HEAD COACH KYLE SHANAHAN
(On playing an opponent twice in two weeks and what they can take away from the first game) "We've just got to play a lot better. Obviously, you can see what the score was. Turning it over and not getting any turnovers, we need to run the ball better and we need to stop their run better so it's pretty much Football 101 in terms of why you win and why you lose so we need to do that stuff better. Playing a team twice in two weeks is a little different but it can be fun, too. Especially the way it went for us, it was a bad feeling for us and I'd love to get another chance at them. To be able to do that ten days later is something you're excited about and you know scheme-wise, nothing's really changing. It's about going out there and playing football and this happened to me a couple of years ago. 2015, I think, we played Carolina in Atlanta and got shut out and we had to play them ten days later. It was their 16-0 year and we were able to beat them two weeks later and give them their only loss. I've done it once and that was a good feeling but it is a little unusual."
(On Dante Pettis) "He's finally healthy, and he hasn't been healthy all year. He kind of came into the year banged up and we had to shut him down for a month and then when he came back, it took him a while to get back into the groove. We lost (Marquise Goodwin) the day before the game at Tampa so that was the first time Dante got thrown out there a lot. We didn't have enough guys to sub him or anything. We just had to throw him into the fire and he had to play the whole game and he got better as the game went and had some good plays in that game but then he carried it over to Seattle, where he had a couple good plays again. We gave him the same situation last week versus Denver. The main thing is getting more opportunities because he's healthy and by no means has he been perfect, but he's doing some good things and hopefully he can continue to get better."
(You've heard a lot about Seattle having not lost to the 49ers for quite some time. Is that something that you bring up to the team? How do you handle that?) "No, I've brought it up to the team. I don't think it's something I have to bring up to the team. I think they're very well aware of it. I think you hear it every time anyone speaks of the Seahawks. It's something that we're not proud of. It's been since 2013. I know not all of us have been here since then, but it doesn't really matter. It's something that's not going to go away until we win. We're not going to have that opportunity to do that again after Sunday for another year. I'm glad we have another opportunity and hopefully we don't have to hear that after this weekend."
(Do you guys do anything to prepare for what might be a wet field on Sunday?) "Not really. You can sit and wet the balls and stuff. We had a few of those practices last week, playing in rain. But no, we just try to have a crisp practice out there. We know what to expect. We have seen the weather reports and everything. It had taken a while to rain and then it's been raining a ton so our grass has been much slicker this year. We've had guys slipping a ton for the last month or so, which at first bothered us. But, I told the guys today that I'm so on it, we planned to do this, we've gotten our practice field this way knowing it would prepare them for Sunday because I'm sure the stadium will be like that with the rain and everything. So, that's where our preparation has been."
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR ROBERT SALEH
(We were asking players on your defense yesterday, what's the key to stopping the Seahawks? They said it's the same thing. You've got to stop the run, you've got to set the edges. What's the key in that facing them this week? What do you guys have to do?) "It's the same. They had seven carries for over 110 yards when they broke our edges. So, it's gap discipline and making sure that you set edges on the defense with great lockout and extension. Keep the ball in the chute and go tackle them. When you tackle, you've got to arrive violently. Their other 22 carries went for 50-something yards. They're a very, very good running team. Their three backs are probably the most underrated trio of backs in football, in my opinion. [Seattle Seahawks QB] Russell [Wilson], obviously, is no slouch. So, they've got a dynamic offense. They look pretty good. They've got a great philosophy to what they're doing right now. It's going to be an exciting challenge."
(What goes into stopping Russell as a runner and how does he make that rushing attack tougher to stop?) "From a running standpoint, mostly with Russell, when he drops back to pass and the play breaks down, he extends plays, he gets off-schedule, that's where Russell is his most dangerous. Obviously, he could always tuck it and run, which he does. But, he's most dangerous when he goes off-schedule on a pass play. You've got to get great pocket push. You've got to have great lane discipline in your rush lanes, and the big thing is you've got to have extension and lockout, even in pass plays where if you let them into your body where they can tug and hold you, he's going to escape. They've got an art to it, the way they teach their scramble rules, the receivers and all that stuff. They've been doing it for a long time and they're really efficient."
(Their run game really took off when they started using that heavy package with Seahawks Seahawks T George Fant in there more. What kind of challenge is that? How do you attack that when you see that?) "He's a big boy, so it's not like a normal tight end that you can just knock back and ragdoll. He's an added element where he creates push and strain. It's a good element. They're very deliberate in what they're trying to accomplish. They're very effective at it, too."
(You mentioned that the running back trio there in Seattle is underrated. What have you seen from them, specifically from Seattle Seahawks Rashaad Penny who has had an increase in production the last few weeks?) "Rashaad is a dynamic runner. You can see the talent, for sure. All of them, they've got speed to break it outside. They've got strength to push it inside and they break tackles, they make people miss. They've got breakaway speed. They complement each other really well and you could tell that they feed off of each other in terms of what each other is getting. So, it's a cool group they have, to be honest with you."
QB NICK MULLENS
(Is it different, like, you just prepared to face this team two weeks ago. Do you just do the same thing? Do you look at other areas? How do you approach it?) "I feel like it's pretty similar, to be honest. There's some recall going back to things we did against Seattle. We can look at how we did the first time, what we can do better and what things worked and what didn't. So, definitely some recall going back to the first matchup. Definitely looking forward to this week, seeing them again."
(Seattle has played you before, so they probably would have a book on you more than other teams would. What do you think the book on you is?) "Just quick decision-maker, going to distribute the ball. That's kind of what I pride myself in. So, I don't know how they see me, but it's kind of how I see myself. I assume they're game-planning for that."
(You say you wouldn't have been one of the fastest. Going back to that Seattle game, the pick-six, you gave a little bit of pursuit. Did you think you had a chance?) "I thought I had a chance. But, [Seattle Seahawks LB] Bobby's [Wagner] a great player. He made a great play. He earned his touchdown. It would've been cool to get him, but I didn't."
(Did that play, out of all the plays that you had against them, was that the one that sticks out the most that you wish you had back?) "Yeah, you could say that. It's probably the worst. I still don't think I made a terrible decision or I don't even think the throw was that bad, to be honest. But, he made one heck of a play. It's just the linebacker matched up with the running back and he was better than me on that play. So, he deserves some credit for that."
