Eric Rowe – October 5, 2020
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Monday, October 5, 2020
S Eric Rowe
(CB Noah Igbinoghene is such a young kid. He’s 20-years-old or something. What have you said or what would you say to kind of steer him in the right direction?) – “Really, what I’ve kind of been telling him really this past season is it’s part of being a rookie. It’s part of the pains of growing, especially as a corner. I have comparable situations to kind of what he’s going through mentally and everything, and really I’m just trying to keep his spirits up because I remember in my second or third year where I had a couple games that were just rough, and you feel like everyone on the outside is kind of bearing down on you. It kind of gets you mentally, so really just for me to pick him up, keep playing because we’re going to need him. We’re going to need him. It’s a long season. We’ve got 12 more games to go at least, so really to keep his spirits up.”
(I was curious if you guys watched the film today. Down in and down out, the defense hung in there. It was again the big plays that seemed to get you. What on those deep throws to Seahawks WR DK Metcalf, etc. really stood out to you? When you watched the film what were the breakdowns on the big plays that you gave up?) – “Yeah, the big plays were – really, it was nothing of what kind of they had schematically or kind of talent-wise. Obviously they’re talented, but it was plays that we as a defense just had a mental breakdown. Just kind of a breakdown in coverage, a breakdown in our communication. That leads to them having big plays and ultimately that’s kind of what hurt us in the game.”
(I wanted to look ahead quickly to the matchup next Sunday. You guys are going to be facing TE George Kittle. He came back into action after missing a couple games. He had like 15 catches, 183 yards. So I guess the question is how big of a challenge is he and what makes him so good as a tight end?) – “It’s a huge challenge. He’s one of the, if not the best, tight ends right now in the league. Obviously as we can see, they target him a lot each game. So obviously he’s going to be a big challenge for us this week. What makes him good is he’s not just a receiving tight end. He blocks. So he’ll get in and he’ll block the nine or block the linebacker and not on some like, ‘oh, I really don’t want to hit you.’ So really he can play both ways, so we’ve definitely got our hands full this week.”
(Another 49ers question for you. QB Jimmy Garoppolo is coming off an ankle injury. It’s unsure whether he will play and the 49ers played two quarterbacks last night – QB Nick Mullens and QB CJ Beathard. How do you guys kind of go into this week knowing that you might have to prepare for three quarterbacks instead of maybe one or two?) – “That’s definitely different. Usually you kind of prepare for one, maybe two; but three – that’s different. Obviously all three of them, they’ve shown that all three of them can play. So it’s not like, ‘okay, the third string is coming in – we’re going to tee off on him.’ I think when Beathard got in, he went like 7-for-7 and scored a touchdown on a drive, and I was like, ‘wow, this dude’s good, too.’ So again, him, (Nick) Mullens, Jimmy (Garoppolo) – it don’t matter who’s playing. We’ve got to play our best ball.”
(I wanted to go back to what you mentioned before about breakdowns in communication. Is that a matter of guys getting confused over whether you’re in man or zone and how do you solve that? What steps are you going to take to make sure that such breakdowns don’t occur moving forward?) – “It’s really the call within the call. So whatever call that we have lined up against the opponent, and there’s always checks based on whatever they do. So we as in safeties, corners – everybody – we all have to be on the same page on motion, shift, kind of whatever they do. So when I mean ‘breakdown in communication,’ if the offense, they did some sort of motion and then whatever call that we have to give out, we have to give it out clean, faster, crisp so we can execute. Obviously that didn’t happen last game. There were a couple calls kind of within the call where not everybody was on the same page just at the end of the day. The only thing we can do is shoot, when we get back to practice on – it really starts today. Today, we watch the film and then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, it’s just being overly-communicative, loud, before and in the meeting room.”
(I know you guys wanted to be or have been a heavy man team and then you guys have done a little bit more zone since CB Byron Jones has been out; but how have you seen offenses attack you guys with that? I know we’ve seen a lot more crossing routes. You talked about some of the communication things. Have you seen teams try to get you guys in position where they can exploit your tendency to play a lot more man?) – “Yeah. Every offense, whether you’re in man or zone, they’re always going to have some sort of plays to beat the coverage whether we’re in Cover 4, 3, 2; there’s always some sort of scheme, schematic they have to beat the coverage. So our thing is to try to obviously keep them off balance by mixing different types of zones and then throwing in man, so the offensive coordinator won’t just have a whole playbook of just, ‘okay, we’re going to run all these man-beaters because we know they’re going to run man all game.’ So that’s why we’ve just got to mix it up, kind of balance it out.”
