HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2023
(On helping the team focus on future opponents) “Obviously you don’t control the schedule, but I’ve
been in situations where I’ve had four division games to end the season before. It is what it is. It just so
happens you got Tennessee and Houston back-to-back. It’s just a great opportunity for us to get back on
track.”
(On what his approach was in talking to the team this morning) “No, you can’t dwell too much.
Obviously, they’re in here and I want them to watch the film. I want them to make the corrections, they
need to see it and I challenge them to be critical of their performance, good and bad. Then, take the
constructive criticism that the coach might have. It’s the only way we can continue to get better. It’s
disappointing that both sides of the ball, I thought special teams was decent yesterday, probably the one
bright spot, but offense and defense just did not play our best. It’s a head scratcher and things that when
you look at it, four giveaways, five sacks, no takeaways, two sacks I think, start the game with a
touchdown, end the half with a field goal, start the third quarter with a touchdown. All things that are
you kind of ‘eh’ right there. I want them to see it, I want them to make the corrections and move on.”
(On how to get the offense on track) “It’s been there, it’s been on track on times. It just comes down to
the preparation, I talk to the guys all the time about their preparation when they’re outside this building.
What are they doing a little extra? Are they studying extra tape, are they looking at every cutup of a
certain route or coverage or defensive front blitz, whatever it might be? Just to stay sharp and stay up on
what they could possibly see during a game. It just comes down to the execution. It’s plays that we’re
now recycling because we’re so far along that you just recycle plays. It’s not anything new that we’re
trying to invent or create. It just comes down to each person owning that responsibility.”
(On the potential ability to improve with five strong offensive line players) “Well, that’s big. Having five
guys that would’ve been here for nine games. There would be more continuity I think, Walker [OL Walker
Little] is still working himself back in with his first full game back in there. Really just understanding that
there’s a lot of communication that has to go on up front, getting all of that down and the timing. It
continues to improve but we can definitely get better there. We’re missing Zay [WR Zay Jones] obviously,
that’s a big piece to the pass game and hopefully he’s available either this week or next. We can get
some of that continuity back a little bit.”
(On if he feels like he has the group to keep continuity going) “I do. I got a lot of confidence in the group,
there’s no question or hesitation. They’ll continue to improve and get better.”
(On injury updates across the team) “Tyson [CB Tyson Campbell] has the same injury that he had. He just
felt it grab in the game, he’s kind of day-to-day right now. He felt okay today, but he’s got a couple of
days here before we get back on the field on Wednesday. I’m assuming we’ll probably limit him a little bit
this week and just see where he’s at the end of the week. Jamal [WR Jamal Agnew] fell on his shoulder in
the game, so he’s got a little shoulder issue going on. There’s a potential that as the week progresses,
we’ll see where he’s at. But it doesn’t look promising right now on a Monday. We’ll see where he is
during the course of the week. Everybody else just had little knicks and bumps and bruises, came out of
the game okay.”
(On his postgame conversation with Shad Khan) “No, I wouldn’t share our comments.”
(On the nature of the league to have setbacks in a season) “I think there’s some of that. Obviously, we
caught a San Francisco team that had lost three and I felt like their sense of urgency was greater than
ours in the game yesterday. They played a little faster than we did yesterday. I think after the game
someone asked me if they were desperate, and good teams are never desperate, they’re just good. They
figure it out and that’s what we’re trying to do right now, I still think we’re a good football team and
we’re still trying to figure some things out and some pieces. We got behind the eight ball quickly
yesterday and just never could recover.”
(On if the season ended right now the team would be the third seed) “I know, that’s the crazy thing
about it. Again, that’s the positive I left with the guys. You’re in a good position, you’re still in first place
in the AFC South and you’ve got two big matchups coming up. It’s still right there in front of us.”
(On if there’s any reasoning behind poor home performances this season) “I wish I could honestly
answer that question. It’s the darndest thing, you’re here in front of your crowd and fans and you’re at
home. We’ve done it three times this year now where we haven’t played our best. All three losses,
there’s got to be that sense of urgency like I was talking about with the guys. It wasn’t that they weren’t
prepared or ready because there was a lot of energy and a lot of excitement pregame and all of that.
When you look at it, the offense goes three and out, sack on third down. This is what’s crazy, we blocked
the wrong guy, we got a false start, we got a missed signal on screen on the second possession. Then we
ended up having a sack, we punt, punt on the third series, fourth series we had a delay of game, a
fumble or a sack fumble. Fifth series, we finally got it together. We went down and got a field goal. Why
does it take us to the fifth series to get it going? That’s offensively. It’s everything that we can control.
These are the things that we show our guys and if we can eliminate this, it puts us in a better position.”
