COURTESY os San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Game Notes
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Pound The Rock
- The 49ers offense rushed for a season-high 160 yds. on 28 atts. (5.7 avg.).
- The 160 rushing yds. and 5.7 avg. by the team were the most since 9/14/15 (230 yds. and 5.9 avg. vs. Min.).
Racking Up The Rushing Yards
- QB Colin Kaepernick for 84 yds. on 9 carries (9.3 avg.), tying for the third highest regular season single game total in his career.
| Colin Kaepernick Regular Season Single Game Rushing Totals | |||||
| Date | Opp. | Atts. | Yds. | Avg. | TDs. |
| 12/20/14 | vs. SD | 7 | 151 | 21.6 | 1 |
| 9/15/13 | at Sea. | 9 | 87 | 9.7 | 0 |
| 10/23/16 | vs. TB | 9 | 84 | 9.3 | 0 |
| 12/2/12 | at StL | 9 | 84 | 9.3 | 0 |
| 10/20/13 | at Ten. | 11 | 68 | 6.2 | 1 |
Memorable Firsts
- Making his first career NFL start, RB Mike Davis registered 7 carries for 21 yds. and his first career TD.
- RB Shaun Draughn hauled in 17-yd. TD pass from QB Colin Kaepernick, marking his first career TD recept.
Turnin’ Up The Heat
- DL Arik Armstead and LB Ahmad Brooks combined to take down QB Jameis Winston. Both guys have 2.5 sacks on the season.
- LB Aaron Lynch took down Winston, marking his first sack of the season and 13.5 of his career.
Handy Hodges
- LB Gerald Hodges picked off QB Jameis Winston and returned it 21-yds., marking his second career INT and first as a member of the 49ers.
49ers Head Coach Chip Kelly
Press Conference – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Is this team going backwards right now? Does it feel like that to you?
“I don’t think forward, backwards. We’re not doing what we need to do to be successful on Sunday’s right now. Come out to start the second half, and the defense gets a three-and-out. We’re moving in the right direction and then we fumble the punt. Then our first series offensively in the third quarter we have a sack fumble. We’re turning the football over too many times to be successful right now.”
What happened on that punt play?
“Our returner was signaling for a fair catch. He should be calling that he’s signaling for a fair catch. I haven’t talked to [WR Aaron] Burbridge yet. I don’t know if he had heard what was going on. He was the gunner, but the gunner ran into the punt returner on that play.”
Consistency, you had a great opening drive and struggled after that. What is keeping you from being consistent quarter-to-quarter?
“That’s the key, I think, right there, that you have to be able to sustain it and then obviously over the course of an entire game. It just can’t be in spurts and right now it’s in spurts, with playing in spurts like that, it’s just not good enough. I think part of it is the little teeny things. Again, we didn’t have many penalties but the penalties that occur, occur on third down. We have a third down, but we have an offensive tackle lined up in the backfield. We converted on that third down but now with that penalty that brings us back. The turnovers, the back-to-back turnovers from a drive standpoint to start the third quarter obviously affected you. You’re playing, at least in the beginning, our defense went out there, I thought they went out and played well in that first series. Now we get a stop. Now we get a chance to put the ball in our offense’s hands and let’s get moving, but then we turn it over on special teams. It is that consistency that’s holding us back.”
What about your decision to go for a field goal when you’re down two touchdowns?
“It was third-and-11 or 12 and again I don’t think we were getting a whole lot of time. They do a good job of putting the ball in the end zone, so we were just trying to get anything at that point in time points-wise. It put us down 10, it would have put us down a touchdown and a field goal at that point in time. I think there was eight minutes to go in the game. You felt that you were at least going to get three drives left so we could still convert. Get either a field goal or a touchdown and you put yourself in a situation. We just didn’t feel like throwing the ball in from there that we were going to get it completed and score anything. So, we wanted to come away with some points at that point.”
What adjustments did you make at halftime?
“In terms of what?”
On offense.
“On offense? We talked about protection in terms of being able to, it was a very difficult, we had some match up problems I think with [Tampa Bay Buccaneers DT] McCoy when he was isolated and was in one-on-one. So, we had to make sure that we had some help to his side in terms of who were or whether it was the back on his way out. We have to get our back there to make sure that we have protection with that three-technique in terms of where he is. So, most of the talk at halftime was about protection.”
You have a bye coming up. Will you consider any changes to your defensive coaching staff?
“No.”
Will you spend more time with defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil during the week?
“No, we spend time together during the week. We carve out time in terms of how we watch film and what we do and then understand the plan as we’re moving forward. There’s good communication going on from that standpoint. It’s not like I don’t know what’s going on on the defensive side of the ball.”
How do you feel QB Colin Kaepernick played today?
