One of the teams that has played the Packers the best over the last few years is the 49ers. Do you go back and look at what you guys did in 2012, 2013 and take away anything from those games?

“Yeah, you look at those games and obviously, [49ers head coach] Jim [Tomsula] was here for those games. Talking to him and trying to go through it and it’s one of those things where you look at it from a scheme perspective and then you look at it from a personnel perspective and see where you can do the same things that were done before and where maybe it’s not going to work out quite the same way just because it’s different matchups. But, you do definitely try to draw on that and played Green Bay quite a few times over the course of time and then had [former NFL QB] Brett Favre with me in New York. So, had some feel for what they did there. Just to get his input on offense when he did come in.”

ME: You mentioned Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers’ pre-snap reads. Game planning against him, do you focus on disguises that confuse his pre-snap reads or pressure packages that stresses his protection?

“Well, you try to do both and we try to give sameness and likeness every week. [Former Baltimore Ravens head coach] Ted Marchibroda was a big believer in that when I worked with him in Baltimore. And, he was talking about it from an offensive perspective, the whole idea of the more things can look exactly like something else and guys have to make decisions after the snap, that’s the best-case scenario. When you get a quarterback that is as knowledgeable as he is, is as good at getting them into the right place as he is, it’s a problem if they know it early. And, we’ve always, I mean, I’ve always talked about it whether it’s [New England Patriots QB Tom] Brady or [Denver Broncos QB Peyton] Manning or [New Orleans Saints QB Drew] Brees, all the, the list goes on and on. But, those guys that have so much experience, if they know what you’re in, it’s going to the right place and every pass play has an answer to the different coverages. It’s your ability to make sure that he can’t get to that answer until he’s in his fifth step, then he’s got to see what it is.”

On the Cardinals, I think it was their last drive of the first quarter, there was two plays within a five-play sequence where Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald lined up in the slot, an outside linebacker was on him, gave him a bump and then kind of passed him off to maybe, no one was there. What happened, I mean, generally speaking on those plays,  and what was supposed to happen?

“Yeah, I don’t remember the one play and we were on base defense. So, Arizona does a lot of things early and I thought base had some good flexibility in terms of pressure package and coverage. But, there’s going to be some times, the one that stands out to me, is where Larry pushed in hard to the internal part of the coverage and then rolled back out. It’s a tough one, because you assume as a seam player, I don’t want to get into too much stuff, but as that outside player, when he pushes in like that you’re thinking he’s running across the field and then he bowed back out. I remember that one. The other one I don’t remember, but I think it was different coverages each time, so it wasn’t one specific thing. Sometimes it could have been cover-two, it could have been cover-four, split-safety stuff as opposed to post-safety stuff.”

Obviously, all defenses are complex, to learn some of this stuff on the fly. Is it safe to say there’s, at this, three games in there’s still a lot of thinking going on rather than just reacting?

“Well, there’s going to be thinking every week because the way that Arizona played was so different than the way that Pittsburgh played. More personnel groups, more personnel variation, different, so there’s always going to be that level. And then, Green Bay plays radically different than both Arizona and Pittsburgh plays. So, there’s going to always be the element of that. And, you’re trying to have enough in a package where you’ve got versatility, you can handle the problems that they create, you can attack the things that they do without getting too far across that line to where you’re reacting and adjusting. And, it’s a balancing act that you go through and this is really a learning process. I’ve said it before, you’re learning about the guys, guys are learning about me, guys getting in the system. It’s going to keep building.”

Did you evaluate the zone defense that you guys have been playing and what do you need to do to tighten that up?

“Well, it’s any zone, there’s multiple zones, so you go running down the line. Each one has different things that you have to do, and it’s everybody working together. It’s a function of not just the backend and the holes in the zone and the spots where you’re weak, but it’s the frontend too. Being able to generate enough pass rush, whether you bring four or five or three. And it’s those two things working together. And, getting back to the earlier point, it’s also not giving away which one you’re in because once they know, cover-three you’re going to throw certain things, cover-two you’re going to throw certain things. So, it’s post-snap and it’s the coordination of the front and the backend improving.”

Generally speaking, would you feel like your guys are getting beaten individually or do you think it’s more collective?

