Defensive Coordinator Nick Sorensen Press Conference

Defensive Coordinator Nick Sorensen

Press Conference – November 14, 2024

San Francisco 49ers

What’s your take on DB Deommodore Lenoir? We talked a little bit about it yesterday, but obviously he’s on the defensive side.

“Really excited for him, well deserved. He’s done everything right. He’s been so productive inside and outside. He’s just been a stud. He’s increased his play every year and just really happy we got it done for us and for him, really. To know that we’ll have him for so many more years is really exciting. It was really exciting yesterday, talking to him and I was just fired up.”

For you, what is it that he really just brings out there that no other Niner brings when it comes to the secondary?

“Just his play style and his versatility. He’s selfless. He’s a pure football player. And to see that, there are some people that, the old thoughts that can be put out there that guys that play nickel also, won’t get paid. It’s harder. I think it’s really hard to be able to do both. We’ve been saying that consistently over and over and I feel like there’s more value than people realize. I think people who know football know that that’s hard to do. And for him to do it so successfully that he can cover outside, inside, because a lot of offenses can move the receivers around, but you also have to fit like a safety and a linebacker, but also cover that guy really well too. It’s just, it allows us to do a lot with him and he does it really well. It’s really huge for us to get him and just excited that we did and really for him too, because he deserves it.”

What’s the mental preparation for having those dual roles as far as preparing for an opponent? Do you have to study more receivers than you would normally?

“He just has to do both. Our linebackers, we ask a lot of them too. They have to, with some of the routes they have to cover and fit in the run game. You just get reps and study it and that’s why it usually takes longer. That was part of the reason why when we got [CB] Renardo [Green] I was really adamant about getting him started at nickel because it’s definitely harder. So I wanted to put the tougher stuff on him early, then move him outside. That’s just part of the process. You just need a lot of reps and like I said, he’s just gotten better over time.”

In that same vein with LB Fred Warner, when you see the product on the field, the performance and all that production. When you see him behind the scenes, the work he’s putting in, in terms of film study and all those things, what are kind of your observations of just the level of work that he puts in?

“Oh yeah. You can’t say enough about Fred. You could ask anybody. He is a true machine when it comes to preparation, both mentally and physically. He does everything right. He takes care of his body. He practices the same way that he plays every single day. Probably since day one, since he’s been here. I wasn’t here when he first got here, but I know that’s, for him to be able to step right in and take over like he did, especially at the Mike linebacker position where you’re making all the calls. He’s such a great communicator, but it’s just, he doesn’t change ever. It’s just so consistent and that’s why he plays the way he does.”

There is so much that you put on his plate because of his position, but how easy is it to, I guess maybe not easy. How difficult is it not to put too much on, like to kind of rein things in in terms of, “We could ask him to do X, Y and Z.”

“He’s been in the same system for so long that he has just gotten really good at it. So it does take time. But like I said, he puts so much preparation to into it, it matters to him and he is the best. He’s really smart, he’s really physical, he plays fast, but when you can be smart like that allows you to play faster. But he also trains like that every day. So it’s, it’s not something that he just turns on, on game day, it’s just part of who he is because he does it all the time. And as far as, we definitely try and push to have more. I try and push to have more guys communicate around him, because it is a lot to make all the calls and everything and our guys have done a really good job. That’s why I always talk about, when you guys ask about the safeties and young safeties, it’s, for me it’s the communication and our guys have done a great job with that, with [S Ji’Ayir Brown] Tig and [S] Malik [Mustapha]. So that’s been really good.”

DL Nick Bosa and DL Leonard Floyd are playing a lot of snaps. 86-percent for Bosa. It’s as far and away his career high. What the plan to make sure those guys get to January? Is DL Yetur Gross-Matos coming back? Are you looking at free agents? How do you help those guys?

“We try to, but we want to win the game. I think it’s something Bosa, he’s willing to do. And obviously, you want to protect him, but there were a couple games early on, he didn’t have as many snaps either. So you can talk percentage, but it’s also depending on the game. I think that happened early in the year, a high percentage, but some of those games we were in the fifties. So, it really depends on the game situation.”

Why have you guys had so much success against Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith? A guy that’s putting up big numbers, but you guys have, you’ve had his number.

“I wouldn’t say we had his number. I respect the heck out of Geno. I was with him in Seattle. Even when he was backing up [Pittsburgh Steelers QB Russell Wilson] Russ, I always, and everyone in the building there respected him too. He’s got such a great arm, a great attitude, he prepares and he can still move. Even though he is a little older, but not really quarterback wise, he can still move. He’s got great vision. He can make all the throws, he’s strong enough and fast enough to escape. But he’s the type of guy that has that, the right mindset and you see it on tape and you see the way that he plays with whoever it is out there, he gets the best out of them.”

They struggle to run the ball consistently, Seattle has. And it seems like a few times, you guys have games this year where you played a team that struggled against the run, but when you go against him, your preparation is always, “Well they’re going to try this week.” Is that kind of what you’re thinking?

“Well, the first time we played them, I think going into it, [RB] Kenneth Walker [III] the previous week only had five carries. It was just, you just feel like that’s not what they want to do. Now some of their games have been out of hand too, or like out of balance. And when they’re in balance and the game is close what was it, the Rams, I know it went to overtime, but they ran the ball 33 times. So I feel like they do want to be balanced. When you really look at the games and you watch how the games go, it just depends on the situation. And that can happen to anybody. I think they truly do want to be balanced. Yes, they do spread out and do a lot that way, but with the talent that they have, even [RB Zach] Charbonnet is a good back too. But Kenneth Walker’s extremely talented, so I think they do want to run it and you know, we want to take it away.”

How much bigger is Deommodore Lenoir than his actual size? Especially when you see him going up against a guy like Seattle Seahawks WR DK Metcalf who clearly outweighs him.

“DK probably outweighs almost every corner he goes against. I can’t imagine, probably half the linebackers too. But Dmo’s just, he’s tough. He’s strong, he’s stout. He plays that way whether it’s in coverage, which is tough because some guys at the top of the route can get pushed around and he generally has the ability to stay sticky to a guy, which is another thing that allows him to be able to play outside as well as inside, because he still has the quickness inside to go with being able to trigger in the run game, fight off blockers and go make tackles on bigger running backs. So that’s really the value, like I said, that Dmo brings, is being able to do both.”