The following are quotes from San Francisco 49ers players following the team's loss on Sunday to the New Orleans Saints.
S Antoine Bethea
Do you feel like this team is getting outcoached?
"No, definitely not. We have some great coaches and they put us in the right position. As players, we've got to make plays. You can't put this on the coaches, not at all."
How do you break down the 75-yard touchdown run by Saints RB Mark Ingram?
"The play was called, something happened and we weren't able to get him down. Me being a post safety, I tried my best to get him down as well. Definitely a mishap on the defense, but at the end of the day we've got to get him down."
There was that scenario at the end of the half where you guys committed three holding penalties at once. Is that by design?
"Yeah, that's by design. That's something that we work on during the week. It worked out just how we wanted it to. It's a designed play. It's a smart football play."
LB Eli Harold
It's the same thing week after week. Obviously it gets old, but what's the emotion with teams gauging you with the run game?
"It's real frustrating. We put such emphasis on it and we work our tails off week in and week out in practice. The game plan gets simpler and simpler, but the ball doesn't bounce our way. It's unexplainable. It sucks. You've got to swallow it and go onto the next week."
Do you feel like you're being put in a position to succeed?
"Oh yeah. We're pros, this is our job. I feel like no matter what's called, you should execute it. It all falls back to technique, reading your keys and doing all of the little things that made you successful up to this point. Like I've said since Day 1, I love [San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Jim O'Neil] J.O. I love his scheme and I still feel that way. I truly and honestly believe that it's not the scheme."
What are the breakdowns up front? People being in the wrong place at the wrong time?
"Yeah, I feel like that's the main issue. Like I said, being a tad bit too fast or a tad bit too slow. That's been our issue."
How do you correct that issue?
"Take your coaching and trust what you see. It all goes back to technique."
RB DuJuan Harris
How did it feel being back in the end zone again?
"It felt good. I got one in the preseason. I know that doesn't can't but to me it all counts. It felt real good, we just didn't score enough."
What was working for you in the passing game today?
"We just stuck to our fundamentals. Everyone did their job on each play and when you do that you get a big game. We have to tighten up on some things and as usual get back to the film and fix our mistakes and not shoot ourselves in the foot. It is tough to win a game against a future yellow coat in Drew Brees. We just have to fix our mistakes and stop shooting ourselves in the foot."
Do you ever feel like no matter what you do that it is just not enough, because of how potent their offense is and what they can do?
"No. We could have won that game. Anybody outside of our locker room believe we could have lost, then oh well. I don't care what people think. In this locker room we know that we could have won that game. We could have won a lot of games this season. We are just killing ourselves, that is the main thing."
Did you know that you were going to get as many touches as you got today?
"I was prepared for whatever coach called. I am a team guy. Whatever the coach calls, I am going to try to the right thing."
TE Vance McDonald
You guys seemed in good sync with the tight ends and with Colin Kaepernick tonight. Was there anything special happening in this game tonight that wasn't happening in previous game?
"No, I don't think so at all. I just think that we played well offensively, we were clicking. I don't think we had a punt until the third quarter, a couple of those were turnovers and then an interception but we just have to take care of the ball when we get as close to the end zone as we were tonight."
I guess that was the key, you can't turn the ball over against a team like this and that was probably the difference?
"Yes, especially with Drew Brees and their offense. That is something that we talked about all week. It's a team game and we knew that our defense was going to be going against a great offense. It is something that we can control."
On your long play, Quinton Patton made that last shield block to let you get in the end zone. A team that has given up doesn't do that. I look at that like it was a good thing that happened on that play.
"Sure, you can look at that and, like you were saying, make it stand for what it is and that is that guys are not giving up. We have a little back and forth because he did the same thing against the Carolina Panthers. He always says, 'I got your back. You will outrun everyone except for me and I will block for you.' It was good and I thought that we had a lot of energy today. It's just little things, like taking care of the ball."
Is there anything that you can put your finger on this was the best offensive output you guys had all season?
"We just executed. We just came out with a lot of energy today. We had fun. We had a great week of practice. We had a great week of preparation. We just came out flying around. It felt good. As we looked into everyone's eyes you could see that we were ready to play today."
WR Quinton Patton
How do you feel that this offense helps the receivers get open?
"If you are a receiver, you know how to play receiver, this is the perfect offense for you. It gives you a little bit of freedom and at the same time everything is everything."
How big are these games for you to try to prove to everybody that you are a part of the future here?
"I don't even think about the final games. I just had this game on my mind. Next week I have AZ on my mind and after that I don't know who we play. It is just game by game and whatever happens, happens."
What do you think was open for you today?
"I have to watch the film and see. I can't really tell you right now."
Is there anything that you can put your finger on this was the best offensive output you guys had all season?
"We just executed. We just came out with a lot of energy today. We had fun. We had a great week of practice. We had a great week of preparation. We just came out flying around. It felt good. As we looked into everyone's eyes you could see that we were ready to play today."
At 1-7 how do you keep bringing that energy each week?
"Next week we can only think about having that one game. That is it. We can't think about being 1-7, just win the next game. We can only play one game in a week unless we play on Thursday but we have already played that. We just have to take it one game at a time."
T Joe Staley
You see some advancements with the offense, but how do you personally cope with this loss?
"It's never fun to lose. We moved the ball a bit better today, but the story is that we came away with zero points three different times like 10 yards out. There's the story right there. We were able to move the ball, but then when we got down into the red zone, which has been a strength for us, having long drives and being able to convert touchdowns out of those drives, we weren't able to convert today. That's what's frustrating."
It doesn't seem like there's enough fire after losing seven straight games. What's the sense you get from this team?
"We're frustrated. Guys are very frustrated with this losing streak. We've got to be able to turn it around and get one win. I think guys are juiced up. I think we went down early 21-3. Instead of sitting there and saying 'Oh no, here it goes again' we kind of fought back and were able to get it within a score. We had opportunities there. We knew it was going to be kind of a back and forth game, their offense being what it is, but we've got to be better with the football. The turnover differential was four. You're not going to win football games playing like that."
San Francisco 49ers RB DuJuan Harris did well running and also receiving out of the backfield. How did you see him spark this offense? What did he bring in this game?
"He's always been really good out of the backfield as far as catching the ball. He was able to pop a couple of big runs there. He was staying patient with the power game. I thought he was doing a good job in there for us. We can talk about all the positives we were able to do, but we still lost the game by multiple touchdowns. It's not something we can hang our hat on."
Would it be accurate to say there's a little bit of continuity developing on the offensive line? There have been some new faces in there with a rookie and a lot of change, but it feels like maybe there's some continuity happening there?
"I think we challenged the guys up front. We kind of challenged the young guys [49ers T] Trent [Brown] and [49ers G] Josh [Garnett] to really step up this week. We had a big test over there with 94 [Saints DE Cameron Jordan]. I think he's all around probably the best defensive end player in the NFL as far as run and pass. I think they did a pretty good job against him. He's a handful. I did not do a good job against him. I think they did a good job against him. They stepped up, they played well. I think overall we improved a little bit, but we've got to finish the drives in the red zone."
* Transcripts provided by the San Francisco 49ers