“Well, I don’t think it’s ever a function of one guy in any play. I mean, every now and then, a guy falls down or something like that. But, it’s collectively us getting better as a whole group, as opposed to, ‘OK, if we just fix this one thing we’re fine.’ And, you’re going to have variations. So, there’s different things that you’ve got to improve on in those different zones.”

ME: Your defense was in its base personnel package for more than 60-percent of the plays Week 3, according to Pro Football Focus. Was that the game plan going in? Why did you make that decision and looking back was that the right way to play it?

“Well, they really weren’t in much sub after the game got a little bit further along the road. So, I think that probably got skewed just because of the personnel group they were in. They were primarily in big people with an extra tight end or two extra tight ends, or 12-personnel with two tight ends. So, early in the game we had some base. Then we moved to more of a substituted package. But, that’s been varied each week.”

Is it really possible to disrupt an offense like Green Bay’s? Is it really possible to do that or do you have to take a different path?

“They’re very efficient. He’s very efficient. And, even, it’s one of those unique things because even when you disrupt Aaron Rodgers, the plays that he can make outside the pocket, it’s different than some other guys. So, when you do disrupt him, you need to disrupt him in a certain pattern to get the lowest probability of him then taking a broken play and turning it into a big play. And, what I really respect about him is, you saw it, where he catches you with 12 guys on the field or he quick counts you and then he comes back and he hard counts you. There’s an inherent discipline that has to go into whatever you play, because, looking through the list, I don’t know how many plus-20, plus-30, plus-40, plus-50 yard plays he has when guys jump offsides and he just gets a free play. He had a 52-yard pass interference. He had another touchdown to another. You get in those situations where you think the official is going to call it and he doesn’t. And, for us, eliminating self-inflicted wounds, that’s always going to be priority number one, whether it’s cadence, whether it’s missed tackles or any of those things that are under our control, that’s a starting point.”

You mentioned it being, the problems need to be solved collectively in the pass rush. What’s your stance on how the pass rush has played and what do you guys need to do to get Rodgers off his spot at a better rate than you have the last two weeks?

“I don’t think there’s one thing that you can do throughout the course of the game with Aaron to get him. Stuff in the first quarter is probably not going to be as effective in the second half after he’s seen it. So, you have to have a couple different pitches there. With the pass rush in general, it’s a balancing act. You’ve got four and you’re ability to get there with four. And then, if you want to bring five and zone blitz, or something like that. Then you do have some voids in the zone. And then, if you want to bring six and max pressure, you’ve got the pluses and minuses with that because if you miss a tackle or hit a screen, there’s some weakness there. So, I would say the pattern is still the same of it can’t always be four, can’t always be, it’s got to be those things mixed in. And, whatever you’re doing, you’ve got to do it better than you did it the week before.”

How would you evaluate what DL Arik Armstead’s done, particularly last week, and do you feel like his play has warranted a continued increased role?

“Yeah, I was excited for Arik getting his first sack and really [CB] Ken [Acker] getting his first interception. Those are big moments for guys in the NFL. In terms of Arik’s role increasing or decreasing, we’ve got him a fairly good volume of plays here for a young guy and we’ve got some depth in the defensive line, so you want to make sure all those guys can play and you’ve got freshness through the four quarters. But, his role each week could be a little bit different. It could be 20 this week and 30 next week or vice versa. Some of it depends on how much his, again, say in a substituted defense versus something else. Because, those guys have strengths that you play to and bigger groups versus smaller groups.”

During the game on Sunday, LB NaVorro Bowman looked pretty frustrated, a lot of kind of this. I don’t know if it’s frustration or a what’s going on here type of thing. Obviously, he’s very competitive. No one is thrilled about losing like that. But, have you talked to him and got a sense of kind of where he is?

“Well, he wasn’t alone in his frustration. Everybody was frustrated. When you get into a situation like that, nobody wants to be in that situation. Nobody works hard all week to be in that situation. Nobody expects to be in that situation. And, the frustration, the value in frustration is what you do with it. The value in frustration is how do you respond to it? How do you channel it? What do you do the next week to make sure the things that happened the previous week don’t happen again? And, that’s where the energy needs to go. So, whenever you get into that situation, I’ve talked to guys, not just Bo, but throughout my career and had those conversations. What do you do? What do you do about it? If you don’t like what’s happening, how do you, start with yourself. What things can you fix? And then, how do you become as positive an influence as you possibly can on the group. And, from leadership, what you’re always looking for is it’s easy to lead in those moments where everybody is high-fiving you and giving you lots of love. Leaders come, leaders are really revealed in those toughest moments, in the darkest moments when you’re not getting any of those things that you work so hard for. That’s where true leadership comes up. And, those are conversations that you have with guys, not just like Bo, but everybody because it applies to all of us. We’re tested in the dark times. It’s easy to do anything when things are going well.”

