San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens speaks with the media before Wednesday's practice as the team prepares for the Seattle Seahawks.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
When you look at your performance, what do you think you could have done better?
"I think just really controlling the moment. We got behind schedule a good bit and never really found a rhythm. I think I can do a better job of operating the offense. There were times where we just didn't look as polished as we needed to and that falls and starts with me."
Is there anything you've gone through in your football career that you could use to get ready for the environment in Seattle?
"Yeah, you could say that. I've played in a lot of the most prominent stadiums in the country as far as college football goes. So yeah, obviously it has the reputation that it has in CenturyLink, and it's going to be cool to play there. But, we're excited and ready to attack the opportunity and really just focus on us and how we execute."
Would you say Tuscaloosa was the most hostile environment that you played in?
"Alabama, LSU, Nebraska. Those were the top three for sure."
How many times through the course of that game on Sunday did you have to run to the sideline and get the play call directly from head coach Kyle Shanahan?
"Just once."
What do you do when that communication doesn't come through? What's your checklist as far as how you handle that in the huddle?
"Yeah, it's a struggle. But, you have to do your best to communicate. We have a set of play calls that we just go to if we don't get the call. But, for the most part, it was just one time really where I had to go to the sideline."
Kyle mentioned the PA guy was very loud. Did you experience that?
"I did. I noticed it was loud. But, I don't think it effected my play and operation too much. But, it was loud."
Just a warning, the LA guy is really loud too.
"Thanks. Appreciate it."
I know that we've belabored the crowd noise, headphone thing that you do. When you do that though, are you practicing visualizing the play with a lot of noise or are you practicing saying the play with a lot of noise?
"A bit of both. To be able to say the play, you have to be able to visualize the play and that's how the quarterback operates in this offense."
A lot of people think that running a huddle is just sort of repeating the play call that you heard from the coach. I was hoping that you could kind of articulate what you have to do?
"Yeah, the way the system works, you hear the play, you picture the play and then you call the play, if that makes sense. You see it in your head and then you call it."
Are you saying different things to different people inside the huddle?
"I don't know, I just call the play. It's called and we roll from there."
Kyle was just talking how on Sunday after the game it was kind of this doom and gloom feeling because the game was so disjointed. But, then after he watched the film, he kind of got a better sense of it, got a better picture. Do you kind of have that same feeling?
"Yeah, to an extent. It was very frustrating. Like I said, we just never got on a rhythm. But, you watch the film and you see where you can improve and that's why we're so excited about this week. We get to come back, go to work today and be very productive and that way we're executing at our best on Sunday. So, we're very excited."
Is it easier after watching film to kind of pick apart what you can improve on, what happened?
"Yeah for sure. There's definitely areas in my game and in the offensive game as a whole unit where we can improve. We know that and we're going to emphasize those things today."
Being around, obviously last year you didn't play, but knowing Seattle's defense from last year and running it in practice, how has that defense with a lot of new faces changed what they tried to do?
"Yeah, definitely. Every defense is going to present new challenges. Their personnel has obviously changed over the years. But, they're very strict and sound. We know exactly where they're going to be at in terms of landmarks and things like that. But, at the same time, they're going to mix things up when you get into some different personnel and things like that. So, we just have to be ready for what they throw at us and really just focus on us and how we execute."
We've heard several times, not just from Kyle, but from your teammates that you're the same guy since you walked in here. How do you interpret that? Is it your work ethic? What are they talking about?
"I think no matter what comes at you, you have to be the same guy. I think that just comes natural to be honest. The most successful people in this league, I guess you can say, are very steadfast, not too high, not too low at any point. But, just stay the course, work hard, do what they're supposed to do and go out and execute. So, that's what I try to do, just get never too high, never too low and be very consistent in the way I handle my business."
Did you have a history with Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston before the game?
"A little bit, yeah. We're both from Birmingham so we crossed paths a couple of times and then I saw him and talked to him in the offseason. So, it's really cool to see people from Birmingham doing big things. I've obviously been a fan of his for a while since he's older than me. I tracked his career and things like that so yeah, it was cool."
It looked like you guys had more than just the usual, 'Good game,' after the game. What did he say to you?
"He said he was just proud to see me out here, getting the opportunity that I worked for. I obviously said the same thing to him. It's been cool to see him have success the way he has and I just kind of touched base. We're both from Birmingham and we take a lot of pride in that."
WR Dante Pettis had one of his better games in Tampa. Can you explain what you saw from him?
"Yeah, I think we saw him make great strides and that's awesome for him and the whole offense. It's something that he can build off of and gain confidence. I thought he used his speed well. Obviously on the touchdown he broke the guy off and that's very impressive in man coverage. So, that's what we're counting on him to do, be able to separate in man coverage. I thought he did a great job of that on Sunday. So, we're pretty excited to see him keep building."
