Head Coach Kyle Shanahan
“Jimmy Garoppolo, it is a knee. We are fearing ACL and we will find out for sure tomorrow. Richard Sherman is calf. It was bothering him in the week and he did not return. Adrian Colbert, hip same thing. He did not return. Mike Person had a foot and same thing, it was bothering him and he did return. Reuben Foster, abdomen he returned. D.J. Reed Jr, he returned.”
How devastating is Jimmy’s injury?
“I mean any time you lose your starting quarterback, it is a big deal. It was when we lost our starting running back too. So obviously, I feel for him personally. I know how disappointed he is. I have not had a chance to see him yet, but I feel for him.”
Was Jimmy upset because of the injury or did he think it was preventable?
“I don’t know. You would have to ask him. I did not get a chance to go down there. We were going and I have not had a chance to get to talk to him yet.”
Did you think it was a concussion?
“That is what I did think because I just saw him take a hit there, so I did not really know until someone told me in my ear.”
What are your thoughts on C.J. Beathard?
“I have a lot of confidence in C.J.. He got a lot of playing time last year and led us to our first win last year. He came in today and made a hell of a throw on fourth down, no hesitation. C.J. is a gamer. Everyone in here has a ton of respect for C.J. and how he handles himself. He is a man out there and he is a very good quarterback. We are fortunate to have him.”
How do you feel about the way you battled back in the second half?
“I was real proud of how we battled back in the second half. It was not in the first half. We got off to a very bad start. We have to do a lot better than we did in that first half. We have to play better. We have to coach better. I was proud of how the guys battled in the second half coming out down that much. I thought our guys stepped up and went through a lot of adversity throughout that half and kept going. They gave us a chance to have a possibility of a win at the end. We just came up short.”
Can you explain the Richard Sherman injury?
“Calf and the heel. It is the same stuff that was bothering him going into it. It was the heel and calf area. They are all connected, lower extremity.”
What is your viewpoint on the offensive pass interference call?
“I was shocked actually. I don’t get to see what is over there at that spot. It is also not something we are looking at. I was surprised. I thought they were going to do what they had done in the red zone every game this year versus the Chargers, versus Pittsburg and versus us. I thought we were going to get a call there so I was real surprised our fullback got a call for offensive pass interference.”
How do you move forward with the quarterback position?
“Just like you always do. You show up to work tomorrow. You study the heck out of this film on the plane. We are hard on ourselves. We will show up tomorrow and we will be men about it. We will grade the tape hard and see what we did good and what we did bad. When we show up Wednesday, it will be time to go. It is part of the NFL season and that is what you have to do. We all feel for Jimmy, there is no doubt about it. We dealt with this with our running back two days before the season started too. This is part of the NFL. This is not the first team this has happened to, so next guy up.”
Will you look for a veteran quarterback as well?
I do not think so. We will think about that later, but I am definitely happy with the guys we got.”
What did you adjust in the second half?
“I don’t know if there were adjustments. I just thought we got on a role better. I think we converted a big third down. I think we hit (George) Kittle on a big one. Jimmy hung in there and took a big hit and got a big third down to Kittle. If I remember correctly, we were second and 20 something before that. We got two big check downs that put us into a situation to go for that. We just got in a better rhythm. When you start to move the chains, you stay out on the field a little bit longer. We got going on offense and kept the defense off the field more. I thought they responded better in the second half than they did in the first half. I was proud of the guys because they gave us a chance there at the end. We have to come out a lot better than we did today.”
What was the most frustrating part of the first half?
“I can’t pick one thing. I mean the score was the most frustrating if you have to pick one thing. I just did not feel that we played good in all three phases. When you do that versus a team like this, that is usually what you can expect the score to be going into the half.”
Will you bring in another quarterback?
“We will have to do something. We will only have two guys on our roster, so we got to add a guy from the practice squad or bring in a third. We will definitely want to have three guys in our building.”
Quarterback C.J. Beathard
What kind of blow is it to lose Jimmy Garoppolo on this team?
“I mean it is tough. He is our starting quarterback and he is a great leader of this team. I am going to be praying for him. Hopefully he will heal up as quick as possible.”
