The San Francisco 49ers still left Arizona with another loss but the team made some progress, improving on a few aspects of the game. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick spoke after the game about how the more practice he gets, the more reps he takes, the more his comfort grows within the offense. He had a much better game than he did during his last visit in the state, when he was picked off four times, twice for touchdowns.
Kaepernick finished the day 17/30 for 210 yards. He ran for 55 yards on 10 carries and had his first rushing touchdown of the season.
It was a play we drew up that we thought could put the defense in a bind. They allowed us to get around the edge, got in the end zone. Great feeling to be back in the end zone.
Kaepernick obviously sees room for improvement as the team left without a W but the offense did not turn over the ball as it has in the past. (The one fumble of the game was by Jeremy Kerley on a punt return.)
Here’s his full transcript:
Were there positives to take away from the game?
Yes, there were positive signs. Our defense played well today. They came out, they had a lot of turnovers, gave us opportunities to score. I thought we did a good job on offense, had some opportunities and took advantage of them. There’s still room for us to grow. There’s still room for us to get better. There’s still room for us to capitalize on things we left on the field today.
What did it feel like to come back after being down and tie the game?
It was a great opportunity for us. Once again, there was a great play by Gerald (Hodges) to get us that pick and give us that opportunity. Offensively, to go down and capitalize on that and tie the game up, that’s what we have to be able to do. We also have to be able to take advantage of opportunities we had earlier in the game and put more points on the board for our defense.
That was your first rushing touchdown of the season. Take us through that play.
It was a play we drew up that we thought could put the defense in a bind. They allowed us to get around the edge, got in the end zone. Great feeling to be back in the end zone.
What do you think this game came down to?
It’s tough to pinpoint one thing. The one drive that I look to is the drive that we had a couple of penalties when we were in the red zone. We would have had an opportunity to at least kick a field goal on that drive. Hindsight being 20/20, that makes it 23-23, worst case scenario. So, there’s plays like that, drives like that where we have to not shoot ourselves in the foot and be able to capitalize on those and put points on the board.
Are you feeling more comfortable in the offense?
Yes, I think every week that I get more reps, every day I get more reps, it’s more and more comfortable. At this point when Chip is calling the play or when Mod is calling the play, I know what they're thinking, I know what they want to get done with that play and that makes me feel more comfortable and our offense is doing a great job of executing the plays that are being called.
Is this the week you’ve sort of had that clarity knowing what the thought process is behind it?
No, I think it’s grown and grown. I think the more reps I get, the more comfortable I get in this offense. That comes along with that.
It seemed like you cut loose a little more today. Did you feel more comfortable throwing the ball today?
It’s practice. A lot of practice that we’ve had and getting comfortable with the receivers and being able to let those balls go and let them go make those plays. Our receivers have done a great job doing that. Our offensive line has done a great job of giving us protection to allow us to do that. We’re growing as an offense. We’re improving as an offense and we have to continue to do that.
Last year they said you couldn’t throw outside the line and they were laying in wait for you. You didn’t shy away from those throws today.
We had to take what the defense gave us. Part of it is game plan, part of it is depending on what coverage they play. There are opportunities there that the coverage dictates and we were able to make some plays out there.
How did you avoid the “Here we go again” mentality after only having 4 yards in the first quarter and being down 14 points?
I think in the first quarter we just din’t capitalize on some plays and plays didn’t pop up the way we expected them to but we were able to adjust and get to plays that we were able to be successful with and get in the rhythm from there.
Would you explain why you didn’t vote?
I think it would hypocritical for me to vote. I said from the beginning I was against oppression, I was against the system of oppression. I’m not going to show support for that system. To me, the oppressor isn’t going to let you vote your way out of your oppression.
With the man who was elected president, does you feel more urgency for your cause?
I think everybody should feel urgency to make sure that we’re doing the right thing, building things the right way in order to be able to protect ourselves from what may come from this.