You talk about Eric Reid being out, is there any thought about moving DB Jimmie Ward to free safety? He played that in college. He played strong safety. He played free safety. He played in the slot. He plays outside now. So, cerebrally he gets the defensive scheme. Why not try to use him in that back end of the defense so you can cover up the deficiencies you have on the outside where he has the range to cover?

“I think Jimmie Ward’s a corner in our system. Yes.”

Do you just plug in S Jaquiski Tartt and have him do everything that Eric did?

“Not everything because Eric played, as you guys all know, a lot of different position on our defense. He played nickel. I told you guys he took some outside linebacker, defensive end jobs. The past few weeks, he’s helped us out as a dime linebacker. He’s played both safeties. So, Tartt’s going to obviously step into the safety role, but other guys in other positions are going to have to step up and do some of the jobs that he was able to do for us in passing downs.”

Would you like him to evolve into a guy who can do some of those things though, like Eric did, do more of those things?

“Who?”

Jaquiski.

“Right now, I just want him to focus on being the best safety that he can for us.”

How is he as a deep, centerfield safety? He’s played mostly strong in the box. How is he back there at the free safety spot?

“He’s good. He’s got great range and ball skills. He’s got a knack for reading the quarterback. I mean, you guys are familiar with him. He’s played a lot of football. He’s played a lot of football for us this year and he filled in and did a great job last year when [S] Antoine Bethea went out. So, he’s a good football player.”

What are his strengths? What does he do best right now at this point in his career?

“In just this past game, I think he did a heck-of-a job on [New England Patriots TE Martellus] Bennett in man coverage. So, I think that’s one thing that he does a really good job of. He’s obviously a physical guy that you can get down in the run game and make plays in the box. He’s had some really nice blitzes for us this year when we’ve moved him down into what we call our X position, which is a position where you blitz and that was some of that three safety package stuff we were able to do earlier in the year. So, he’s got a great NFL skillset.”

You’re facing obviously different quarterbacks after going from New England Patriots QB Tom Brady to Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill. Not to knock Tannehill, but how can you be more aggressive going after him whereas Brady has seen so much in 17 years?

“We’ve been aggressive the past three weeks. So, I don’t think you can ever get away from who you are. Obviously, we’ve been smart against the quarterbacks we’ve gone against and we tried to mix it, especially this Sunday. I think we balanced, especially on third down, pretty good. We gave him simulated pressure, some three-man rush, we cover zeroed him and went after him. So, we try to mix it. We don’t ever want to be predictable, especially on third down, with what we’re doing. But, Ryan Tannehill’s playing at a high level right now. They’ve won five straight. They’ve got the run game going. He’s got some threats in the wide receiving corps. So, they’re doing a good job. They’ve got a good offensive line coach [Miami Dolphins offensive line coach Chris Foerster]. You guys are familiar with him. He was here last year, does a good job with the zone running scheme, and [Miami Dolphins head coach] Adam Gase is a really good offensive mind. So, we’ll have our work cut out for us this week.”

What does Adam Gase try to do with that offensive to create dilemmas for opposing defenses?

“They’ve gotten into some of the, run-game wise, they do a great job with the zone running scheme. That’s what’s really probably sparked their offense. They do some of the gun run stuff that [head coach Chip Kelly] coach does as far as the zone-read and some run-pass option stuff off of it and then they do a good job pass-game wise with matchups and displacing some personnel. So, it’s a good system.”

What stands out when you watch Miami Dolphins RB Jay Ajayi on tape? What kind of runner is he?

“How hard he runs. One cut guy, gets downhill, hits it. Physical runner. He also is a threat out of the backfield. So, he’s a really good running back.”

You told us you’d be surprised if LB Marcus Rush was on the practice squad all year. 1-9, do you go talk to general manager Trent Baalke and say, ‘Hey, can we give this guy a chance?’

“No. I don’t get involved in those conversations. If my opinion’s asked, I give it.”

I’ll ask your opinion. How’s he doing?

“Marcus? He does a great job in practice every day. He usually mimics the team’s best defensive end or pass rusher and he gives our offensive guys a great look.”

You mentioned the Dolphins running back. It seemed like LB Nick Bellore had a pretty good game this last game. Would you agree with that and have you seen progress from him?

