San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterback Brock Purdy spoke with reporters after Tuesday's joint practice with the Tennessee Titans. Here's everything they had to say.
Transcripts provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Head Coach Kyle Shanahan
I know you were looking at the offensive side, but on your defensive side, obviously there were lots of scuffles early. Is that something you don't love to see or is that just going to happen?
"I mean, I don't want it because we just have a rule on both sides, if you throw a punch, you're out. So, I think we got two guys thrown out. I'm not sure. I just got told two. And I don't know if that's accurate, but you don't really care about scuffles. You just hate losing guys. The player loses all the reps for the day and then your position's down for the whole day, so that usually can be a chain reaction to other guys. That's why we don't want that to happen. You expect a lot of it, but don't want any punches thrown."
You value these joint practices. Just under your initial impression, after things settled in, did it seem like the kind of work you were hoping to get?
"Yeah. It's always different going against a different team because you're used to how you do things. So, any time you see something that's different, or a guy's doing something different, everyone gets a little sensitive about it. For the most part, I know the way [Tennessee Titans head coach Robert] Saleh does things and the way we do are very similar, so I thought it was a pretty easy transition for us there. It gets really old going against the same stuff every day and the same people every day, so it was a little more fun going against other people, and it'll be a little more fun watching tape here in a half hour."
You didn't have any of your top running backs. How did you think your offense did against them?
"I mean, I don't really totally evaluate it that way. We made a lot of plays out there. I thought that we moved the ball well, but there's a number of plays that we didn't make. I love the three backs that we had throughout practice. That's a small amount of numbers. Not even worrying about ones, twos or threes, just rotating them and trying to keep them fresh because they're guys who would be expected to play in the game here in two days also. Them just be able to get through it and get their assignments, respect to those guys for it."
What were your takeaways on how QB Brock Purdy played? In particular, he looked pretty sharp towards the finish.
"Yeah. Usually, Brock's a really good player so I expect him to have good plays, so I notice all the bad plays. And I didn't notice many bad plays today, so I think he had a hell of a day."
Who were the players that you said were kicked out?
"I'm not sure. There's a couple guys on defense. I've got an idea, but I don't want to get one wrong."
You mentioned that speaking to us the other day was a big step for you. Did you have any repercussions from that, or was it okay?
"No, it was good."
You'll do it more often then?
"Yeah, more often. Evaluating my health is somewhat embarrassing and I think getting old to everybody. So, don't take it personal. I'm trying not to anymore. I was messed up, and I'm getting a lot better."
Have you heard anything more about DL Nick Bosa and what he's dealing with right now?
"Just soreness, tendonitis. It's a pretty normal thing with ACLs. Just talking to our guys, they say it happens to about 90-percent of the guys we've had. So, it's a normal thing. We've got to be smart here for week-to-week, but no concerns about it being any more than that."
When it comes to RB Christian McCaffrey, I know that it feels like this is a little bit more precautionary than anything else, but is there any concern that this is something that could linger this year?
"No. My concern would be him toughing through tightness, like a lot of people do, and then hurting something bad and pulling something, which then it could be a month. That would be our concern. Once we hear him talking a certain way, Christian's a guy who needs to get prepared for Week One, but we're pretty confident what he's done before this. We're confident what he's done in these two weeks. We just want to make sure that we don't make it something to be concerned about."
The fact that he's been through this before, does that give you a little bit more optimism that you have a plan in place, he has a plan in place?
"Yeah. Honestly, I think everybody goes through this. When you have vets who know how to get ready for Week One. Lots of guys have this stuff, and you need to push through it. He's not a guy who needs to do that, so it's pretty simple with us."
What did you see from WR De'Zhaun Stribling today and what have you seen from him throughout training camp?
