On Todd Gurley's performance:
Yea, what specifically? Do you want me to talk in general terms, because you all have seen him run. We're not necessarily pleased with our run game right now because we've got too many runs for losses. But Todd over the last three weeks has been very, very productive for us. It appears that each week he's getting better. Last week was the first week without the brace, which was a cool thing for him, and a big step. He feels good, he's ripping off explosive plays for us. We need to, this is not Todd's issue, this is a team issue, we need to become more consistent in the run game overall. And obviously more consistent overall offensively. For Todd to come in and done what he's done, namely the last three weeks, last week was his fourth game, but over the last few weeks I'd say it's pretty impressive from a first-year, rookie standpoint, that's coming off a significant injury like he suffered last year.
On if he is truly recovered and looking like guy running at Georgia:
Yes, he does. And I was asked by our group here, I think a week ago, and my response was, "I don't think he's 100 percent," because I think it takes time. As you guys witnessed with Frank Gore. But he's pretty close to it, and if he's less than 100 percent, his whatever percent he's at right now is pretty impressive, comparatively speaking.
On Gore name brought up as comparison in draft process:
Well, we did our research, and our research was really directed at Todd. But I knew in the back of my mind what Frank went through. I was kinda indirectly connected to that because Jarrett Payton took over when Frank went down, but anyway. Our focus was on Todd, and the integrity of his knee. And we felt good about it weeks before the draft, and so we made the decision. We drafted Todd to be the running back of our future, we didn't draft him to come in here and win the opener. And that was the plan, and we're all on the same page. When he felt good and we felt good about it, we cut him loose.
Growing pains in transition to new QB:
We're headed in the right direction, but we're taking too long to make strides, in my opinion. Our first down numbers are down, our third down stuff's not good, so we gotta get better there. It's no reflection on Nick. I'm pleased with Nick, I know where Nick's gonna eventually get to. He's got all those qualities when you think of, you're trying to describe that quarterback from the huddle presence to the leadership to the commitment to the short memory to the football instincts and the mental capacity to play the game. It's all there for him. We just have not taken the next step offensively. Obviously we've played some really good defenses, as we are again this week with the 49ers. So, it's a work in progress. But the one bright spot is that Todd has been able to take some games over in the second half.
On the Rams defensive line maturing into strength:
You know, we're getting there. It's consistent, we've got a good rotation. Everybody's playing. We miss Chris, but Will has stepped up, Eugene's playing, Ethan has been effective. He got his fourth sack, so with the rotation and the acquisition of Nick Fairley, it's helped us inside. We just gotta keep him going. We gotta do some better things, I'm not necessarily pleased with our run defense, and I know it's gonna be a big challenge for us this week. But from a pass rushing standpoint, and an ability to get pressure on the passer, we've done better so far this year than we did early last year. Remember, last year we went five games without a sack.
On 49ers differences on offense:
You know, there's been some subtle personnel changes up front, but I'm really impressed with Carlos. You go back and look at some of his games, really impressed with Carlos. He's gonna be a problem for us for years to come. Looking at Kap's numbers, yea he had a rough outing against Arizona, but you get past that, he's making plays with his legs, he's making plays with his arm. Let me tell you guys something. It's really hard to convert third downs against Seattle, but you take the Seattle game away, he's getting stuff done on third down, which is problematic for us. I mean, he's making good decisions, the ball's coming out. Anquan's Anquan. He's hard to cover, a hard matchup. Torrey's a great acquisition there. Torrey can go, and he's proven he can make the big play down the field. Impressed with the tight ends in the run game. And the read option. People have a difficult time stopping it. We're looking way past their record right now. We think they're a much better team than their record reflects.
On Hyde running style with his foot injury:
No, I have not noticed any difference. He's hammered it up in there. He's got vision and quickness and acceleration to the hole. He's a tough runner, he's a big heavy back, he's hard to get down once he gets to the second level. We really liked Carlos coming out, thought he was gonna be a great back. Weren't especially excited that the 49ers drafted him. But I don't see any difference, no we don't.
On Garcia working with wide receivers:
Yes, he is.
On how that is going:
It's gone great. Early in the offseason when I had the coordinator change, I interviewed several guys, and settled on Coach Frank. And then it was important to us to get a quarterback coach that we were comfortable with. And I interviewed only two, and it was Jeff and it was Chris Weinke. I just kind of leaned on the experience Chris had, with everything he'd been doing with the quarterbacks prior to that. I just felt after the time we spent with Jeff, that I need to get him on the staff. It happened a little later, we took a little bit more time. But I wanted him on the staff, and he's given the quarterback perspective to the receivers. He's done a great job. Oh, by the way, they're catching a lot of balls in practice. So, when you get somebody like Jeff Garcia throwing balls to your receivers in pre-practice and warmups and individual, it gives them a chance. So, he's done a great job. It's been great to have him around.
On how his arm looks:
He can still play, by the way, no doubt. He can still play. [laugh]
On keeping him on the back-burner (sarcasm):
Yea, there's some NFL rules that I'd probably be facing if I tried to do something there.
On potential LA move and what it means for home crowds:
You know, last week when Cleveland came to town, our crowd, I don't even know how many were there, 40, 50 something like that range. They helped us win this ballgame because they contributed to four false starts. And potentially some delay and problematic, create some problems because they were so into the game. So, we're very, very appreciative of everybody that's coming out and supporting us. And in regards to the meeting yesterday (townhall meeting about stadium), you know how coaches are. Man, I'm on San Francisco, and I think, I found out yesterday afternoon about the meeting taking place. Our players are fine. They're focused, they're focused on the next opponent. And has been said many, many times to many, many people, it doesn't matter to them whether they play in front of 10,000 or they play in front of 100,000. But we are very grateful and appreciative of those that continue to support us. It's been fun this year. They've seen some good football. And I actually had to quiet them down when the offense had the ball because they were chanting Gur-ley, and it was hard for us to communicate.