“Yeah, I think we’ve had a bunch of guys over the last three or four weeks really show progress. I think Nick did some really good things in coverage this past week. There were times where we were in some zones and he was matched up on [New England Patriots WR Julian] Edelman and I thought he was physical, he did a good job playing to his leverage and playing to his help. I thought he did some really nice things in the run game for us. I think [CB] Rashard Robinson came back and had a nice game. Antoine Bethea continues to do a great job for us at safety. The reps that [CB] Keith Reaser is getting out there are so critical and then you go back to [DL DeForest Buckner] Buck, which we’ve talked a lot about. I think early in year you saw Buck making a lot of plays in the run game and then he was making a lot of exceptional effort plays and now he’s starting to get really close and affect the quarterback and the next step for him is just going to be to finish those plays. But, he knows and we know that’s what he needs to do to be that three-down difference maker. So, I really see him coming. So, yeah, I think a lot of guys have grown the past few weeks.”

On that 45-yard run play by New England Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount, was that a stunt which Bellore was supposed to get that gap or what happened on that?

“Yeah. We probably weren’t physical enough at the point of attack. I’ve got to give them credit. They did a good job blocking us up. So, we could have been a little bit more physical with the two guys that were blitzing and then we had a defensive lineman that got knocked out of his gap. And with all that being said, we had a chance to make a tackle for a seven-yard gain. That’s what’s frustrating. But, part of our plan was we thought we were going to have to, in some of their run formations, pressure them to get them behind the sticks to get them into some obvious passing situations, try to force some third-and-longs just because of, I think Tom Brady going into our game had a perfect quarterback rating on third down. So, we knew we had to get them out of the two to six range. We wanted to get them into the seven-plus and we did a pretty good job with that as the game went on. He made obviously some great plays and the receivers made some great plays in that game and that’s where you just wish we could have finished on one or two more of those third downs and I really think that would have given us an opportunity to win that game in the fourth quarter.”

Is CB Marcus Cromartie your third safety now or is CB Dontae Johnson in that conversation?

“Yeah, if I had to do it right now, you obviously have Bethea and you have Tartt and then it would be Dontae. Dontae’s been a swing guy for us at corner and at safety. Dontae’s a guy every week we try to get involved in a package because every time he’s in there he gets a plus. Whether it’s covering [Arizona Cardinals RB] David Johnson on the Thursday night game against Arizona, he’s been involved in some of the stuff the past two weeks covering backs for us on third down and then I would go with Cromartie after that.”

Reid, LB NaVorro Bowman, DL Arik Armstead are arguably your three best defensive players. Have you ever had a season where your three best defensive players are out for the year?

“No. It’s hard, it’s frustrating, but that’s the NFL. Guys have to step up. You’ve got to try to find ways to scheme around the players that you have as the season goes on. We’re not getting a lot of get well soon cards from the rest of the teams in the NFL, but that’s what this league’s about.”

Back to Dontae, you’ve used a lot of three safety looks. Do you feel like with what you’ve seen from him in practice and games you can go back to those looks even without Eric Reid given what you’ve seen from Dontae?

“I’m not sure yet. It depends on the team. My mind’s so focused on the Miami Dolphins right now. Eric was a guy that we felt could hold up in the box and he had some natural instincts as far as seeing a guard pull, you know, run at him, run away. There were just some things that came naturally to him where we didn’t have to get him a million reps. I haven’t put the rest of those guys in those situations yet to know all that. So, that’s just something that we’re going to have to evaluate as we go, as we start to fit our personnel packages together to get ready for the Dolphins and then moving forward.”

I guess the top question is what did the week away, what did you discover that can help you guys tighten up that run game?

“We’ve got to tackle better. We’ve got to do a better job getting off blocks. I think that those are the, if there’s two things that jumped out off the tape, those would probably be the two biggest things. Then the last thing is just consistency. At times we defend the run really well. It’s just not consistent enough for four quarters. You let a 44-yard run out. You let a 45-yard run out. Your run totals are never going to be good when that happens. If it was just one guy, that one guy wouldn’t be playing. It’s just, we’ve just got to tighten everything up as a group and like I said, those three things are the biggest things that we took out of it.”

