49ers vs. Texans: Jim Harbaugh, player transcripts

We've got all sorts of transcripts from the post-game scene following the 49ers 34-3 win over the Houston Texans. My favorite comment might be when Jim Harbaugh was asked about the offensive performance, and immediately turned it into a chance to talk about the entire team. He seems to have little trouble with that. Rather than work his way around a question, he just ignores it completely and starts talking about all the good. Gotta love it.

Head Coach Jim Harbaugh
Press Conference - October 6, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans

What did CB Tramaine Brock's first interception do to set the tone of this game?

"That was a huge play. Great to see Tramaine, he's such a great guy. He's such a great worker. He's such a great team guy. Was in perfect position. Played the coverage perfect, and then finished the play. Got another one for us. We got points off of all the turnovers, or in Tramaine's case he scored a touchdown, but that was huge, a great way to start the game."

Did you guys emphasize that during the week that turnovers might be aplenty in this game?

"No. Not any more than any other week. It was great to get them and they came in bunches today."

You win going away with I think QB Colin Kaepernick only had six completions, four of them on the first drive. Is that a good thing that you could win easily and not have to throw the ball that much?

"There's a lot of great things to point to in the game. I thought first of all, great plan defensively by [49ers defensive coordinator] Vic Fangio and staff. Executed extremely well by our defense. [LB Michael] Wilhoite, [LB NaVorro] Bowman, you mentioned Tramaine Brock. And some great play, individual play within the scheme. Offensively, I thought we had a great plan. [49ers offensive coordinator] Greg Roman had a great plan, called a great game. And our coverage units were outstanding. We ran the ball well. Penalties were low. I think we had three penalties in the game. Just a lot of good things to point to that result in good execution by players."

Would you say it was generally a pretty conservative offensive game plan going into this?

"I thought it was a well executed game plan in every phase and really pleased. Guys were executing well. Penalties, coverage units, just about every area you look at was extremely good. Some big plays in the passing game. A really big shot in the arm with [TE] Vernon [Davis] and Kap on the corner route. A lot of things. A lot of good play. Good to see [DT Tony] Jerod-Eddie get an interception, snuff out a drive. Good, good."

Was it black and white whether LB Patrick Willis was going to play or not?

"He was really trying to, really eager to. We just made the decision, really right before game time, that best not to play. Didn't want to do anything stupid."

With LB Michael Wilhoite stepped in for the second straight pretty good game, did that play into it, having confidence that he could step in and do the job?

"Well, we have confidence in Michael, yes. But, that decision not to play Patrick was placed on what we thought the smart thing to do was. And then Michael's performance was outstanding. He's one of the guys you're really going to highlight after this game. Along with NaVorro and [LB] Ahmad Brooks. There's a guy that he does so many things for our defense. Pressure, run game, knocking it down, knocking down the edges which is so important in today's scheme going against a zone running game. He does it with very low fan fair. There's never any, there's no sack dance he has. He just doesn't call a lot of attention to himself. He plays every game, game-in game-out, tough. A lot of energy. Just another guy to highlight.

Do you have early indication on DT Ray McDonald's arm?

"No. No early indication. We'll see tomorrow, look at it in an MRI."

Tramaine Brock has politely declined interview requests this season. Is he fairly quiet with you and his teammates?

"Not really. He's, all in a good way, he's got a great personality. He's not a guy that talks just to hear himself talk, either. But, he's good. Good personality, good to be around, everybody enjoys his company and he's got a very good sense of humor. Just a great teammate. Everybody pulls for him and he stepped up huge today."

After the last game a couple of your players said they kind of re-found your identity, physical, whatever you want to call it. Do you think the last couple of weeks, and you talked about it yourself, you're facing adversity, is that what's happened with this team, kind of re-discovered who you are?

"I think anytime in the begging of the season that's forged by how you play in these early games. Team's done a great job of focusing each week, practicing hard every practice. That's all being forged now. I don't know if you just, necessarily just picks it up from one year to the next. Every year is a new year in terms of establishing what your identity is."

S Eric Reid has continued to progress, running strong, aggressive in run support, what are some things you saw today that really stood out to you from the rookie safety?

