SANTA CLARA – Justin Smith philosophized about his team and his future this morning at the 49ers facility. He said he’s got three, maybe four more good years of football in him, and that the Niners window to win the Super Bowl is right now. Here’s everything he said.
Q: How’s minicamp going?
JUSTIN SMITH: It’s been good, every day just keep installing, getting everything done that you can get done. We’re kind of limited nowadays, but you can still get all your install in, some of your cleanups, go over some of the stuff that you can improve on from last year. I think we’ve gotten better in that regard.
Q: Why limited?
JUSTIN SMITH: I think it’s been really good for passing and the secondary and all the route combinations the offense does, but offensive line, defensive line – there’s only so much you can do. But it’s been good. We’ve been cleaning up some of the stuff from last year we felt we could improve on.
Q: Have you seen progress from the younger defensive linemen?
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah. I think a few of them, especially Will (Tukuafu), (DeMarcus) Dobbs and Ricky (Jean Francois), I think those guys could start on a lot of teams. Anytime you have depth like that on your team it’s a good thing. That’s one thing we’ve got going for us right now.
Q: Dobbs had such a strong preseason last year. What did he need to work on this year?
JUSTIN SMITH: With any young guy, it’s understanding how the offense is attacking you, when you can take your chances inside the defense and things like that. That’ll make you a little more productive, and he’s been all ears along with all those other guys. They’re going to be really good players.
Q: Do you hate to come off the field?
JUSTIN SMITH: I like to get into a rhythm, get the feel of it. O-linemen don’t come off, right? So, there you go.
Q: Very few defensive linemen played as much as you did last season. Could you be even better if you had fewer snaps in the course of a game?
JUSTIN SMITH: I don’t know. I’m really not trying to find out. I figure I’ve been doing it that way 11 years, what’s a couple more?
Q: Does it help that you go against the same guy all game and by the end you’ve worn him down a little bit?
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah. I just figured if they’re out there (offensive linemen), you can be out there. They’re not turning and running to the ball, but I don’t think it’s that big of a factor personally.
Q: Is there a different mindset in your locker room this offseason?
JUSTIN SMITH: I think the mindset that I’ve kind of been spreading a little bit to the guys is, “Your team isn’t always stacked forever.” With free agency, the way drafts are set up – if you have successful seasons you get the lower end of the draft – you have certain windows. You don’t want to get into that: “Do we have two years? Three years?” I wouldn’t say that. I know with some of the guys that we have and with free agency, we’re not going to be able to keep this team together forever. Even age-wise, the whole team won’t be the same. I’m kind of stressing, “We’re not building, let’s do it this year.” Take a year-by-year approach, and I think this year if we feel we’ve put everything together and we work the way that we need to work, hopefully we can accomplish our goal.
Q: Is that fueled by the fact that the front office brought back the entire defense?
JUSTIN SMITH: I think they won’t tell you they feel the same way, but I think they do feel the same way. Let’s go out and let’s try to hammer this thing home. That’s our goal and that’s 31 other teams’ goal as well. It’s going to be a tough one to achieve but we feel like we have the team do it.
Q: How has the atmosphere around here changed since last year?
JUSTIN SMITH: Last year there was a new coaching staff – they never met us, we never met them, we didn’t know what type of scheme they were going to run. You get into a year along, you’re speaking the same language, you’re not sitting their saying: “What do you call this? We used to call it this, now what do you call that?” We should just be that much farther ahead. But it’s not cumulative – you’ve got to start all the way back over and do it from Game 1.
Q: Do you take vacation time?
JUSTIN SMITH: Not really. I figure in a couple years before I find what else I’m going to do I’ll take some time then, get an RV or something. Why not?
Q: What are your plans for when you have time off before training camp?
JUSTIN SMITH: There’s going to be a pretty big group of us around here. I may go back to Missouri for a little bit, but not very long.
Q: You mentioned windows. Do you think about your own window?
JUSTIN SMITH: Sure. I figure I’ve got three more good years in me, four more good years. I don’t want to be the guy who becomes the third down guy who plays 17 (snaps). I don’t want to do that. I’m figuring let’s go, you know? Time is of the essence for me, not everybody else. We have a young defense, but I think everybody feels the urgency and we’ve got the guys right now. Let’s not wait.