ME: CB Tramaine Brock seems a little slower than a couple years ago. Is he completely healthy?

“Yeah, Tramaine’s healthy. I mean, I don’t necessarily see that same thing and I haven’t timed him in the 40 but–.

ME: How would you evaluate how he’s played so far this year, Tramaine?

“I think he’s done some really good things. What I’ve liked about Tramaine is he’s worked in the slot, which is totally new for him and he’s done, I think he’s done well in there and he’s really worked it, at working in there as well. It’s not an easy, it’s like being a slot receiver. The world is totally different because of all the stuff that comes at you. So, I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed working with him and I think he’ll keep getting better as we go as well.”

Do you think that there’s a chance that he plays on a short week like you guys have?

“I don’t know that, but I will give you that answer as soon as we have it. I don’t want to, again, we don’t want something that can be taken care of in four days to end up being six weeks. So, I do want to stay in that approach, but I’m not willing to tell you, I mean, if he can play he’s going to play.”

What kind of soreness did QB Colin Kaepernick have after that hit he took in the first quarter on the sideline?

“Nothing, I mean, never even, to be honest with you, he never even spoke of it.”

With so many different guys getting involved in sacks and pressuring the quarterback, how encouraged were you by the show of that defense and getting to Minnesota Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater?

“Well, the whole, you know [Associated Press reporter] Janie [McCauley], the biggest thing that I appreciate that is going is the players and coaches and you know those things where you walk into a room and it’s a give-and-take? You know what I mean? When players study the way our guys study and players are as engaged as our guys are, when you sit there and talk about football, it’s not really a lecture. It’s communication. It’s a conversation and that shows when you can do, there was some multiplicity there. And then, there’s an unselfishness with guys and setting things up for other guys. We call it dirty work. That’s what we say in the locker room. So, you’ve got guys doing that. There’s one goal. It’s not to get six sacks. The goal is not to win the stat sheet. The goal is to win the game. And, that’s when I keep talking about the team and the locker room, that’s what I really feel about these guys. Let’s go win the game, let’s do what we need to do to win the game.”

Last week when you were keeping everybody guessing about how you guys were going to run the secondary, you did say that everybody would play. I mean, seven defensive backs saw significant action.

“I really try not to lie. I never lie on purpose.”

But, I mean, is that kind of the thing that you expect to see, just so many different guys with a hand in it as far as situational football goes?

“Yeah, well, I mean and you said it there, situational football. We’re going to play situational football and defensively too, we want to take an offensive approach on defense. We want to be offensive. But, again, what does the team do every week? That’s what I mean about the whole 46, is that will change. That’s going to change. I mean, it is. Week-to-week, you’re going to see variation in that depending on where we are in the schematic, who does what and who we’re looking to matchup with. It’s, I mean, if somebody’s got a, I don’t even want to get into that. But, that’s the way we’re looking at it. In that particular game, that’s the plan that came up defensively and our plan that came up offensively, and then we’ve got to coordinate that through the special teams and make sure that we’ve got our best 46 to attack the opponent.”

Obviously, during training camp tempo was a big emphasis for the offense. How do you think Colin did in that regard last night and by getting to the line early and getting the plays off early, how much better is he able to execute with that tempo?

“Well, and again, it just, it gives the time for the operation. For all the work that he and everybody else does all week. You study tape, you study looks, you study fronts, you study your opponent, and to have the time to be able to use that information, that’s all it is. I know there’s a lot made of it, but we’re just trying to operate in a way that we can use everything that we’re working on. I mean, that we’ve watched and worked hard to do. And, Colin did just a, obviously his position, he’s got to do those things. And, I thought he did, I mean, I know he did, he did a wonderful job yesterday.”

It look liked T Joe Staley also at times was trying to get everybody going. Were there other guys trying to keep that tempo going? I mean, we’ve been hearing you do it on the practice field. Were you doing it during the game? Yelling, tempo?