(On feeling better about the game after breaking down each drive) “It’s all controllable. We’re at home,
cadence should be a friend of ours but yet we still jump offsides. We have a delay of game eventually in
there. Of course late in the third, fourth quarter when you’re fourth and desperation, the pick, I get it.
Sometimes that happens, but four turnovers they got 14 points. Those are hard to overcome.”
(On if the coaches saw the 49ers defense confusing QB Trevor Lawrence) “They do a nice job of holding
their safeties a little bit, but I think for the most part, we had a really good understanding and feeling of
what they we’re going to do and where they were going to be. They did a nice job with our receivers and
that’s the one thing, because they have such a good pass rush too, if you can hold coverage and different
things a little bit longer, it buys you a little extra time and extra second for your pass rush to get there.
Some of that happened yesterday, but we’ve got to do a better job of helping our players as coaches and
make sure we’re putting them in good situations by play call or design. We just weren’t efficient on first
down either. A credit to San Fran, they did a nice job.”
(On if he wants to see an emphasis of getting WR Calvin Ridley the ball more) “Yeah, I don’t want to
force the ball his way. You’ve got to understand too, he’s drawn nine penalties this year for 100-plus
yards. If you make those plays, maybe we’re talking that’s nine more catches or something. Maybe we’re
talking a little bit differently. It’s one of those games where it feels like we’re not targeting him but we
are. Teams are also taking a safety his way. They didn’t do it so much yesterday, but sometimes they are
clouding his side and doing different things and the ball has to go somewhere else. We do make a
conscious effort to get him involved early in the game and as often as we can.”
(On what WR Zay Jones does for the offense on the other side of WR Calvin Ridley) “Well one, you can
be a little bit more balanced in your passing game. Zay gives you a comfort level that Trevor [QB Trevor
Lawrence] has. He knows exactly where he’s going to be, he helps you maybe a little bit more on third
down which he’s going to draw some coverage his way. It’s going to open up Calvin, it’s going to open up
Christian [WR Christian Kirk] or Evan [TE Evan Engram]. Those are things that we’ve missed a little bit
with Zay being out but it’s always the next man up. I thought Tim [WR Tim Jones] had some big catches
yesterday and filled in. We’ve just got to continue to go and continue to work.”
(On if he’s feeling any different about reaching towards a division title) “No, there’s still no panic. I think
if you panic, you almost waive the white flag a little bit. This is what I want our team to understand, is
you’re still sitting in first place, everything is still right here in front of you, you control it, you put yourself
in a good situation. If we can just eliminate or even minimize some of these mistakes that we’re making
and shooting ourselves in the foot as we say, then it puts you in a better position to get into the fourth
quarter and potentially win games. It’s also different being 6-3 than 3-6 or 3-7 as well. Sometimes too,
you’ve got to play and you don’t worry about the record, you play as if your back is against the wall every
day. You come out and give it your best shot.”
(On talking to QB Trevor Lawrence after one of his worst performing games) “Well, the fact that he
acknowledges that, that’s enough really. I think just keep encouraging him, we have the confidence in
him, we’re not doubting anything as a staff. None of that kind of stuff takes place and he’s the type of
guy that will get a lot of this fixed. He’ll be apart of the reason why we have success moving forward.”
(On if getting experience at left guard has helped OL Walker Little) “It’s hard, he hasn’t had a ton of reps
in there. When he did, then he got hurt and he’s missed. He’s had the practice reps, but they’re not the
game reps. Yeah, I think it hurts him a little bit that he didn’t get all of those snaps in there. But he’s good
enough and smart enough and all that, he’s athletic enough to know the role, know the job, know his
assignments. Now, it’s just a matter of him playing in more condensed spaces. It’s different than being
out on those islands as a tackle. He’s getting used to that as well. He’s done some good things and he’s
still working through the process.”
SAFETY RAYSHAWN JENKINS
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2023
(On focusing more on the upcoming game since it’s a divisional opponent) “No, I would definitely say
playing an AFC divisional opponent really matters because in order for us to get to where we need to be
and put ourselves in the right place moving forward with playoffs and stuff like that, we have to beat
these two teams. We definitely like having the mindset that it doesn’t matter what opponent is out there
on any given Sunday, but the reality is, we have two divisional back-to-back games.”
(On if yesterday’s loss has been flushed out of his mind) “How it went down in that fashion yesterday, I
will say letting it linger around just a little bit more. You got to feel those type of losses just a little bit
more. You know where the level of play has to be moving forward and I wouldn’t say we’re getting that
one out of the building too quick, but most certainly by Wednesday.”
(On reasoning for using the three safety look in yesterday’s game) “I would say Dewey [S Andrew
Wingard] is a phenomenal player in my eyes, so just any time we can get a package to where he’s on the
field, the better. Me, Andre [S Andre Cisco] and Dewey, would most certainly are bigger than a nickel
would be or another corner, so it definitely helps in the run. Just in general, having Dewey out there is a
plus.”
