49ers vs. Colts final score: Post game transcripts

The 49ers had plenty to say after Sunday's loss to the Colts. The team struggled in all phases of the games at different points. We saw penalties, poor execution, poor adjustments. It was simply not pretty. Here are the transcripts.

Head Coach Jim Harbaugh
Press Conference - September 22, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Indianapolis Colts

Did you sense your team was distracted at all after everything that happened earlier in the week?

"I thought our team was ready to play. I thought our team was ready to play 100 percent."

Can you put a finger on offensively? Is it similar to what happened against Seattle or can you put a general thought to what happened today?

"Yeah, we didn't make the plays. There wasn't enough opportunity to make plays. It was a combination of that. Not having, the players not having the opportunity to make them and not making them."

You ran the ball very well on that first drive. Did you get away from it consciously? Should you have stayed with the running game a little bit more in this game?

"I thought we tried to continue to stay balanced after that drive. And did not have success moving the ball today or on third down. And couldn't make plays. Didn't find enough plays."

You referenced players not having some opportunities to make plays. Was part of that just not having enough open receivers?

"No, I'm just saying that, as coaches what we give them, the opportunity to make the play and then make the play when it is there, so that's what I was referring to."

This team hadn't lost two in a row in your tenure. Are you disappointed by, it had shown the ability to come back from losses, are you disappointed by that?

"This game. Not winning this game. Not being in position to make plays and make it competitive, that was disappointing to all of us. We all got to look at how we can, we gotta be real, how we can improve."

You mentioned coaching specifically last week, do you think the coaching was poor this week, yours?

"I put us all in the same group. We all look at ourselves to find out where we can get better."

Why did LB Aldon Smith play?

"It was a decision we made."

Is he going to be on hand for Thursday? Will he be playing on Thursday?

"We'll address that in time. I'm not going to address that right now."

Is there something technically wrong with QB Colin Kaepernick? He seems to be having more difficulty accomplishing what he usually is accomplishing. How do you diagnose what's occurred the last couple of weeks?

"I don't think that there is something technically wrong, that I see."

Why is he not having such, why is he--?

"I put that really on all of us."

Patrick Willis, his groin injury, how serious?

"I don't know how serious right now."

Did you think that the team's energy level was there in this game?

"You can question just about everything right now. We didn't play well enough to win in enough areas on enough downs. Did not win the down enough. Not even closely. They did, they made the plays offensively, defensively and we did not."

You had defensive penalties at some key junctures of the game. Is that frustrating to you and from your vantage point do you think some of them might have been borderline calls?

"I'm not going to comment on that, an excuse to make, no."

What'd you think of how Colts QB Andrew Luck played?

"Very good. Very efficient. They did make the plays. They did make the plays when they needed to."

There's no excuses in the NFL, but you're missing TE Vernon Davis and a couple of other guys. Does that affect the team that much or is it just the ‘next guy up' as you always say?

"No excuses means no excuses in any category."

How do you think Aldon played today?

"From what I could see, he seemed solid."

After two tough losses, are you confident the team can re-find its way?

"Yes. We have no choice. No choice but to find our way."

There were national reports that the 49ers want Aldon to go into a rehab facility. Can you say if those are accurate?

"Again, there's a process there that we'll apprise you of at the appropriate time."

Did Aldon play because he made practice on Friday? Was that the main reason?

"It was the decision that we made as an organization, as a team that we felt was in the best interest of our team and for Aldon long-term."

Quarterback Colin Kaepernick
Press Conference - September 22, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Indianapolis Colts

Colin, it seemed like there were more yards available with the running game today, did this defense play you guys differently than the two previous defenses that you faced?

"Every defense is going to play us a little bit different."

What distinguished how this team played defense?

"They played what they showed on film. We have to go out and execute."

This is the first time this team has lost two in a row. Colin, this is definitely the first time you have lost two in a row, what is the emotion now, what is the feeling?

"That we have to get better."

How did you think you played?

"I have to be better."

