The San Francisco 49ers are preparing to play the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Head coach Kyle Shanahan, special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo spoke with reporters before today's practice. Here is everything they had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Head Coach Kyle Shanahan
Opening Comments:
"Injuries for today, [DL Maurice] Mo Hurst, calf, won't be out there. [DT Javon] Kinlaw, knee, won't practice. T [Trent] Williams, ankle, won't practice. [LB] Azeez [Al-Shaair], concussion, won't practice. [WR] Deebo [Samuel] has a calf, won't practice. [DL] Dee Ford, concussion won't practice. [S Jaquiski] Tartt, knee, won't practice. [LB] Marcell [Harris], thumb, limited and [QB] Trey Lance, knee, limited. Go ahead."
Is Deebo's calf injury a concern?
"He can't go today. He was out there in walk-through, I'm pretty optimistic he'll be alright though."
With Kinlaw, I know you're talking about the next steps. Is it conceivable the next step would be a season-ending surgery?
"Yes. Right now, he's down in L.A., trying to figure that out, whether he's going to get surgery or not, and what kind of surgery. And I think we'll get some news on that pretty soon."
As far as Azeez and the linebacker situation, I think there was discussion that LB Dre Greenlaw, his practice window would open this week? Is that still the case?
"It's not looking like it right now."
Do you have any updates on Greenlaw, DL Kevin Givens and RB Jeff Wilson Jr.?
"Givens starts today, his window. I'm hoping Greenlaw will come back next week. Jeff, probably will be a couple of weeks."
Are you optimistic that you'll get contributions from Jeff this season?
"Yes. Yeah. It's going well, these last two weeks have been good. So hopefully he's on track to be back here in a couple of weeks. Maybe the outside chance to practice next week, but you know how that goes."
Nothing with WR Jalen Hurd?
"No, nothing with Hurd."
How much is Trey able to do today?
"That's what we're going to see. We're going to put him in a couple of reps there on scout team and see how he feels moving around. See how he does in individual and see how it goes that way. If he feels alright and no soreness after practice we'll pick it up tomorrow."
Obviously, there's a lot of interest in the quarterback situation and how you handle this. Do you get those questions from ownership and general manager John Lynch as well? Do you guys talk a lot about just the organizational strategy on how to handle both QB Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey?
"Yeah. We're always on the same page with that stuff, there's not that much to talk to them about it. They know how I feel and I know how they feel. I get all the questions and everything like that, but we didn't draft Trey to just fix this year. We drafted him so he could be the quarterback here of the future. And I get that's a matter of time, but we're not playing him just because of what our record is or just because of that. So that's why our first thing in our discussions is how healthy is he and how's he going to look today? But just because of how our last four games have gone, that doesn't really effect whether we're playing Trey or not right now."
Do you get any suggestions or input from ownership and management on how to proceed or is it just totally your call?
"Everything's your boss's call, but there isn't a disagreement, I think, in everything we talk about. So, I think we're pretty much on the same page with all that."
You talked a lot during training camp about the progress Trey made from OTAs to the start of training camp. What's his progress been like since the start of training camp to now?
"I think it's been good. I think it was real unfortunate that, at the time he got to play, I thought he was ready to take off a little bit after that getting that experience. I thought that that was going to be great for him to come back the next week, especially with Jimmy banged up a little bit, but he had an unfortunate injury and it's lasting a little longer than expected. So, I'm excited to get him out there today. But he hasn't done anything in a couple of weeks, so we'll see where his progress is now."
In what areas does a rookie quarterback who's not playing in games make the most progress? Is the scout team work valuable for him, and if so, what is it that's valuable?
"Everything's valuable. Trey has played one year in college at a smaller school. Had a year off after that. Not because of him, but just because of the rules of their COVID and everything. Got about five practices in OTAs and we went through training camp. So the more football you can play the better, especially at this level. I think scout team's great for guys, because they're going in against a different game plan every week. They're trying different plays every week. And it's stuff where you can try the plays out, get a feel for the pocket and when to break and stuff like that. And I think if you look at a lot of rookie quarterbacks and you talk to a lot, not always do guys get to play much on scout team. And I think everyone who has, would tell you that it was very beneficial."