As far as the getting off blocks, when you have two young defensive linemen, tall guys like DL Arik Armstead and DL DeForest Buckner, what can they do to be able to get off those blocks and not get washed away?

“Well, I don’t think the height thing has much to do with it. I think that actually, the more length you have as a player, it’s easier to escape blocks. It gives you more space between you and the blocker. I just think it’s something that everything, at every level of the defense you go through. You learn that if your pads get up in this league, you’re going to get knocked off the ball or you’re going to get knocked back by a wide receiver stalk blocking you. So, it’s just those guys, it’s not like their pads are high all the time. But, you know as the game goes on and the plays start to mount, as you get tired, the tendency might be to popup a little bit and it happened a couple times in the last game and they got knocked off the ball as a result of it. Those guys will learn from those plays and they’ll be better next week.”

ME: How do you assess the gap integrity along the D-Line in particular?

“I don’t know what you mean by that.”

ME: How would you assess each individual defensive lineman and their ability to maintain their responsibility in their gap? If you ask, say, Buckner, to be responsible for the B-gap. Is he doing that?

“Yeah. Yeah.”

The pad level issue that you talked about, is that really tough for young players to break because I know Cleveland Browns NT Danny Shelton went through it last year too?

“Yeah. I think that some of those guys are so big, they’re so strong, they’re so athletic, they’re such good football players, there’s stuff that they can get away with at the college level that when now you’re in the NFL, you’re playing against grown men who have been in the league for eight, nine, 10 years who understand pad level. It’s just something, it’s part of the learning curve. Yeah, I think every young player goes through it. I don’t think it’s just D-Linemen. It’s linebackers when a guard climbs on them to block them, how to sink your weight, how to stunt a guy and then how to get off blocks. It’s DBs, even in their backpedal and coming out of their breaks. If you’re not low and you’ve got to sink your weight before you’ve got to transition, you have no chance to cover an intermediate route in this league. So, it’s every level. It’s all young guys. It’s something that they learn as they come into the league.”

Are these the type of plays that are causing the 44-yard runs, when they’re–?

“No. The type of plays that cause 44-yard runs is an outside backer running up field, an inside backer not reading his key and then the DB missing a tackle. That’s what causes 44-yard runs.”

So, this isn’t like a prevalent issue, their pad level, that you’re trying to get them to–?

“When you have low pads, it gives you a chance to make plays. When you’re not playing low, obviously, your chance of making plays goes way down.”

Were there any guys during the, I know they had the mandatory four days off, but were there any guys who came in on their time off to meet with you guys, to see what they could do better?

“I talked to a couple guys on the phone. There was interaction. Most of the guys that were around were the guys rehabbing, like [CB] Rashard Robinson, [LB] Aaron Lynch. Those guys were here throughout the whole week with [vice president of football operations Jeff Ferguson] Ferg working on stuff. I know some guys came in and got a workout. Sometimes it’s good to get away for a little bit because while you’re here you invest so much and it’s such a mental and physical grind. That Bye Week’s huge for just getting away, hitting the reset button, coming back and being ready to go for the remainder of the season.”

There’s dropped pad level, but also one thing that head coach Chip Kelly mentioned was putting the players in a position to be successful. So, when you look at the young players, like let’s go back to DeForest, and he’s in that 3-4, from a coaching standpoint is he in a good position from where he is learning this NFL system right now and the speed and taking on those blockers?

“Well, yeah. He was drafted here to be a 3-4 defensive end. That’s what he is.”

No, I understand. But, the NFL with the speed is different. I mean, do you see him just picking that up–?

“Yeah. You’re talking about DeForest?”

Yeah.

“Yeah. I think DeForest is doing a great job for us. Are there some plays that he wishes he had back? Sure. He’s a rookie. Are there things that we could maybe do at times to put him in better position? Yeah. But, I’m not down on what we drafted him here to do for us.”

I’m not saying that. I’m just wondering when you look at the first eight games, is there positioning that you guys can help him with? That’s all I was wondering.

“Yeah. Yeah.”

The lower man always wins. DL Ronald Blair is a player who always plays with good leverage, knows how to get off and stack and shed and knows when to shed. Stacking’s not a problem for him. Why haven’t we seen more of him in the run game?

