Colin Kaepernick talks about the loss to the Rams

It was another frustrating performance from the San Francisco 49ers in St. Louis. There were more penalties (13) than first downs (11) and the offense failed to break the 200 yard mark for the second game in a row. The team suffered a litany of injuries that left the team with only one running back by the end of the game, a running back that had been called up from the practice squad only the day before the game.

Following the loss, Colin Kaepernick addressed the media about some of the issues that have been stifling the offense. Here's a random stat for you: Drew Brees threw for more touchdowns on Sunday (7) than Colin Kaepernick has thrown in eight games (6). It's been a disaster of a season for the quarterback, and his status grows more tenuous by the day.

Have you been making any changes on the offense?

We’ve done different things to try to move the ball down the field. The bottom line is our performance hasn’t been good enough.

What was unique about this loss?

One thing that jumped out to me was that we had a lot of penalties. Offensively, and as a team, that put us in backed up situations. That’s not something you can do against a defense like this and expect to go up and down the field.

Did you see the Rams adjusting defensively without the 49ers’ top backs available?

I really didn’t see too much of an adjustment as far as that aspect. I think we have very capable running backs that can get yards for us and get tough yards for us. I didn’t see them do anything different.

How was the offense is affected by not having the team’s top three backs available?

It’s difficult. It’s something that we have to be able to make up for. We have to be able to make plays with other players and we weren’t able to get that done today.

In the play right before the safety, Torrey Smith was wide left and uncovered. Did you not see him?

No, I didn’t see the corner close down on that. That’s something that I should have been able to adjust to, to get us out of that.

Could you hear him yelling at you?

No, it was too loud backed up down there to hear him.

Are the offensive penalties something on your end to clean up or a product of the Rams’ defensive pressure?

No, I think any penalty on our offense is something we have to clean up personally. We can’t say we’re getting penalties because of what a defense is doing.

You took a big hit early, were there any repercussions?

No, I’m good to go. I’m physically prepared to play these football games and I’ll continue to be prepared to play.

Jim Tomsula took responsibility for the loss, what do you think about him taking all the blame?

I think he's doing that because he’s a leader, but this falls on our team. This is a team sport and we have to play as a team and we have to compete as a team and win games as a team.

Would you understand if the 49ers made a quarterback change?

To me, I’m doing everything I can to win games. Whether they make that change or not is their decision, but I’ll give this team everything I have every week.

Have you had any conversations with Trent or Jed York in recent week about where you stand?

No, I haven’t.

Does that weigh on you with your contract situation?

No. I play this game because I love it. I don’t play this game for money. I’ll be fine without football if that ever came about, but I give everything I have to this game, that’s not my incentive, or my motivation to play.

What gives the you and the rest of the team confidence that you can still turn the season around?

I think the hard work that we’ve put in. We’ve seen the players come in and work hard and make plays in practice. It’s something that we have to be able to put a complete game together and go out and show those things on the field.

Any reason why it hasn’t translated to games on Sunday?

The biggest thing is our execution. We had a penalty here, we had a mishap here or there, and we get backed up. We can’t do that against the defenses we play against in our division.

Is there an added significance in losing to divisional opponents?

Most definitely. We want to come out and want to win every game, but divisional games count as more. We have to be able to come out and win the next three times that we play these teams.