After Friday’s practice, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters, delivering last updates ahead of the team’s Week 13 battle against the Philadelphia Eagles. Here is everything he said.
Opening Comments
“All right, here are the game-day injuries: [RB] Jordan Mason is questionable, [WR] Ray-Ray [McCloud III] is questionable, and [DL] Arik Armstead is questionable.” “Go ahead and do it.”
What’s one thing about the Eagles that keeps you up at night?
“Nearly everything. A fantastic crew. Excellent offense. Excellent defense. Excellent special forces unit. As a result, it alternates.”
OL Aaron Banks is not even on the list. You mentioned before he played where he might not have under ordinary circumstances. Obviously he had no setbacks at all, right? He’s ascending?
“Yeah, I think that game helped him a lot because you never know until you try it.” He got through it without any complications. As a result, it gave him a lot of confidence. After a lengthy weekend, he was feeling great by the time we arrived here on Monday.”
Did you guys make a claim on TE Zach Ertz?
“No, I don’t think so.”
This is a question in relation to early in the NFC Championship Game. Whenever a team has a play like that pass down the field and you don’t have a clear replay or angle, but the team rushes to the line of scrimmage, have you thought about how you’ll handle that in the future? Did that play influence anything you guys do moving forward?
“That play didn’t work. I mean, I handled it exactly like I always have. If they rush to the line and it’s a big play and you don’t know what to do, I’d chuck it. I believe I accomplished that earlier this year against Jacksonville. I believe it was in Jacksonville. Do you recall? I threw one, and I believe we got an interception a couple of plays later. The issue with that one is that everyone on our headsets thought he caught it, and then they showed something on the replay that appeared to show he caught it. So we didn’t care anymore.
Some people rush after an explosion, while others do it on offense simply to be safe. But we didn’t have any reactions or anything, so we didn’t want to waste the timeout because the replay we saw of how we felt they were acting from everyone who witnessed it live from our side, we thought was perfect. We could tell it was suspect from where we were.
Does it work both ways where a team will rush to the line of scrimmage even if they make the play?
“Definitely. That is something that teams do automatically. Sometimes it forces you to waste a timeout, and other times, after explosives, it’s ideal to sprint down there and go fast because the defense isn’t quite ready.”
What do you think about Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni that makes him a good head coach?
“Observing how accountable he holds his team, how hard they play, and the style in which they play.” On offensively, I appreciate their emphasis on the run game. That’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. They’re not only committed to the run, but they also know what they’re doing. They understand how to run the quarterback. They understand the modifications that defenses must make.
When they make those tweaks, they know how to use them as a pass. So I have a lot of respect for him, just based on what they’ve done there. I don’t know him well, but [Philadelphia Eagles Senior Vice President of Communications] Bob Lange speaks well of him, so he must be a nice guy.”
Did he change much schematically with two new coordinators or are they doing the same things?
“No, they’re doing exactly the same thing. Just as I said to you, when you have different coordinators, it’s always a little different personality, and you can see that sometimes. But they do what they do, and they’re very excellent at it.”
After last year’s NFC Championship Game, you and a lot of your players kind of had the same vibe that you guys were really excited and prepared and thought you had a great plan for that game. I realize these are new teams, it’s different. Do you have similar emotions for this one?
“Yes. It’s uncommon that we haven’t felt that way. I believe we were on a hot streak heading into the NFC Championship Game. So we felt the same way heading into that game as they did, as did the two AFC teams. Everyone is feeling extremely confident at the time. That’s what I believe we made a big deal about.
The strange thing about that game was that none of us had ever been in a game when you lost all of your quarterbacks, and that was what made it unique. Aside from that, we believed it would have been a great game. We wouldn’t have done anything, but we were delighted to participate. If you go back and watch the tape, you’ll notice that I really like how we played. We were prepared for it, but it didn’t go the way we wanted it to.”
The strange thing about that game was that none of us had ever been in a game when you lost all of your quarterbacks, and that was what made it unique. Aside from that, we believed it would have been a great game. We wouldn’t have done anything, but we were delighted to participate. If you go back and watch the tape, you’ll notice that I really like how we played. We were prepared for it, but it didn’t go the way we wanted it to.”
The MVP has become kind of a quarterback award. Do you think RB Christian McCaffrey has made himself a legitimate candidate for that honor?
“I think so, without a doubt.” I know it usually goes to quarterbacks, and there are many of worthy quarterbacks, but you can’t claim Christian is behind anyone. He’s as valuable as anyone in this league.”
Their linebacker situation and they’re down to their backups starting. What is your assessment of who you guys are going to face?
“I mean, I know having injuries is always a challenge. It happens to us at various positions throughout the year and throughout many years. It’s all part of the game. They’ll play their finest players, and they’ll play in the same scheme as the other players. They’re not going to invent anything new. So you discover when you get out there. You don’t go back and properly examine all of those guys; instead, you prepare for their defense.”
