The 49ers wrapped up their third win of the season and first win streak thus far with a wild 23-20 overtime win over the Rams. Although the game wasn't too high scoring, there were numerous notable statistics, including Troy Smith's monster passing day. Smith threw for 356 yards, which is the highest total by a 49ers QB since Tim Rattay threw for 417 yards in 2004. What's truly amazing about the performance is that the 356 yards came on only 17 completions. That's almost 21 yards per completion. It took Rattay 38 completions to reach his total.
There was a comment about the mix of players involved in Smith's completions, and it was actually a record-breaker for the 49ers. It was the first time in 49ers history that at least five receivers totaled 60 or more yards receiving. Finally, his 12.71 yards per attempt was the highest average since Steve Young averaged 14.00 yards per attempt versus Atlanta in 1997. I'd say that's good company for Smith.
Frank Gore had another monster all around performance gaining 154 total yards from scrimmage. With those 154 yards Gore has 7,846 yards from scrimmage since 2006, which leads the NFL. Additionally, he is now on pace for 2,121 yards from scrimmage this season. To put that in proper context, in his record-breaking 2006 season he had 2,180 total yards from scrimmage. It's safe to safe Gore is in beast mode this season. Finally, he is now 39 scrimmage yards from passing RB Joe Perry and move into fourth place on the 49ers all-time yards from scrimmage list. He only trails WR Jerry Rice (19,872), RB Roger Craig (11,506) and WR Terrell Owens (8,734).
As for the overall game itself, it's interesting to note that the 49ers are now tied at 60-60-2 against the Rams all time. Here are a few more random game notes for you. I've posted the player quotations after the jump.
- The 49ers have now won 5 consecutive games over the Rams.
- The 49ers have won 3 of their past 4 games.
- The 49ers are 6-2 against NFC West opponents, dating back to 2009.
- The 49ers improve to 12-5 under head coach Mike Singletary when playing at home.
- Head coach Mike Singletary's record improves to 8-4 against NFC West opponents.
- QB Troy Smith improves to 3-1 as a starter, which includes three consecutive victories, as well as 2-0 as a starter for the 49ers.
- The 49ers improve their record at home to 12-4 since Singletary's first win as a head coach (11/16/08). San Francisco entered this week's game tied for the 7th highest winning percentage (.733) among team's playing at home during that time span.
- The 49ers improve to 11-2 under coach Singletary when not throwing an interception.
- The 49ers improve to 11-3 when recording 3 or more sacks.
- This marked the 49ers first OT win since 9/14/09 at Sea. (33-30 OT).
Head after the jump to check out quotations from players. You can watch post-game interviews at csnbayarea.com and 49ers.com...
Head Coach Mike Singletary
Post-Game Quotes - November 14, 2010
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams
Opening Statement:
"I thank God for our players and our coaches, their effort, staying together and coming out with the win."
On whether he saw that QB Troy Smith was making plays:
"Yeah, he made some nice plays. It was nice to see. There are also some things that he did that he can't do, and we have to continue to clean that up and work on that. But overall, I thought he did a nice job."
On what Smith can't do:
"I have to look at the film and talk about it more with him. We have to - anyways, no, I'm not going into that. We'll talk about it."
On whether Smith will be his starting quarterback going forward:
"Right now, I'm just going to - we're going to enjoy this win and before I get into who's the starting quarterback and all that other stuff, we'll sit down as a staff and talk about what we need to talk about, discuss what we need to discuss, and go from there."
On the importance of the division win:
"It's very important. Obviously any time you play a team in your division, you want to win. And you know, it was a hard fought game, right down to the end. And thankfully we were able to come out on top."
On what he saw from Smith when it got down to crunch time:
"You saw what I saw - he made plays. He made plays in crucial times. That's what you want. That's exciting to see."
On Smith's downfield throws and whether that was the play design or his mentality to force things deep:
"I don't know if it's forcing things deep, I think it's a matter of if we have a situation where the receiver is in a particular matchup that we want to take advantage of and give him a chance to see it and get the ball out there. So, that's really all that is."
On Smith keeping plays alive:
"Obviously there are a number of things he does well, I just don't want to lose sight of the fact that today, as well as he played in certain areas, there's a lot of work that he has to do. And to me, that's exciting to be able to say, but there's a lot of work that we have to do as an offense with him, and as our offense as a whole. And we just have to keep working on it. And thankfully we have the right mentality to do that."