"It's been good to get him back. Some of the stuff he did that first week, and then he had some tightness and stuff, similar to Christian. We took him off for, I think a week. I want to guess this was his fourth day back, so I just love him getting the reps. We love his talent. We love the character and just how he plays. It's such a different situation than Christian. We need to get him ready to play an NFL game, and it takes a while for rookies to do that. That's why a lot aren't ready for week one. So, it's been really good to get him back. The way he attacks it each day, I think each day he's got better and better. Hopefully he doesn't have any injuries, so he can continue getting those days in for Week One, and if he does, feel real confident about him."
He accelerates well through the ball, through the cuts. Is that something you've noticed, too?
"Getting in and out of cuts has to do with being able to run fast and break down and stuff. I think quarterbacks really feel guys who have good hands, and when you have good hands you can run through the football. A lot of guys, you've got to tempo your stride and stuff to kind of absorb the ball a little bit, and when you do that, DBs can knock it out. When you have a lot of confidence in your hands and you've got real good hand-eye and you're aggressive with it, and he is. He trains that way. He's got the ability that way. That's something we look for a lot in guys that we like about him coming out."
Your left guard battle between OL Robert Jones and OL Connor Colby. Did Jones do anything to take a step forward in that battle? How do you see that?
"I think it's too early to say. There definitely is a battle there. It's open for anybody. Those guys would probably be the lead at it. Love to get [OL] Carver [Willis] in that, too. Him missing a week or whatever it was with his concussion made him out of it a little bit, but he's been out two practices in a row. It's still early. We want to see those guys in the games, too, but it's definitely a battle for us to see who gets that spot."
Did you talk to Carver and OL Brett Toth about their concussions since you've endured it now?
"I mean, I saw him in the hallway. Said, 'I feel for you,' but not much more than that. Those guy's got a lot more experience with it. Also, what I've learned is every single one's different, so you don't always want to act like it's the exact same thing."
Did you bring defensive coordinator Raheem Morris in intending for this defense to look considerably different going into the season?
"No. I mean, you've always got to take a risk when you hire people you haven't worked with or people you haven't gone against much. You kind of have an idea, but you really never know someone until you go through stuff with them. I knew Raheem as a quality control for the two years I worked in Tampa and was with him, I think, two of the four years in Washington and then both of the years in Atlanta. So, I always knew how good of a coach he was. He started in Tampa, too. Ran real similar to what we did in Atlanta. Then when he took over for the Rams and I had to go against him, it was a completely different defense, which is really tough to go against. The first thing I wanted to hire was the person. I do love that he has experience in a lot of different schemes, but it wasn't that I wanted to just change everything. I do think you have to evolve. I think you look at us last year with Saleh, we evolved a lot and did some things that he had done for the first time that he hadn't done or we hadn't done in the previous eight years. Raheem has experience with all of it. I do think in this league with the way people know how to attack schemes and stuff, you don't always have better players than the people you're going against. When that does happen, you've got to change schemes up. We want the option to do both. Raheem has that experience. I don't look at it as we're going to be totally different, but I love that we have the ability to be different."
How would you describe what a Robert Saleh-led team looks like and feels like?
"Saleh, as you guys know, a coach I respect a ton. It starts with his defense. You know how sound it's going to be. Saleh's not going to put something in that he doesn't believe is sound versus everything, so it's going to be very disciplined. It takes a little bit of time to get the guys that elite at it, so he's going to do it over and over again. I can see they're already way ahead of schedule. They really competed today and they definitely have a real good coach."
Are you planning for playing time for Thursday?
"We have, but we haven't told any of the players yet. There won't be many starters playing. We'll see with injuries today and stuff. That doesn't mean none, but we've got to balance that out. We haven't told the players yet, so wait until we do that with them this afternoon."
I think some of your DBs have been pretty clear that they really appreciate Raheem's scheme and what he's telling them. A couple of them, more so than they've ever been, they're being told to just play football. Maybe they didn't love the scheme last year. How do you take those comments?