"I thought, the one he broke on, it was great to see him diagnose the play. I'm sure he wishes he would have caught the ball, but it was great to see him break on the ball and be in that kind of position. Once you do it then you get the confidence that you can do that again. And doing a good job in the open field making tackles. Physical player. Had the one probably that he would have, that he overran a little bit. But, he's getting in all of those situations and he does a great job of learning from his mistakes. He is, every time something's happened to him he has not been an err repeater. So, I'm glad he was in that situation now next time I know he'll finish that play. But, it was great to see him aggressive in making that play."

Would you say Colin was managing the game today, in a good way?

"Everything was good. Right now there's some, even when we came in at halftime, there were some things we were doing good and we wanted to do a little bit better. We made a few adjustments. And, it was a lot of good and a lot of good that we can build on. I'm sure we'll find the things that we can get even better at."

Anything particular to his game or the offense?

"I thought his game was good. I'm trying to think of things that he could have done better. He executed extremely well."

It looked like RB Frank Gore hurt his left ankle down near the goal line. He came out and rested for a little bit and then got back in there in the third quarter. Was he determined to get back out there and walk it off?

"Yeah, he walked it off. He looked like he got rolled on on the goal line and then walked it off."

Did the staff get together to watch the Seattle game or was it too early in the day to get together?

"No. We didn't get together as a staff to watch it. But, some of the fellas watched it, yeah."

How were you able to execute your best running game of the season against a front seven like Houston's?

"I thought it was a good game plan. I thought, give credit to the guys up front, to Greg Roman, to [49ers offensive line coach] Mike Solari, the backs, Frank again. [FB] Bruce Miller I thought had an outstanding night. Vernon blocked extremely well. It was good, the precision was very good offensively tonight."

Do you empathize with the situation that Texans QB Matt Schaub is going through that you faced yourself being a quarterback and seeing the kind of ups and downs the highs and lows that guys are tackling?

"I've had a lot more lows than ups. But, he's a tremendous competitor, a tremendous quarterback and he'll bounce back. There's no question about that."

Quarterback Colin Kaepernick
Press Conference - October 6, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans

How does it feel?

"It's another win, back on track."

Do you feel like you are starting to get your swagger back, your confidence? I see you made a couple throws that were really good throws. Some would categorize it as risky, but you still made the attempt to get the ball in there. Do you feel yourself getting that confidence back to let it rip?

"I think this team is getting its confidence back. Our defense has played amazing, our offensive line played well. We ran the ball well and we got a win."

What do you think it says that you can win a game like this with you completing only six passes and four of them were in the first drive? Does that say something about this team?

"We have a great defense and we have a great running game."

Were you conscious of, you went the whole second and third quarters without completing a pass? Were you aware of that?

"No, I was aware that we we're up and that we needed to run the ball and keep our offense on the field."

How do you think your O-line did against [Houston DE] J.J. Watt? Did you ever get the sense that he was getting to you back there?

"They did a great job, the results were the scoreboard. We put up points, we came out with the win."

Do you think you guys have gotten through a couple tough weeks with a lot of guys hurt and a lot of guys out? Were these two games a pretty big test for you guys, St. Louis and this one?

"They were a big test, especially with our backs against the wall, the way we were. Coming out with two wins is big for us."

Colin, can you describe the touchdown pass to Vernon Davis?

"I mean, Vernon popped, they dropped coverage on him and, I mean, Vernon showed his athleticism."

Is there any concern, you know he had the hamstring two weeks ago that kept him out, whether he was going to be able to pop out of a play like that?

"You never know with Vernon. Vernon is someone, I mean, when he hits it and he is full speed, there is really nobody that's going to catch him."

You mentioned that you got your confidence back, I know that's what he asked you about, but do you think there was a little bit of question about it in this team, a couple weeks ago? Was there a little bit of time when you needed to re-establish yourselves?

"I think, for us, we needed to get back to playing our style of football, hard nose football."

Colin, did you, in practice, go against [LB] Tramaine Brock a lot? I would guess, over the last couple of years, when he was in reserve or scout team role. What were your impressions of him in practice and how he played tonight?

"He is a great player. He's very quick, very fast, has a great jump on the ball. He showed that tonight. I mean, he came up big for us and made a lot of big plays."

Did you notice Seattle losing? Did that register in that locker room before the game?

"We are worried about us winning."

Colin, on the first play of the second half you had Vernon Davis open and just missed him. And then you went back to him later in the game for the touchdown. Are those plays part of the plan tonight?

"They were plays that just got dialed up in the course of a game."

