Do you see any kind of different mindset this week after the three previous games, playing as well as you guys did offensively, coming into this week?
"I think there's more chemistry between us now. We saw some things that we can build off of and use moving forward. As far as a team, we're trying to prepare to win. Everything thing we're doing is to make sure we're prepared for Sunday."
Do you have a little bit more spring in your step? Do you feel good about how that game ended for the offense Sunday night?
"It ended in a loss for us. That's the bottom line. We play to win. So, moving forward, we have to do more on offense to score more points to make sure we finish those games with wins."
The defense in these past few games has had a lot of snaps, a high rep count. But, the offense has been able to have sustained drives, you know, so it's not like a time of possession thing. What does the offense need to do against the Ravens to take some of that pressure off the defense? What does the offense need to establish early?
"We need to score touchdowns. That's the bottom line in football. The team who scores more points wins. It's not a difficult thing. So, for us, we have to finish in the end zone."
When you look at the Ravens on tape, they've obviously lost a lot of different players, just as you guys have, over the years. What do you see from them? Any similarities in what you were scouting back in the Super Bowl days or is it completely different?
"Yeah. There's a lot of different personnel on that side of the ball from three years ago. So, that's not something we really look at too much other than the schemes are similar. They do a lot of different things to try to put their players in advantageous positions. So, that's something we have to be aware of."
How about last year? Being able to practice against them a couple times. Are you able to draw more parallels with that experience?
"Yeah. That's something we can use more than the Super Bowl game."
Do you see the same defense from what you practiced against to now?
"Yeah. It's the same foundation of a defense."
How much last week was a character check for you to have to dig down and, you know, if you were every going to be lacking in confidence, it was going to be because of what happened the last three weeks, to dig down and do what you guys did on Sunday night?
"Well, I'm not going to lack in confidence. I have confidence in what I'm able to do on this field and what I can do to help this team win. For me, it was an opportunity to really show leadership and try to lead this team and make sure everyone has the right mindset. As this week is another opportunity to make sure everyone's focused on the right things."
In what are did you make your biggest improvement last week and what was the reason for it?
"I would say the biggest improvement was just chemistry. Being able to let balls go and trust our receivers, and our receivers made big plays. It was a confidence-building thing for both sides, for the receivers, for us, for the offensive line. It was something that we can build on moving forward and improve on."
You said chemistry a couple of times. You've been playing with WR Anquan Boldin for a while. Is it chemistry of terms of getting to know a guy in a new scheme? Is that part of it, all that working together?
"Yeah. There's a lot of different things that play parts in what you're trying to do offensively and when you run plays over and over, you get more comfortable with them. So, some of that was different plays. Some of it was just different positions that we put people in."
We talked to Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco this morning and asked him about his chemistry with WR Torrey Smith and he said, initially, the deep ball came quickly with him and Smith but that the underneath stuff did take some time. Are you having a similar pattern with Torrey Smith?
"I think it depends on the route. There's some routes that are natural for him to run and they naturally fit my eye. Other routes, we have to work a little bit harder on."
Your college coach, former Nevada head coach Chris Ault recently said in a radio interview that you've been dropping your elbow when you throw since late last season. Is that something you are aware of when you watch yourself play? Is that something that you work on?
"It is something that I constantly work on, my mechanics, fundamentals, to make sure I'm out there throwing the ball the best way I can. Ultimately, whether the receiver catches the ball and the ball's in the right position is the only thing that matters."
Were there things last week, during the week of preparation that you did with your pass catchers to help improve that chemistry that you continue to reference?
"Yeah. We had more meeting time together. We went in detail over things to make sure everybody was on the same page, what we were looking to get out of each play and what we were trying to take advantage of."
Offensive coordinator Geep Chryst said last week there were changes made. Could you divulge what those changes were and is that you think what he was talking about?
"Yeah. That's exactly what he was talking about."
At the beginning of the season, there was such an emphasis on the tempo, quick tempo. We saw that in the Minnesota game but just falling behind it, it would seem that that was affected. Do you feel that tempo coming back with just kind of the steps the offense took against the Giants?
"I think we've always had good tempo in and out of the huddle. That's something we want to continue."
Just getting back to a mechanics question, when you're in a pocket that's constantly changing shape and you're avoiding guys, can you have a uniform throwing motion or do you have to sometimes drop your elbow and throw side arm and things like that to adapt?
"Once again, mechanics are, I'm not huge on them. You can look at [San Diego Chargers QB] Philip Rivers throw, you can look at [New England Patriots QB] Tom Brady throw. Looks completely different, they're both great quarterbacks."
But do you change it up just depending on what you have to do on a given play?
"Yeah. You have to be able to change arm angles, especially on underneath throws to throw around linemen, to throw into windows."
Is Chris Ault correct in his assessment?
"Of?"
Your mechanics. That you're dropping your elbow when you throw.
"I don't look at film that closely about my mechanics of where's my elbow at."
You saw you're not big on mechanics. In your view, is it just getting the ball there, wherever it has to be, no matter how you get it there?
"Yeah. That's the job of the quarterback. Throw it to the receiver so he can catch it. It's that simple."
How conscious are you of the right guard situation when you're in the game? Does it impact on your mind while you're playing the game, while guys are rotating?
"No. We have confidence in all of our linemen, their ability to play."
What was, obviously, G Andrew Tiller, I think he had played one snap before Sunday. When he first entered the huddle, I mean, did guys say anything like, ‘Hey, you've got this." Was there a recognition that OK, here's a new guy playing right guard?
"No. Once again, we have confidence in all of our linemen. He came in, he played great."
When you look at RB Carlos Hyde, you see it in the game and then you see it on film. What jumps out at you? Does it look like he runs as hard on film as when you're out there on the field with him?
"Yes. He runs aggressive. He runs physical and that's an aspect that we love having in this offense."