"I mean, I don't know about them. I just read [S Ji'Ayir Brown] Tig's quote right here on the way in, so I get the question. Knowing our guys, I don't take that as a negative or anything. I think we've had one of the best schemes in football for a long time. I think we've played really good defense here for a long time. I don't think it means it that way. There's different styles to how you run coverages. I want to have some bend but don't break where you stay on top and you never get up the go route and you expect linebackers to defend a lot of things all between the numbers. We've done that at a very high level, and we've had some of the best linebackers, to me, that I've ever seen be able to do that. But sometimes you blitz those guys. Sometimes you get guys hurt and they're not there. When that happens, you need more corners to stop plays. I think that's something that Raheem's very used to. He majors in the secondary, where Saleh majored more in linebacker play. To be a good coordinator, you have to know all three levels, and they both do. It's cool. I think those guys hear some different coaching points. There's pluses and minuses to everything, but I think it's cool for those guys to hear some different coaching points that weren't as relevant at some times in other schemes. That makes it a little bit more fun for guys, but sometimes having to stop too much isn't always fun, either. Sometimes you want to chill and have someone else stop it. So, it goes both ways."
Stribling made a lot of plays today. How have you seen his confidence grow as he's learned the playbook?
"The more he's out there, the more he'll get confident. Like I was just saying earlier, we truly believe he's made of the right stuff. We know his ability. Now it's about him going through a lot of situations that he hasn't been through, that I expect him to fail out a number of times in practice. But, he's good enough and made of the right stuff that he'll eventually start getting through it. You've seen a lot of those today. Hopefully we can keep doing that more and more so he's ready in Week One. It won't stop there. There'll be ups and downs throughout the whole year. That's why we try to generate as much as possible in practice."
How much adjustment do you have to make in terms of preparing for the season when FB Kyle Juszczyk is not there, given he's kind of singular in terms of the position he plays for you guys?
"Not really any at all. We have other guys because Juice has done an awesome job staying healthy, so it doesn't happen much. But, [TE] Jake Tonges can do that stuff. We've had [TE] Luke Farrell do that stuff. We've had [TE George] Kittle do some of that stuff. Sometimes we give [WR] Deebo [Samuel Sr.] the ball and we've had Christian do some of that stuff. So guys all have to do it. But, Juice is very similar to what we said about Christian. When guys prepare the right way and they've been through this so long, as long as they're prepared the right way and not counting on camp to get them in shape, sometimes it can be somewhat of a benefit for those guys to get some things that keep them out that don't allow them to get hurt worse. When he's got a frustrating thing like I do right here, that's nothing, but it's just annoying for him. That I think could maybe help him in the long run."
They made some plays today. What are your thoughts on your tight ends this camp so far?
"I thought they've done a real good job. I think the guys that we've had here in the past, guys like [TE] Brayden [Willis], Jake, Luke, I think all of them look better than what they were last year. And I was happy with them last year, but you're always getting better or worse. I think they've taken the cut-ups, they've taken the offseason, and I think they've all improved in the pass game and the run game. It's nice for them to get more opportunities without Kittle out there. And then I love all the new guys we brought in too. We've had some good competition there. And it's always tough when you're missing a guy like George and then you miss a guy like Juice, which as Juice will let you know, he still was playing the tight end position also. So those guys are down two spots of key contributors, which gives them a chance to do more and more. They've been ready for that just conditioning-wise. That's why I think they're all getting better."
QB Brock Purdy
Can you take us through the good and bad things you saw today?
"I think just going up against a different scheme. Obviously, we practiced against [Tennessee Titans head coach Robert] Saleh and his scheme all last year and whatnot, but it was nice to switch it up, go against those guys and their ones and feeling the physicality, the violence from just another team. And then also being able to move the ball on them kind of thing and get some good reps with [WR] Deebo [Samuel Sr.], [WR De'Zhaun] Stribling and stuff like that, I think for me was huge. D-Rob [WR Demarcus Robinson] had a great day. Having the offensive line feel the run game and just the urgency with that, they did a great job. So, I think that was good. Some stuff to work on is, I guess for me, just feeling like, how I have at practice the last couple days. Like when I went up against a new defense for the first time this year, it's like still being aggressive and being quick in my reads and stuff. That's something that I'll watch the film and see where I was at today, but those are just my initial thoughts."