G Alex Boone
Postgame Quotes - October 6, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans

You knew you guys were going to be challenged today. Texans defensive end J.J. Watt made his plays but overall you guys stood up pretty well. What do you think of your performance on your side?

"I thought we did a good a job. We can always clean up things. In the run game we were on it, we felt good there. The pass protection has some things we have to clean up, simple mistakes. But they're a great defense. They're very gap-sound, they do what they're supposed to do, so they did a good job."

When you look at when this game was still in question, you guys were running the football. You look like you're getting back on track to establishing that as your guys' identity. Would you say that's the case?

"Absolutely. The one thing I think we can pride ourselves on is our run game. We have the best running back in the NFL [points to RB Frank Gore] and a physical offensive line. So that's one thing we've got to stick with and I thought ‘G-Ro' [Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman] did a great job of dialing it up today."

What about the importance of converting all the turnovers your guys' defense got? That really put a distance between you and the Texans, basically taking advantage of all those miscues on their part.

"Absolutely. Anytime there's a turnover you've got to take advantage of that. I thought we could have put it in the end zone a few more times but they're a great team. We expected to fight the full game and their defense was on it. A win over this team is a big win."

A lot of people have been asking whether the 49ers are as good as they were last year, are they still a tough football team. What did you guys think of the past couple of weeks, hearing all that you heard regarding those question marks?

"I think after a while you kind of get annoyed with it. Those are outside opinions and we have our own opinion about ourselves. As long as we do what we do I think we're going to be OK. We've got great players in this locker room; tough, physical guys who play for 60 minutes. So we've just got to do what we do and not really listen to the noise."

LB NaVorro Bowman
Postgame Quotes - October 6, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans

What was your general perception of the way that went?

"As soon as you say, ‘Back to the basics.' We start of this season, that's what the coaches wanted, to get back to the basics. Start off the season right. Focus. Prepare well. I think today, it was an all-team effort. Every single guy on this team stepped up and did their job, and that's what we needed today."

Did you feed off of CB Tramaine Brock's interception there?

"Oh yeah, definitely. I think we all did, even the offense. Any time we can get turnovers against a good team like that, it definitely lights up the team and gets the offense going. Gets them in rhythm a lot faster. That's why the coaches harp on turnovers so much because it can energize your team and give you a chance to take over a game."

A couple of weeks ago, you guys talked about how you would have to face adversity and overcome it. LB Aldon Smith. LB Patrick Willis again out. Do you think that's what you've shown in the past couple of weeks?

"We're still overcoming a lot of adversity. People think that we're so good that it's hard for them to see that. Us, within this team, we know what's going on, what we're doing, who's stepping up, how hard we're playing, how focused we are, how prepared we are. It's getting us back on track. This is the way we want to keep going, keep playing. "

You win a game going away with QB Colin Kaepernick only needing to complete six passes. Is that a good thing?

"It just shows that if everyone gives 100 percent effort that it takes every Sunday, there's no telling who's going to get the game ball at the end of the game. We have that much talent on this team, that many weapons and we're that good. We just have to go out there and play like it every single Sunday."

How did LB Michael Wilhoite do tonight handling the position for LB Patrick Willis?

"Mike played well. He played great. He did some things that me and Pat kind of do on the run. That just shows how much he's been paying attention to me and Pat's relationship and how we play out there. Just to have a guy like that step up makes us a lot better in the linebacker room. It gives us more depth. Mike's doing a great job."

CB Tramaine Brock
Postgame Quotes - October 6, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans

You had a big game with two interceptions today. What was your approach when you showed up?

"I just came in and did my job to try to step up in the place of the nickel back, [CB] Nnamdi Asomugha. I just did my job and played with my teammates."

Do you think you're stating the case that you could stay in the third cornerback position all year?

"I'm not really sure. I'm just out here playing and I just want to make plays for the team and for myself. That's up to the coaches and organization."

Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio said you had the biggest play in the game against the Rams. Is that the strength of your game, making plays and being a ball hawk type of player?

"I just try to go out there and make plays, of course. But if that's how you see my game I can go with that. I'm just trying to make plays."

When's the last time you've been in the end zone and how good did it feel?

"The last time was in college. I hadn't been in an NFL end zone yet but it was a good feeling."

Did you keep the ball?

"Yes, of course."

What do you think about guys like yourself being able to step in and have the other guys trust you and not lose a step when guys are injured?

"Everybody on this team, from the starters to the special teams guys to the practice squad guys, everybody wants to shine. Everybody wants to play and make plays, so when it's our time we all just try to make plays and show the other guys and the coaches that we can do that."