(I wanted to ask you, now that you’ve settled into this I guess role where I don’t know exactly what they call you position covering the tight ends. What makes it fit your skillset as well as it does or seems to?) – “I would say that I’m a bigger-body cover guy and I can move. I’m pretty agile. So with tight ends, obviously these dudes are tall, they’re big. Maybe – I wouldn’t say all of them, but some aren’t as agile and just kind of just schematically, the way that the coaches, how they use me – they move me all around from safety and I’m in the box, I’m in the back, sometimes I play like a linebacker role – it kind of fits me. Or maybe I would say I fit their scheme; and so shoot, when they put me in there last year, I kind of excelled and I’m trying to get the same results this year.”
Christian Wilkins – October 5, 2020
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Monday, October 5, 2020
DT Christian Wilkins
(Can you share some of the message you’ve taken away from Head Coach Brian Flores either in postgame or I don’t know if you’ve met as a team yet this morning; but what are some of the things that he’s saying that resonates with you?) – “The biggest thing that we feel as a team is that – a few things are that we just got to be better in all three areas of the game, first and foremost. We’re not far off. It’s just a few things here and there. We’ve really got to hone in and take ownership, everyone individually. Then in your segments, in your positions, and on your side of the ball and as a team. You’ve really just got to take ownership of all of that and just work like crazy to improve on that. I feel like we will, because we have a lot of guys who care, who work hard. If we just keep hammering away and work on things that we are not doing so great, I think we’ll improve each week.”
(I looked at your box score yesterday. You were credited with a tackle and I think you had 44 snaps. Were they doubling you a bunch? What were they doing to kind of neutralize you yesterday?) – “Really, sometimes in a game, you just play and things come your way and things don’t come your way. With that many snaps, I do have to make more plays. I take ownership in that. I’ve got to do more than just do my job. It’s not just enough for me to just do my job. I’ll be the first to say when plays come my way and things happen, I’ve got to be more productive.”
(You guys have lost by 10 points, 3 points and 8 points in the three losses this season. That has to be equal parts discouraging and also encouraging for you guys. What are some things you guys can do to potentially play better and finish moving forward?) – “Typically if you look at it, most NFL games are within seven points or so, or one-score games. Like I said, it means that we’re close; but there is another level we can go to and I know we can go to it because we’ve got the right kind of guys in the locker room, the right kind of coaches, really everyone involved. We’ve got the right people around, so I think we’ll make that jump when we make those improvements, for sure.”
(On that same note of being resilient and getting through adversity, that is a big part of what every team has to do in this league. I’m curious, since you’re one of the guys that was here last year and been a part of this program for two years now, how can you compare what you guys were able to do last year to overcome some of those adversities and how you might be able to apply them this season?) – “Really, last year I just feel like we had guys who are still buying in and sticking with it. We know what we ultimately wanted at the end of the day, so we just kept working for it and kept making improvements each week. That’s pretty much what we need to do each week. Every day, every minute we’re in this facility, every minute we’re away, just keep doing things, keep being all about ball and finding ways to improve.”
(You’ve got a guy on the outside in CB Noah Igbinoghene, who has had some struggles in past weeks. You as a former first-round pick, is there something you can say to him about maybe being in that role, in that position, and how to deal with that?) – “I feel like as a defense, we all have a lot of faith in Noah and his abilities and what he can do. We’re not too super worried or anything. We know he’s going to make jumps and improvements because he’s a good player, he works hard and he comes every day with the right mindset. We’re all behind him, we’re all for him and we all think he’ll make the necessary improvements, like we all need to do.”
(I wanted to ask you about the contrast of this season versus last season. I know last season is in the past, but is it encouraging that you guys have played four close games except for Jacksonville as opposed to last year’s early blowouts? Or do you not look at that as sort of a moral victory?) – “Yeah, there are no moral victories. You want to win. That’s what we’re here for. That’s why you put so much work in. You want to improve each week, and you want to win each week, really. There are no moral victories. I don’t really look at that. We didn’t get the results we want at the end of the day. It doesn’t matter if it was by one point or by 100 points we lost by, you want to win at the end of the day.”
