49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan – Postgame Press Conference – November 29, 2020
49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan – Postgame Press Conference – November 29, 2020
(Opening Statements)
“Today the injuries we had (CB) Jamar Taylor, knee, didn’t return. We’re concerned it’s an ACL. (CB) Ken Webster, hamstring, did not return.”
(On how much deliberation there was between going for the touchdown or a field goal at the fourth-and-one call at the end of the game)
“Not much at all. We knew we had two downs there on the third-and-manageable. I forget what it was, I think it was third-and-1 or third-and-3. So, we’re expecting to have two downs to get there and when it got closer, it was no indecision.”
(On what he found out about his team today and what they showed him with this win with everything going on)
“Well, what our team went through here in these last really two weeks, our week off with how COVID-19 hit us in our week off and then yesterday, just the stuff that they found out in a very awkward spot for us. I can’t be prouder of our team. What they’ve gone through all year, but especially these last two weeks and especially these last 24 hours, I did have a lot of concern because of some of the stuff, all of us and our families have been dealing with and I can’t tell you how proud I am of those guys. How they went out there and fought and not all of it was perfect, but their heart and energy and everything was, and I couldn’t ask for any more from those guys.”
(On how impressed he is by the defensive effort to set the tone of the game early on and get the ball back for the last drive)
“So impressed. They were amazing all game. They were amazing last time we played them. The game, it was the exact type of game that we were hoping for. Just early in the week from a game plan standpoint and knowing we had to run the ball and do all those things and we wanted to make it kind of a grimy type game. When we had those three turnovers on offense, it’s very tough to win that type of game. That’s what made it so close, but when the defense ends up getting four turnovers, then it gives you a chance to spite that. So, I can’t say enough about those guys and the staff.”
(On him being stoked that 49ers Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh did not get the coaching position for the Browns and if he is a concerned that performances like this will mean that this is Saleh’s last season as their defensive coordinator)
“I’m always concerned. I never want to lose (49ers Defensive Coordinator Robert) Saleh, I never want to lose any of our coaches to tell you the truth. I thought he deserved one last year, so whether this game happened or not, it’s a matter of time before he becomes one. I keep telling him don’t be mad at me because I know he’s going to be one eventually. I hope he stays here as long as possible, he needs to be in no rush. So, hopefully people don’t figure it out and he stays here for a little bit.”
(On if there is anything mechanical going on with QB Nick Mullens since he has thrown a few floaters and overthrown a couple of players)
“I mean today he overthrew (TE) Jordan Reed on a double move, but the corner was bailing in three deep and he didn’t have enough time to really see it. We were trying to take a shot. I think right when he threw it, he got hit, but yeah that was overthrown. If you could see it, I’d love to progress and check it down or put it on Jordan more. But he let it rip a couple of times today. He let one go down the middle for a big throw. I thought he hit juice (FB Kyle Juszczwk) on the sidelines for a big throw there on that second to last drive. I was real impressed with Nick (Mullen) today. I mean, it’s not an easy position at all, going against that defense. If you watch how they played versus a lot of people and it was very tough today, the whole defense, the scheme and especially 99 (DL Aaron Donald). Nick’s tough, keeps battling and kept coming back. That pick that he had was just unfortunate on the tip, but he never went into a shell and just held onto the ball. He kept letting it rip and made enough plays for us to win the game.”
(On how important it was to have CB Richard Sherman from a communication standpoint and also because of losing CB Jamar Taylor)
“It’s huge. Anytime you lose a guy, it’s a chain reaction and losing (CB) K’Waun (Williams) a few weeks ago, being able to get Jamar back and then losing Jamar there. I mean, who’s the next man up and it happened to be (CB Emmanuel) Moseley. With (CB Richard) Sherman being there, it allowed us to have a perfect guy to come in at the nickel position so we didn’t have to change our outside corners. If Sherman wasn’t back, it would have been a lot more and we’re running out of that. It was huge for us today.”