I know you're not a doctor and neither am I, but my initial diagnosis based on what you said about Trey was it sounded like a grade one MCL. Is that what it was?
"I don't think they labeled it that way, but we were hoping that it would be alright next week and it wasn't. I think they said sprain knee. They didn't tell me grade one MCL though."
It was reported yesterday that the New England Patriots offered a second-round pick for Jimmy Garoppolo sometime around the draft and the 49ers said no. Is there any truth to that?
"No, none. I'd also like to not keep answering questions about a book. I promise if that was the case, then I would have talked to their head coach."
You indicated on Monday, you said even, a situation where maybe you're out of the playoffs, getting Trey quarterback experience just to get experience isn't always beneficial. And obviously there are examples throughout NFL history where that's correct former NFL QB David Carr got ruined or whatever, but then Hall of Fame QBs Troy Aikman, John Elway, and Peyton Manning went through their struggles and obviously survived. How do you make the determination of whether, 'Hey, actually, this guy is going to be okay and this will be beneficial, or eh this is maybe just not their time?'
"Well, you never know until they get in. And that does take time. You want to put a guy in the best circumstances for him so you have better percentages and chances of it working out in a good way for him. Whether it is good or bad, you don't know, you want that to lead to him having a good offseason and what goes into the next season. But the reason I answered that is because I understand the 2000 different ways for us to ask the same type of question. And I get that because we've lost four games in a row and we're sitting here at 2-4 and that's the easy thing to talk about, but that's not a very smart thing of us. You don't just do that because you're not playing the way you want to play and think you're just going to put in a rookie and he's going to be the answer to everything. I don't think that's fair to him and I don't think that's right for our team."
I have another quarterback question but it's totally different.
"Alright, good. I'm sure it's real different."
After you got Jimmy in 2017, you said your wife was even saying, 'come on, when are you going to actually play him?' Is she interested in when Trey Lance is going to get in?
"No, she's not actually. She gets more answers from me, but I think it was a little different circumstance. We were 0-9 at the time and we traded for a guy who had been in the NFL for three years and had been patiently waiting and needed to get out there. It wasn't about that and for him it was about giving him a chance to actually know what direction to look and to learn our offense so he had an idea of where people were when you called a different language for him. And I think that took him about three weeks."
That first start he made for you was the same place you're going this weekend. In that time since then, how has he grown in your eyes? What ways is he better now than maybe he was, even in 2019?
"You go into those times and that was his first time there and he's just playing catch up every week. Throughout practice the whole week and everything, he didn't really have a grasp of what we were doing until that Saturday night. And that's why we were so impressed, what he did in those five and a half games I think it was or six games. The next year he tore his ACL within two games. The year after that he got off to a slow start in '19, not having the offseason, recovering from his ACL. But about halfway through there, he got going and was able to stay healthy that whole year and played as one full season. And then since then, I haven't gotten many games in a row with him. And I know he's battled through a lot of that stuff. I think he's had a great offseason. I thought he's been having a good year, up to when he got hurt versus Seattle. And he had a tough game there in that rainstorm, which not giving excuses, but when it comes to throwing the ball, I know that's not fun for anybody. But that's where we're at right now."
Is it fair to say that you simply don't think Trey Lance is ready to start full-time yet?
"I don't think it's the right thing for him to start full-time right now, especially when I don't even know if he can get through practice today. So, I told you guys I understood why the questions are coming, but that's why I don't understand why that keeps coming because I want to see if he's healthy today first. And then when he's healthy for at least more than one day, then we'll start to see when it's the best time for him, which I don't think that's crazy at all to think now's the best time for him when he's going to come out to practice limited for first time in two weeks."
When you look at the pass interference penalties, do you guys have a plan in place? Do you change things up in practice or just the topic of conversation? How do you limit those?
"Yeah, we're changing up all our individual drills today. No footwork stuff, we're throwing jump balls and having them trying to locate the ball, which is the only way to practice it. You don't do one-on-one every day, we do one-on-one on Thursday, so we'll get them a lot more live full-speed reps at that. And not work at the other stuff. Just work at that because it's way too bad right now. No matter what the situation is, it's tough to win games if you don't fix that."