(South Florida wants to know what your Clemson vs. Miami prediction is?) – “Y’all trying to get me. (laughter) I’m rolling with my alma mater, of course. It’s a Clemson win, for sure. That’s how I’m rolling.”
(I’m doing a story on the development of QB Tua Tagovailoa. What have you seen at practice from him? We haven’t seen him obviously for a month since they shutdown practice for us. How has he looked at practice?) – “I think Tua is a great player. He works really hard. That’s all you want in a young guy in his position, just see the work ethic and the competitiveness and that’s all you see from him day in and day out. Whether it’s in the meeting room or on the field, this guy works hard.”
(QB Jimmy Garoppolo is dealing with an ankle injury and the 49ers played two QBs last night. What’s the challenge that you guys could face preparing for three QBs instead of one or two?) – “Just more guys you’ve got to be ready for. You don’t know what you’re going to get. I just feel – typically it’s a schematic thing. Once you know what they like to do from a scheme standpoint, you can kind of just play ball from there.”
DeVante Parker – October 5, 2020
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Monday, October 5, 2020
WR DeVante Parker
(I know you’ve previously spoke about how important it was for you to play every single game this season. Was that in the back of your mind when you decided to continue to play yesterday?) – “Yeah, it was actually because I don’t have time to be missing out on games and little stuff like that – little tweaks and stuff like that. I just feel like I have a need – I’ve got to come back in.”
(How would you assess how QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has played through the first four weeks of the season and why do you think he’s the right quarterback for this team?) – “I think pretty well – he’s been playing pretty well. He’s making adjustments, reading the defense. We adjust to things off of what he sees.”
(Going back to that first question about prioritizing getting back on the football field. What has kind of changed for you and your mindset from this year to previous years, where you’ve been able to approach that mindset and get back out there and play through an injury and have a productive day like that?) – “I would say I was just younger back then and I wasn’t used to injuries like that all of the time. It was something new for me; but now as you get older, you realize that it’s just something that you can play through.”
(You talk about just sort of playing through pain. Is it something special when you know you’re dealing with something and you can still make big plays and still have a big game? Does that add a little extra to you?) – “Not really, no. If an opportunity comes my way, I just have to make the plays no matter what – injured or not.”
(Only eight Dolphins in history now have more receiving yards than you. You’ve climbed the charts in terms of Dolphins history. What does that mean to you to know that you’re going to be potentially remembered among the best receivers in Dolphins history?) – “It means a lot but I’m not really focused on that. I’m just focused on getting wins for this team. That’s the biggest thing.”
(There will be a lot of discussion going forward about when and how QB Tua Tagovailoa should be entered into a game. What have you seen out of him in practice and is your sense that he might be ready to see some action?) – “Whatever the coaches feel who the starting QB needs to be, that’s who they’re going to put out there. I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do and doing what I can to help the team. That’s the coaches’ choice.”
(This is an important question because WR Jakeem Grant claims you told him that he is the inspiration for the irritating nephew in your cartoon. I just need confirmation from you. Is Jakeem the inspiration?) – “(laughter) Yes, he is. It’s based on Jakeem.”
(It seemed like yesterday when we talked to the guys after the game, there was this overwhelming consensus that you guys feel like you’re better than 1-3. What’s kind of the mentality today as you shift into the new week and kind of work on the next opponent?) – “We’re coming in today, watching a little film, make the corrections and then we’ll come out the next day – the off day – and look at the next team. Then we’ll come back the next day and get focused and start the new week.”
(We’ve seen your videos – your Uncle ‘Vante videos. You’re not the most talkative dude but it seems like that’s kind of a way to show your personality a little bit more. Is that the goal of it, to let people see a different side of you?) – “Yeah, I’d say that’s one of the goals. Coming in early, I wasn’t really known, like you said, as the talkative type; but I’m trying to let me personality out a little bit more now.”
Noah Igbinoghene – October 4, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 4, 2020
Postgame – Seattle
CB Noah Igbinoghene
(Obviously some struggles with the big play. Can you tell me what happened at the end of the half in that 25 second drive? What went wrong?) – “It was just a mistake. I made a mistake honestly. I’ve just got to get in the film room and fix it. I knew what to do. It was just a mistake, like I said before.”