How much of that first interception was preparation, watching enough film to know what was coming?

"We really didn't see that in film during the week, but we always call ‘55' and run a trap. But we really didn't know that was going to come right then."

The second pick, you jumped it pretty well but tipped it instead of catching it cleanly. Were you thinking touchdown at all on that one as you saw it develop?

"That's just how it played out. Every ball isn't caught cleanly. When I broke on the ball I knew that I had it but I didn't have it clean, so I just still tried to go with it and make the play."

Tramaine, you have politely declined interview requests this year. Why is that?

"I'm not the guy to always talk on these microphones. I just want to do my job. I love football and I just want to play football."

If you have two more interceptions though you're going to have more microphones and cameras around.

"Well I guess if I have to do it then I'll do it."

That last interception for a touchdown in college, do you remember the circumstances of that one?

"It was at my last school, Belhaven University. It was a pick-six for about 70 yards. I had things like that from breaking on the ball. I had some in junior college [Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College], about three. But they don't compare to an NFL pick-six at all."

Do you remember who you were playing during the Belhaven game?

"No."

Before the game you said you felt really good. How do you feel now?

"I feel the same really because the season is not over with. We've got 11 more games so I've got to keep my mind focused, stay humble and keep going."

When you talk about the struggles that Texans QB Matt Schaub has been having, obviously you were there to make the most of that. What were you seeing to allow you to jump in there and make those plays?

"I was just playing my technique of reading the quarterback and reading the receiver. It wasn't about Matt Schaub because he's a great quarterback and you can't really go off his last game. So it really wasn't about him, it was just about me playing the defense."

TE Vernon Davis
Postgame Quotes - October 6, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans

So on the long one, you outrun S Ed Reed in the corner, you just turn on the --?

"Well, I didn't expect to outrun Reed. He's a fast guy. He's fast, he's quick, but sometimes it happens that way. I give all of the honor to [QB] Colin Kaepernick for making the play. That's why I gave him the game ball after the game, because I don't feel like I deserve the game ball. It's only because of Kaepernick that it was able to happen. With that being said, made a good play, came out with the victory."

What'd you do with Reed though, did you decide that you could just outrun this guy?

"Well, I didn't really know who it was. I just saw a DB there, caught the ball, that fire was in me and I said, ‘I will not let this guy catch me. If I pull my hamstring again, fine. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get in this end zone to help this team win and that's what I did.'"

Does outrunning Ed Reed go onto your list of career highlights, just considering who he is?

"Ed Reed? Oh yeah. He's definitely a hall of fame kind of guy. And anytime you have success on any individual that's projected to be in the hall of fame, or just high up there, you take it as a great honor and you move on and you get ready for the next one."

You guys won a couple of quarters without completing a pass, something like that, and people are going to say, ‘Hey they still don't have their passing game together 100 percent.'

"They can say what they want. We scored off some passes today. The long one with Kaepernick connecting with me, that was a pass. What else can you say? We might not have had the game that everyone expected us to have in the passing game, but we still went out there and we were able to connect on certain plays. We can't worry about the other stuff. Everyone's going to criticize us and try to put us down, but we got the victory."

Do you think this team is better off when you guys do establish the run and get that going initially?

"You know what, what I learned about this team is that it's not about any individual and that's why I accept my role. My role is to help this team win in any phase that I can. So, I accept it. And I'm not out there to get individual accolades. I like success, but I'm not out there to have it in a way that it's all about me. We play together and we play to win, and that's what I love about this team, is that we all play together. And that's why we're winning because we love one another and we're playing together."

Can you talk about CB Tramaine Brock and what it was like to be around him with the two picks and the defense, a season-low three points?

"Since Tramaine walked in the building I saw him out on the field and I said, ‘This guy's got something.' He's talented. He's always been talented, but he just hasn't had the opportunity. Opportunity breeds success. You give a man opportunity there's no telling what he'll do with it. If his mind is right then he'll be successful. Tramaine, he did a wonderful job as far as helping us win this game. So, I take my hat off to him."

It seemed like RB Frank Gore really is a spark plug, especially in this game tonight, and it showed that the offense was really succeeding with him in the game. How do you assess him as a player, is he truly a somewhat of a spark on this team?