(On what is going to happen with the team over the next couple of days)
“I’m not sure. We’re working our tails off to try to figure it out. I know other people are, I’ve been doing this for the last 24 hours. You guys want to know the answer, so do our wives, so does everyone who knows us. It was very disappointing thing what we got yesterday. Our organization has been working their tails off since training camp with the county and trying to do this above and beyond all the NFL protocols, all the protocols they’ve asked for. Whether it’s masks, whether it’s tracking, getting tested every single day. I don’t think you can do possibly more than anyone in this country is besides all the NFL teams, not just us. We’ve been working with them as a partner, just trying to figure it out and for us to be heading out here yesterday and the relationship we have with them and for all of our players and coaches and everyone on that plane and our wives to find that out while we’re getting on a plane and no one to tell us, it was just extremely disappointing. I’ve got a lot of guys here. We can handle anything and we understand how big of a deal this virus is and that’s why we’re so committed and we feel that’s why we feel like we’ve done it as good as we can and not only protected ourselves, but also really protected our community. That’s why we think we would love to stay in our hometown where our fans want us and playing in Levi’s (Stadium) with no people there and only people that have been tested every single day for the last five months. I get it, they made that decision and we’ve got to deal with it. But to find that out through a tweet or a press conference where I have an entire plane coming up to me, I have all wives, everyone’s girlfriends, everyone’s family members, kids saying that what they heard there, are we going to be gone for the entire month of December? Are we going to be quarantined for 14 days when we get back? That’s all we could talk about for the last 18 hours because we got no answers from them. I was just very disappointed and very proud of our guys that I couldn’t give them the answers and they could put it to the side and come out and play like that. I’ve got so much appreciation for our team and those players and I’m very proud to be those guy’s coach.”
(On the emotional swings he went through in the second half)
“It was very tough. That’s what made it that much more special. I felt so good about the first half and how we were playing and the type of game it was and then to come out right away on that first drive and (DT Javon) Kinlaw to make that huge play. We just saw him for the first time on Friday in two weeks because he’s been sick and for him to battle and get back and be able to play and help us in that game… When we made that touchdown, we had a chance to run away with it, I thought. Then (DT) Aaron (Donald) made that unbelievable play on the backside of a run and got the fumble that he returned for a touchdown. I want to say that we went three-and-out after that and lost completely the momentum, they got a huge run. We felt it, I’m sure you guys all could see it on TV. And then just to come back out, get a couple drives in, get those field goals and for our defense to keep stopping them and not just after they gave up and they bend a little bit, they didn’t break. I was just getting real proud of those guys.”
(On where the team might have to go now to practice and play and where he inserts himself into those conversations)
“I mean, they’ll always ask me just like they did a little bit last night. I mean just what are our choices? I All we’ve done for this entire season is wake up in the morning, go get tested, wear a mask, trackers throughout the whole day, finish, go straight home, don’t travel, don’t go outside in public. I mean, everyone’s been so committed to this. I mean the biggest thing for me as us all is leaving our families. We’re all humans just like everyone else and it’s a big deal to leave your family for the whole month of December, a huge deal as everyone knows. This virus is a huge deal. What I can control, I just, I want a place that is safe for us. Our guys, we’re going to leave here and go somewhere else. I know where we’re at. We feel very confident not picking it up and being only around people who are tested every day. So now we got to find another place. So, that’s where it starts, we need a place that we can feel safe and stay because we’re not going to be able to go to our homes anymore that are safe. So, we are going to have to stay in a hotel, or somewhere. So that’s where it would start. Second thing is we need a practice field to play on. Then obviously we need a stadium to play in. I’m not going to be that picky, but I need some obvious things that I think, we need some obvious things that are extremely obvious.”
(On why it seems like the defense matches up so well with the Rams’ offense)
“I don’t want to say anything in particular. Our guys, first of all, they played so hard today, which is a huge deal. We’ve gone against them a number of times. Their continuity has been pretty good with their receivers and their quarterback and stuff and some of their offensive linemen. They’re good against us too. It’s two teams that know each other very well. It’s two defenses that are very sound that make you work for everything. They got a couple big plays on us today. They got a run that got through the middle, I think they got a couple big passes, one on the keeper that a couple guys came up and they hit a huge corner. I think we’ve got a turnover after that to stop it and it was the same thing with us. They don’t mess up much. They are sound, and they got a bunch of good players, so there’s a lot of little plays and who can make the biggest plays. We won the turnover battle today and we were able to come up with a couple big plays that got us down there, but both our defenses are a challenge. Whenever your schemes are very sound and you got some players out there, it’s always a battle.”