“I think it was up and down. I think there were sometimes, and again, I wish there was one thing that you could just put your finger on and say, ‘Hey, it’s this.’ He obviously kept some things alive and kept some drives alive with his legs. They were playing a little bit more man coverage than we thought. Coming into the game they hadn’t played that much man, but they started out playing a lot of man. So, obviously, he can beat them when they are playing man coverage and everybody is locked up and now there is noone responsible for the quarterback. But, I think sometimes protection broke down for him. We had a couple of drops in there that would have sustained some drives that could have kept some things going and then there were some times when I think he missed some throws also. So, it’s a combination of the protection, the drops, and not putting the ball where it needed to be. It wasn’t just one thing. I think at times he did a really nice job.”
What did G Andrew Tiller do to lose his starting job to G Joshua Garnett?
“Josh has done a really good job as he continues to grow and learn our offense. Obviously, he missed the springtime for us, so he was a little bit behind as he got here in preseason. But, then he’s worked his way through preseason into these games to give himself an opportunity to play and that’s what we’ve seen from an in-game standpoint and a practice standpoint.”
The swing of snaps between LB Gerald Hodges and LB Michael Wilhoite, they kind of flipped this week. Can you talk about that?
“Yeah, Mike played a lot against Buffalo and then evaluating the film we thought we’d give Gerald another shot to go back in there. So, Gerald had a good week of practice taking that role and kind of running with it, so we felt that we felt comfortable as a staff that we were going to start Hodgy in there with [LB Nick] Bellore and then also rotate Mike through. We talked about Nick Bellore playing too many snaps, so trying to rotate those three guys through there so we really had three inside linebackers roll in there.”
Outside of that trouble at inside linebacker, are there issues on that defensive line why the run defense is getting carved up each week?
“I mean, obviously we’ve got a couple of guys banged up. [DL Glenn Dorsey] Dorse couldn’t go again today. [DL Arik] Armstead went down. I think he tried to go back in but then was out for the rest of the game. So, there’s some bumps and bruises along the defensive line, but that’s not an excuse. We have to be better on the defensive side of the ball in terms of stopping the run.”
Obviously, you guys are now 1-6. Is this a 1-6 team talent-wise? What is going on?
“I don’t look at it that way. We’re a 1-6 team. You are what you are. You are what you’re record says you are. We’re 1-6 right now.”
Fans always want hope. What’s the hope for the rest of the season?
“That we’re going to continue to fight. We’re going to continue to work hard at what we need to do and we have to get ready to go play the Saints game here when we come back after our bye. That’s all we can.”
A lot of big holes for Tampa Bay runners today. Without watching film yet, do you see mental mistakes from your front seven or is it more guys getting pushed around? What’s going on?
“I’d have to look at the film to be honest with you to tell you on those specific, exactly when those runs broke, what exactly the deal was. There’s a couple of times it looked like we had him wrapped up and had him in good situations but he came out of some things. But, there were some other times it looked like he got right through. Again, I’d have to evaluate the film before I could make a blanket statement on what the reason was for that.”
Have you ever gone through a six-game losing streak in your career previously?
“No, I have not.”
What goes through your mind in the middle of it? Do you get frustrated? Do you get angry?
“No, I think anger, it doesn’t help you. What you’ve got to do is you’ve got to find the solution. I think if you continue to try to just get mad and get angry and all those other things, it’s not going to help you. What you need to do is you need to find a solution to identify what exactly the specific thing that’s gone wrong and how do we fix that. That’s what we’re trying to do right now.”
Do you understand what’s going on in the second half? I mean, you guys have been in the games at half time this week and last week and the week before–?
“Yeah, I think the two games are totally different. Again, I think the turn at this point was those two critical turnovers to start the beginning of the third quarter are I think the huge things that put ourselves in a big hole. Too big of a hole for us to be able to get out of, but you look at it, as I said, in the framework of the thing our defense went out and did a good job in that first series. Did what we asked them to do. Create a stop and then get them to punt the ball and probably going to get the ball in a pretty good situation. We’re near midfield and then all of a sudden we turn it over from a special teams standpoint and those are things you can’t do against good football teams.”
49ers QB Colin Kaepernick
Press Conference – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
What was working, especially on that first drive that got you down field so quickly and why did it stop?
“We executed really well on that first drive. We got in a rhythm. Everything clicked for us. We got that first first down and got rolling. We made some good plays.”
After that?
“We just got out of sync. Once again, it was a situation where early in the game we got into a rhythm and we lost that and we didn’t execute it as well as we did at the beginning later in the game and that’s something we have to be able to do a better job of is playing that full 60 minutes and stringing all those plays together.”
You’ve been in the league for a few years now, what causes that when a team can be good in stretches and then just go downhill in other stretches?