Did you get a chance to talk to him?
“Yeah, I just talked to him in the training room. I told him I would be praying for him and that I love him. He told me to lead these guys.”
How is he feeling?
“I have never been in this situation where something is possibly this serious. I can only imagine how tough that is for him this early in the season, but you would have to ask him.”
What do you have to do for the team now as a whole?
“Keep these guys together, keep leading them. I mean we had a lot of injuries today and a lot of guys went down. It is just a matter of our psyche and keeping everyone in it on the next week and staying positive. There is going to be every opportunity in the world for guys to be mad or down about certain things, but we have to keep the morale and stay positive and move onto the next week and get the one next week.”
How valuable where your starts from last year to these upcoming weeks?
“It is huge having already played last year in six games. I feel like it will really help me going forward having had the experience. It is not my first time in a live NFL game in the regular season. It is my second time around. I think it will be a little easier this time.”
T JOE STALEY
Can you tell us how you found out that Jimmy (Garoppolo) was hurt and how bad it was?
“I saw on the field that he got hurt and then I heard he got carted off. I came into the locker room and saw him. We’re waiting on images tomorrow. Any time it’s a non-contact knee injury, it’s not good. I feel for him.”
What’s your message to the team?
“Going on the road and you come in down 35-7 after the second quarter. I’m proud of the guys coming out in the second half and battling and not quitting. We can’t obviously put ourselves in a hole like that. I feel like right now it’s like a tale of … we’re really trying to take that next step. We’re trying so hard to take that next step. We got to come out and we can have times where we execute and we have times where we execute like we did in the second half. We should be able to do that every single game, every time we step on the field. That’s got to be the expectation of us. We can’t have those mental lapses. We can’t have lapses in momentum. We have to go out there and execute every single play. That’s what it’s going to take to make the next step. The focus on every single series needs to be the opportunity to score points. The focus for the defense for every single series needs to be on getting the ball back and making a big play. We can’t have lapses like that. We can’t put ourselves into a hole going 35-7 into the half.”
On moving forward after Garoppolo’s injury:
“It’s going to be a bummer with Jimmy. We don’t know what it is officially yet, but if he’s out, C. J. (Beathard) played a lot of games for us last year. We have a lot of confidence in him. He knows the offense. It’s just one of those things. You’ve got to step up, there’s no two ways about it. We’ll see what it is. C.J.’s rolling out there and we’ll be ready to go. I think C.J. is up to the task. He’s put in a lot of work and we’ve got to move forward.”
What have you learned about C.J. (Beathard) in his time with the 49ers?
“The game is not too big for him. He puts in the work. He’s a hard worker. The guy will stand back there and try and make the plays that are there. We’ve been on the field with him last year since Week 11, I think. He’s been working hard every single day. This offseason he was going in and preparing the exact same way he did last year as a rookie. I expect him to continue to do the same.”
On the play where Jimmy Garoppolo got hurt:
“Jimmy was just trying to make a play. We were trying to make a comeback. We thought we had the momentum. We thought we were going to score a touchdown on that drive and make it a seven point game, get a stop from our defense, and play for that final series. I think Jimmy was just trying to be a ballplayer and play. He wasn’t running out of bounds. He wanted to get some extra yards for his team and it’s just one of those things.”
Did you think it was a concussion?
“I did. I thought it was a concussion when I saw the way he fell.”
DL DeFOREST BUCKNER
What type of defensive adjustments did you make in the second half?
“Making little adjustments, in the first half we had too many busts on defense. We did a better job with everyone doing their job and being where they were supposed to be and trusting one another. We just have to start off like that next time.”
RB MATT BREIDA
Obviously Jimmy [Garoppolo] is a big loss for the team. What is the mood of the team? How did you find out about it? How did you all react to it?
“I don’t even know what’s going on with Jimmy right now to tell you the truth. You guys have got to talk to the trainer for that. C.J. [Beathard] came in and did a great job.”
What Kyle [Shanahan] told us is they’re fearing it’s an ACL [injury]. How big of a blow is it to lose a starter like Jimmy?
