Defensive Coordinator Nick Sorensen Press Conference
Defensive Coordinator Nick Sorensen
Press Conference – September 19, 2024
San Francisco 49ers
Listen to Audio I Media Center
How did CB Charvarius Ward look in practice yesterday? Was it difficult for him to get through the session?
“No, he looked good. He looked good.”
He didn’t practice today right?
“He didn’t. No, he just, there’s some soreness and so we’re just being smart. We decided to hold him out.”
What is CB Renardo Green’s state of readiness in case he needs to play more this week?
“He’s looked great. He continually gets better. So we’ve got total confidence in Renardo. He’s very competitive, he’s always wanting to learn, he is learning. Just feel great about him.”
On the Minnesota Vikings WR Jalen Nailor touchdown when they went to the corner, it seemed to be a bust, both guys jumped the flat. Why was there such confusion on that play?
“Yeah, those ones are tough. They sell it really good. We’ve just got to be disciplined with our eyes and execution.”
Now that S Talanoa Hufanga is coming back, what are you getting back with him? Just his personality and everything coming back to the field?
“He’s an All-Pro player. He is someone with a lot of experience. He’s got great energy, he’s a great communicator, he flies around the field, he makes plays. You just, you get a complete player and I think he’s really excited too.”
Sometimes players get in that, feel isolated when they’re coming back. I know he’s generally a positive person. How has he been through this journey back?
“He’s been great. These last, as he started to ramp up and get into practice, I think he’s just been more connected. Like you say, you can feel disconnected, but he makes sure that he’s right there. In walk-through, he’ll shadow whoever’s in, so he is getting himself those actual reps and making sure that you hear him on the side, making all the calls that he’d be making as if he was actually in the game. That’s really what you want everyone to do. If you’re not getting the rep, you should get a mental rep. He was fully in it. If you can do that, you basically steal reps when you’re not actually out there. Obviously, you need the physical reps, but when you can mentally make those calls, put yourself in the play at that time, you are getting better and you are putting yourself into those plays and you’re reacting as it’s happening rather than just maybe seeing it on tape. It’s just different when you’re out there and it’s not expected. And he did a good job of that. So he was totally preparing himself to be ready.”
It’s been only been a couple of games obviously, but third down you guys have struggled to get off the field. Particularly third-and-long. What are you seeing there? Why are things struggling?
“I think it’s, any time you’re not having success, you first look at yourself. I know our players do. I know I do. All of our coaches do. So me personally, I’m like, what can I do better? And then it’s always a combination of things. Is it plan, is it execution? And we’ve just got to be tighter, bottom line, in all of it.”
You say you’re evaluating yourself, what do you mean?
“Just every part of it. I think all of this is, I think you always do. I think every coach does. I think I did that when I was, no matter what position I’ve been in, as a coach, as a player, I always felt like if something didn’t go right, what could I have done different this week? Or what, could I have given different looks, or do we need a different tweak to this call? So it’s, oh no, this just happened because of that. And so, you want to be true to what you’re doing in preparation, but I think you should always have a growth mindset and try and be better. We obviously want to perform better, so you always have to fix something that isn’t exactly how you want it.”
Have Huf’s mental reps that you talked about manifested himself this week when he is full-go for the first time on practice?
“Yeah, he has. It’s like he hasn’t missed a beat. And like I said, he was getting some of those look-team reps too. Anytime if you’re not getting our actual reps for the defense and you’re kind of on that look team, you try and do the same thing. As you’re going through them, what part of this can translate to how we play defense? Well, a lot of it can. There might be some different coverages or something like that, that may be different. But if you translate that to what you’re doing, and that goes for any practice squad player, you should, you’re trying to steal reps and prepare yourself for the chance to play because it is a long season and a lot of guys end up playing.”
He’s been playing his best many times over the years, but two games in, in LB Fred Warner’s performances, how has he just reiterated and solidified that he’s the MVP on the defense?
“I said it a few weeks ago, he is the best linebacker in the game. He is who he is. I think he’s been that for a while. I think when I first got it, I was like, ‘Golly, this guy is unbelievable.’ And it’s, he just keeps proving it over and over.”
What do you tell your defensive front about what opportunities they might have Sunday against a Rams front that’s obviously going through a lot the last couple games?
“They want to attack. They always, D-Linemen want to get after the quarterback. So we, I think first and foremost as always, we’ve got to earn that right. And that’s with being good on first and second down. Whether it’s run game or how [Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew] Stafford operates because he’s one of the best that’s ever done it. The running back is, utmost respect for how he runs. [Los Angeles Rams RB Kyren] Williams is, he had a heck of a year last year. I know you could sit there and look at his numbers from this year and think, ‘No, he’s not.’ No, this guy is legit. We have a ton of respect in how we studied him last year and how he ran. He’s very tough. He’s got great vision. He’s got the ability to have patience and hit a hole with burst or bounce it and cut it back. But I feel like I’ve never seen him get knocked backwards. He’s always falling forward just because he’s got just good body balance and just contact balance too and vision to go along with it. To get to that portion of it for the D-Linemen, you’ve got to be good on first and second down.”
Are you getting enough out of your interior linemen?
“Oh yeah. I feel great about our group.”
The signature play of this game was probably the Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson touchdown. And it appeared he was lined up against S George Odom. Is that the matchup that you wanted?
“Yeah, I mean it was, in those situations, they made a great play. He made a great throw and catch. And obviously you just, you want to execute better, and you always look at yourself, like I said, how can we be better in those situations? That goes for myself, the players, everybody. It’s just, they made a heck of a play. It was a really good throw, really good catch and finish.”
Before halftime, there’s a third-and-13, I think Nailor comes across in motion. You guys were in the zone and your nickel bumps out to the outside following Nailor, left Jefferson in slot against Warner, I think it was 16-yard gain. Is that the way that’s supposed to be played in that situation?
“Yeah, there was, without getting too deep, we just didn’t execute it the exact right way. And you know, some of it wasn’t perfect. And again, like I said, it goes to all of us, us preparing the players and taking ownership of that. Just as a group, we all know we want to be better.”
DL Nick Bosa was talking about how he had two great back-to-back plays against Minnesota Vikings LT Christian Darrisaw. He had a sack and then he knocked him down on the screen. He said, “That gave me a lot of confidence.” I think a lot of people would think Nick Bosa always has confidence. Is that something, you’ve been around a lot of great players as a coach and a player, is this something a lot of great players have? Just that they’re always, not that they’re always struggling with confidence or anything, but are they never satisfied? Do they always like feel like I’ve got to be better?
“Yeah, especially your expectations. Just like you guys are asking me about third down and stuff. I think it’s always, you as an athlete, you want to be perfect. You know that it’s probably never going to be, but you want it to be. And especially people, when they’re really great players like Bosa, all those, all the greats that have ever played. And in any sport, you do want to be the best and you want to be great on every play. So are you maybe disappointed on certain moments? Yes. And then can you get those boosts of confidence like Nick’s talking about? Absolutely. We’re human. He’s going to keep going. He’s going to keep plugging and stay great. But yeah, of course we’re always going to have those emotional boosts of confidence when you make a play. That’s why guys get so excited. And really, that matriculates to anyone. Even if you didn’t make the play, that helps your team out too or your teammates.”