What The 49ers Said Following Their 12-9 Loss at CenturyLink Field

Quotes from 49ers coaches and players following their 12-9 loss to the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. Head Coach Kyle Shanahan (With your rushing success did you expect to have more passing success today…) “Yeah, I did. You can keep them off balance by running. That helps going against that type of pass rush in that type of noise. That usually helps you block better, so their not always teeing off but we didn’t get the job done in the passing game.” (Your thoughts on your defense…) “Overall I was proud of the defense. I thought that they competed hard. They gave us a great chance to win that game, regardless of what happened and us not being able to stop them at the end. I know they are disappointed. I thought they played a very good game.” (How do you think your team handled the environment…) “It seemed well. It’s a challenge. This is tough place to play in terms of noise. We do a lot with that. I thought we did a decent job with false starts. We knew it was going to be a challenge going in. It’s going to be that way for any team coming in here. By no means was it perfect but from that standpoint I was pleased.” (Thoughts on not scoring a touchdown the first two games…) “Well we're never satisfied. We need to get better in every facet and even if we scored a bunch of touchdowns, I would tell you the same thing. We had big challenges the last two weeks. There are some things we have done well but we haven’t played good enough, especially against versus a team like we saw today, especially against the defense we played last week and that’s what is going to happen. Regardless of how well you run the ball, you have to be able to throw the ball. You have to be able to convert third down, if you want a chance at points. So we didn’t get that done. So we have to go back to work and find a way to not let that happen on Thursday.” (How did Brian (Hoyer) do…) “I think he looked like he struggled out there. I think he was maybe 2 of 12 on third down, for 30 something yards. Obviously we did not do a good job in the passing game.” Quarterback Brian Hoyer (On his interception...) “I didn't hold the linebacker long enough and just when I came back I didn't see him, so it was just a bad mistake and you can't let it happen.” (On if one specific issue was a problem…) “No, I don’t think anything in particular. It’s just execution, I think, and just going out there and doing it. We do it all week in practice, and you’ve got to translate that over to Sunday.” (On after a good preseason, if he is surprised by the outcome of the first two games…) “I don’t know if it’s surprised; I think just disappointed. We felt good about coming into the season, and the first two games haven’t gone the way we’d like them to, especially the way, you know, I’d like them to as far as my personal play. So I’ve got to look at the tape and figure out what I can do a whole lot better, and with this quick turnaround, we have to be ready for the Rams on Thursday night.” Safety Eric Reid (On if he was pleased with the defense’s performance holding Seattle to 12 points…) “I’m not. We didn’t win the game. I think we lost the turnover battle and we didn’t give our offense enough opportunities. All that other stuff doesn’t matter to me.” (On if they are making progress as a defense…) “I think we have room to improve. We did some good things, we did some bad things. Like I said, we can’t expect to win when we lose the turnover battle.” Running Back Carlos Hyde (On the key to running effectively against a good defense…) “Just being decisive. You can’t hesitate with those guys, they play so fast. You can’t hesitate. You have to be decisive. Once you see that hole, you’ve got to hit it now.” (On if his knowledge of the system has allowed him to be a decisive runner…) “Yeah. It’s not just me. It’s the offensive line, the tight ends, you know, everybody’s working together. Hats off to the O line and the tight ends and also the receivers. They all did a hell of a job today springing me open and letting me pop off big runs and keep the chains moving with small runs here and there.” (On offensive cohesion…) “We’re still trying to gel. We're getting there. It’s coming along, as you seen today the running game was clicking, and we’re bringing that passing game along with it, then we’ve got our complete offense. So I’m not worried. It’s only two games. We’ve got a whole lot of games left.” (On running for 100+ yards twice against Seattle…) “Hats off to my offensive line. But I’ll take a victory over those hundred yards any day. But all the credit goes to my offensive line and the tight ends.” Defensive Back Jimmie Ward (On how he felt the defense played…) “I felt like we did good, but at the same time, we didn’t get any turnovers and that’s what counts. We have to help our offense, so next week we have to come out and do better, turn the ball back over to the offense.” (On how they were able to make this a competitive game after their struggles in Seattle…) “We knew it was going to be tough for our offense today. They have a great defense over there, so we had to step up as a defense and try to help the offense out, try to get the ball back and limit big plays.” (On if he feels today’s loss could be looked on as progress…) “It's progress, but we’re competitors. It’s a loss, so we’re mad about it. Nobody is happy about this. We will get into the film and try to get a win next week.” Defensive Line DeForest Buckner (On if the defense was tiring on the final two Seattle drives…) “I mean, not really. We have a pretty solid rotation. Obviously they are going pretty fast, so it’s hard to sub guys in and out, but like I was saying before, on that last drive if we had stopped them on the run and forced them to pass on third down, we would have been off the field and given our offense a chance.” (On Russell Wilson’s dynamic play…) “He can extend plays. You can beat your guy clean on a pass rush and he’s still going to try and make you miss. He can reposition his linemen to try to block you again, and it’s frustrating. Most of the game we did a pretty good job of containing, but towards the end he broke loose and made some plays.” Linebacker Navorro Bowman (On the time the defense spent on the field and if it affected their play…) “Maybe. We can only control what we can control. We have to go out there and defend the offense as many times as the game allows us to. We may have played more snaps than we wanted, but that’s the characteristic of a great defense; don’t complain, just do your job.” (On the play-making ability of Russell Wilson…) “That’s why he is what he is. You can’t let up. I think we did a fair job for the most part, but that one time that you let up, Russell shows why he is who he is. Like I said, it’s a long season. They know they snuck out of here with one.” (On putting themselves in position to compete in a close game towards the end…) “It just shows how hard we are working as a group and we just have to stay together. It’s a long season and I’m looking forward to it.” Defensive Tackle Earl Mitchell (On whether fatigue played a factor for their defense after 77 downs on the field…) “There are going to be games like that. There are going to be games where we need the offense to bail us out, and there are games where we have to back them up. We just have to be prepared for games like that, and that’s what we are here for, we are professionals. We have to be prepared for any type of game, whether it be a win forty to forty one, or playing a game just like this, where it’s just a battle to the end.” (On the positives he see’s in today’s performance…) “We have a lot of young guys, and I’m not one to blame anything on youth, but it games like this it helps to look at the film and that builds awareness for the future.” (On how he though the defensive line did in pressuring the quarterback…) “We understand the type of player that he is (Wilson), so we had to get a lot of second-effort type of rushes that would help us get to him. We can’t be too satisfied with sacks, we need to get the ball. We are in a position where we know we can get turnovers and score on defense.”

What The 49ers Said Following Their 12-9 Loss at CenturyLink Field

Quotes from 49ers coaches and players following their 12-9 loss at CenturyLink Field.