“If it’s an ACL, it’s going to be a tough loss. Jimmy’s a great competitor. It’s hard to replace Jimmy Garappolo. But, C.J. is going to come in if he has to and do a great job. You saw the first time in, he threw a touchdown pass. So, I think we’ll be alright.”
Jimmy had you guys going in the second half. Did he say anything at halftime or in the huddle?
“He was just saying ‘keep fighting no matter what and don’t give up.’ I feel like we came out in the second half like we should have in the first half. If we do that, we’ll be better off next week.”
Were there offensive adjustments from Kyle Shanahan in the second half?
“Yes, there were. We stayed with the same plan. We’ve just got to play better in the first half is what it comes down to. We can’t make mental mistakes.”
Is there a silver lining in this loss?
“Yeah, if you look at the second half, it shows we’re a lot better team than what the score shows. Of course, there’s a silver lining. And, we’ve got a long way to go to get better. But, I feel if we can get to that point, we’re going to be a hard team to beat in this league.”
Intangible-wise, what do you lose with Jimmy?
“He’s just a baller. I don’t know how else to say it. He makes stuff happen that normal quarterbacks don’t make happen. He makes throws that normal quarterbacks don’t make. It’s going to be tough. But, C.J.’s going to step up and be a great leader.”
TE GEORGE KITTLE
What’s it say about the team’s confidence in C.J. [Beathard] to insert him [in the game] in a fourth down right there, go for it and then get the touchdown?
“Coach Shanahan has the highest standards for every single person on the team – especially C.J. That’s why they took him in the third round. They thought so highly of him. He did his job last year and he’s going to step up no matter what happens.”
What’s it like when you have a day like this and lose your starter [QB]?
“I’ve never lost a starter before so you’re going to have to ask a veteran guy or coach Shanahan. But, we’ve got to stay together. After every loss, you’ve got to watch the film. What was the first half score, 35-7? You can’t do that and expect to win in the NFL. So, we’ve obviously got to come out faster and get our job. We can’t wait until the second half to get it going. That’s really about it. C.J.’s going to step right in. We’ve got the utmost confidence in him.”
What adjustments did you make in the second half that helped you?
“I think we just focused on the run. We didn’t say ‘hey, we’re going to air it out now because we’re losing by 28 points. Matt [Breida] and Al [Morris] had big time runs. Whenever you can run the ball, it opens up the passing game. Then, it just started clicking. When you give a guys like Jimmy G time, it’s pretty easy.”
FB KYLE JUSZCZYK
I heard it’s an ACL [injury] with Jimmy. How big of a blow is this?
“It’s huge. That’s our franchise quarterback. There’s no reason to harp on it to be totally honest with you. We’ve got to move forward. We know C.J. can get the job done. C.J.’s extremely talented and guys are going to rally behind him.”
How are you going to do that? You make it sound so easy.
“Yeah, it sounds easy. But, that’s football. It’s such a tough sport on everybody and these things happen. But honestly, dwelling on it does not help. So, we’re going to support him. We love Jimmy. We also love C.J. So, we’re going to give him everything we’ve got.”
Have you had a chance to see Jimmy? Is he in good spirits?
“Yeah, he’s in good spirits. He’s a positive guy. I apologized to him. It’s unfortunate that kind of stuff happens. But, it’s the sport we play.”
Were you surprised by the pass interference call in the end zone?
“Yeah. There’s no reason to dispute it – whether or not. It was called. There’s nothing I can really do about it now.”
Did you learn something about the team today the way you guys fought back there in the second half?
“Yes and no because I wasn’t surprised by it. I knew that’s what we had in us. I knew that was something we could go out and do. The first half was not us. I wouldn’t say I was surprised. But, I’m definitely proud of the way the way the guys fought. The way we rallied. And, we didn’t turn on anybody. We had a lot of injuries out there. We’re just dealing with a lot of things. I felt like we fought really hard.”
I know it’s next man up, but what do you lose in Jimmy?
“Jimmy’s our leader. He’s a guy we’ve been basing our offense around since he got here last year. There are definitely going to be some adjustments. I think we’ve got some of the best coaches in the business that make those adjustments. I think they’ll do their job and take care of things.”