“He is involved in the run game and he’ll continue to be a part of what we’re doing.”

How do you tackle the challenge of facing New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees and giving him different looks? I mean, this guy has seen everything in his NFL career.

“There’s some stuff you can do pre-snap, but like you said, he’s seen a lot of it before. He does a great job getting the ball out. He’s a hard quarterback to hit. They do a really good job protecting him. It’s a great scheme. They’ve been in it together for 10 years. So, there’s been a lot of continuity there. There’s not too many things that they haven’t seen as an offensive staff and personnel-wise with those guys. But, you’ve got to out-execute them. He’s going to know where to go with the ball. We’re going to have that guy covered. You’ve got to make a play.”

What are you expecting from CB Will Redmond in practice this week?

“Just for him to take another step, hopefully for him to get a step closer to being back.”

Was he here during the Bye?

“Will?”

Yeah.

“Yeah. I’m sure he was around working out.”

DeForest has played a lot of snaps, I think all but a couple this last game. Is that a concern moving into the second half of the season that you want to make sure that he’s not getting too many throughout the course of the year and he doesn’t hit some sort of wall?

“No. The guys that we think give us the best chance to win, we want them out on the field as much as they possibly can. When they need a blow, we get them a blow. So, we get them a break. But, for us to win football games, DeForest Buckner has to be out there for 80-percent of the plays. Arik Armstead has to be out there for 80-percent of the plays. [LB] Ahmad Brooks has to be out there. [S] Antoine Bethea has to be out there. [DB] Jimmie Ward, when he’s healthy, has to be. There’s guys that we need to be out there for us to win football games and play good defense.”

Is there a sense that DL Glenn Dorsey will be, as he gets farther away from that rehab from the ACL, will be increasing his snap count as we go forward?

“Yeah. I hope so. He was a big part of our plans as far as a guy that could help us in the middle of the defense. So, yeah. We hope.”

Offensive coordinator Curtis Modkins told us the coaching staff met and kind of had a pow-wow. Do you guys ever get the scouts involved in watching the film and what kind of communication is going on with the scouting department?

“Chip more handles that. I think you’d have to ask him. I know he watches tape after the game with the guys upstairs and explains a lot of the stuff from the coaching end. For us, we’re more, bang-bang-bang, get the tape graded and then we move on to the next opponent.”

You’ve allowed, after almost every turnover the offense has committed, allowed points. A lot of times is because the opponent’s taking over deep in your own territory. Obviously, you can’t help some of that, but have you noticed, mentality-wise, guys being deflated? ‘Oh, there’s another turnover and they have the ball at the 30-yard line.’ Is that something that needs to be improved?

“Yeah. It’s something we’ve talked about. I think we talked about that two weeks ago. Chip’s brought that up to the team. You can’t ride the roller coaster in an NFL football game. You’ve got to stay consistent. You can’t ride the roller coaster throughout an NFL season. You’ve got to stay consistent. But, our mentality is no matter what situation we get put in, it’s more TV time for us. It’s another chance to compete. It’s another chance for us to take the field and make plays and help our football team win a game. So, that’s the mentality that we’re preaching to our group. That’s what we want.”

ME: You said you need to put DeForest Buckner in a better position. Have you considered moving him out of the middle and over to the edge?

“He does play, on the edge do you mean like four-technique on the tackle?”

ME: No. I mean like defensive end in sub-packages?

“No.”

ME: No? Why?

“Because he’s better suited inside.”

Do you, it’s only been a few days, but can you see things look maybe a little bit more crisp on the practice field?

“Yeah, you can see that. That’s a good point. You can see that and I think that’s, at any rate, like again with Colin his last extensive playing time was in the San Diego game. I think he played three snaps in the first game, but his last extensive playing time was in the San Diego game, which was our last preseason game, which was over six weeks ago. Getting him back into, really what you’re trying to do is get him into a rhythm.”

What’s WR DeAndre Smelter look like now that he’s back on the practice squad?