On K Joe Nedney's initial injury:
"You know what, I really don't know exactly what happened, I just know that he got nicked a little bit on his knee, but seemed like he was able to work through it and come back and kick."
On his backup plan if Nedney was not able to kick:
"That's not a good question right now."
On how this win turns around the season:
"Well, for me it's just a matter of the guys believing, it's a matter of the guys working. You know, I'm just excited about the guys that are working, coaches and players. SO we just have to continue to work and get where we can go."
On what is going through his mind at 2:00 to go and being down by four:
"Make a play. It's just - got to make a play. That's the only thing you can think, just got to make a play, some how, some way, got to make a play."
On whether there was a consideration on punting at 4th and 18 with two minutes:
"No."
On the offensive line and their play during the game-winning drive in overtime:
"It will go a long way towards continuing to unify that unit. And those guys have taken pride in what they're doing and they do a thankless job week in and week out and we've got a couple of young guys on that line that are still trying to develop, so it's a lot of good things that are happening. [C David] Baas is doing a nice job in the center position. So we'll just try and continue to keep that unit going forward. Whatever we can do to do that. Coach Solari is doing a tremendous job, as well as Ray Brown, in doing that."
On whether the lineup change with right guard was made before G Chilo Rachal was excused from practice on Friday:
"No. No, what happened is, bottom line, Chilo missed the Friday practice. He let me know the day before that there was a chance that that would happen and it was Saturday. There were some other things that took place that you'll have to talk to him about. I thought it was fair to our offense, our coordinator, our quarterback, to start [G Adam] Snyder. The little changes that we made here and there that Chilo was not totally in tune with. And just thought it was better to go with Snyder and let it work itself out, and it did."
On the injury update on T Joe Staley and Snyder:
"You know what, initially I just know that they're banged up a bit, but to what degree I don't know. I have to sit down and talk to our doctors and trainers. I know that they've had x-rays, particularly Staley. So I don't want to make any statements there until I really know what the heck I'm talking about."
On whether Smith forced the Rams into a base defense and away from blitzing:
"Well I think as an offense, one of the things that you really strive to do is not allow the defense to dictate how you play. And we felt that they would have tried to blitz, as will other teams as well, simply because he's a quarterback that hasn't been in the system, he's a younger guy, and maybe that's the way you take away some of the things that he does well. But fortunately, [offensive coordinator] Mike Johnson and the staff really created some protection and blocking schemes that allow him a little extra time to get the ball downfield and didn't think twice about blitzing."
On how Smith responds to his direction:
"I think he responds well. I think he's been in the league a couple of years and he understands what winning is all about. So it's not like I have to sit him down and read him a list off. He knows what it takes, and we just have to continue to do that."
On increasing S Reggie Smith's amount of playing time:
"I'm not really sure in terms of how much more Reggie Smith got, I don't know if it was a particular package that we were running that Reggie was in and [S] Taylor [Mays] was not, so I don't really know what the break down is. I'll have to look at that."
49ers QB Troy Smith
Post-Game Quotes - November 14, 2010
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams
On how he would assess his performance:
"It could have been better. Definitely as a quarterback there were some throws I wish I could have back. But obviously it was our day today. As a quarterback, it's not going to be as good as you always want it to be and it's not going to be as bad as you think it is. Once I go back and watch the film I'm sure there will be a couple of things that I did, settle things out, but definitely some throws and decisions I wish I could have back."
On the long throws separating the team's play from other games and whether that is the game plan or his personality:
"It's definitely part of the game plan. I'm doing nothing but executing the plays that are called. I try not to think too much about the positives or the negatives. As a quarterback you have to maintain - how should I put it - you just have to stay even keel. Every single guy comes in and out of the huddle has to see the same guy as a quarterback, whether the situations on the field are the way that you want them or they aren't. You definitely have to have like - be like a horse with blinders on, keeping your eyes forward, staying and focusing and maintaining on the game plan, executing these plays. Because it's hard to get wins, very much so, it's hard to get wins."
On his mentality to get the ball to his playmakers:
"Oh yeah, there's no doubt, there's no doubt. There are too many tremendous athletes here to not share the ball, for everybody to not have a chance and an opportunity to make a play. It's on me to do that. It's on me for distribution, it's on me for - you know, to have an understanding of where the game plan really is, how we're going to attack certain defenses, and that's on me."
