Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Press Conference

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan

Press Conference – October 17, 2022

San Francisco 49ers

Opening Comments:

“Alright guys, injuries from the game. [CB Charvarius Ward] Mooney had a groin, he’s day-to-day, hopefully he’ll be ready for Sunday. [T Mike] McGlinchey, calf contusion, day-to-day, hopefully he’ll be ready. [TE] Charlie Woerner, AC sprain, he’s day-to-day. [S Talanoa Hufanga] Huf had symptoms this morning, he’ll be in the concussion protocol. [LB Demetrius] Flannigan-Fowles, knee tendonitis, should be fine. [DL] Drake Jackson, knee sprain, he’s day-to-day. [DL] Samson Ebukam has Achilles tendonitis, he’s day-to-day. Go ahead guys.”

With Hufanga, do you know when in the game he may have suffered the concussion?

“I think it was real early in the game because we took him into the tent early. I know that he passed it then, he passed one after the game, but then there’s always a third one the day after a game and he came in with some symptoms today, so that’s why he is in it.”

What do you think the chances are of getting DL Nick Bosa and T Trent Williams back this week?

“A lot better than last week. I’m really hoping for it and I think there’s a decent chance.”

How do you sort of look at your offensive line and all the injuries you dealt with there? How did they play yesterday and how do you feel about it going forward with McGlinchey and the other issues there?

“Obviously, we lost so I thought everybody could have done better, but it wasn’t a bad day by them. We had to mix the guys up a little bit. We’re down a couple guys to start and we lost some in the game, but the guys for the most part, they kept [QB] Jimmy [Garoppolo] clean, but it’d be nice to get some of those guys back this week. It was good news to at least know that we have a chance with Mike this week and we have a much better chance this week than we did last week with Trent.”

So far this year you guys have struggled to put points on the board in the second half of games. I know that can be random and different things play into that, but is there any common threads that you’re seeing? And if so, what are they?

“I don’t know. I’d say the most common thread, I think is when we struggle on third down. I feel we struggle to get points and I think that happened definitely in this game and that definitely happened versus Denver, so that could be some more common things. We’re moving the ball decent, but we’re not getting enough points and we have to finish out and capitalize on some of these opportunities and we have to start putting more points on the board.”

After the game, TE George Kittle thought that maybe everybody didn’t play with the intensity needed to win a game. How did you feel about that after you’ve watched the film?

“I would disagree with that. I like George saying that, that’s to me how you feel, especially when a team kind of dominates the game in terms of how they ran the ball with the amount of carries they got compared to us, the time of possession, but I didn’t look at any of the guys lacking intensity or going after it. That was a very physical team. That’s how they’ve played every single team they’ve played. That’s why they’ve been in pretty much every game they’ve played. That’s why they’ve been close to winning a number in a row. That’s why they had a chance to come back versus Tampa on that, but I thought it came down to the turnover that we had and not converting on those third downs that didn’t allow us to get into our physicality with running the ball.”

In the same grain, your defensive line didn’t get that much pressure on Falcons QB Marcus Mariota yesterday. After looking at the film, did you see anything in particular that was causing them to not be able to get to him?

“Yeah, I think it was 40 runs compared to 14 passes. Team only throws the ball 14 times, it’s going to be tough. I thought we took our shots on getting to him. We did sack him a couple times I believe. And then I thought we had a free hitter on that third-and-13 where I thought we should have got to him, but he got through there. And then it was just a running game, I think that second half there was about 13 straight plays where they didn’t throw the ball, not counting third down, so it was the type of game that they wanted it to be and they earned that getting us into it.”

How do you feel about your defensive tackles in particular, a lot of those guys are obviously reserves, fared against the run?

“They wore us down. We knew that would be tough, that’s what they try to do to everybody and I think at times we did decent, but they got in way too many third-and-shorts and when we had our opportunity at some third-and-longs, I thought we kind of blew it. And when that happens and that team stays out on the field, especially when the offense turns it over three times, that doesn’t shock me at all. The physicality they play with, the way they came off the ball, the style of runs with the threat of a quarterback too on each play, that’s what that team’s built for and our goal was to not allow it to be that type of a game. And they did a good job of getting us in that type of game and that makes it really tough on D-lineman.”

Along those lines, how big is the DL Arik Armstead loss right now and where is he as far as a potential return?

“Yeah, it’s a huge loss for us right now. Same with [DT] Javon [Kinlaw] and not having him in there either. I’d be very surprised if he’s back this week, but hopefully he’ll have a chance. Maybe L.A., if not, hopefully then we’ll have Bye Week, which gives him another week and hopefully we’ll get him back by then, but we’re still not sure right now.”

When coming back from these long East Coast trips, you haven’t had a lot of success. I know some of that is you come back more injured than when you left, but what do you see there? How hard is it and what are some of the challenges in getting guys kind of back on schedule when you come back from a long trip like that?

“I think there’s an adjustment just like there’s an adjustment when we go out there. Then when you go out there and you stay for a while, it takes us a while to kind of feel right and get used to the time change. And when you stay out there for as long as we did, the same thing happens coming back so I don’t know if that’s a coincidence. I do know we struggled in the Green Bay game last year, but I also think we struggled a few games after that. I don’t think we were quite where we wanted to be at that time. I know you go back to ‘19 and we struggled versus Atlanta coming back from that big win versus New Orleans, so I know we can throw those in, which you have to be aware of it. That’s why we didn’t have a day after a game today. Usually I have the guys all in today, but I gave it off to them just because we’ve been away so long. I want them to stay home, get their schedule right, mentally be ready to come in Wednesday, be with their families a little bit. I know they’re going to do their stuff on their own on Tuesday with all their regen things, but hopefully we give them enough rest and they come in Wednesday ready to attack and get this gameplan ready for Kansas City.”

How is DB Jimmie Ward post-surgery and is there any chance he could be able to play at some point with a cast on his hand?

“Yes, I haven’t gotten to talk to Jimmie yet, but they’re saying he is doing really good post-surgery and there will be a chance for him to play with his cast on.”

CB Emmanuel Moseley, do you know when he will be having his surgery?

“A couple weeks. He was with us the whole time, so yeah, they have to wait a couple weeks for it.”

With Jimmie Ward, if he does have a chance to play with the cast on, would that be as soon as this week?

“It might be a little too optimistic for this week, but again, I haven’t had the chance to speak to him personally. I just was told this a little bit ago that it’s going well and that he’ll be able to eventually play with the cast, whether that’s this week, next week– I hope it’s this week, but it’s too early for me to know for sure.”