(On if there’s any anger towards 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey trying for a late touchdown) “Me
personally, no. I probably would’ve the same thing if I was the head coach. He’s my guy, I’m assuming
that’s his guy. I probably would’ve done the same thing, but us knowing what it was, we made sure it
didn’t happen.”
(On importance of getting defensive turnovers) “Absolutely. We got to help out our offense in situations
like that, really because that was a great defense that they were playing against yesterday. Those are one
of those games you just have to go defense for defense. We know what our formula is on our defense,
and that is takeaways. We’ve done a great job thus far with the takeaways, but we know in order for us
to continue to have the success that we were having, we have to have those takeaways.”
(On if the defense was taken off guard by any offensive looks in yesterday’s game) “No, not really. We’ve
seen on film they motion and shift, maybe 90 percent of the game. We saw that on film, we know just
from playing them in the past and stuff like that two years ago, that’s what they do as a team. They try to
get you thinking more of what you have to do so they can do what they need to do.”
RUNNING BACK TRAVIS ETIENNE JR.
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2023
(On how facing two divisional opponents next will help the team refocus) “At the end of the day, I’ll be
focused on getting the win every week. Whether it’s a division opponent or not a division opponent, we
still want to win that game. It being a division opponent means a little more in reality, but I feel like every
game means a lot to us. We’re happy it’s a division opponent because we get a chance to go out there
and prove ourselves and just show the world who we really are. Right our wrongs and just get back to
playing football how we should’ve been the whole time.”
(On if he’s moved on from yesterday’s loss yet) “I’m definitely not over it, but I understand that it’s week-
to-week in the NFL. I hate losing, I feel like nobody loves to lose, we don’t come in here and work our
butts off everyday to go out and put a performance out there like that. I feel like it’s unfair to our fans to
even go out there and do that. We definitely all have to let it simmer and just use this as fuel to prepare
for the rest of the season.”
(On if it’s easy to shake off yesterday’s loss knowing the team is still leading the AFC South) “In hindsight,
you got to keep it 20/20. We definitely have to be critical of our situation and what we put on film
because you are who you put on film. Like Coach [Head Coach Doug Pederson] said, we have to correct
all those things you put on film. We can’t keep putting those bad losses out there. When it rains, it
pours; and yesterday, I felt like nothing was going right for us and we could never really shake that
feeling. We will get over it, we’re professionals and we understand that we are who we want to be but as
professionals, we never want to go out there and do that. I feel like that’s why it hurts a little bit more
because I feel like everybody in the locker room feels it and understands that’s not who we are as a
team, we laid an egg.”
(On difference in energy in the locker room today after yesterday’s loss) “I feel like nothing is different.
We all understand that we’ve got to go 1-0 every week, and we have to understand that no one is just
going to come out here and let us win a game. We have to go out there and take it week-in and week-
out. I feel like energy is still good, everyone still believes in the process, everyone is still believing in each
other. No one is panicking or anything. We also understand the sense of urgency that we do need in
order to move forward. We’re professionals, we all came here, we all know what we need to do and we
just don’t want to do that again. We just got to find ways to not do that again, honestly.”
(On frustration level that the offense hasn’t hit its full stride yet) “No, we don’t look at it like that,
honestly. We know the work that we put in and we see what we can do, you see flashes of it week-in and
week-out. I feel like we’ve got to just stop turning the ball over. I feel like there’s so many times that we
just beat ourselves. If we don’t turn the ball over, we put points on the board and we’re not even talking
about how the offense didn’t get going, the offense is going. For us, we just have to work on ball security,
that’s something we can easily fix and that we are going to fix. I feel like no one is worried about if we
could get going.”
(On if there’s another reason the offense hasn’t taken off yet other than ball security) “For me, I would
probably look within. Just see what I can do, what I can continue to get better at, and just trying to be
there to make explosive plays for my teammates. Start being more vocal on the sideline, I would look
within and see what I can help with. Just look in the mirror and fix my game and see where that takes
us.”
(On if he’s concerned with RB Tank Bigsby’s confidence) “I don’t worry about Tank’s confidence at all.
He’s been playing football his whole life and I feel like I was in that same situation last year. I feel like I
don’t worry about his confidence because he has me to come and talk to. I could let him know that you
just have to weather the storm, in the NFL I learned last year that you can’t get too high and you can’t
get too low. It’s a week-to-week thing, all you got to do is go out there and make a play and nobody is
even worried about Tank missing the ball. It’s so back and forth in this league and I feel like for him, he’s
just got to weather that storm right now and just get out of his head, block out the outside noise and
just be who he is. We all know Tank is a talented kid and we all know he’s a great football player. He’s just
got to go out there and just show that and be himself.”
(On how ball security concerns were fixed last year) “Tighten the ball, hold it high and tight.”