On whether it is also on him if there is a chance for interception:
"I don't know about having a chance for interception, to me as a quarterback and as a player, somebody who has played the game, that's giving your guy a chance to make a play. That's you throwing it to your guy, away from their guy. That's you putting yourself into a position where as a player, as a man, you know, however big or small those guys out there, they deserve a chance to make a play. Whether a guy is draped all over or he's wide open, this is the NFL. The defenders get paid to blanket guys, and definitely the offenders get paid to make plays."
On the fourth down play to RB Frank Gore and what the situation was:
"Kind of an ad-lib situation. Obviously when you're third and however many yards we were, there's not too many plays in the playbook that you're going to lineup and say, well this is for third and 35. Or this is for third and 45. Definitely, you should know that you're in a two-play and four down territory to where you're getting more than one chance, it's not just one time. Frank being the player that he is, the year-in, year-out, vet leader that he is, definitely just let me know, putting a bug in my ear as far as when we were breaking the huddle some of the things that he would ad-lib if it happened. It just so happened that it happened that way, and we were going up the sideline."
On how dire the situation was at third and 33 and fourth and 18:
"Very much so. When you are a part of a team and an organization who has nothing but a winning tradition, you want to keep that going as a quarterback. Not to say there is a lot on our plate, but we have an understanding as an offense to what we need to do to be successful and definitely in those situations it's very dire. Very dire."
On why there were time-outs called:
"Offensively, you set out to do things tip top and perfect at all times. Obviously throughout the course of the game it's not going to be that way. You know, we are still working as an offense, as a young offense, to get better. And that's just internally some things that we have to fix. Stepping into those situations though, obviously that's why you have time-outs, for miscues and things like that and sometimes you just need a rest. You can't take anything away from that, you have to be able to accept it for what it is and we have a lot of work to do."
On whether he expects to be the starting quarterback:
"I'm not worried about that. I'm enjoying this win. I don't know about you but I just spent four or five hours in cleats, I'm ready to go rest my feet."
On whether he wants to start the next game after winning:
"Trying to put words in my mouth. We'll stay the course, we'll stay the course."
On what it means to him to help engineer two wins for the team:
"It means a lot, it means a lot. For me as a man, my opinion really doesn't mean anything. In the big scheme of things, all of our opinions really doesn't mean anything, we just have to be able to stay the course and as male or female, whatever the case may be, continue to stay steadfast, put your head on a straight, even keel and things will work out for you."
On whether head coach Mike Singletary praised him after the game:
"I don't know if you would call it a praise."
On what was said:
"It was his little scour that, I know you've probably seen it (laughing). No, but he told me good job, and we definitely have to go back to the drawing board, watch the film, break it down, and there's going to be some things that definitely you wished you did better, but you just got to live and learn."
C David Baas
Post-Game Quotes - November 14, 2010
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams
On what you think about the win:
"That was awesome. I mean you'll take the win anytime. It's cliché but any given Sunday any team can win, and we just kept fighting and I feel like we did a really good job of staying in there until the end."
On how important it was to make up some ground in the division:
"That's awesome. It's really good that we had that in our sight. We left a lot out there and we need to improve on some areas, but it was a good step. We just need to get better and get ready for next week."
On how good the play was from your QB Troy Smith:
"It was awesome. You know I think we were out there battling for him and he's making plays. We just have to continue to do that and keep going from here."
On what the mindset is on the offense when the defense gets that first stop in overtime:
"Oh it was awesome. We knew that we had the ability to go down there and score and that's what we did, we just drove down the field and got the job done."
TE Vernon Davis
Post-Game Quotes- November 14, 2010
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams
On playing with the mindset having to win to stay in the division race:
"We did, that was our mindset. That we had to win this game, or if we didn't we would be out of it."
On scoring touchdowns and having them called back:
"It hurts, but it is something we have to get corrected. We can't allow that because it will hurt us in the end."
On if there is a different energy playing with QB Troy Smith:
"He is a play maker. That is what I describe him as. He is a playmaker, he is not afraid to let the ball go. He wants to make plays. He will do whatever he has to do to make it happen."
On what Troy is like in the locker room:
"For the most part he is quiet. When there is something that needs to be said he'll speak up."
On the confidence level of the team coming into the game:
"We had tons of confidence. We believed in ourselves, we wanted to get it done, we wanted to win and you see the outcome."
On Troy Smith taking chances throwing deep balls:
"In the locker room Troy is always talking about the guys we have on the team; (TE) Delanie Walker, (WR) Michael Crabtree, (RB) Frank Gore, (WR) Josh Morgan, myself. He always talks about us and says ‘I'm going to take my chances. If I know I have these guys around me that can make plays I am going to take my chances.' That is the right attitude to have I believe."