Colin, one of the big assets to your game is the ability to get out of pocket and run the ball more. Is that something that you are not able to do anymore? Has that been a challenge for you in these past few games?

"They put a spy on me. So, I mean, they have one more to account for me. I have to be able to make throws down the field."

Colin, chess game, the defensive coordinator is looking at a guy, watching a few games and trying to figure out something. Do you think they've developed something to stop your offense or the other read option quarterbacks?

"No, I think we are stopping ourselves."

Pretty much press coverage across the board for your receivers, is that what you were looking at?

"When we got to third down, yes."

What aspect of the game, the offense, are you most disappointed in?

"The fact that we just didn't execute. There's no one thing, we just didn't execute this offense."

Colin, were there enough receivers open for you to find or were you missing them, how would you describe it?

"I have to make those, regardless. I have to be able to throw receivers open and give them a chance to make plays."

Have you thought about ways to turn this around, by going into St. Louis on Thursday? You guys have a short week.

"We have to get better. We have to have a good week of practice."

Did you sense that the team was distracted at all, after everything that happened within the week?

"No."

How frustrated are you, Colin?

"I'm frustrated with myself."

And you are frustrated with yourself, why Colin?

"Because I have to play better."

Because you have to play better?

"Yes."

CB Tarell Brown
Postgame Quotes - September 22, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Indianapolis Colts

There were a few penalties called against you and it didn't seem that you agreed with any of the three.

"Yean, it was a rough day. I think nine times out of 10 I would have got those calls or they would have gone my way. But I guess the referee saw something different. It happens. I'm going to play aggressive. I'm not going to change my style of play and I'm going to play aggressive. I'm going to get my hands on receivers and challenge every ball; it's all I can do."

Is it harder against a bigger receiver like that?

"No, not really. You're taught to reach for the ball. You're taught to pull your other hand away and go with your top hand and try to go for the ball. It's a judgment call every time and the referees try to make the best call they can. Today, they all went against me. I've never seen that happen before but it does happen. But that's not going to change my play. There were a lot of calls that were missed but there were a lot of calls that were made as well, it goes like that. We definitely have to bounce back and play better. We've got to play a lot better. We have to get turnovers and we've got to slow teams down."

How tough is it after a disappointing loss to have such a short time to bounce back, or in a way can that be a blessing for the mental side of it?

"You have to play football regardless. You don't really think about that. Once you lose a game the loss is over with. We'll go into the film room and learn from our mistakes. We have to bounce back quickly."

Is there any lingering effect from the Seattle game?

"No. No lingering effects. I just think any given Sunday any team can win. We didn't come out here and play our best football. We didn't put our best foot forward and this was the outcome."

You said you guys didn't come out with the same intensity that you usually do. Why was that?

"You never know. We felt flat. We felt flat and looked flat. Guys have to come out, myself included; we all have to come out with a lot more intensity to start fast. We haven't started fast all year and we're used to starting fast. That's the type of team we are, we start fast and finish faster. We have to get back to that."

S Donte Whitner made the big hit to open the game and fire you guys up but it was flagged. Did that have any impact on you?

"For me, from what I saw, it looked like a clean hit. Like I said, the refs can only make the calls they can make with a judgment call off the eye. I guess when they go back to the film room they'll decide if it was good call or not."

RB Frank Gore
Postgame Quotes - September 22, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Indianapolis Colts

What's been going on offensively with you guys in the last two games?

"Haven't been getting those drives, making those big plays. Too many three and outs. We aren't getting in those types of rhythms."

You guys had a good drive, especially the running game, seemed to be on track. And then you didn't seem to come back to it the rest of the game. Is that frustrating?

"Well, when things are not going right you get frustrated. But, I think the game kind of got different in the second half and we had to do what we had to do, just throw the ball. And that's what it was."

The dynamic of this offense hasn't been up until the last week, is it kind of stunning that it hit a wall like this?

