, he's proven that, I mean, shoot, he missed all of OTAs and for him to step in and do what he's been doing has been pretty impressive."

Back to Alfred Collins, his body composition and not being able to work out for so long because it was a calf injury, is that part of one of the bigger challenges of getting him up to speed?


"Yeah, again, because of the interior of the D-Line and for those guys he is playing the best of the best. He's not playing guards and centers that aren't playing football anymore. He's playing the best of the best of the best and it's happening in such a short area, and these are the strongest people he's ever gone against. So, his strength isn't even all there yet because he hasn't been able to push his lower half strength to the level that he needs to, to be able to perform in there. But, you feel him getting stronger, you feel him getting his legs underneath him, you feel the juice and the twitch in his body come to life. We feel like he's just reached baseline, so for him to just continue to grow and get better, we think he'll do that."

Some of your players have talked about that you're very with the trends and what's coming next. Why do you need to evolve or adjust things? I'm just wondering, when you went to the Packers last year which, I'm sure there's more than one reason you did, but was that in any way so you just stayed involved in the NFL and didn't like lose contact with what's going on?

"No. I've said it before, I'm not afraid to say it. That was more mental health for me, and I'm thankful for [Green Bay Packers head coach] Matt LaFleur and [Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst] Gutey and the entire organization at the Packers to open that door to help me through that moment. So, I've always joked that I was probably more of a distraction for them than I was an actual help, but forever grateful for all of them because they stepped up when I needed them."

What have you seen from LB Luke Gifford? He's been running around with the defense. He's a special teams guy throughout his career. He spoke to how special teams allow him to maybe get a little bit more looks on defense. What have you seen from him?

"Yeah, Giff is a solid, solid football player. Reliable, he's where he is supposed to be, a long, fast athlete, great communicator and he is not just a special teams guy. He can play defense too. So, there's a reason why he's been in the League for so long, and I think he's going to be in the League for a lot longer. But we're thankful he's here."

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