Q: Has your offseason work regimen increased as you’ve gotten older or has it always been pretty much like this?
JUSTIN SMITH: I’d say pretty much like this. We’ve got a good group here, guys competing against each other. The front seven works out together quite a bit, some of the strongest guys in the NFL with Isaac (Sopoaga) and Ray (McDonald) and (DeMarcus) Dobbs and Ricky Jean – just freaky strong. You compete against all those guys and it makes you better.
Q: Do you feel like your other teammates watch how you go about your business?
JUSTIN SMITH: This is a unique locker room. You don’t really have the gigantic egos. Some of the best players in there are the most down-to-earth, solid guys who are just trying to play football. Everyone wants to know what Randy (Moss) is like. He’s one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met.
Q: Do you feel that you guys are definitely Super Bowl contenders?
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah, that’s our goal. 31 other teams have that same goal, I don’t know if they necessarily believe it or not. I’ve said before in offseasons and then…(looks away, rolls his eyes and snorts), but that’s our goal, that’s our mindset and that’s what we want to accomplish. They’re not just going to give us a W for walking out there. We’re going to get everybody’s best game this year and we’re going to have to play even better than we did last year to have the same success. We know that and we’re prepared to go and try to do that.
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Cowboy baby!Fangio thinks to himself, “if only I had 10 more like him”. Relentless fury. If Coach Harbaugh is the head of this team, Justin Smith is the heart. Hell I’d go out there for this guy and get my bell rung. Eager to get this campaign underway.
I hope he plays for 4 more season and he and Gore can get a ring or two. Thats why we need to come out and hit the Packers in the mouth set the tone for the season a big win on the road against a elite QB and I hope Justin is a big part of the win. I hope the entire D line lives in the Pack’s backfield all day.
Grant… just wanted to say that since the A.Davis fiasco… your blog has really turned the corner. Seriously you have been doing a phenomenal job! Much appreciated
Great interview … J. Smith is awesome. Here’s my favorite quote:
The front seven works out together quite a bit, some of the strongest guys in the NFL with Isaac (Sopoaga) and Ray (McDonald) and (DeMarcus) Dobbs and Ricky Jean – just freaky strong. You compete against all those guys and it makes you better.
He really loves the game. Many players say they do, but you can tell which ones do just by watching them. He seems like the type of dude that would hunt grizzly bears with his bare hands when his playing days are over.
It wouldn’t surprise me. Fighting a grizzly reminds of a scene (forgot the movie) where Brad Pitt fights one for fun.
Why can’t vamps be real? Get JS eternal life and that would be cool. We’d have plenty of Raider fans to feed him.
JS just might be a monster anyway. Doesn’t think turning and running to the ball carrier is all that big a deal? Maybe a brillant zombie. They never tire right? He’s got that same weird disease JR had. How does he do that? Every play in the game is at the same feverish pace. I see all these DL who get winded after a hanfull of plays. Guys who for years got a lot more press. Amazing.
Dude is the Jerry Rice of D-Lineman with his work ethic. After the NFC CHampionship game he took 2 days off and was already back at it. Even Baalke said… “Man what the heck are you doing here!”
The Cowboy is a true football player.
Cowboy UP!!
Grant, thanks for your updates. Although on vaca I still need to satisfy my 49er appetite!
Are practices being conducted non-contact? Also, how is Bruce Miller and the other converted ‘D’ players (M.Dobbs, and Will Tukuafu) doing?
Staley and Sopoaga can catch out of the backfield, I was wondering if MD and WT could as well.
Any information about Kourtnei Brown ?
http://youtu.be/NSyuDc6RJRI
This says everything you need to know about The Cowboy. Best FA pick up since Deon. Flat out! And will be a top 20 player ranked by his peers. This guy is a TRUE Elite!
ZivilynBane64
5 dollars says this is ds on youtube. Same “Monster” comment it made up top. And the videos it watched fits the description of an “it/alien/video game/outerspace/monster/zombie/vampire/freak. Ds……….I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!! HA HA HAAAAA
Niners a very explosive offense for 2012?