S Dashon Goldson
Post-Game Quotes - November 14, 2010
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams
On what the 49ers mentality was on defense coming into the game:
"As a defense we didn't want to let number [Rams running back Steven Jackson] get out of the gate. He's a big guy, a strong guy and he likes to get to the edges so we knew we were going to have to get the DBs involved with. You know, we had to make sure we did that and give the quarterback [Rams quarterback Sam Bradford] some different looks. He's a young guy so we were going to go ahead and give him some different looks and play our defense."
On the 49ers switching personnel between S Reggie Smith and S C.J. Spillman:
"I got confidence in both those guys. Reggie did a great job coming in for us, he made a couple plays, he played a clean game for us and he did some things on special teams. He's just getting better week-in and week-out. We know what kind of player Reggie is and we never gave up on him."
On the 49ers defense forcing the Rams into several three-and-outs in the fourth quarter:
"That just says a lot about our defense. We got a lot of things in and guys are doing them right. We left a little bit out there to be honest with you, you know, we got to come in and correct that come Monday and play this game next week."
On what the defense left out there that they could have done better:
"Calls, certain calls and certain guys not in the right position; tackling."
RB Frank Gore and WR Michael Crabtree
Post-Game Quotes - November 14, 2010
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams
On whether it's helpful the QB Troy Smith can buy time in the pocket:
Crabtree: "It gives me more time to run my route. That's the best thing you can do."
On whether Troy Smith should be the starting quarterback going forward:
Gore: "Yes, I feel that.
On whether Crabtree feels Troy Smith should start:
Crabtree: "Coach has to decide."
On whether there is a different energy with Troy Smith at quarterback moving around in the pocket:
Gore: "You know, we know Troy is good on his feet. We've watched him in college, and watched him in preseason games. We knew that he scores a lot of touchdowns running the ball. Troy is very active. He's got a great arm and he's running around in the pocket and that's one of the top things Troy, I would say, can do to help this team."
On Gore getting open on fourth down in the fourth quarter:
Gore: "The first one, right? The first one? I said, ‘I'm just going to take it up and try to get first down.' Troy saw me downfield and we got it."
On what Troy Smith was like in the huddle at the end of regulation:
Crabtree: "Troy, he's calm, he's cool. Like I said, he's cool. When you're talking to him, he's just going to go out there and play."
Gore: "He just played football. That's all the game is all about. I look like it like this, you go out and... It's just like when were little kids, play a great down and, you know, make plays. That's all you got to do - make plays."
On how it feels to get first close win this season:
Gore: "It feels good, man. Especially, you know, going back to the perfect game. Everything was going wrong for us and now, game tide turned. Everybody's working hard, getting up in the locker room. Just want to take it one game at a time. Just go out there, and look at it like it's March madness. Just take one game and just win it."
On whether he knew Troy Smith was going to throw a lot of deep balls this game and what that does to the opposing defense:
Crabtree: "I guess it puts them on their heels, I guess. I guess it scares them. I guess so. Like I said, we just want to play football. Whether it's deep, short, whatever it takes to win, we're going to do it."
On how frustrating it is to have touchdowns taken away because of penalties:
Crabtree: "It's tough, it's tough, especially to get it taken away in this league when it's tough to get the plays. But, you know, we got back in the huddle and we still got to play the game."
On Troy Smith taking on a quiet leadership role:
Crabtree: "He wants to win. Like I said, we talked just like brothers."
On if Troy Smith's game plan is to go deep and give receivers a chance to make a play:
Crabtree: "I would say that was the game plan. I'm sure Troy can do it all - short, long, out in the backfield. Like I said, we're just playing football, just trying to make plays.
Gore: "I love it. I love it. The other team's got respect that they can't come in the box. I know we got great receivers and our receivers are happy when they get the opportunity. Now they get the opportunities to make plays down the field and we made them. It's nice to be dangerous, really dangerous."
On whether he would be surprised if Troy Smith is not starting quarterback after last two games:
Gore: "Like I said, whatever coach says, we're going to go with it and we're going to play hard."
On what he thinks about the upcoming matchup with Tampa Bay:
Gore: "They're the best self-titled NFC team in the league. We're just going to come out here to Candlestick on Sunday. We're going to do what we got to do to beat them. We're going to play ball. We're going to try a win."
