The 49ers ran through some press conferences during the lunch hour and this was probably the most interesting series of press conferences from the last few days. Although most 49ers coaches and players are fairly low key with the press, Vic Fangio and Carlos Rogers managed to provide some insight without giving away everything there is to know about the 49ers defense.
I found there comments about Perrish Cox particularly interesting. I don't have the transcript yet, or even a re-air of the press conferences, so I'll base it off what I was tweeting during the press conference. Fangio had plenty of praise for Perrish Cox, describing him as having good instincts and short area quickness, and generally being a good cornerback.
Cox has been getting a lot of work in the nickel back role, which is an area where Carlos Rogers excelled last season. Although Rogers was a starter, he moved inside to the nickel role when the 49ers went with their nickel defense. Rogers spoke with the media after Fangio and NaVorro Bowman, and he described how he has been working with Cox to help him better understand the nickel position.
Rogers mentioned this a couple times in the press conference. This follows Donte Whitner's own comments about working with the younger defensive backs. Secondary coach Ed Donatell can't work with everybody all the time, so having veterans ready to help is key. Whitner made a great point about how a truly unselfish player is willing to work with and teach younger players that are gunning for the veteran's job. That's so important for a team that has some solid veterans, but also has a very young base.
Thus far, Perrish Cox has reportedly been impressing most everybody, with beat writers having plenty of good things to say about him. If you've suddenly got Chris Culliver and Perrish Cox rolling as your third and fourth cornerbacks, that develops into some crazy depth. If you can in turn rest your starters a little bit more because of that depth, the team could find itself in great shape at the cornerback position.