“It’s a tough thing to really put your finger on and say it’s one thing. It comes down to execution, not shooting ourselves in the foot and making plays. On our two touchdown drives, we had players making plays on the field and we have to be able to continually do that throughout the game because defenses are talented. Things are going to be close and we have to be able to make those plays and that’s ultimately what’s going to be the difference in these games.”
Head coach Chip Kelly mentioned that they played a lot more man than they’d been playing. How did that change things for you, the way you had to approach that defense?
“It’s a lot of one-on-one matchups then. You have to win on routes. You have to be a lot tighter with your throws. You’re not throwing into windows. You’re throwing against one man. So, ball placement is key and also it opened up some running lanes.”
How do you think you played? How do you think you threw the ball?
“I have to be better. Throwing, I think we threw for about 100 yards. That’s not going to win in the NFL. We have to be able to do better on that and ultimately, we have to string this together as a team and play well as a team for 60 minutes to get wins.”
Do you want the opportunity to throw the ball down the field more?
“I think that’s something that the game dictates. What the defense is doing, how we’re playing offensively, how we want to attack them. So, it’s not a matter of what you want to do. It’s what’s going to work against that defense.”
The word mindset comes up a lot for this team, like after a big play if the defense gives it up, they don’t have a mindset to come back and recover. Do you see that? Is that missing throughout the team, you think? Just kind of having that dog mentality for lack of a better word.
“We have to be able to overcome adversity. A lot of times in games, things aren’t going to go your way. There’s going to be bad plays, things of that nature but you have to be mentally strong enough to say, ‘You know what? That’s a bad play but we’re going to come back from it. We’re going to come back and make a play and that’s going to be the difference in the game. And that will trump the bad play that happened earlier.’ As a play, we have to do that. When we make good plays, we have to be able to continually make those and capitalize on those.”
Chip, talking just generally as you go into games, what does he want you to be thinking about?
“Me as a quarterback or me as the team?”
You as the quarterback.
“As a quarterback, to make good decisions. Stay true to our progressions. Make sure we’re on the same page. We know the looks we’re going to get. We practice those all week. So, staying focused on what our reads are and executing.”
This past week, there were some stories about the ratings in the NFL having gone down 11% and there were a couple surveys where people tried to assess what’s going on here and couple of the survey’s showed that people are reacting to your protests and not watching the games. How would you respond to that?
“No, I don’t know much about ratings and how they’re affected and all of those things. But, I don’t understand why ratings would go down fighting for justice for people, to try to stop oppression, especially in a league that’s predominantly black. Want to say about 70%.”
49ers co-chairman Denise DeBartolo-York came up to you right before the anthem. Gave you a little hug, little kiss on the cheek. What does that mean to you? Just generally, what did she say to you?
“Denise as always been great. She’s a great woman. I’ve always had a good relationship with her and to have her support, her backing, really means a lot.”
Also, you led the pregame huddle there. Is that the first time you’ve ever done that and what did you try and communicate there?
“That’s the first time I’ve done it this year and what I want our team to know and what we have to be able to do is stand behind each other and be able to fight for each other and fight through the adverse situations that are going to come up in a game and be able to play that 60 minutes because right now, we haven’t been playing 60 minutes. We’ve had good spurts. We’ve had flashes. But, we haven’t been able to do that on a continual basis.”
How has Chip Kelly responded to the team? How has his message to the team been during this losing streak?
“That we have to fix this as a team. We have to correct this as a team and we have to turn this around as a team because that’s ultimately what it’s going to take. It’s going to take all of us. It’s going to take all of us doing the right things on every play to go out and get wins.”
A lot of people have talked about him being the same guy but when you’re losing like this, maybe do you guys need more fire? Do you need more passion coming from someone in his position?
“I don’t know if it’s fire or passion. What we need to do is we need to be able to go out and make plays on a consistent basis. Ultimately, it comes down to the players on the field being able to go and out and execute every play and that’s something we haven’t been doing on a consistent basis.”
Asked when you broke down the huddle, I remember you saying that you didn’t necessarily feel comfortable doing that. Do you feel more comfortable doing that now?
“I’ve always felt comfortable doing that. For me, that’s an opportunity to let your teammates know where mindset is at and give them that confidence that we’re going to go out and get this win together.”
1-6, is that hard to believe, that you’re 1-6 right now?
“It’s not a position we want to be in. We work hard every week, we go through our preparation, we’re on top of everything but we have to go out and execute better. Where our record is right now, we have a bye week coming up. We can get some corrections, get some people healthy, come back and try to make a home stretch run.”
49ers LB Ahmad Brooks
Postgame Quotes – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
To start off with a lead and to see that disappear, are you frustrated with that?