Do you have an update on TE George Kittle? Do you expect him back at practice next week?
"Yeah, I expect him to come back next week. They haven't guaranteed that to me yet, but just watching him, talking to him, I'd be surprised if he didn't."
What were your impressions of Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields?
"Right now?"
Just coming out, the way you evaluated him.
"Yeah. I can't sit here and talk too much about another quarterback in that way, but I really liked Justin. I thought that he was extremely tough, very talented, getting to know him through it, I thought he was a great guy. He's getting thrown in there and playing and he's having some up and down moments, which is expected. But you have to always be ready for him. If he breaks away, he's got the size and he's got the speed to out run almost anybody, he throws a great deep ball, has got a big arm, can make every throw and he's getting better each week."
Obviously, you always want your star players to be your star players. Have you gotten enough from that group so far this year? And how much do you look to them to kind of be the guys that pull you out of this?
"Yeah, you do that a lot. I think Deebo has been doing some good things for us. It was a pretty big hit when we lost [RB] Raheem [Mostert] on that second play. I think [DL Nick] Bosa is getting better each week. I think Bosa has been pretty unbelievable, but you always want your star players to play like A players every week. And then everyone else, you need to play as good as they can, but your star players you need to play like star players every week."
What can you say about the Bears?
"I think the numbers don't lie and I think actually their defense is better than their numbers. I know they battled some injuries and some COVID stuff, but there's a reason they've been in the hunt almost every year here, going back these last five years. It's because their defenses is one of the best defenses I've seen here in the last couple of years when they've got everything going. I know they lost a lot last week points wise, but I also watched Tampa start with the ball three out of the first four times inside the 40-yard line and they came down 21-0 right after that, pretty fast. But their defense is as good as it gets right now, in my opinion. And I think they've got a really good running game. They've got a quarterback who can make plays. I know their numbers on offense are not very good. But I think they're better than their numbers in terms of what they do really well. What they do really well is run the ball, which we've got to do a lot better at on defensive on stopping that. And they take more shots down the field than anyone in the NFL. So, we haven't been good with, if we'd stopped the shots down the field, we've usually done it with a P.I. So that's something that's got to break this week, one way or the other for each team."
The drill with the pass interference, most of the pass interference penalties have been on veteran guys, but so it's like, 'well, what can they learn at this point?' But do you just reach a point where like, 'well, maybe we do have to go back to the basics,' no matter if you've been in the league?
"Yeah. When we're doing that bad at it, you can't just bench everybody and you can't just sit there and keep your fingers crossed and hope it changes. So yeah, you do go back to the basics and I definitely think we've got guys, as you said, some veterans that are capable of not getting them. I look at like [CB] Josh's [Norman] when he got beat. And he's just got to let that guy make the play and make the tackle. Sometimes when you get beat, you try to P.I. on purpose to not give up the touchdown. But I thought he recovered enough, he just has to try to make the tackle and hope that guy drops it. And [CB Emmanuel] Moseley, he was in position a couple of times and just grabbed the guy. I know he can fix that. He doesn't have to do that. And we've got to get him more comfortable doing that. And Tartt's was a little tougher because he was beat. And when you get beat and that ball is underthrown, you have to look back or you are going to run into that guy and get that P.I. call. So each one's different, there are things that can get better, but when it's week after week, we've got to do everything we can in practice to get those guys better."
What needs to happen with WR Brandon Aiyuk just to get more production out of him, whether it's on his end or on your end as a coach with play calling?
"I want Aiyuk to keep getting better. I don't think he's quite back to where he was last year. And I expected him to be better this year than last year. I think he's still trying to get back to that point, which I think he's closer to that point right now than he was a couple of weeks ago because he has been working hard and trying to get there. And if he keeps doing that I believe things will get better for him and us."
He told us in the offseason that he gained some weight, got a little bit stronger, a little bit heavier. Has that been problematic at all with him? His deep speed or anything like that?
"Possibly. I don't think he quite looks to where he was at last year, so that could be a reason. That's something that's different. I'm sure it's a few things though, but he needs to get there."
Based on what you said about Kinlaw, it sounds like a guy like DL Kentavius Street is poised for a larger role. Where is he in his development, obviously he's had injuries and all that stuff, but is he at a point where maybe he could take the next step?