(You’re I think the youngest guy on the roster. You have a bright future ahead of you, but it’s not what you wanted your career to start. Have you been ready for this moment? Has it been too big for you for four games in?) – “No, I don’t feel like nothing’s been too big for me at all. I put the work in over this offseason and in the summer and coming into training camp as well, so I don’t feel like anything is too big for me. I made a couple mistakes the first couple of games. I’m not going to lie. I’ve just got to keep working and it’ll work out.”
(How do you process this start that you’ve had? I mean it’s pretty much uneven which isn’t unexpected by a rookie, but this game you gave up two big plays that pretty much cost the team the game.) – “Like mentally how do I process it? There’s nothing really I can do right now. If I could turn back time, of course I would go back and do it, but I can’t really do that right now. I’ve just got to move past it as a man to keep pushing forward and keep working and fix it. I feel like that’s the most important thing.”
(How do you manage to keep your confidence up?) – “It’s a mistake, people. I myself, I make a lot of mistakes and not only in football, but in life as well, so I can’t really dwell on it. Like I said, I just have to keep working on it and fix it. I feel like that’s the most important thing. Confidence has nothing to do with it. I am a very confident dude and I make mistakes and it happens to everybody, so I’ve just got to keep working and now fix it.”
(When you go back from press to zone, what are some things that are not happening on the back end you know, after some receivers get past you and you’re just staying in your zone area?) – “I think for me personally it’s just been discipline in my eyes. I feel like my eyes have been bad a couple of times. Some things I’ve been – like a daze goes on and I’m thinking ‘oh that’s not going to happen’ and then boom, it happens. I think it’s just discipline in my eyes personally just for me. I can’t really speak for anybody else on the team.”
(I appreciate you being very, facing the music. I wanted to ask you – I know you’re not going to make excuses – but how could rookie camp… How could preseason games, I’m guessing you would rather have had some of these mistakes happen during preseason, is that right?) – “Yea that sounds good, but that’s just the reality that we aren’t in. I wasn’t able to have my four preseason games or have a longer training camp. I can’t use that as an excuse because I had time. I know what to do. I‘ve been to training camp. I’ve been to practice, so that’s not an excuse at all. I’ve just got to execute myself as a man and as a player and I will.”
Myles Gaskin – October 4, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 4, 2020
Postgame – Seattle
RB Myles Gaskin
(Last two games you guys had, I think, seven touchdown drives; the offense was really clicking. What were some things that were holding you guys back today?) – “Seattle has a good defense. We’ve got to execute better in the red zone. Obviously, we had a lot of drives where we stalled out in the red zone. So, yeah. I don’t think it was – it was definitely our execution in the red zone.”
(Before you guys kicked that fifth field goal, a lot was working for you on that drive; but on that third down, where you guys lost two yards, could you just recall specifically what happened on that play?) – “The backside d-end ran me down. I’ve got to be faster.”
(Obviously things that are unique this year is due to COVID, we are not allowed into the locker room, which I totally understand. So can you give me a little bit of a feeling of what things are like in the locker room after this loss, after the team goes to 1-3?) – “It’s like when you lose a game and you should – or you feel like you should have won it and you had opportunities to win it, that’s what it feels like, if you’ve ever played football.”
Bobby McCain – October 4, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 4, 2020
Postgame – Seattle
S Bobby McCain
(Can you take us through what happened on that last, not really the last, but the second to last drive they had where you pulled within 2 and they just kind of moved down the field and scored?) – “You kind of answered it for yourself. They kind of moved down the field and scored. We just got to … That’s a big stop, that’s a big time for us defensively to get a stop and get our offense the ball and not give them a touchdown, not give a tug up. So, we’ve got to be better there. And just all around, we got to know that’s a critical situation in the game.”
(How do you guys kind of rebound from this performance? You guys did really well kind of keeping the score close and that was something you guys were doing well coming in here. But those two touchdowns at the end of the fourth quarter, were ultimately the difference. How do you improve from that?) – “Do we play next week? Do you know if we’ve got a game this week?”
(49ers.) – “Yes, that’s how we rebound. Get a win. Have a good week of practice, rebound and get a win.”