“Just seen him for two days. It’s good to see him back out there running around. Obviously, even through OTAs he seemed to have something. So, it was you’d have him for a couple days and then he’d be out for a couple days or not 100-percent for a couple of days. So, the biggest thing with DeAndre is are we going to get a healthy DeAndre and that’s what we’re looking for. But, for two days so far he’s looked solid.”

He was dealing with a hamstring off and on–?

“Yeah, it was a hamstring.”

OK, it wasn’t tied to his torn ACL in college?

“I don’t know how the hamstring happened, but the injury itself was a hamstring. It had nothing, there was no knee issue and it was a pretty, whatever the grades are, grade two or grade three, it was a legitimate torn hamstring. It wasn’t one of those you know he’s out for a week or two as an extensive, obviously, just look at when we released him, waived him injured and then brought him back, I know it was a pretty severe hamstring injury.”

You mentioned RB Mike Davis had practiced well last week and had earned more playing time in that game in Buffalo. Can you elaborate on what he did during practice that was an improvement? I know he had a good preseason averaging over eight yards a carry.

“Just hitting the hole, timing, making the right cuts. You’re burying yourself into the back of the guard or are you working off of the guard’s block and getting yourself to the second level and not getting touched by a linebacker, finishing runs, showing good vision. That’s kind of what you’re looking for in a running back when you’re going through practice.”

Is the next step for him maybe building a rhythm, getting playing time and then starting to feel the rhythm of the game? Is that going to help him going forward?

“Yeah, you would hope. I think, again, just like the same conversation we had about Colin, the more time you’re out there, the more reps you’re getting, the more snaps you’re getting. I think you’re trying to get into a rhythm and get into a feel of kind of how the game itself will be played.”

How is he as a pass catcher coming out of the backfield?

“Well, Mike is solid. I think [RB] Carlos [Hyde] and [RB] Shaun [Draughn] were a little bit ahead of him from a pass-catching standpoint. He does a good job in protection, but he’s solid as a receiver coming out of the backfield.”

Will you bring up RB DuJuan Harris?

“Yeah, we’ll get to, again I said that earlier, you’ve got to wait until you get to Saturday. If three guys get injured today then you’re juggling them all around. Or DuJuan could get injured. So, we’ll get to Saturday and then make a decision on where we’re going to be. But, we do want to have three running backs up for the game.”

How has CB Will Redmond looked in practice?

“One day he looked OK. I didn’t, he’s over with the scout squad, running around just kind of getting his feet wet. He looks like he’s moving better than when we saw him last in the preseason. But, he’s looked OK.”

Did he suffer a setback at all or was it just something that you wanted–?

“I don’t think it was a setback. No, I don’t. It wasn’t an injury that kept him out. I just don’t think he was ready to go.”

Going back to DeAndre, did he show you enough when he was healthy in the offseason that it was part of the plan that when he gets healthy and if he doesn’t get picked up by another team that you’d want to bring him back and see him and perhaps–?

“No, I would say the other way. We didn’t see it, really didn’t get a chance to see him so that’s what we really wanted to be able to do. It was one of those deals is that you never saw enough of him to really make an accurate decision on, ‘Hey, can he really contribute and help? So, let’s give him an opportunity when he’s healthy.’ Again, when you have the injury that he had with his hamstring, and it was legit, got an MRI. It was a real serious hamstring injury. You feel bad for the player because he’s put so much time and invested so much time coming in and being on IR the first year and getting ready to show us what he can do but then really didn’t have a chance to show us what he can do. I don’t think he played. Did he play in a preseason game? I don’t think he played. I think he was hurt. It happened before our first preseason game, so we never really got a chance to see him in action.”

Colin’s athletic skills and everything are evident. One of the criticisms on him has been on touch and anticipation. One, do you think that’s fair and two, is that something you can develop later in your career? As your career goes on, can you improve that?