"Yeah, he needs to. I thought Kentavius took the next step this offseason, which we have some depth and he had to do that to make our team. We had some good guys and I thought he clearly did make it, which gave us a pretty deep group. But when you look at our three techniques, you know, starting with Kinlaw and then Kevin Givens, then to Maurice Hurst, then Street. We knew Kinlaw was our starter and it was a little different based off of situations. So we want to go to those next three, but now he's got a big challenge. Losing those three guys in front of him is tough. Getting Kevin back this week should help, so we've got another guy in there. But he's improved enough to get where he's at and we need him to take it to another level to help our team out."
Special Teams Coordinator Richard Hightower
What are the challenges that you face this week against the bears?
"Obviously those guys have got some good units. [Chicago Bears WR] Jakeem Grant [Sr.] is one of the huge challenges. He has five career touchdowns, special teams touchdowns, in his career. He has great stop-start ability, he does both punt returns and kick returns. He's a dynamic player and we've got to make sure that we put our best foot forward. And we're excited about the challenge about going against him. They have some great specialists as well. And then they've got some core guys over there. As you guys know, I spent a little bit of time there, got a lot of respect for that organization and the way they treated me. Some of those players are still there and they've got some players there and we've got to make sure that we continue to do everything we're doing with our plan and put our plan in and get ready to go to work against these guys. But I'm really excited about this week and going to practice. They present some challenges, but like I said last week, all teams present challenges. We've got to be up for the challenge. We've got to take advantage of our opportunities."
There were obviously some odd conditions last Sunday night. The play with WR Brandon Aiyuk there, what's the coaching point there and maybe just take into account the weather or not taking into account? How do you view it for, you know, making sure stuff like that?
"Yeah, certainly odd, really odd conditions. But I thought our guys were prepared for that moment. They were prepared for the week in terms of the weather and what it was going to be like. On that particular play which the coaching point is you like Aiyuk to get over there and field the ball and catch it. If you catch it right there, it's a 45-yard punt. Obviously he didn't catch it right there. But what I was really impressed about was our team and their reaction for three or four seconds. Yeah, nobody wants to be in that situation when that ball's rolling around back there, but there was absolutely no panic in our guys. Aiyuk did the right thing by recovering it in the end zone. He knew it was a touchback. All of our players knew it was a touchback, and it just goes to show that they listen in meetings. We cover things like that in meetings. And it was just really good as a coach to see that there was no panic in the guys at that point, because really you're on the sideline and you're just waiting to see what's going to happen. And they handled that situation well, Brandon handled that situation the best he can handle it there. And I mean, something I'll share with you guys, I guess I'll share this with you guys because it meant a lot to me, [former special teams coordinator] Joe Marciano who I learned from, was the first guy I learned from, he's a 30-year veteran coaching special teams in this league and has done a hell of a job and got respect from a lot of different people. I had a text message from him after the game that said Aiyuk knew the rules. It's a great job to see your team respond in that way, keep them going, keep your finger on it, keep your finger on them, keep your foot on the gas and let's go. Something to that effect. But that meant a whole lot to me coming from Joe, because I sat in his meetings for years and learned from, in my opinion, one of the best. And he knows special teams better than anybody. I shared that with Aiyuk and Aiyuk felt good about that."
You said that nobody on the field panicked. Was there some panic in you on the sidelines, seeing how your guys would respond?
"I never really panic, to be honest with you. But there is a moment, to be really honest with you, there's a moment where you just don't know what's going to happen. You know, as a moment there, we're just waiting to see what's going to happen. And they did the right thing and I was really proud that they did the right thing in that situation because that was a difficult situation. It's a play that you don't see a lot. I mean, I'm glad you asked the question. It's a play that you don't see often at all. And we sit in meetings and we watch other teams around the league all the time and we go through rules and we go through things and the players get asked questions and they like that meeting. So it was good to see that, it was good to see that they retain something from there. And it was just good to see. And we always do that. We're always going to watch around the league. We're always going to watch other teams, special teams units, keep up on the trends, see what's going on. And we'll watch those meetings from this year. We'll watch those plays from year's past, bring up plays. There's always something to learn. I told the guys, you know, on your best days, you're learning confidence, on your worst days you might be learning persistence, but there's always something to learn. So we just try to keep learning and try to keep getting better."
