On 49ers turnover and differences this year:
No, It's still a very, very talented roster. They're probably the only team that had so much talent they could lose four or five guys and still not miss a beat. Trent has always done a great job of stocking that roster, and I don't see any weaknesses anywhere. And it's good to see NaVorro back out there playing.
On Darnell Dockett praising Arik Armstead, comparing to Calais Campbell:
Oh yea, yea. We had very, very high grades on him, and I like the comparison. That's the same thing we brought up in our draft room that, he did remind us a lot of Calais. Very active, very athletic, big, long guy.
On Armstead through first two games:
When he gets in there, he's an explosive player. He can get to the quarterback. He can disrupt things."
On how capable of another big offensive showing:
I think when you look at last week, Ben did so many things that weren't on the script. You know, he scrambles it out and throws one 50 yards down the field. He was typical Ben on fire. When he can make plays like that, he's very unstoppable. But I didn't think it was the breakdowns of the defense as much as it was Ben creating things. I think they're very, very sound defensively in what they're doing.
On what they can make of Kenneth Acker:
He looks like he's, again, a very active guy. Very good in zone in coverage but can also play man. They don't play a lot of single-high safety stuff, so he's got help back there when they're playing two-man. And he's a good tackler.
On Mike Iupati's status:
He practiced a little bit last week and did not have any swelling, so he'll be out there today and we'll take it day-to-day. Don't want to force it because it is a long season. I don't want any setbacks. But if he does not swell, he would probably start this week.
On Carson Palmer's strong start and offensive line performance:
I think a lot of it's on him. We have given up some hits, and he's gotten rid of the ball. We haven't protected him perfectly by any stretch of the imagination, but we've done a pretty good job and he's done a great job of getting rid of the football. He's probably playing at a level right now as good as anybody I've ever coached.
On University of Phoenix playing surface issues and not appearing in good shape:
No, the field was a great playing surface. We have training camp in there. So aesthetically it wasn't as pretty as normal, but they have replaced that entire field, so it's a whole new surface, which is normal for us after training camp.
On rookie David Johnson:
He's a big, active running back. He's done a lot with his few touches. He's made a lot out of them. So any time you can do something that's the first time in the history of the game, that's very special. And he's maximized his opportunities, and made me want to give him a few more opportunities. He's a big, active guy.
On Palmer's high performance has progressed in Arizona:
He's probably in the best shape of his life coming off the rehab, and doing all the work he did on his body. His arm's in great shape. But mentally, he went through and stayed with it, stayed with the process as far as getting prepared, and took all that film, he's a film-watching fool. He always had questions in the offseason, and wanted to continually get better in the offense, and why we're doing this, and why we're not. He has a total grasp of it. He communicates with his wide receivers all the time, and they're always on the same page. So there's very few lapses in him, or of guys not being on the same page.
On OL playing thus far:
I thought Ted Larson stepped in for Mike Iupati very, very well. Of course, he started the 17 games last year. And Earl Watford has moved out to tackle from guard, and he gave up some hits and pressures, but he played well. He especially played really well in the running game. And so I think we blocked better than we have all year, all last year, especially our tight ends, and our offensive line as a group in the running game. And Carson got rid of some balls. But we'll see what we're gonna do as far as left guard and right tackle.
On wanting to take deep shots on offense:
I guess it's always been, having been a wishbone quarterback, I always loved play-action and throwing it deep. And those feelings have permeated throughout my entire career. And even if we have a short pass, there's a deep pass option. You just have to play smart, not scared.
In Iupati having motivation to return for this game:
I think he just wants to get back and play with this team. This is a pretty good locker room, and he fits right in with our locker room. I think he just wants to get back out with his teammates. This was the scheduled week for him to be back, it just happens to be his old team. So I'm sure there's a little bit extra excitement.
On Colin Kaepernick from last year to this year:
Yeah, I think he's progressed as a quarterback. It's obvious when he's in the pocket going across his progressions, his footwork, he's put a lot of work into it. That's obvious to me as a quarterback coach. I applaud him for that. And he still, they do what he likes to do, but he has progressed as a pocket passer.