“Of course I am frustrated with it. You play this game to win. When we give up points the way that we do, the way we give up yards, it is just unacceptable. It is frustrating.”
With the rush defense, is there a pattern that you are seeing, something that you can point to that needs to be fixed?
“Anything is fixable. I just think that the guys that get double-teamed maybe have to do a better job at taking on the double-team. I know that is difficult, but that is what we signed up for. The guys that are getting doubled have to be able to get off those double-teams and just try to do a better job.”
Are guys fighting just as hard now as they were at the start of the season?
“I believe that they are. We are all professionals so we are not giving up. We do want to go out there and win. We came out with a fast start. We got up on them 14-0 and we just gave up the lead. We come in every single week wanting to win. It is just whether or not we win.”
How hard did it make it when guys started going out with injuries in the third quarter?
“It makes it more difficult on us obviously when some of the guys that we rely on to go out there and make plays are not on the field. It makes it more difficult to stop the run.”
49ers RB Mike Davis
Postgame Quotes – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
How did it feel to get the start today?
“It felt good to get the start and play with my teammates. But, it would have felt better if we had won.”
What did you see out of the offensive line?
“The offensive line did a great job. We did what we were supposed to do and some things just didn’t fall our way.”
This offense was rolling in the first quarter and then just couldn’t get anything going. How do you explain that?
“I can’t explain it. We’ve just got to come back and look at film. We’ve got to do the things that we’re supposed to do. It’s on us. That’s something we’ve got to fix. It’s not about pointing fingers. We’ve got to fix it.”
Heading into the Bye week, what do you think are the biggest improvements that this team needs?
“That I can’t tell you. I play running back. I mostly focus on my position and what I have to do. Once we see the film, I guess we’ll know what to work on.”
You were out there for returns. Have you done that before?
“Yes. The last time I probably did a kick return was high school, but if they want me to be back there then they trust me to be back there.”
49ers K Phil Dawson
Postgame Quotes – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The six-game losing streak that is something you haven’t dealt with since leaving Cleveland?
“Yes. It is never fun losing one game. When they start piling up it gets a little tougher. Through all of these years, I have learned that whether you win or lose, whether you are on a streak or not, the same decision is required each and every week and that is to reboot the system to a clean slate, put the work in. Just as a pilot does on a preflight checklist, you go through what you need to do each and every week to get ready for the next game. Whether you won or lost the last game you still have to go through that process. Yes it does get tougher as losses mount, but as a professional the same decision is there each and every week.
How does this get done?
“We just have to play better. Everyone is always looking for the real sexy, in-depth answer and sometimes it just comes down to playing better. That is just my opinion. I know that we can play better.”
49ers RB DuJuan Harris
Postgame Quotes – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I think the thing that you proved, and you did this last year, is that the San Francisco 49ers picked you up and you decided that your career wasn’t over. You hung in there. You’ve been inactive and now you got a chance to be active. That says something about your perseverance that you still want to be a football player.
“I’m just doing what I can. God blessed me to wake up every morning and say this is my job.”
The way this team came out, so effective offensively, got ahead 14-0. What happened after that that kind of slowed things down?
“We made some mistakes. We shot ourselves in the foot and lost the juice. Like I said, in this league, when the other team gets it it’s kind of hard to rebound from it, especially when they score off of [turnovers].”
It’s easy to pile on when it’s like this when a team loses six in a row. You still all have to look at each other in this locker room. What can you salvage out of this season and what can you do moving forward?
“We’re all we got, simple as that. We’re all we got no matter what happens. We’ve got to stick together and finish strong. We’ve got to keep fighting. We can’t let our heads down for the rest of the season. It’s still a long season ahead. We can still make some things happen.”
You are a professional football player and there’s still a lot of football to be played, so I guess you have to look at it that way?
“Yeah, definitely. This one’s over. We’ve just got to focus on this Bye week, rest our bodies, and stay out of trouble. Everybody’s got to do the right thing and we’ll come back and take care of business.”
49ers S Eric Reid
Postgame Quotes – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
How do you explain what happened between these four quarters?
“The turnovers. Anytime that you have turnovers like that it is going to be tough to win the game. Coach gave us the statistic that if you win the turnover battles then you win 85-percent of the games, we lost that battle so we didn’t win the game.”
Why was Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Jacquizz Rodgers able to find his rhythm?
“That is tough to answer without looking at the film. We started off really well with three-and-outs. We scored on our first drive on offense to start the half. We came out of the half and give them a short field and they scored points off of that. We have to be more precise with handling the ball, with getting turnovers so that our offense can have more opportunities and we just haven’t been doing that.”