Are you going into this week knowing that Aiyuk's your power returner or is there a platoon with WR Mohamed Sanu Sr.?
"Aiyuk will find that out on the depth chart tomorrow, which is when we do the depth chart. I'm kidding with you, but yeah, Aiyuk is the punt returner. He'll be back there."
You were here in 2015 when the Levi's field was being scrutinized and it wasn't holding up. How did the grass, just the conditions fair? How did the fields fair during that wet game?
"I thought [senior manager & head groundskeeper Matt] Greiner and his crew did a hell of a job with that field. Even our players said that field was awesome during that downpour and it didn't feel any different. So obviously it was wetter, but it didn't feel like guys were slipping and sliding. And those are things we talked about in the meeting about getting to your spot, not having your feet outside the framework of your body, getting in good position, not getting elongated, not getting extended because of the slick conditions. And I think the players took a hold to that and they did a good job with it and the field was awesome. So they did a good job with the field."
I know net punting usually drops as the season goes on and the weather changes, but right now P Mitch Wishnowsky is at 42.6. What's your benchmark? What's a successful punt and what's not? What's your benchmark?
"Typically anything over 43 yards, 42 yards, 42 yards and above is going to put you in the top five in the NFL at the end of the year. So he's done well up to this point, but we still have a lot of games to play and he's excited to continue to play and see if we can get that net even higher. I mean, I was really impressed with what he did in the conditions and having a 48.3-yard average and then a 47-yard net, which goes pun and coverage and then only allowing five yards, five return yards. So that was an outstanding game by Mitch in those elements. But again, every week is a new week and that week is over. And that's a good question, but that week's over and we're ready to go to work this week."
QB Jimmy Garoppolo
What's these last couple of days been like for you as far as just getting back to work and probably shutting off the noise and focusing on yourself?
"Yeah. It's been a good couple of days getting back to it, on to Chicago. It's been a grind of a couple of days, but in a good way. It's good to move on to the next opponent and get this week rolling. We've got a good defense and we're going to their place. So it'll be a good challenge for us."
How difficult is that? Just to put a game like Sunday behind and move forward?
"Nothing crazy, I would say. I mean, every week's like that, whether it's a good or bad week, the week before come Monday morning, you've got to move on, look at everything, go through everything like you need to, but you've got to move on quickly in this league. It's on to the next one."
Your first start for the 49ers was in Chicago. This is the next trip back. What do you remember most from not just that start, but from how you played then and the four games after that?
"Well, we've come a long way. I mean, a lot's happened in four years here. It's pretty cool though. Just to go back there, talking to friends and family about it, and it's a cool experience. You know, a lot of memories come back when I think to the last time we played them. But it's a completely different team now, different coaching staff, different players. So it'll be fun to get back there. It'll be a hostile environment for sure."
Head coach Kyle Shanahan mentioned that, and he said this at the time back then, but he kind of reminded us that it was a crash course for you. That a lot of what you guys were running was first time. Can you kind of take us back through what that was like? Because you did see a lot of success in those games, but there also wasn't, I guess was a lot of that off-schedule, just because of how little knowledge of the offense you did have?
"I'd say it was a decent amount of off-schedule. I think there was a good amount of plays happening in rhythm, but yeah, I mean, I can remember times where I was learning something on the sideline for the first time and we were about to go run it in the next series. Thankfully I've come a long way since then. So the mental part of it is slowed down a ton. The verbiage of the offense has changed. So it's completely different than it was back then just calling plays in general, running plays. So it's different, but it's nice to go back to those times and just rethink those through."
In that game, this stuck with me, but regardless, this is going to go pretty poorly, but you were getting hit by like three guys and you threw like off your back foot over the middle to, I want to say former NFL WR Louis Murphy, who was very well covered. Do you remember that throw and you know, I don't know if you rank your throws, but I mean, is that, that was pretty good?
