Jim Tomsula on the status of 49ers’ injured center Daniel Kilgore: “I didn’t ask.”

This is the transcript of Jim Tomsula’s Friday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department.

Opening comments:

“Injuries; [LB] Ahmad [Brooks], you saw Ahmad got back yesterday, had a good practice. So, we limited him, and then he’ll be out there practicing today. So, really glad to have him back in the building. [RB] Reggie [Bush], today they’re going to do some work with him on the side and we’ll find out exactly what’s going on there. Again, feel good about it not being, how do I say that, a terrible thing. It was tightened. So, that was it there. And then, you’ve seen [TE] Vance McDonald, we’ve just obviously been just keeping the contact off of him. And then, as [vice president of communications Bob Lange] Bobby told me here, with [RB] Carlos Hyde, Carlos did individual yesterday. Maybe I should have given you a warning, but individual, left individual, went to the training room like we planned him to do and then came back out for the team periods. But, we’re going to monitor Carlos, every week, build up to the games. That’s how we’re going to do that. So, that’s it on the injuries.”

 

WR Bruce Ellington showed up with a calf yesterday.

“Oh yeah, Bruce tightened up yesterday in practice. I don’t know about that this morning. I know that he got the treatment. We’ll find out when we go out there. They’ll do their, they’ll work him out over there on the field. You see what they do, and we’ll go from there.”

 

When did Carlos Hyde’s foot issue come up and what’s the significance of it?

“Well, I don’t, he’s got a, I don’t even know the name of it. His foot’s hurt. His foot is sore, so they put an orthotic in there and I know you’ve got to get used to wearing the orthotic. So, they are doing that. Fully expect him to play and those things, but I know we have to manage it.”

 

It looks like he was hurt Sunday night, correct? The foot?

“Yeah, he dinged his foot, or I’m not sure if he was planting or somebody stepped on it or what happened there. But, he came out of there, and he didn’t say. It’s just, his foot was sore.”

 

There seemed to be some, speaking of sore, sore feelings out of the Giants about the play in which New York Giants LB Jon Beason sustained a concussion. Remember when he collided with Carlos Hyde?

“Oh, I remember the play. I was standing there.”

 

He seems to think that he got pushed in the back by G/T Alex Boone and that’s what caused the concussion. Do you, I know I’m asking about a specific play, but what’s your recollection of that play?

“I didn’t, I don’t know what you’re talking. I mean, I don’t know whose hard feelings. I mean, nobody wanted Beason to get hurt. I don’t know where you’re going.”

 

He says that Boone pushed him in the back into Hyde, which is what caused the concussion.

“I don’t, no, I don’t recollect that. Quite frankly, you’re catching me a little off guard there. I don’t know. No, I don’t think so, I mean we were blocking, tackling and running.”

 

I know you’ve answered questions about Bruce getting two snaps in Sunday’s game, but overall on the season, he has seven offensive snaps. And I know he’s missed a couple of games with injuries and he had some things lingering in the offseason. Has his lack of playing time been a product of him not being able to practice enough overall?

“We’re just trying to get Bruce healthy and he’s had a string of bad luck with things. So, we’re trying to, you know, and he’s trying, just trying to get 100-percent right and going.”

 

Obviously, coming back, a very difficult situation with Ahmad. How do you feel his mind is and what do you expect from him this weekend?

“Yesterday, just going off of him being here, being excited to be playing football. So, in that sense, it was good to see. And he’s around some people that care about him. So, all those things were very positive yesterday.”

 

Back to Carlos Hyde, are you going to have to maybe limit some of his carries in games because of this?

“We’re going to play all that by ear. Obviously, if we have opportunities to have people play, I mean, we want to do that in all positions, but we just have to monitor it and see where it is.”

 

And if Reggie can’t go, then RB Jarryd Hayne and RB Mike Davis would be the backups?

“Yeah. That’d be the guys. Yes.”

 

Did Jarryd show you something in New York on his ability as a running back, any progress?

“Yeah. Jarryd’s improving daily. Again, we keep going back to it, I mean it’s a guy that’s never played football. So, he’s improving daily. He keeps improving. Mike Davis is improving daily.”

 

I have three separate questions for you addressing three guys who are eligible to come back off lists on Monday.

“Yeah, next week.”

 

WR Jerome Simpson, what has he been able to do? Is he going to meetings? I know he can’t practice, obviously, but can he be in the building?

“Oh, yes. Yes. He’s been at all the meetings. And again, I will say, has just absolutely attacked everything we’ve asked him to do. He really has. He’s allowed to go to the meetings. He’s allowed to work out. He comes in early and he works out. He’s done all those things. Everything he’s allowed to do, he’s done and he’s done it full-bore. He just, he can’t be on the field, couldn’t be on the field while we were practicing.”

 

You’ll have to make room for him next week to be up?

“Yeah.”

 

You would expect him up? Not necessarily up, but on the field?

“I don’t know that, but that’s obviously next week is when those decisions need to start to be made.”

 

And then G/C Daniel Kilgore, how’s he doing? Is he looking like somebody that could be on the practice field next week?