On stopping the opposing team’s running game, some would say that the defense needs more of an attitude than physical adjustment. How do you feel? Is there an attitude missing as far as making sure you stop the running game?
“I don’t think so. When you look at it, everybody is responsible for a gap. When you get blocked you have to get off of those blocks and I think that we have to do a better job at getting off of blocks, securing tackles and not letting big plays happen. We have to just get rid of those explosive plays.”
Heading into the Bye week, what do you think are the biggest improvements to be made?
“We have to look at all the film and see what has worked well for us and also see what we have not been doing great at and improve on those things. I think that we really just have to get back to the basics.”
49ers WR Torrey Smith
Postgame Quotes – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This team has had such a difficult problem turning things around. You’ve proven you can put up a quick 14, but you can’t get back to it.
“I don’t know. If we knew, it wouldn’t be happening. We’ve just got to be consistent. We’re not as consistent as we should be. We show flashes, but that’s not good enough.”
How do you put this loss into perspective for you? Six straight, a very young team, still some inexperience out there. For a veteran like yourself, how do you put this all into perspective?
“It’s another loss. It hurts. You work hard to win. You don’t go out there to lose and no one plans to lose. It’s frustrating. Any loss in general, it’s been rough. We know what we have to do, we just haven’t been doing it. That’s the most frustrating part.”
One of the last plays you were open in the end zone. With all the changes at quarterback, how much does that affect you?
“It’s all through a progression. If they get to me and I’m open, that’s it. If not, then I’m obviously not going to get it, so that’s just how the game goes.”
Buccaneers Head Coach Dirk Koetter
Press Conference – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Opening comments:
“Alright, good guys win.”
Obviously you had a lot of confidence in your rushing attack again to win this one. Tell me what you thought you could exploit there and how you’re feeling about it.
“We had a lot of confidence in whoever is out there playing. We had a lot of confidence in our O-line, a lot of confidence in our tight ends, so the running game is not just the back. There are a lot of people involved and it was no secret. You guys all pointed out over the course of the week the [San Francisco] 49ers have been giving up a lot of yards rushing. We’d be foolish if we didn’t try to run the ball.”
Talk about what some of the other guys did, the tight ends and some of the receivers.
“That’s the kind of stuff that shows up in the film. It’s hard to see that during the game but obviously to rush it like we did today, those guys are doing a good job because you don’t rush for 250 or whatever it was if you’re not blocking somebody.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Jacquizz Rodgers is showing you something that obviously not too many people have seen in him.
“He’s durable, he’s nifty, he can break tackles, but I was very fired up for [Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB] Peyton [Barber] and for [Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB] Antone [Smith], got in there and made a couple plays on a little screen. It’d be great when we get [Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB] Doug [Martin] and Chuck [Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Charles Sims] back, but those guys are doing a nice job holding down the fort right now.”
In the offseason you said they put a lot of work in between Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston and Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans. Is that sort of synergy on plays that are extended really around the red zone?
“Yeah, I thought Mike Evans was huge today coming back to the ball and catching the ball at the highest point, going for the ball in the air. I think Mike has just really improved his work habits in practice. Mike is like he’s on a mission out there. Sometimes Jameis can try and go to Mike too much when he has multiple reads. I think that happened a couple of times today when we got caught on that. Jameis is not known as a scrambler, but he’s a better scrambler than he’s given credit for.”
Take me back to win you guys picked up RB Jacquizz Rodgers. How long have you know he’s been this good? He seems like a guy that should have been on the scrap back in week two.
“You go tell him about the scrap. You should probably use those words too, and then duck real fast before he punches you right in the teeth [laughter].”
He said that last week!
“He did? Well I like the guy and I’m not sure how long he was. We get those transactions every day from the league and I noticed sometime before that, that he was out there. Jacquizz is just a really solid player and a really solid guy. He’s never had a chance to be a feature guy. He’s just behind really good guys. He’s been behind [former Atlanta Falcons RB] Michael Turner for a while behind [former NFL RB] Steven Jackson, we have good backs here so he’s never been a complimentary player. He’s just getting a chance. Google up Oregon State vs. USC from 1947 or whatever year it was, you’ll see. He’s a good between the tackles runner. That power that he broke that’s probably the longest run. Go Quizz go! Man, he got off. That was awesome. Man, that was awesome for him. He’s doing a great job.”
You gave up a score on the San Francisco 49ers first drive and then after that pretty sturdy on defense.