"Thankfully I do remember that play, so that's a good start, but no, it was, yeah, that was kind of a broken play. I forget who, what happened up front, but I remember the guy running free on my right side. Yeah. Sweet Lou was kind of sitting in the hole, found the hole of the defense and we made it come to life. Yeah. I mean, like I was saying that five-game stretch, there was a lot of plays like that, that were just, that's not really where the ball is intended to go, but whether it was me not knowing the offense entirely, something up front, whatever it was, there were some makeshift plays like that, I guess you could say. But yeah, definitely ranks up there in one of the top throws I've ever had."
Overall it went pretty well.
"Yeah, it was a good recovery."
As the leader of the team, how do you keep the morale up and make sure that this doesn't slide further as far as the losing streak goes and getting back on the winning track?
"I think like I was saying earlier, just moving on. That's a big part of it. You know, you can't dwell on it. It's obviously in everyone's head, that feeling that we had on Sunday night and you've got to use that to motivate you in a way. You've got to figure out whatever your process is throughout the week. You've got to use that to get you ready for this next game on Sunday. And I mean, if you just let those games drag back to back like that, you're going to be in for a long year."
In terms of your process, are you doing anything different now to maybe just change what's kind of happened to the team the last four games? I know you didn't play all four, but just kind of change what's going on maybe mojo-wise?
"It's not so much changing our process. It's changing what we do on the field. We've got to go execute. We're the players out, whatever eleven's out on the field, whatever play's called, we've got to go make that thing come to life and make the thing work. I'd say it's more about that at this point, you know, getting the game plan down, getting in the details, the nitty gritty stuff. And once we do that, then we can go, we'll be playing better on the field then."
The last few years this team has always had a swag about it. Do you guys still have that or is it tough to have when you've lost four in a row?
"Yeah, I think when you've lost four in a row, you can't lose who you are as a team and as a player in particular. I think that swagger that we have is going to come out when we start playing well. And it shows on the field. I mean, you see sparks of it when we're out there. Sunday night, there were points where it was coming out on offense, defense, whatever it is. And we just have to get back to doing that more and more consistently."
A follow-up on what you just said there, is it encouraging that you can point to those little things and say, or discouraging that you have a drive like you had in that first drive against the Colts and then somehow you can't duplicate that as the game goes on?
"Yeah, I think that's kind of the way we were looking at it. It's we did some good things. We had some successful drives, some chunk plays that we wanted to get. But we've just got to do it consistently. And that's going back, looking at what we did, how we did it. I think the coaches did a great job of that these last couple of days. And they've given us a good game plan so far. We'll go out there and practice it today and get ready for Sunday."
There were some clips from the all-22 where the ball goes one place and somebody else's running free down in the middle. How do you explain that? And you know, does the read take you one place and you're not supposed to look there or just what's the process? And then when you watch it on the all-22 what goes through your mind?
"Well, I mean, if you miss someone, obviously, you know, wish you'd see the whole field and you're like, I wish I had that one back. But yeah, it's kind of coverage dictated. Each play is different, but coverage dictated man, zone, whatever it is. And you've just got to go through your process as a quarterback. If your read's on the left side, on the right side, you've got to go through that. And yeah, would you love to have some back and see the entire field, you'd love to. But that's part of playing the position. You've just got to see everything."
One example of that in particular was the first interception when you threw to WR Deebo Samuel. Pre-snap, did you just see one-on-one, Deebo, I like that matchup, simple as that?
"Pretty much, yeah. They were in a one-high defense. So yeah, like even that one [WR] Mohamed [Sanu Sr.] should've been taken away by the free safety, he was just making a, doing whatever he wants type of play. But yeah, I had one-on-one with Deebo. I wish I threw it a little further on his back shoulder. Just hung inside a little bit."
Will you have a lot of friends and family at the game on Sunday? And is there anything special about going back to play, you know, at this level, in the area where you grew up or is it kind of just business as usual at this point?
"No, there's always a little something. Going home is always fun. Kind of where the first start happened here. I've got a lot of friends and family. I don't even, it's over 100 I know that. So it'll be a fun crowd. That Chicago crowd's ruthless though. We played in Philly this year. That was a pretty hostile environment. I'm sure this will be pretty similar to that, but it'll be a fun Sunday."