How big a step is it to see Stribling in practice and then to see him make some plays against another team? How big a step in your mind is that?
"Yeah, it's huge. I mean, obviously going up against our guys, it's a starting NFL defense and he's shown that time and time again. But, it was cool just to switch it up today, go up against different guys that we haven't played against and see him make plays and run our offense and be on time and do his job and things like that. So, it was good. I know there were a couple routes that we could still talk about and whatnot, but it fires me up that we have stuff that we can keep getting better at. But, he showed a lot of flashes and stuff today, so I was excited about it."
You hit him on one over the middle on a cross, and then TE Jake Tonges on the next play where you also layer kinged it over a linebacker. Did you hear defensive coordinator Raheem Morris give you that nickname of the layer king and do you take that to heart that that's a great asset?
"Yeah, I mean, he had told me, I guess on the field that he'd said that to the media. And then our quarterback coach Mick Lombardi, he doesn't like the word layer. He thinks everything should be driven and you throw the appropriate ball. So, I can't really say anything about the layered ball, but yeah it's cool that Raheem notices that. So, I guess it's a part of my game, but obviously I like to think I can make any throw on the field, not just that one, but yeah."
You mentioned D-Rob. He did have a pretty big day today. What makes him such a good receiver? It seems like he's had a lot of success in his career in the red zone.
"Yeah. I think he's just one of the best receivers that I've played with in terms of the one-on-one matchup and his feel for the game. We'll have something drawn up like, 'Hey, the receiver needs to get this many steps and be here on time,' but sometimes there's situations where you cut it off short or you push up into a guy a little bit longer and then get out of the cut. Like, he has a good feel for the game when it comes to that. He's played for a while. He's got a lot of savviness to him. And obviously in the red zone, he's got length, he's got just the ability to go up and get the ball. So, obviously I learned a lot about him last year, but this offseason, watching film on him, it's like, all right, we can give this guy more ops and have him be a huge part of our offense. He's had a great camp. He's been out there every day showing up, making plays and catches. Today against the Titans too. Same thing. So, I'm really excited for him."
Last time you were in here, you talked about with head coach Kyle Shanahan's situation that if need be, you wanted to make sure you could step up and be the guy with the voice of everyone here. How would you just assess this camp for you, not only in terms of performance, but in the way that you've maybe had to take on a little bit more in terms of leadership?
"Obviously with Kyle being out, you could feel Kyle out there as a coach. When practice is slow, when guys aren't on top of things, he's a voice and a presence. Obviously, he's the head ball coach, but he will bring us together sometimes and be like, 'Dude, these next two periods, we need to be on it. We need to bring it.' So, I think when he's been gone and stuff, I've had a couple opportunities just to be able to use my voice and just my actions with the guys on offense and just being able to pick guys up and also hold some guys accountable with things at the right time. And I think just hearing guys in the locker room, they like that, they feed off it knowing that we care. It's not just to go out there and rip guys, but I care so much that all these little things matter and they show up in the season at some point. And so, I think for me, just being able to take that next step, especially with Kyle being gone, being a voice out there for the guys, get guys going, get them moving, getting in and out of the huddle, picking up the tempo. I feel like I've had to take that step this year with that and it's been good."
How do you know when it's the right time and how did you figure that out?
"I mean, just at practice, the coaches have us playing situational things. It's third down, we don't get it, and now it's fourth down, and the guy runs the wrong route, and it's like, 'dude, it's fourth down here and I need you to be where you need to be and I need to make the throw.' But also, like, 'hey, I'm going to get on you, and it's not just to make an example, it's because I trust you and know that you can make that play, so let's get together and let's get it done.' And I'm glad it's happening now at practice when it's fourth and seven so that in season when a game's on the line and we need to win, you're going to be there and I'm going to make the throw for you and all those kind of things. I mean, we're working those things out right now in camp, which is good."
