Colin Kaepernick back to in-season media session form

The San Francisco 49ers are back in game week, which means we will get a weekly press conference transcript from quarterback Colin Kaepernick. During the offseason workout program and part of training camp, he was offering up some moderately detailed answers. Once we got into the latter part of the preseason, his answers decreased in length, and today, it's safe to say he's officially in in-season form.

I would bet good money at some point this season someone will write about Kap's lack of detail in his answers. It happened the last two years, and I'm sure it will continue forward. Kap is fully bought into the Jim Harbaugh school of thinking when it comes to the media. The notion is that they can only give away information with media sessions. They're mandatory, so they need answer questions, but they are keeping it close to the vest.

Vic Fangio and Greg Roman will speak with the media on Thursday. Roman is very much part of the Harbaugh school of thought, while Fangio is more inclined to speak his mind. He won't give away strategy, but other than that, he'll be relatively straight forward with his answers.

Excited for Dallas?

"Very excited."

If this game turns into a shootout, are you ready for that? Would you enjoy that kind of game?

"Of course. We're always ready to score points."

Some of them, you look at their defense from last year and say their defense wasn't one of the better in the league. But when you look at them on film, what challenges do they pose for this offense?

"Very physical. They're very fast. They know what they're doing out there. We have to be ready for that."

It's a homecoming for WR Michael Crabtree. Has he been more excited this week? Have you noticed anything with him?

"Yeah, he's ready to go back and play in front of his home crowd."

With so much flux on the defense right now and losing some key players, do you feel like the offense is going to be in a position to carry this team early on?

"I think we have the ability to do that, but we have great defensive players still on that field. So, I don't think there'll be a drop off."

Do you think G/T Alex Boone came in in shape and ready to go Sunday if he's able to play?

"Yeah, Boone's always working hard."

G/C Daniel Kilgore is getting ready for possibly his first career start on Sunday. Just this training camp, what did you see from him that impresses you? What does he bring to that line?

"Confidence. He's been very confident with what he's doing. Been making all the right calls, the right decisions and has gave confidence to everyone else."

And how complicated are the calls that he has to make? That's known to be, the center for the 49ers, a very complicated position.

"There's a lot on his plate, but it's something he's very capable of handling and he has up until this point."

Who's your number three receiver?

"That'll be coach's decision."

What did you learn about some of the guys stepping up in [LB] Aldon's [Smith] absence last year?

"That players on this team will rise to the occasion. When someone goes down, when someone isn't on the field, we have people that will step in and play well."

In the preseason, you don't game plan, maybe you go two pages into the playbook. How much deeper do you go, how different is it going to be when it really counts?

"We don't talk about our scheme or what we do, but we'll be much more prepared for the Cowboys."

You guys have had to deal with some big distractions over the last couple years. What do you need to do as a team leader to help the team get past what's going on right now with DT Ray McDonald and this issue?

"We just have to stay focused on what we're trying to do and that's win a Super Bowl. So, if everyone's eyes are set there, we'll be alright."

Could you estimate about how many times you've been asked if you guys are going to pass more this season? [laughter]

"I'd see at least a thousand." [laughs]

Do you think you guys are going to pass more this season? [laughter]

"No comment." [laughs]

Does Alex Boone coming back affect your decision whether to pass more this season? [laughter]

"Possibly." [laughs]

What was your reaction when he showed up?

"Love having Boone in the locker room. Hard worker, brings the attitude to this offensive line. So, happy to have him back."

We didn't get to see a lot of WR Stevie Johnson this preseason. You guys did a lot more in practice. What stands out? What do we need to know about Stevie going into game one?

"He's going to be open. That's one thing we've learned about him. He does some things that are unorthodox, but he's going to get separation, he's going to catch the ball and make a play."

On the Cowboys defense again, statistically they were one of the worst in NFL history last year. They lost some key guys from that team. When you look at them, what specifically could give you guys some challenges?

"They're physical in nature. They play fast, they play hard. Last year really doesn't mean anything when you start a new season. So, they're going to have a new defense, revamped defense. So, it's not something that we're looking at as far as them being bad. We're trying to focus on what we have to do to counteract what they're doing."

I understand you don't want to talk about scheme or anything, but when did you start looking at Dallas video? Was it longer ago than just two days ago?

"Two days ago."

No, come on. Was it? Seriously.

"Two days ago." [laughs]

When you go back and watch, did you get that film from three years ago when they played you guys out here? Any impressions Cowboys QB Tony Romo put on you from that game?

"Romo's a great player. He's always going to keep the offense and his team in the game. Have the ability to put up a lot of points, so we have to be ready for that."

Offensive coordinator Greg Roman has often talked about being multiple on offense and being a game plan type of offense. Do you think this season, more than any other since you've been here, you guys can actually do that more effectively by doing a bunch of different things?

"Yeah, I think we have a lot of great players on our team offensively right now and we have had in the past, but I think even more so this year. So, that just opens up more opportunities."