(On if he has an idea of when he might know what’s going to happen in regard to the Monday night game and if he feels like its equitable that the Ravens and Steelers game was moved when they were not allowed to move theirs)
“I understand your question, but I don’t know Baltimore’s and Pittsburgh’s situation. Obviously that Green Bay game was a very hard deal for us. We didn’t lose that many guys. I mean we only had one guy with COVID and then we lost two guys because of trackers, which was a huge deal because they were three really good players. I think what made us so desperate at the time is how down we were to begin with. We already barely could field a team, so then just to lose those three more, I think that’s what was so tough about it. But that’s why I don’t sit here and get upset about it or go back on that at all. That was just a circumstance and it seemed like there was a lot more on that this weekend. I think your first question was when? I don’t know. That’s the answer. Trust me, all our players and myself and all the coaches were getting blown up from our families. So, we’re going to go see tonight when we get back, that’s all they want to know. One good thing I think is it’s a Monday night game. If it was a Sunday game, we need to start practicing by Wednesday and we need to get three days in. So, with it being a Monday night game we at least need to start practicing by Thursday and get three days in. So, I think that gives us some time. Again, I wished we could practice here and then fly to another place and play wherever on Monday. But I don’t think that’s happening, so now we’ll start working on that.”
(On how much of a boost it was to have WR Deebo Samuel on offense and also in the locker room for team morale)
“I can’t tell you how good (WR) Deebo Samuel was today. I always mess with them because I’m a very soft compliment type of guy. You’ve never arrived, you always get better. So Deebo has got a lot to work on. But he’s one of the best football players I’ve been around. It doesn’t matter how good it is or how good it looks, he’s going to get it done. Some of those plays that he made in the first half, I mean the big run that he had on the same run that he had last time. Just the physicality he plays with being able to up to them. That’s all we were trying to do there in the last drive, just especially to getting the field goal range is throw a quick one to Deebo and he came through every single time. The way he blocked, the way he ran, the other time we got down there got a field goal, I think in the third quarter, it started off with a six-yard throw or Deebo ran through some people. So, I love that guy. But he’s got to still keep getting a lot better at everything else.”
(On if DB Jimmie Ward and T Trent Williams have been taking it to the next level)
“Yeah, that was my big thing. I think it had to do with people asking about guys coming back. And yeah, guys coming back, will help, but we’ve got to still take our level up with the guys that played and that was tough with (T) Trent (Williams). He hadn’t been able to practice in two weeks, so just when you talk about Trent Williams, we saw him first on Saturday, and for him, just from a cardiovascular standpoint, battling through what he’s been through the last two weeks, I was just pumped to have him out there. And I know he played well but regardless just to have them out there. We talk about (DB) Jimmie Ward, I think Jimmie did answer that bell. I’ll see on the plane tonight when I watch the tape and everything. I believe they had three fumbles? They had two fumbles and Jimmy forced both of them, from what I saw. So, it looked like Jimmie had a big-time game.”
(On the trust he has in FB Kyle Juszczyk and what he means to the offense)
“The fact that we can stay in 21 (personnel) so much. It’s hard to get 33 runs in a game for some of those fronts. It doesn’t matter if you have nickel defense out there, they’ll have five bigs on the line of scrimmage a ton and if you don’t have a full back in there, there’s a lot of runs you can’t run. By having him in there, it allows us to get those calls, allows us to do things and I thought that was a huge part of the win today. Just being able to get 33 runs in showed how well our defense played. With us not doing well in third down, it showed how well our defense played, because you don’t get those runs in if you don’t do well on third down, unless the other side keeps getting it back. When we always go to him in a pass play, I thought for a second, he dropped it. It looked like he got a little too excited that he was going to score, but he made that catch. It was a huge explosive that got us down there to start. Then the fourth-and-one at the end, he doesn’t get a lot of carries, but when he does he usually comes through for us.”