WR Josh Morgan
Post-Game Quotes - November 14, 2010
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams
On how the offense was able to stretch the field and open up the box for RB Frank Gore:
"I mean it was big because St. Louis brings a lot of different blitzes. They bring corner blitzes and safety blitzes. I mean that was the thing we had to do was read all of those blitzes and then it's one on one outside. We just had to beat the one-on-one coverage so we did and [QB] Troy [Smith] made some great throws."
On how big Troy's rally was from seven points down to get it into the end zone:
"Most definitely. I mean everybody knows that, it's like March madness around here, you win or you go home. I mean I think the best thing about Troy was that he's so smart and he's thinking, and even when a play wasn't there he just threw the ball in the air and got a pass interference call or something like that. Troy did a great job and [offensive coordinator] Mike Johnson also did a great job calling the plays. For us to have all those penalties and yards called back, it's just great play calling by Mike Johnson."
On the job the defense did at the start of overtime:
"The defense always plays well. That's just their thing. Even for them to be on the field right before the overtime and have to go right back on the field because we lost the coin toss, I mean the defense always does a great job."
On what he thought of T Tony Wragge playing as well as the multiple substitutions:
"Yeah I saw Tony playing, I saw [G] [Adam] Snyder in there, that's a way to step up. I mean when one man goes down the next man has to step up."
K Joe Nedney
Post-Game Quotes - November 14, 2010
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams
On the pain in his right knee:
"Yeah, my knee was sore but it was stable enough to plant on and I was getting enough whip through the leg that it wasn't affecting the distance a whole lot. It was just a matter of blocking out the pain in the knee and just going through my technique. You know, as you saw it had plenty of distance and I think I was a little surprised as well as the coaching staff because everyone was like, ‘I thought you hurt your knee!' But at the end of the 47 yards we had about 10 to spare, so."
On his kickoff after he hurt his knee:
"Yeah, and I didn't hit a very good one. I hit a line drive so tribute to the coverage to get down there without their guy getting out too deep. For the most part we were able to shut them down and, you know, it was a great team effort. This is the way we win; we grind it out and we grind out and we grind it out and we get a win. IT's not the prettiest thing in the world but it's a ‘W.'"
On what he told the coaching staff before his game-winning field goal:
"I told them, ‘Get it inside the 35-yard line and we're good to go.' You know, most coaches like to put it in the center of the field; I told them, ‘I don't care where you do just make sure the ball is on the hash. I'd prefer it on the hash; I don't care which hash.' So they did that. You know, we had the luxury of getting down there deep and having an extra down or two to position the ball. That's the way you do it, you know. It's one of the great jobs; the guys got down there and made some big plays."
On what happened to his knee and when:
"Yeah, it happened on the opening kickoff. Sniper shot [laughing]. You know, I don't know; it happens. But you kind of grind it out and I was able to; it stayed stable enough for me to my job. You know, I couldn't go crazy on it and I couldn't kick a kickoff full speed but I did enough to get out there and get the job done and that's all that matters to me right now. We got the win; I'm a happy guy."
LB Takeo Spikes
Post-Game Quotes - November 14, 2010
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams
On how big a game it was:
"It's big. In my opinion, every time we step on that field to compete, it's our playoff bid. You can look at the numbers and say mathematically we're not out of it if this happens, but we're still in the chance to be able to control our destiny. That's the only way that you want to go into the playoffs being able to control your destiny."
On his thought of K Joe Nedney:
"Mr. Clutch. I remember Joe when I was in Cincinnati and he used to kill us the same way. It was nice to see Joe tattoo somebody else. He had the opportunity to put it on them."
On the difficulty of stopping Rams RB Steven Jackson:
"I don't know, I don't think he had a hundred as far as on the running game. He broke one big one, but a guy with that statue, you want to shut him down. You're going to realize that he's going to make his plays, but the main thing we wanted to do was not allow him to have any big yardage, big gains. I think he had two plays, one was on a run. I think it was like a 15-20 yard run and the other one was a pass on me on the sideline. But for the most part we were able to and I think that's the reason we won the game defensively. We were able to contain him, not have him let their offensive coordinator dictate the game."
On his thoughts on Rams QB Sam Bradford:
"Same thing I thought about him before the game. He's a good football player. What makes him so good is he very rarely turns the ball over and he's efficient whenever he throws the ball. He showed a lot of heart, a lot of heart."