(As far as those two touchdowns at the end, you guys had allowed only 17 points in the Seahawks’ first seven possessions. Wanted to get your take on what you were able to do to prevent them getting going early on in the game?) – “Just get stops. I mean play defensively. Be better on the back end, up front. As a unit we’ve got to be better, we’ve got to start faster. As a team, we’ve got to start fast and come out with energy and come out and just have a good start to the game because when you get behind in the game, you get down in the game, it makes things hard on you and you’ve got your backs up against the wall.”
(I wanted to ask you, when you have a young player like CB Noah Igbinoghene who is still learning the game, what do you tell him after a performance like today?) – “Just as a defense we’ve just got to get better. He knows it. The back end, everyone knows we got to put our best foot forward because clearly whatever we did today was not enough, all in. So regardless if he’s young, regardless if he’s old, it doesn’t matter. We’ve got to put our hard hat on and go to work starting Wednesday.”
(Everybody knows QB Russell Wilson is a handful — especially this season he’s been on such a roll. How do you think the secondary played overall?) – “We lost. So I can’t really … Gave up big plays. I’m not going to sit here and tell you we’re trash because we’re not; we’ve just got to be better. We’ve got to be better defensively. We’ve got to be better in the secondary and not give up big plays. We have a good team. We have a good defense, and we just didn’t put it all together today.”
(1-3 at the quarter mark of the season. Where does this team stand right now?) – “I believe we’re 1-3.”
Emmanuel Ogbah – October 4, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 4, 2020
Postgame – Seattle
DE Emmanuel Ogbah
(Just curious how the shoulder is feeling after that sack. I know you went back into the game, but how are you feeling right now?) – “It wasn’t me.”
(Looked like you were able to kind of get in the backfield, make a couple of plays in addition to the sack, also had a tackle for the loss in the game. Could you talk us through those plays and what you were able to do to make an impact on the defense?) – “Coach (Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer) drew up a great game plan. I just did my job, really. Set the edge and made tackles and made plays for this team.”
(You did have that fourth-down stop early in the second quarter. Can you just take us through that play? Do you remember what happened on that play?) – “Like I said, (Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Josh) Boyer had a great game plan. I felt like a play needed to be made and I stepped up.”
(With 17:15 until the fourth quarter where they had the two touchdown drives at the end there, how did you take to that in the locker room? What was the mood like after the game there, after giving those two touchdowns up?) – “Shake it off. Just get back out there and play.”
Ted Karras – October 4, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 4, 2020
Postgame – Seattle
C Ted Karras
(As one of the leaders and captains on this team, what is your next job or mission as one of the guys on the forefront of that leadership committee to get this team back on track and get them ready to work on Wednesday?) – “Well, I say it all the time. It’s an old adage that I got from one of my favorite coaches I’ve ever had: Nothing breaks our spirit. We’re out there fighting and we’re 1-3 in close games and that sucks. But we’re just going to keep fighting, keep grinding. The only way is to work your way out of it. So show up tomorrow ready to work and get ready to play San Fran.”
(What do you think happened all those times that you hit the red zone or hit their side of the field that resulted in the field goals rather than touchdowns?) – “I got to watch the film. Finishing in the red zone is definitely the most glaring thing that we need to address. Obviously if we finish, it’s a different ballgame. Give credit to Seattle’s defense, there’s a lot less space down there. They held us out of the end zone on five different long drives. We had the ball for a long time. But we’ve just got to finish better.”
(It’s obviously the practical part of that coming away with three instead of seven several times in a row. It’s got to be deflating, too. Is there sort of an emotional toll that drags you down after a while when it keeps happening?) – “Nothing will ever deflate me in the football setting. I’m coming out ready to go every play.”
(Does it feel like you guys have played better than what your record shows so far?) – “Listen, you can say that all you want, but a record is a record. We have one in the win column and three in the loss. We’re going to grinding our way out, and obviously we fought really hard today. And not good enough to win, though. So we’re going to keep grinding. And the only way I know how to do it is just work as hard as I can. That’s the only reason I’ve even been able to have a job in this league. So we’re going to get back to work tomorrow and head out to the West Coast this Sunday.”
(As one of the leaders on the field, how do you help your guys to ensure they’re also working as hard and trying to get out of this funk?) – “Well, I think we just have a great group of guys. I’m so happy to be on this team. I love my teammates and everyone works really hard and wants to do the right thing. That’s how we’re going to approach every day and that’s how we have approached every day. (Head) Coach (Brian) Flores instills that in our culture, and we’re going to show up to work ready to roll.”