“I don’t know what I was yelling. I probably can’t repeat a lot of what I was yelling. But, I mean, the guys, I think they like moving at a pace. They just, they like it. And again, I don’t think it’s anything, I mean, this isn’t rocket science. It’s just a way that we want to be able to, I was as enthused in the middle of the third quarter there when we slowed it down and then sped it up and then slowed it down again in the middle of the fourth. And then, went into the four minute offense and slowed it way down. So, it moved all game. We just want to be able to have the ability to be able to use that clock. I mean, that’s one of the parameters, 53 and a third wide, 100 long, OK? 11 guys on each side and there’s a clock. That’s one of the parameters in football. So, we’re trying to work the parameters to where we feel we are in the game.”

Minnesota Vikings Coach Mike Zimmer said he felt like his team got out-physicaled and he said as far as, in terms of physicality, he would have liked his team to look like your team. Is that part of, I mean, would you like that to be part of your identity? Kind of a this team is going to beat you up type thing?

“Well, first of all to Coach Zimmer, I mean, that’s a wonderful compliment. I sincerely, I mean, I speak for the guys, that’s a compliment to them. In terms of an identity, I just want us to be who we are, and our locker room is, what I believe, is a tough-minded, physically-tough, and mentally-tough group of guys. Let’s play the game. I mean, football’s, it’s a test of wills. So, I just, I think there’s, I hope that, I believe those are the kind of guys that we have.”

When it comes to the play in the trenches with the lines, how much of it in your mind is technique and scheme and how much of it is just a mentality or an act to that you’re going to set the physical tone?

“I don’t know how you separate the two. I could punch that wall and try to get a hole in it all day long. If I get a hammer, it might help me out. You know what I mean? So, I don’t really, to me, I don’t know that we separate it. I think we, I think it’s just the way we do things and then it’s what you do but then how you do it. So, just putting it all together. I hope I’m answering that, I’m not trying to be funny.”

That was a good metaphor. That works.

RB Carlos Hyde said last week that one of the biggest things he learned from former 49ers and current Indianapolis Colts RB Frank Gore was to take care of his body before and after practice. You touched on it last week on WR Bruce Ellington making those strides. What have you seen from Carlos in that regard and did you ever have to sit him down and talk about that kind of stuff, or did he do that?

“No, I didn’t. I mean, we’ve talked about it, in terms of the whole team, that’s something we’ve talked about. We’ve dedicated an entire room over there that used to be a coach’s lounge. It’s no longer a coach’s lounge. It’s a regeneration room, where the guys are in there and they’ve got their drinks and they’ve got their boots and all the different thigh things for the muscles. And, they use the water in the cold and the hot and all they do all that stuff. To Carlos’s, speaking of Carlos, the last two guys to leave this facility last night were Carlos Hyde and [NT] Ian Williams, because they were doing their contrast after the game and doing some of the regeneration stuff after the game. And that goes along too, I just walked out of the office right there and we’ve got a full weight room. Guys are in there, you get your stretch, you get running, you get that blood moving and then you get your lift. So, I mean, that’s all part of it and they don’t have to be here today. Today’s a day off.  That’s on their own.”

How much did you observe, maybe, I mean you were coaching D-Line last year, but anything you saw that Carlos was soaking in everything he could from Frank Gore?

“Janie, I’d be making stories up if I got too deep there. I mean, I’m sure he did. Yeah.”

When you put together the staff did you hire offensive line coach Chris Foerster because you wanted Chris Foerster or because Chris Foerster had the kind of blocking-scheme that you thought would fit what you guys have here?

“I wanted Chris Foerster. Chris Foerster was here the last time, he was a gap-scheme guy, which we still have gap-scheme. You know, all the coaches, my point to all the coaches is, people first, what kind of people they were and thinking about the match of the room and just good guys that care about players and then obviously, how good they are at their jobs. But, the whole coaching staff, Foerster obviously, but the whole coaching staff is, and to watch them communicate. [Offensive coordinator] Geep [Chryst], Geep’s really good. I mean, he’s just a really good person and he’s a really smart man. But, you have a group there, you look at both sides, there’s some people who have done this a long time and people that bring a lot to the table and utilizing it all. No one guy here has all the answers. What we’re trying to do is, I mean we’re learning something from the Silicon Valley, isn’t this the place where they made those rooms and they put bean bags in it and everybody sat around and you brainstorm and you talk about stuff. I mean, we’re trying to utilize, to me, that’s utilizing everything you have. And, that’s what we’re trying to do. Again, we’re talking about all this stuff, it’s been one game. We’ve got a lot of work to do and we’ve got to get a lot better.”

