Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Chris Foerster Press Conference

Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Chris Foerster

Press Conference – November 30, 2023

San Francisco 49ers

What kind of challenge is it knowing you’re going up against one of, if not the best defensive line in all of football?

“It’s a great challenge. I mean, it’s a great rush group, you’re on the road with a silent count. Just a lot of things that go into it. We always have individual matchups every week. There’s always a good rusher or two in every group. Every single guy across their front and even when they start rolling in second team guys, they can rush the passer really, really well. It’s a real challenge. It’s exciting to have that challenge. It’s a great challenge. It’s a challenge though. You really have to dig in and be ready to go.”

What makes Philadelphia Eagles LB Haason Reddick a unique challenge?

“Speed. Yeah, Haason has a very, very great get off, great speed. He’s got a real good ability to finish at the top of the pocket. A lot of guys can get the top of the pocket with speed, but it’s really hard to turn and make that last turn to the quarterback and make the play and he can just keep running with great speed and make that turn at the top of the pocket, which is really, really good. And when you think, okay, I’m going to get out there and make sure he can’t run around the corner, he can beat you inside. He’s got a little bit of everything. He’s really developed his game. It’s really cool to watch a player that you really didn’t give much mind to when he was in Arizona. And then all of a sudden as time’s gone on, he just keeps working at his craft, working at his craft, and becomes this really elite pass rusher, which is really cool to see, for me anyway, to watch a guy develop. [OL] Colton [McKivitz] probably wishes he didn’t develop quite as fast.”

I know they have a three-four defense, but do they ever do any of the wide nine stuff that they’ve done in the past?

“Yeah, definitely. When they go to their nickel four down package. Really at the end of the day, those two guys, the outside linebackers really play like wide nines anyway. But when they get to the four down, it looks much more like our defense with a two-high and a three technique inside then the two guys that are the outside linebackers playing those end positions. So, it’s very similar to what they’ve always done.”

Haason Reddick is 240 pounds, but does he play like a bigger, stronger defensive lineman?

“He plays with great leverage. Both those guys do a really nice job of setting the edge with leverage, use their arm length, use their anchor. They can bend and sit down. They do a good job. Both those guys are good edge setters.”

Is OL Jon Feliciano a upgrade from OL Spencer Burford? And if so, how is he the superior player?

“Right now, I’d say that everybody’s graded about the same this season. There’s a very fine line between all of them. So to say that one’s an upgrade over another – they all bring something different to the table. All the guys that are in there. [T] Trent’s [Williams] the only guy that kind is an outlier, cut above everybody else, as far as ability and the things he does. But when you look at the rest of the guys, you look at any given game and you can say, oh, this week Colton’s better, this week Spencer’s better, this week Jon’s better, this week Trent, [C] Jake [Brendel]. We’re all about the same. They all play well together. They work well together, and it’s just what they bring to the table on a given week.”

What does Feliciano do well?

“Jon’s thing is, in pass protection, he’s pretty reliable. His experience level is, I guess the thing that would be the most. He’s been there, done that, played in the games, has experienced all the things, has played against these players that we’re playing against this week, being in the division against them the last couple years. So, like I say, every week it’s a different thing. So, Jon brings that experience level and I’d say his pass protection probably the thing he’s probably doing the best job of right now.”

Where is your offensive line, both individually and working together compared to what you hoped or expected they would be at this point in the season to where they actually are right now? Are you pleased with the way the offensive line is coming along?

“Yeah, I mean, I just say we’re still trying to get better. We’ve been okay, we’re productive. Offense has been productive in running the ball protection wise, but there’s just so many things we can do better. We’re just not there yet. We’re a working progress. Each individual’s getting a little bit better every week. That’s the thing I did notice over the Bye Week and it’s continued these last three weeks since the Bye that I did notice. It was incremental, it was small, but Spencer, Colton, Jake, [OL Aaron] Banks to a degree then he got hurt, you saw him getting better, even Trent. Trent has to get himself back into playing shape from early in the season as we go through the year, he gets better and better as the year goes on, as long as he stays healthy. So I think we’re progressing and working to get better, but there’s a lot to do. What I like seeing as group, is I do think they’re beginning to work better as a group, as each week goes on. That’s the thing that I hope continues. There’s so many things that go into playing well together as a group, and it’s not just line up next to the same guy. It’s just understanding the concept of a play and understanding how the defense, how we apply our techniques and fundamentals to that play against this particular defense. And then having the guys being on the same page with it. That’s the thing that’s really exciting to watch as it goes on and as I’ve stated here before, you play football every day and we play six days a week or whatever it is, we get to practice and do all that we get to do and guys can get better. Our guys because of [Head Coach] Kyle [Shanahan] and how we do things here, they’re always working. We’re always making sure that they have to work and when they work at it, they tend to get better if they have the ability to do it. So, it’s been incremental – not there yet, not at all. I’m glad we have six regular season games left to see how we do, and this will be a great test to see where we are.”

Along those lines, are you happy that this game’s coming first week in December and not the middle of September?

“I’m good either way. [Laughs]. It’s a tough opponent. They’d have been tough in September. They’d be tough in December. They’re a really good opponent, good team.”

What makes it tough to run on the Eagles defense?

“When we played Jacksonville, the thing that we commented on was that it wasn’t like it was confusing. It wasn’t like they had a bunch of crazy things to pick up and block. They just defeat blocks. They just are good players. The big guys inside get off blocks and make tackles, the edge setters set edges and get rid of the guys that are trying to block them on the edge and make tackles, the inside linebackers, although they’ve lost one of them, the more you study them, man, they’re hard to get blocked on a second level. They do a good job of either running around or running over the top of, and making linemen miss them on the second level. They get to make tackles and they do a good job of not getting blocked. I guess that’s what makes you pretty good on defense.”

Philadelphia Eagles DT Jalen Carter does some amazing things. What do you see when you watch him?

“Well, the thing is, the run defense, and we just talked about it, how strong and physical the guys are up front. They do a good job of dealing with blockers and getting off blocks and making plays, but the explosiveness with which he can rush the passer. He’s just got this tremendous explosion, this side-to-side movement, the way he gets into a guy and all of a sudden, bam, a quick movement. He’s off the guy and in the quarterback’s face, just tremendously explosive for a big man.”