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d829d6bd5/article/niners-will-field-one-of-the-nfls-most-explosive-offenses-in-2012
Well Duh! I said this 2 months ago. lol jk. Thats great news. Im telling you Smith is going to ball like never before this season. The looong wait for him to turn into an elite and bonified #1 pick is finally here. I dont care about practice, but its going to look the same on gameday. BALEEEEEE DAT! CHAMPIONSHIP!
..My b…….and still nobody cares what you think…cuz you are a niner hater 4 life……..
I read that article, made me want to put the pads back on and hit somebody. Cant wait for this season.
Poor Onelame…. He still thinks Alex Smith = 49ers. Read below you *ussy
@Undercenter
Thanks for sharing that. I’m excited about next year. Imagine an explosive offense coupled with a stout D, solid special teams. That should scare the rest of the league.
Here are some interesting quotes from that article:
… the additions of several playmakers to the receiving corps could make the 49ers’ utilization of multiple formations, shifts and personnel packages deadly in 2012.
Long story short: The Niners showcased clever strategies last season, but now they have the pieces to really give opposing defenses fits.
If our offense clicks we will be one scarey team. The Niners are going to outplay, beat up, and out think their opponents. Sounds like the 80s team all over again.
I use to get the feeling that I didnt want to jinx my team by saying they are going to be damn good, but this team IS going to be damn good. I cant wait.
That’s very high praise from Brooks. He was a “hater” last year.
…….”I felt a desire to set the record straight,” Harbaugh said. “Now, the interesting thing is that you could speak the truth as you know it to be and believe it to be, and then somebody could call you a liar.”
In this arrangement, Harbaugh was the one telling the truth about the 49ers’ interest in Manning. Reporters and critics were the ones calling him a liar, in effect, by doubting his version of events. Harbaugh seemed baffled at the notion.
“That you can concisely, exactly say it how you see it and believe it, and then somebody can call you a liar, that would make me wonder about the shadiness of that person,” Harbaugh said. “You know, the seediness, the diabolical world that somebody would live in that would think that another man would come right to his face and lie to him.
“You don’t really understand another man until you’ve walked in their shoes, but I don’t understand that world. I don’t understand the world where somebody would lie themselves or be lied to to that extent where they could commit character assassination on somebody else that is telling the truth.” ……
I believe you coach……let them doubt and hate…..
Dude you arent the first to post this. Let it go. Smith is our qb. No need to put on the angry face and tear up shoelaces. The facts were there and really nobody cares anymore. This is another post showing what kind of *ussy you are. How about giving props to other players? How about posting something without A Smiths name on it. You say you’re a 9er fan. Why dont you post about other players? Man up Onelame. Remove your lips from Smith ——- and have a Beer. Answer me this. Arent you excited about next season at all? Your long run of bad predictions on Smith are finally going to come true this season. You shouldn’t even be thinking about Manning unless we see him in the Superbowl. Im offering a helping hand to a needy *ussy. Take it easy! You’re not going to change anybodys mind about Harbaugh stretching the truth.
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
So far Big Brother Harbaugh (ironically, the little brother) is doing a heck of a job.
Clemons, would just love to see you call Harbaugh a liar to his face. Maybe you can get Grant to do a proxy? What do you say, Grant?
The Yorks
We all had our comments about their ownership. They didnt know how to run a football team. They turned out to be smart, they knew they sucked so they put their son in charge. Since that happened this organization has been on the upswing. The young man has put togeather a very good front office and inturn got a great coaching staff, very good players, and a new stadium to boot. The Niners are on the upswing there is no denying that.
Unlike his mom and dad he listened to the advice of his uncle.
Smart kid!
Yes he is. He has only made one mistake since he took over, everything else has been positive. The vibe around this team is so reminiscent of the early 80′s it’s ridiculous and exciting.
@undercenter
Actually I noted the similarities between Eddie D and Jed. Both were young hot shot kids. Both hired HCs who ended up stinking first. Both hired HC’s in round 2 who are wowing people.
You have that similarity in addition to the AS JM similarity of 1981. You have the similarity of JH and AS. Look at their two careers and tell me that up to year 7, they are not inter-changeable. Similar styled HC’s really hindered them both. JH sees himself in AS. And AS is taking JH’s attitude, as so often happens with a QB and HC who really click with one another.
I think if we beat the packers on opening day in there house, that we will go 16-0 and dominate the super bowl..go niners