There were a lot of penalties that this team was able to overcome last night, some on special teams as well as on the offense. When you looked at the film, what was more systematic about the penalties?

“Well, you know, again, there’s, we have to clean that up. I mean, we have to. And, I feel like anything I say about that is like opening the door that it’s OK. It’s not OK. But, we’ve got some young guys, our special teams, we’ve got a lot of young guys that are making aggressive mistakes and we’ve got to clean it up. It’s guys really, that extra effort is there and they’re trying to go that extra mile and that happened offensive line-wise at the beginning. It’s, no penalties are good, but we just have to clean up as we’re going that extra mile, as we’re going that, taking that extra step and trying to make that extra umph for the play. Keeping our hands inside or staying in front of the guy on a block, things like that. We’ve got to, there’s no doubt, we’ve got to get cleaned up. I was, the good that came from that to me was that there wasn’t any blinking. When I looked in people’s eyes, we were on to the next. Let’s go. Ok, that happened, deal with it, let’s go. Let’s keep moving forward, so there was a positive there.”

Speaking of aggressive mistakes, what do you do with RB Jarryd Hayne when he makes an aggressive mistake on that punt? But, you don’t, you probably don’t want to take away, curb his aggression, that’s what makes him who he is.

“We put him out there for the next two punts. He would have stayed out there all day. I mean, the next punt that came, went out of bounds. He didn’t have a chance to return it. And, the punt after that he did catch, he got 12-yards on it I believe. So, he got us a first down. He’s right back out there. So, I mean, there’s a belief and a faith there. Play football, OK? And, we have learning moments and we’ll learn from those learning moments, but we’re not, that’s it. OK. Next play, alright? Now let’s go back, own it, fix it and move on.”

Why did, you didn’t have the return and then they had a re-kick and Ellington went in, why did–?

“Usually, what we’ll try to do there is we will try to sub. Whenever somebody re-kicks, we are going to try to get some fresh, I mean, that’s a normal deal. If we were punting and we had to re-punt, we’ll try to get new gunners out there. You just went on a 40-yard sprint, the guy just fielded the ball and he took off sprinting. So, if we have somebody else that we can get in there in those kind of spots, we will.”

I think a lot of people would look at the schedule, you guys played the late, late game on a Monday Night, you’re facing a team that basically has 10 days rest, you’re flying across country. Did, when the schedule came out did you look at that and want to make a phone call to New York City?

“No sir. We looked at that and planned accordingly. That’s just the facts of it. That’s where it is. That’s where we go. We’ve got a gameSunday in Pittsburgh. And, we’re going to get on an airplane, we’re going to prepare this week and we’re going to go play. Not a minute to, all we want to know is what the parameters are. Give us the parameters, give us the facts and then let’s put a plan together to attack it and go at it. That’s it, that’s as deep as it gets with me. There’s where it is. OK, here we go. This is what we’ve got guys. That’s, and I mean, I think we’ve got a whole group here that’s the same way. That’s where it is.”

You’ve known about this sequence since April. You knew you were going to have a short week here. Any advanced work on Pittsburgh?

“Yeah, we did advanced work on everybody on the schedule. So, I mean, there was advanced, a normal, I mean, I’m not giving anybody any secrets. You look at your division, you make sure, you can start on that right away. You know you’re playing them twice. So, you start on that right away. Obviously, it was a little more unique for us this year because we were putting things together for ourselves. But, we were on the division real quick and then as soon as the schedule comes out we start systematically doing our work in the offseason, getting into this, getting into the season. And you sprinkle those things through training camp. You sprinkle those things through the offseason. As you’re installing your stuff, you can call an over an under or a different defense, because our defense knows how to do that. So, we can choreograph through calls and things as you’re installing what fronts you want to block and all those kind of things. So, that’s just the normal progression of it.”

With the short week and the travel, will you alter the practice schedule a little? I mean, just get the guys off the field a little more than usual or no?

“No, we’ve got, today’s off. Tomorrow’s ‘C and I’ day and then we’ve got Thursday and Friday and we get on a plane Friday afternoon.”

What’s ‘C and I day’?

“Clean up and installation, that’s all.”