Alex Boone: “Sometimes people hit us with some exotic stuff. It gets a little complicated.”

SANTA CLARA – Alex Boone was interviewed by Bay Area reporters at his locker Thursday afternoon. Here’s a transcript.

Q: Last week it seemed like on a lot of Frank Gore’s longer runs he wasn’t being touched until he was well down field. Was that a particularly good run blocking game for you guys?

BOONE: Yeah, especially against their front. They’ve got a great front five. And their defense, really, they run to the ball. They pursue. That’s the strength of their defense so it was a good game for us.

Q: They have one sack on the season. Is that indicative of their pass rush or is it deceptive?

BOONE: That’s deceptive. That’s what their known for, their front four, they’re up the field. I think people played them well but, at the same time, they are a very deceiving team. They play well, they get up the field quick and they can hurt you and it can be a long game. We’ve got to shut them down early.

Q: How does Jeff Fisher always seem to get his team ready to play you guys?

BOONE: Jeff Fisher is a great coach and I think he’ll have them ready, and I think there’s kind of a rivalry between us and they’ve always played us well. This is going to be a good game, a physical game, Monday night, stars come out, I think everybody is going to be a little fired up.

Q: Pro Football Focus ranks your offensive line 27^th in pass blocking. Is it hard to be a good pass-blocking and a good run-blocking offensive line.

BOONE: What’s Pro Football Focus?

Q: It’s a rating service that grades players.

BOONE: Oh. Um. You know, I think people can always say they think they know what we’re doing. Who knows? We’re really the only ones that know what we’re doing. Some of our pass plays, they’re complicated. People think we all should just slide this way, but that’s not how it works. You have a gap. You have a zone. You have a man. Everything is different. It changes with their front. Sometimes people get a little exotic, and they do. And things get a little complicated for us up front because it’s not like, “OK, well let’s all just slide left or let’s slide right.” It’s, “Hey, I’ve got the “B” gap,” or, “I have the “A” gap,” or, “I have this guy no matter where he goes.” Sometimes people hit us with some exotic stuff. It gets a little complicated. But at the same time, that’s football. You’ve got to live with it and it is what it is.