"We just haven't made plays. We've got to look at ourselves and see what's going on, and see what we're not doing right. We've got the talent. We've got a great coordinator. We've just got to keep driving and getting in a rhythm. We're getting out of rhythm going three-and-out, and that's hard when you're not getting in any type of rhythm."

You haven't lost two in a row in a really long time.

"Yeah, two years."

What's the feeling like right now?

"It's tough. You don't want to lose. We've been having two successful years. And like you said, in those two years we haven't lost back to back and the first time it happens it's tough. We've got to look at ourselves. Everybody has to look at ourselves and see what we've got to do to get better."

Is it good to play soon?

"It is. Get on to St. Louis and watch the film and look at our mistakes. And we've got to do better. We've got to do better as a team."

Did you support letting LB Aldon Smith play in this game? Was that all right with you?

"Yeah, he's my teammate and a great teammate. He's helped this team a lot. And that's coach's decision. If the coaches say he can play, I'm behind that because I know he can help us win. That's not my decision to say if he can play or not."

There were problems with execution today clearly. But, what about execution for you, were you happy with the effort? Was it enough to suit you for the team?

"I've got to watch the film. I'll watch the film and we've got to see what we've got to do better."

FB Bruce Miller
Postgame Quotes - September 22, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Indianapolis Colts

You were doing some great lead blocking in that first half. I think [RB] Frank Gore had seven or eight carries for 80 yards and then in the second half he only had two touches.

"Yeah, I think everyone did a good job. Our offensive line did a good job and that always makes it easier on us. Still some things and reads that I can pick up faster so Frank has a better look at it. I have to sustain blocks across the board and when we hit somebody we have to stay on them and not let them come off so Frank has some clean lanes. We need to not put [QB Colin] Kaepernick in bad situations, like third and longs."

He looked real frustrated with the fact that there were not a lot of options or guys open. Do you need more scheme, what do you look to?

"It is everybody. I know our guys are working their tails off to get open and our guys up front are busting their tails, but we have to put it all together. Sometimes they get open and maybe the protection breaks down or sometimes the protection is great and we have to get open. We have to work together and put it together as one unit."

What about Colin's frustration factor? He did not seem like he was in a flow.

"Colin is a competitor and when we lose like that he takes responsibility for it. That is just his personality and his competitiveness, he wants to win football games."

Do you think you guys went away from the run too quickly and was it a factor?

"No, I cannot say whether we did or we didn't. The coaches are calling the plays and trying to put us in the best position. We have to execute the plays called."

S Donte Whitner
Postgame Quotes - September 22, 2013
San Francisco 49ers vs. Indianapolis Colts

Give us your thoughts on how you felt the defense played in this one.

"Stunned. We didn't play 49ers defense and we'll go back to the drawing board and we'll get it all corrected, come out and play with passion, be physical and disciplined and we'll go in and get a win Thursday."

Was there anything they did today that you guys weren't planning for?

"No, nothing they did that we weren't planning for. We understood their game plan, we understood their skill positions and where they wanted to go with the football and we've got to do a better job of coming out and executing and playing with that passion. We'll look at the film, it's ok to be where you're supposed to be to do your job, but that passion is what makes 49ers defense. We need to capture that passion really, really quick."

Quick turnaround Thursday, how do you guys wash this away and get down with the next one?

"There's no way to wash it away until we go out there Thursday and get a ‘W'. Last week was terrible, this week's going to be a lot worse and we brought it on ourselves, so Thursday we have to go out there, be prepared, come out playing physical and get a ‘W' in St. Louis."

Losing LB Patrick Willis, that's obviously a big blow.

"Yeah, I don't know the severity of that injury. Hopefully it's not severe. I don't know the severity of [CB] Nnamdi's [Asomugha] injury either, but those are two guys that we need. If not, guys will be ready to step in there and play football, but there's no time for excuses. It's all good when you're winning football games two years in a row, but a little adversity here and we'll see what we're made of. I know the guys in this locker room and the character of the guys. I know that we'll bounce back in no time."