"He's always been a spark since day one. I don't worry about Frank Gore because I know that whenever he's coming to play a game with this team, we have Frank Gore we're good, we don't need anybody else. But thankfully we have [RB] Kendall Hunter and [RB] Anthony Dixon. But Frank Gore, he's definitely a spark plug because he gives us that added bonus that we're looking for. And when you have Frank Gore you're going to have a good game."

Do you really feel it in the offense that it's lacking when he's not there in the game because there were a few runs where he wasn't in the game?

"No I wasn't worried. I don't really look at it like that because I know that if Frank Gore's not in the game, if Kendall Hunter's in the game we're going to have a great game. If Anthony Dixon's in the game we're going to have a great game. So, it's not all about Frank really, it's about this team and that's what we have to keep in mind, that we have other guys. Anthony Dixon came in and showed what he can do. He's a monster. He's always been a monster. He's always been on my fantasy board. A lot of people don't really know about him because he doesn't get the opportunity. But when you have a guy like Anthony Dixon you better believe we're going to have a great day."

RB Frank Gore
Press Conference - October 6, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans

You left with a little bit of an ankle injury, but you talked your way back in?

"I feel good. The landed on me, my position was kind of awkward. I'm happy God blessed me to get back and finish the game."

Does this brand of football, this game plan suit you and this team best?

"As a team, we want to do whatever it takes to win. If it's that type of game, smashmouth football, we're willing to do it. My o-line, they're willing to do whatever. If we're throwing the ball, running with Kap [QB Colin Kaepernick] we know we'll get the W. It's all about winning and tonight, my o-line did a great job. I have to give it to the Texans, their d-line is good. That was probably the best front we've went through all year so far. My o-line stood up and they got the job done."

What's it like running when there's a rhythm like that out there? Is that when it is most comfortable?

"We are going and just playing our football and get positive yards, football is fun."

You guys are fueled by the doubters a lot of times, you've talked about it before and the past two games, you've been right there?

"I don't listen to that. I've been blessed. God blessed me to be here for nine years. When I first got drafted, everybody said it was a bad pick. I'm a hard-worker. I'm a team guy. I'm going to do whatever it takes to help my team win. That's motivating me though and even if I didn't have yards, you look at the film and you'll see why things don't go right. But as long as I do all the small things and we get the win and I know I did something to help the team win I'm fine."

You guys have won two in a row and Seattle lost today. Do you feel like you guys are rolling and you're right back where you need to be?

"It was a great win. In this league, it's always great when you get a win. We can't think about Seattle right now. We have to think about ourselves and take it one day at a time, one week at a time, go out there and play hard. Try to get a win, we can't worry about Seattle."

What's the difference for you? The first two weeks, yards were a little bit harder to come by, you look like you're in top form and the best you've ever been right now.

"Everybody we've been playing is hard. Everybody knew coming into the season, my o-line is one of the best in the league. Once I get going, it's hard to stop me. They've been playing, so like I said, the first game, I had something like 30 yards, but we got the win. I got all the protections I had to get and that's what counts, going out there and doing all the small things. If it's not there, what can I do? I can't do anything about that. I'm happy we got a win, two in a row and it's against a Houston team that's a good team. I feel like they should have won last week and we knew they were going to come in with a chip on their shoulder, but we got the job done."

You guys opened up four of these five games against playoff teams. Was it as tough as you thought it was going to be?

"It's tough. Look at the schedule; Green Bay, Seattle, the [Indianapolis] Colts, St. Louis, Houston. That's a tough schedule, but we're up for it. We're the 49ers. When we're on, we can do what we want to do. We just have to keep rolling, keep getting better each week, keep getting better at practice and we can do whatever we want."

Two years ago, you were the one at running back and now you guys have a lot of depth at running back. What's it like having so many guys who can spell you?

"I love it. I respect all my guys. [RB] Kendall Hunter is a tough player, [RB] LaMichael James is a good player. Anthony Dixon is a good player and when [RB] Marcus [Lattimore] gets healthy, he'll be a good player, just watching him in college. It's fun, competing and we went up against one today, a good running back group. We saw our challenge. We were looking at the stats, we're seeing player tape, [RB] Arian Foster, 200-something yards apiece. We said we're not going to let them outperform us tonight and we went out there and all our guys played great tonight."

What did you think of the defense tonight after having to replace so many key starters?

"We're a team. It isn't about one guy. Like I said, [LB] Pat [Willis] is a great player and we do miss him, but we are going to get together and just play hard as a team. That's what we've been doing the last couple weeks. That's what it takes."