TE Delanie Walker
Post-Game Quotes - November 14, 2010
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams
On QB Troy Smith's ability to keep the play alive with his feet:
"It brings a whole other factor to the offense. He can juke people, break tackles, and then throw the ball off his back foot 30-40 yards. That's going to keep defenses on their heels trying to blitz and leaving somebody wide open like the play you saw where they got the P.I. [pass interference] in the last minute of the overtime. It was just a great play. I saw him stop his feet and me and him are on the same page for some reason. I knew he was going to throw the ball. I tried to stop my feet and the DB [defensive back] hit me and got the pass interference and put us in field goal range."
On how much momentum the win gives the team:
"It gives us a lot of momentum. We're still not satisfied, we've got to get there. Go and prepare next week for Tampa Bay, get another win. We're hungry and we're going to keep eating. Just because we got two wins under our belt back-to-back, we're still not satisfied. We've got to keep going and keep pushing. We're going to be like the train that could, choo-choo."
On having Tony Wragge at left tackle to replace the injured Joe Staley:
"Tony Wragge, he can play any position on the field. When he's out there I've got so much confidence in him. He's one of the smartest linemen on the team, so I'm not worried about it. He's going to do a great job. He's got confidence in us and we've got confidence in him. Him being out there, he did a great job."
LB Patrick Willis
Post-Game Quotes - November 14, 2010
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams
On the mindset of keeping the team in the game:
"Obviously, everyone says every time we take the field there's a lot of talent. Regardless of what our offense is doing or anything that's happening, we just want to go out there and play good football for 60 minutes."
On whether this was a pivotal game they had to win:
"Yes, we knew coming into this game it was a pivotal game for us. I don't know who was leading the division. I just knew we were at the bottom of it and we need to get to the top. St. Louis was the first game on our way to the top and we had to take care of them first and not worry about the rest of them."
On whether he's surprised with how the team turned it around in their last two games:
"No, I said all year long, even when we're 0-5 or whatever it was, I'm going to be optimistic. I come to work every day, knowing there are going to be brighter days to come. I knew going into the season, well not going into the season, when things were getting crazy and wasn't going the way we wanted it to, but winning one of these divisional games at the end of the season, give us hope. If we were going to play our division games in the front like that we'd be a little nervous, but we have a great opportunity that we are just trying to seize right now."
On the resilience of the team at the end of the game:
"The whole game, in the second half, after they got three it was 17 - I was telling the offense just get us seven points and we'll take care of the rest. Unfortunately, [QB] Sam [Bradford] made some plays and threw the ball downfield and kicked the field goal. I just told the guys that we've got to make this happen."
On the performance of the offense:
"It's really exciting. It's exciting to see our offense do what they do. It's going to be tough at times just like on our side it's going to be tough. They are going to push. A lot of people don't talk about our special teams enough. It's going to take the whole team to get where we want to be where we are at the end of the season."
G Tony Wragge
Post-Game Quotes - November 14, 2010
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams
On what the mindset of the offense is when the defense gets a big stop like that in overtime:
"That we were going to go win a game. We're going to go score a touchdown or kick a field goal and come celebrate in the locker room. That's the mentality. There is no negotiation, there is no ultimatum. I mean that's it. I mean and that's our job to do that, and it's fun and exciting that we can come in have that opportunity to do that after the defense makes a big stop like that."
On how big the three and out in over time was:
"It's huge. It's huge. It just kills the Rams moral I know, when they can't move the ball in overtime. I mean they got the ball kicked to them in overtime, I mean that's advantage to them right away. Our defense did a great job stepping up in 3 and out and we did I think a great job with ball security today, especially in overtime, you know and we had opportunities to make plays. Guys went out, they weren't superman, they just did their job and we came away with a W."
On whether you remember the last time you played tackle:
"I've never played left tackle in a game. I mean I've practiced it, maybe eight or nine years ago, but I've never played left tackle in a game. The last time I played right tackle was maybe '06 or '07, I can't remember. Probably '06 and that was in the preseason, but I've never played left tackle in a game. I watch [T] Joe [Staley] all the time and I watch [T] Adam [Snyder]. That's my role, which is to be a multiple position guy and come in and contribute. I'm always studying my stuff inside but at the same time watching those guys and looking at their techniques and listening to the responsibilities for their plays. I'm accountable to every guy when I come in to play. Whether at left tackle or at right tackle, it doesn't matter. In fact, I'm already thinking right now, I could have done that play better and it's just tough. You just want to make sure you are 100% effective. It doesn't always go great but you just come in and do your job. Its fun, I had fun."