“We couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. We said during the week one of the hardest things about a [San Francisco 49ers Head Coach] Chip Kelly offense is getting used to that tempo. They went through us like Swiss cheese in that first drive. We were inconsistent keeping [San Francisco 49ers QB Colin] Kaepernick in the pocket. We were trying to keep him in the pocket. We were inconsistent doing that and we had other chances to get him down. The D-line kept saying, ‘Coach, he’s fast!’ No kidding. Yeah, he’s fast. He’s just not your typical quarterback. The guy can run and we didn’t tackle as well as we should have but we thought if we could keep him in the pocket and make him throw the ball we could make some plays on it. [Tampa Bay Buccaneers S] Bradley McDougald, of course had the nice interception, almost had another one. [Tampa Bay Buccaneers CB] Brent Grimes had two balls that he poked out there that were nice plays. The sack fumble by [Tampa Bay Buccaneers CB] Jude [Adjei-Barimah] coming off the slot, that was a big play. I was a little nervous there in the first quarter after they scored and we threw that pick. There we go, our offense putting our defense in a bad situation. Then that ended up as our only turnover, so I think we were plus two on the day. I think we got another one off of special teams. I go back to our punt team. Those gunners, our gunners, [Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Russell] Shepard, not only on special teams but on offense, he had an awesome day on offense. Our gunners do such a good job forcing fair catches even when our cover guys are right on top of them.”
What do you have to say about a guy like Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Russell Shepard who’s primarily a special teams guy, that’s how he’s made this team for forever, for him to go out and have five catches or whatever he had.
“Proud of him. Shep’s a hard guy not to like. He’s got an infectious personality. He’s a fun guy to be around. He’s a fun guy in meetings, he can laugh at himself. I like guys like that. I think I just like being around guys like that. He gave a passionate speech. You know he was cut by Philly [Philadelphia Eagles] earlier and he gave a passionate speech in the locker-room before the game. We said with Vincent [Jackson] out, we needed some guys to step up and even though we rotated three guys, four guys in that spot, Shep’s the guy that made plays. That touchdown, right before the half on that little double move, we’ve been working on that thing for two years. It was awesome to see. They were in the perfect coverage. I was hoping Jameis saw and I was like ‘there it is, there it is, there it is,’ and Jameis threw that thing so early. He just threw it up to the spot and Shep made, you know I think that was the Russell Shepard drive. He had three or four catches in that drive.”
You’re back to 3-3. How do you feel about where your team is playing right now?
“Well, I want to be 6-0 but we’re not. Back-to-back wins, back-to-back wins on the road. We’ve got to learn how to win some games at home. We need to, let’s keep those [Oakland] Raiders jerseys out of the lower bowl. Let’s get some Bucs jerseys in there. Let’s rock that place next week. I think we’ve got three in a row at home. We’ve got to do our part. We’ve got to learn how to win at home. We’ve proved we can win on the road. I’m proud of these guys. That’s two weeks in a row. We’ve talked a lot about complimentary football and we’ve done it for the last two games.”
Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston
Press Conference – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Talk about battling back? You guys get down in a hole 14-0, and just the resiliency, on the road to come back and get right back in the game.
“Just continued to stick to the game plan and kept fighting. [Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head] Coach [Dirk] Koetter always tells us to compete. I believe we did that and we showed great perseverance.”
The running game had another big day. It didn’t seem to matter who you handed the ball off to those guys were getting some holes and getting lots of yards, right?
“Offensive line is playing great. [Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB] Jacquizz [Rodgers] is carrying the load, but [Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB] Peyton [Barber] I’m so excited for him to get his first touchdown as an NFL player. So, I’m very excited. I know he’s going to get a lot of heat on the plane. So, good time to celebrate.”
Big day for Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans too, getting those two touchdowns there. We touched on that a little bit, but what’s clicking so much for you guys, especially from last year to this year?
“Mike’s just getting open. We put in a lot of work. Hard work pays off, and you see it coming. There was one scramble, on the third down conversion that we worked at the end of practice one day. Even though we were working on it at a different part of the field, we worked it. He’s starting to see, and he’s been seeing, I just have to get him the ball, that when we work on something it’s going to show up in the game.”
When you extend plays like you did on the touchdown, really both touchdowns but the second one in particular, do you have a feel for each other now to the point where he points up and you know to high point it?
“It’s a basic thing that [Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterbacks] coach [Mike] Bajakian says, ‘Throw a tall guy a tall ball.’ Mike has some basketball background. So, anytime we have a chance to throw him an alley-oop we’re going to take advantage of that.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Russell Shepard said that his touchdown today was about three years in the making. What can you say about him? He’s a guy that you don’t hear a lot about.
“He’s probably our best all-around player on this team as far as the passion that he comes with every day to work, as far as the leadership that he gives us and just his heart. His overall heart is tremendous. This was another big win for him because their head coach cut him, and that’s personal to him. We did everything in our power to help him. Shout out to coach Koetter for getting him another touchdown against [San Francisco 49ers head] coach [Chip] Kelly.”
He had given a pregame speech in the locker room. What did you take from that speech?