DT Tony Jerod-Eddie
Post-Game Quotes - October 6, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans

When was your last interception?

"My senior year of high school."

Did you get some yards after the catch on that one too?

"It was about the same actually. I got about five yards and got tackled by the running back."

Did the play kind of catch you by surprise?

"Actually we had a similar play in practice and I dropped the interception, so it was good to get that one."

You have a few guys filling in on defense, especially by the end of that game when DT Ray McDonald went down. Are you proud of the way the second-teamers have fit right in?

"By the time we got in the game, it was a different game from the beginning of the game, but I think we did good. Just like with every game, there's some stuff I'm sure we'll have to go back and look at, watch the film and correct, but for the most part I think we did a pretty good job."

The interception, was that a play you had seen on film and had an inkling that it might develop that way?

"I had a rush-drop read off of whatever block the offensive line gave. It gave me a drop read, I dropped, and the ball was right there."

FB Bruce Miller
Post-Game Quotes - October 6, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans

When RB Frank Gore and RB Anthony Dixon are running like that, what's it like blocking for those guys?

"Oh man, it was an excellent week. Between Frank and [RB] Kendall [Hunter] and [RB Anthony Dixon] AD and [RB] LaMichael [James], we have so much firepower back there. They make me look good, so it's fun blocking for them."

Do you feel pretty good about getting that running game going?

"I feel great about it. I think two weeks in a row we've really been effective in the run game and I think everyone sees what it can do for our passing game. [QB Colin Kaepernick] Kap played great, but being effective on the ground against a defense like we've played the past two weeks has really been encouraging. Just a great game by our guys up front."

Going up against the number one defense in the league, is that something that kind of resonates with you guys?

"I didn't even know that until somebody just told me, but very talented group, talented front seven. I didn't know they were number one, but I knew they were a tough defense and again I think our guys up front played great. We executed, we moved the ball and we finished drives with points."

S Donte Whitner
Post-Game Quotes - October 6, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans

Feel any different with your new name?

"Yeah, I feel a little different, but it's not on the back of my jersey, it's not changed yet. We're still working on that. We came out, had a great team win, played 49er football, played sound, physical defense and got turnovers. That's why the score looks like it did."

You got some good hits and a strip.

"Yeah, good hits, strip. It's a good team effort. We all got turnovers. [CB] Tramaine Brock played a tremendous game getting us on the board with those early points and another interception in the second half. We still left some plays out there, [S] Eric Reid left one out there, a couple other guys felt like they had opportunities to get their hands on the ball. This game is all about turnovers. There's a direct correlation between turnovers and wins. We understand that and that's why the score looks like it did."

Do you feel like you rediscovered your rhythm on defense and back to where you were a year ago?

"Yeah, we felt like that last week. We understood that last week was a pivotal game in our season and that's why you saw us play the way that we did, sound football, got turnovers. We understood this was a good offense. We knew they would move the ball, but that we would have opportunities to get turnovers and we did. We had four, could've had five or six, but we're good with four and a win."

LB Michael Wilhoite
Post-Game Quotes - October 6, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans

We talked about it earlier this week, guys like you, CB Tramaine Brock, LB Dan Skuta stepping in and lifting the defense. Can you talk about that?

"To me, all this is is when we get everybody back, when we get [LB] Pat [Willis] back, when we get [LB] Aldon [Smith] back, [WR Michael] Crabtree back and when we get [CB] Nnamdi [Asomugha] back, it just says we have guys two and three deep at so many positions that can come in and help the team and won't hurt the team. Guys can get hurt and we won't feel like we have nothing left, we don't know what to do. We have answers behind them and that's what you want. As a coach, you want to feel like you've prepared everyone well enough all the way down to the 53rd guy on the roster and I feel like that's what we've done and that's what our coaches have done."

Is this the first time you've had a sack in the NFL?

"Yeah, I mean I had one in the preseason, but that's not the same. It just felt good to get one, big shout out to [LB NaVorro] Bo [Bowman] because Bo pulled the center from me and let me get free and opened me up to make the play."

It seems like you made more plays in this game than the last game.

"Just getting better, watching the film, learning, meeting with coaches extra, spending extra time in the weight room, extra time in the film room and getting better. That's part of the game, if you're not getting better than you're getting worse. The goal is to get better and make more plays each game and help the team as much as you can each game."