“Well, I think he has touch and anticipation. I think part of that’s understanding the concepts that you’re teaching and what he’s being asked to do. I don’t know exactly what the ins and outs of the systems that he was in before we got here, but in terms of us seeing him, I think he does have anticipation, he does have the ability to throw guys open. There’s certain balls you have to put some touch on to throw and I’ve seen that displayed in practice. I think one of the things that’s difficult in terms of grading Colin just from the first game that he played in Buffalo is I don’t think anybody was really accurate. But, a lot of that had to do with the weather. I think part of that, even the long throw to [WR] Torrey [Smith], when you talk to Colin about it, he said, ‘I just wanted to get it out there.’ He was afraid, I think we were going with the wind, he was afraid if he let that thing go, how open Torrey was, we overthrow him by 10 yards we get nothing out of it. So, I think he babied that throw a little bit but understandable because you’re in a little bit of a different environment. There was a distinct wind in the difference between going one way and going the other way and I know you can talk to [K] Phil [Dawson] who’s got great experience at it from a kicking standpoint. We probably had to get to almost the 20-yard line going down away from the tunnel and then the other side, I think he hit a 65-yarder in warmups going the other way. So, the wind was a bigger factor I think in his first time out. So, hopefully, back here in the friendly confines of Levi’s, we’ll be in a little bit better situation, a little bit better weather in terms of us throwing the football.”

Colin’s been described as maybe a better player in games than in practice. Would you agree with that?

“In the one game that I can judge him from?”

You’ve watched tape.

“I don’t think he’s been bad in practice. So, I don’t see that.”

Well, not bad.

“That’s the point. I’m just saying I don’t get that. I think Colin has been great. He’s very intense. He really works very hard from a practice standpoint. So, I don’t see that aspect. The one thing that set him back is he had a sore arm. So, we missed a chunk of time in preseason camp with him. But, I don’t get the, and I’ve heard that, but I don’t, my body of work with him from a practice standpoint and a game standpoint is really the Chargers game which I think he played half good but you’re going against the twos and threes of the Chargers and then the Buffalo game was the only games that I’ve ever seen Colin in.”

In your experience though with other players, I’m sure that have had similar attributes being better in games than maybe during the week.

“I haven’t been around many of those guys, to be honest with you. I believe people sink to their level of training, they don’t rise to the occasion. I haven’t really been around a lot of guys that just don’t practice very well and then all of a sudden on game day show up. I think it’s too hard a game. I’ve never really understood that narrative. I think it’s too hard a game to not practice very well and then go out and play very well. I don’t think that happens really in any spot, that that truly happens, to be honest with you.”

Are you fully committed to staying with the 49ers beyond this season?

“Unless the media has an opportunity for me somewhere, I’ll always explore those opportunities. But, I’m not going anywhere.”

How would you describe former 49ers LB Charles Haley’s role with the team and to have guys connected to that kind of success that this organization’s had in the past? What value is that?

“Well, I think on the second part, I think that’s huge and I think it starts with our player engagement program run by [vice president of football affairs] Keena Turner. To have guys like Keena and [director of alumni relations] Guy McIntyre around here, they have a huge impact on our players and I think this player engagement is different than a lot of player engagements in the league in the fact that so many of the former players give back here. We’ve had meetings in the offseason with our rookies and there’s [former 49ers C/G] Jesse Sapolu, [former 49ers CB] Eric Wright, [former 49ers RB] Ricky Watters, [former 49ers QB] Steve Bono. The list goes on and on of how many former 49ers really reach out and want to help because of their ties to this organization and I think it’s unbelieve. I think it’s great. Charles is just another example of that. But, to hear from [former 49ers RB] Roger Craig or [former 49ers TE] Brent Jones or [former 49ers WR] Dwight Clark’s around a ton, you know, [former 49ers QB] Steve Young, [former 49ers WR] Jerry Rice, all those guys. I think the history and the tradition of this organization is something that we really want to continue and we want to use that to help our other players and motivate them. So, the fact that so many of those former players want to give back to this place kind of speaks and tells you a little bit about it and that’s kind of the role that Charles has. Charles wants to be around, Charles wants to help and I think he’s had a positive impact when he’s been here and had a chance to sit down and visit with our players.”

“You’ve got to get used to that cannon,” Ellington said while standing at his locker. “Kap’s arm is still strong and he’s still throwing it in the right direction.”

Kaepernick made a brief appearance in the locker room after practice and said his arm feels fine. For what’s it worth, he seemed genuinely pleased to see the media for the first time in his professional career, although he didn’t say much. He made casual conversation as he laid on the floor and massaged his lower back with a softball.

What do you make of all this? What do you expect from Kaepernick this week? Big week for him.