“Shep gives a pregame speech in the locker room before every game. So, we just rallied behind him and went out there and played some good football.”
Getting back in this race now at 3-3, you have three wins on the road, which you know is hard to do. Do you start to feel a little momentum behind this team now?
“Yeah, I believe that when we do what we are supposed to do we are a tough team to beat. This is the NFL, so week-in-week-out you have to show up. You can never have a week that you don’t show up. We have a great team. I really believe in our team. Our coaches know we have a great team and I trust in our coaches. So, it’s truly up to us.”
You had that exchange with that official there and were handed that 15-yard penalty. Was that just a moment there when you lost your cool for a little bit?
“No, I just wanted that first down. I think that was it. I just wanted that first down because we had a great drive going and I wanted it. It hurt us, but at the end of the day we made up for it because we came back down on the next drive and scored a touchdown.”
Buccaneers T Demar Dotson
Postgame Quotes – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
How confident were you guys that you could move the ball inside?
“We were very confident. We’ve seen all week that if we can do the things that we need to do then lanes will open and there will be opportunities. It was there. I don’t take anything away from their group, but our guys up front play hard. We still left a lot out on the field. Even though we had 200-something rushing yards, we could’ve had more. We’ll go back and watch film, correct those mistakes and keep getting better.”
How confident are you guys in Buccaneers RB Jacquizz Rodgers and now even RB Antone Smith and even RB Peyton Barber? These are your third, fourth and fifth string running backs.
“I don’t think it matters who’s back there. I think we have the best running back coach in the NFL. No matter who goes back there, we treat those guys the same. It doesn’t matter who is the player. What matters is the technique and who can get things done. Jacquizz and Barber and Smith, they did a good job, but the guys up front in the offensive line and the tight end did a good job blocking.”
What’s it like knowing that Buccaneers WR Mike Evans and QB Jameis Winston are going to be together for a long time? It’s like they show up together in the endzone all the time.
“When you have a big receiver like Evans and a tremendous quarterback like Jameis, they’re going to be two weapons that are going to be here for a long time. I think they take pride in winning. They both love to win and love to fight. It’s two young guys that will tear this league up for a long time.”
How much fun is it for you personally to run downhill like that these last two weeks?
“It’s good. I think that’s one of the biggest things that offensive linemen take pride in which is running the ball. You can see the fruit of your labor when you come out and have a game like this. When you have 200-something rushing yards like that, that makes an offensive lineman feel good.”
Has Buccaneers RB Jacquizz Rodgers running like this changed the dynamic of this offense and maybe changed the course of the season?
“I think he has stepped in right in time. I didn’t know the guy was as good as he is, as explosive as he is. I was surprised myself. That first game when he got in there and I saw him run, I said that guy is pretty good. He’s explosive. He almost reminds you of [Buccaneers RB] Doug [Martin].
Buccaneers WR Mike Evans
Postgame Quotes – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Big sequence in the third quarter, it’s 20-14 and Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston finds you in the end zone for a leaping catch. Just describe that play and what you did.
“I got hit by a linebacker and I was slowed up. He did a great job scrambling. I just threw my hand up and he put it to where only I could get it. We’ve been working on stuff like that all year.”
You and he [Winston] over the last couple of games have been huge on third down. I know you’ve been working on that as well. Why has that clicked?
“That’s the money down. We get a lot of reps in practice at it. When it’s third down, I want to win, no matter what the coverage is. He trusts me and he’s comfortable with me on third down.”
For this team to win back-to-back games on the road and level it to 3-3, what does that do for the confidence in this locker room?
“It absolutely boosts it. We had a long West Coast trip. It feels good to get a W and we’re going back home. We’ve got a tough challenge in Oakland. We’re going to take a couple of days off, get rested, hopefully get some guys back and hopefully beat Oakland.”
The run game seems to open up more opportunities for you. How huge was it for Buccaneers RB Jacquizz Rodgers go off for over 100?
“It’s crazy. That’s great. He’s a baller and we were very fortunate to get him. Our O-line has been playing great and the receivers have been doing great as well with downfield blocking. We’re just playing complementary football.”
Has his [Rodgers] renaissance changed the dynamic of this offense?
“He’s similar to [Buccaneers RB] Doug [Martin] in many ways. They’re both smaller, bigger backs that can break you down. He’s been doing that.”
Does the chemistry between you and Jameis and the hard work paying off in these big downs like you saw today?
“I think so. He knows where I’m going to be and he did a great job of escaping the pocket on third down and finding me. He’s the ultimate warrior.”
Buccaneers CB Brent Grimes
Postgame Quotes – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
A lot of people talk about the 49ers Head Coach Chip Kelly offense as being fast-paced. Did they seem slower today?