After this offseason with specific things that you wanted to improve on, at this point in camp, how do you feel about where you're at with those things, especially now going against another defense?
"I think just playing with urgency with my feet, having a good base, those are the fundamental things [offensive coordinator] Mick [Lombardi], [offensive coordinator] Klay [Kubiak], Kyle and I watched early in the offseason when we came back for OTAs. I've been trying to hone in on that all offseason. And I think coming out to camp, it's just allowed me to play fast. It's allowed me to be on time with my throws and make any kind of throw with where I'm at in the pocket because I have a good base and my feet are good. So, that's the one thing that comes to mind. There's some other things, but I feel like if I can just continue to do that, I can continue to take my game to the next level."
Did you just notice what was going on on the other field, at least early on? Does that kind of up the motivation, up the intensity on your side, when you see your defense slugging it out at every other play on the other side?
"Yeah, I mean going into these kind of days, we have meetings before where Kyle's like, 'Hey, protect the team,' and it's about getting better. But as players, we all know that this is going to be a really high, competitive, intense kind of day. And so, yeah, at one point, we had a little scuffle going. I look over in the other field, they're scuffling and I'm sitting back there with [RB] Christian McCaffrey, and we're like, 'Dude, like, this happens.' But at the end of the day, being smart, not trying to get hurt by punching a guy in a face mask or something like that, try to be smart, protect the team. But, I mean it is NFL football. They came all the way over here to practice against us, and I'm glad it was. You could feel the energy and we all feed off that, but yeah, I mean, it's a camp scrimmage for you."
How important has it been for you that Deebo's able to be out there, especially in the run game with your top four guys out?
"Yeah, it's been huge. Obviously, what Deebo can do is awesome. He can run routes on the outside, in the slot, come back in the backfield run routes, can run the ball from the backfield. So, having him being able to help out with the run game right now, just with our numbers and stuff at running back has been huge. It's good for him too, to be able to come back into the system and get those reps and have him being able to read out a run and bounce back gaps and make cuts. So, that's been good for him, but also it's been fun, like I said, having him back there to be able to run routes and have really good matchups and he's still explosive and still the same Deebo that we know. He made multiple plays today even, where if you get him the ball, man, he's going to break tackles. If we're live, I was like, 'hey, that's a broken tackle, that's a touchdown,' or whatever. He's a playmaker, so glad to have our guy back."
Do you want preseason reps in every game or have you guys talked about that? How many series do you think you need in the preseason to prepare for Week One?
"I mean, last couple years it's been the last two games I get a drive or two depending on the situations and just try to have that mindset of getting ready for a game, getting in pads, getting hit. But also, you want to be smart and safe and get to the regular season healthy. So those are things that we'll talk about and whatnot. But, I do think it's big just in terms of getting a feel for an NFL game. That's what we've done in the past. We haven't really talked about anything yet. I'm sure we will soon, but I guess we'll see."
You've outlined in the past the importance of the timing component with your receivers, especially with Stribling, a young guy that you're still kind of getting to know in that way. How has he been early on and how's that progressed for you two?
"Yeah, like I've said, he's a really smart dude. He gets the game of football. Sometimes guys come in, they're talented and stuff, but to understand the speed of the NFL and how defenses operate in the NFL, it can be hard for guys to sort of get with it quick. Eventually, they get there, but Strib has been a guy that has come in and has shown he understands it. He understands leverages, he understands coverages and our concepts and stuff and where he needs to be. And not only that, the effort and everything too. He's come in and run multiple routes and reps back after back and then getting in the run game and blocking. So all of that, for me as a quarterback, when I see that I'm like, 'all right dude, this guy's building my trust with him' and we've connected and made plays together too and we just have to continue to talk and be on the same page and communicate moving forward. But, I'm really excited for him. I've said that time and time again. It is preseason and everything, so we'll see once we get to season, but right now I have a lot of trust in him."
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