“It wasn’t slow at all. It presents a challenge for getting your plays and personnel in. We adjusted and did a good job. We started off rough, but we did a good job and finished off well.”
What did you think of 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick and how did he look just throwing and running the ball?
“He’s a problem. You have to account for him all the time. He made a lot of plays when stuff broke down and he extended plays. I think he threw a touchdown when he extended a play. He was playing inside the game.”
You’ve been around the league, any difference from what you saw today and what you’ve seen in years past?
“He was playing his game. He makes plays and extends the plays and makes throws off of that. He was doing that a lot today.”
How important was it for the defensive side to make big plays and continue that momentum from the last game?
“In the NFL, turnovers are huge. They came at big times for us and it swung the game. That’s the key in the NFL, getting extra possessions and we’ve done a good job the past two weeks.”
Getting back to .500, what does that do for you as a team?
“It’s another win. It’s always better than a loss. Now we have to go to the next game, which is a home game, and try to continue the streak.”
Buccaneers WR Russell Shepard
Postgame Quotes – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Late in the first half, it looked like you were the primary option going into the endzone. Tell us about that play. It was a huge momentum swing to get seven going into the locker room.
“We always preach that if we can get seven going into halftime, that’s a huge thing for us. When you score points before the half is over, that increases your chances of winning. We had the opportunity to put points on the board, the coaches kept preaching to just put points on the board because we’ll have the ball coming back. That was the biggest thing. It was a quarter play. We’ve been practicing all week. I was the third read on the play. I didn’t think I was going to get it, but I just went up and made a play.
What’s going through your mind when you know you’re the third read, you’re waiting and suddenly here comes the ball?
“Don’t drop the ball. That’s the biggest thing. I don’t get many opportunities, so don’t drop the ball.”
How about 513 yards of offense today for this team, and most of it was in the second quarter on? What does it say about the potential of what this football team can do?
“We can play football. We can be a complete football team, offensively, defensively and on special teams. We can put together a complete game. We just have to continue doing what we’re doing. We’re going to be a pretty good football team in the future.”
Buccaneers LB Daryl Smith
Postgame Quotes – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
You’re a veteran who’s seen many offenses, but did 49ers Head Coach Chip Kelly’s offense look like a hurry-up offense as you expected? It looked like they had a lot of time left on the play clock.
“They’re definitely an up-tempo offense. They’ll get to the line, snap it and get back to the line. Other times, they’ll stand around and get a look from the defense and go from there. That’s the type of offense they run. You have to work hard during the week to get ready for them.”
Was the zone read stuff what you thought?
“They’re going to do what they’re going to do. They came out and started out fast. We started out slow. We eventually got it going and the game turned for us.”
Did 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick look like you expected him to look?
“He’s slippery. You think you’re going to get a sack or get him down and he’ll convert a third down. That’s definitely what you see when you watch film of him.”
You’re a veteran in this league and you’ve played against him before. Did he seem like the same guy out there? Anything different from what you expected?
“No. He made some plays for them. This is only the second game back for him, I think he’s going to get better with it.”
A lot of people were talking about his weight loss because of the injuries. Did he look a little skinnier?
“I don’t know. All I know is he’s fast, slippery and he’s got an arm. That’s it.”
Buccaneers DT Akeem Spence
Postgame Quotes – October 23, 2016
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
What did you think about San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick out there? Did he look like the same player as a couple of years ago?
“Definitely. He had the foot speed. He missed a couple of throws and things like that, but that’s just him getting back into the game, getting back into the flow of things. He definitely still has the foot speed and the playmaking ability as you saw out there. He made some great plays just running the ball.”
And did his arm look the same?
“The arm is very strong. You can tell he can still make the throws. The wind was blowing and he was off a little bit here or there, but it could have gone the other way.”
How big was that game? You guys went down on the first drive, and then you pretty much gave them nothing.
“They jumped on us early. As a defense we just had to take a deep breath, settle down and start playing our game. We were knocking out the zone read on first down and making them huddle up and just play ball from there.”
What’s the confidence in this team right now?
“The confidence is pretty high coming off the Bye week. We had a big win at Carolina, and now coming on the road out here to the west coast and having another big win. At the same time, we have to get ready for Oakland. They had a big win against the Jaguars today, so that’s going to be a big test at home next week.”
Just getting to .500 after the start to this year, what does that mean to you?
“That’s great. Especially just coming out here on the west coast and being on the road. We’re doing great on the road. We just have to be able to do the same thing next week at home against the Raiders.”
What’s up with you guys? Three wins on the road this year.
“We’ve been able to get it done on the road, the first week in Atlanta and then Monday night at Carolina. We just have to find out a way to get it done at home in our own stadium.”