“Yeah, I did not ask. I didn’t ask that question just quite honest. I do know that he is running around. You see him out there. He’s moving, he’s running, he’s pushing weight. So, he’s doing all those things. So, my weekly updates on him are that he’s progressing really well. So, that’s what I know there.”

 

And then the last one is WR DeAndre Smelter?

“Yeah, and Smelter. Again, Smelter is, they’re really excited about what he’s doing. I know he was on a week this week to amp-up. You know, they take him up and then they bring him down and then they, in the velocity and all the things that they do. So, again, great reports on that.”

This article has 39 Comments

    1. Coach Tomsula has more important things to do than asking about injuries, like how to scheme against the Ravens who have the Niner playbook, and how to shore up the pass defense.

      1. Uh…forgive for asking this, but how exactly can he scheme for anything if he doesn’t at least have an inkling as to who will or won’t suit up?

          1. Given the serious problems at center, I would think that it’s in Tomsula’s best interest to know as much as he can about Kilgore’s chances to recover sometime this year. I’m sure Tomsula is keeping close tabs on the status of injured players like Kilgore.

            Tomsula demonstrates that he is very good at making himself look bad when he doesn’t have a diversion script ready for an unexpected question. He is inconsistent in his use of coach speak.

            Tomsula cares about his players. OK?

            When he’s ask a question he doesn’t want to answer, he sometimes stumbles. OK?

          2. Eligible is the wrong word. He’s eligible after 6 games. Whether he’s ready or not to play is entirely different.

            1. HT,

              Agreed.

              Maybe JH’s method of dealing with the media, while annoying (for them, at least), was very good at reducing the possibility he would get himself tripped up or in an area he didn’t want to be.

            2. I thought Simpson was eligible after 6 games, my bad.So does this mean that Bishop and Killgore are both eligible too, and can both be tabbed to return?

              1. So if Killgore is activated, he is the only one, and Smelter cant be activated? Is Bishop a FA and can return after 8 games?

              2. Seb I don’t think its an either or propostion. Kilgore is on the Reserve PUP and Smelter is on the NFI list. Both of them could come back this week if they were ready but the team would have to put them on the active roster cutting another player. The 49ers had quite a few players they brought back from these lists last season as the article mentions.

                I don’t know the FA rules, someone else can comment on that. I know Hunter can’t come back, but it would seem that Bishop might be able to but why would you bring him back when you have Hodges waiting in the wings. Bishop isn’t as good as either Wilhoite or Bowman and got cut from the Vikings because of players like Hodges.

              3. I like Bishop. He was on a SB winning Packer team, and could provide a strong veteran presence. His legs are OK, it was just a busted thumb that put him down. Hodges is still raw, but I understand why they like him.
                Willhoite made a great play on that interception, but the LBs need better overall play, or other teams will continue to target them.

  1. Good enough for me: “I do know that he is running around. You see him out there. He’s moving, he’s running, he’s pushing weight. So, he’s doing all those things. So, my weekly updates on him are that he’s progressing really well. So, that’s what I know there.”

  2. The likelihood of the 49ers making the playoffs is low. I’m guessing Baalke keeps Smelter NFI to make him Restricted FA in 2016.

  3. Any head coach Baalke hires will be vague and deceptive about injuries. Its company policy.

    Harbaugh’s “working through” and Tomsula’s (intentionally) incoherent rambles are the same thing.

    1. Harbaugh’s “working through something…” was very much there during his Stanford years where he started the practice of hiding injury details. David Shaw continues this practice.

      1. Standard professional coaching coach speak. Move along now. Nothing to see here.

        P.S.;

        The NHL has “working through a problem” split into two parts — upper body and lower body.

  4. Although I’ll be keeping expectations in check I’m looking forward to seeing what Smelter can do once he starts practicing again.

    1. It wouldn’t make much sense to activate Smelter this year and have him become a UFA earlier after playing only a partial season…so expect it to happen.

      1. Good point. It already happened with Tank Carradine. They briefly suited him up in 2013, changing his 2017 Restricted FA status to Unrestricted FA. Ooops.

  5. If Jerome Simpson is activiated, I guess we can say goodbye to pre-season darling DeAndrew White…

    1. It should be Patton that is sent packing and I wouldn’t completely rule it out.

      1. Patton seems firmly entrenched ahead of Ellington and White in the pecking order, so I’d be pretty surprised if he was the guy to go. He’s certainly not set the world afire, but he’s not been bad this year, either.

        1. I think there’s another reason that Ellington hasn’t move in front of Patton and isn’t getting more playing time. Could be a nagging injury or it could be something else that we’re just not hearing about like he’s still learning the offense. I think White is still too inexperience and not ready to take a role in the offense so the team has been stuck with Patton. If they do intend on activating Simpson it could be their way of finally moving on from Patton who has done very very little in his time so far and I don’t just mean this season. I haven’t commented on it but a few times this season alone in watching the all-22 he’s had a case of alligator arms and for a guy who get’s so few looks that’s just not acceptable.

          If Smelter shows early signs of being ready to put out there you have another reason to dump Patton.

          I wouldn’t go as far to say I’m predicting it’ll happen but I wouldn’t fall down dead from shock if it did.

          1. I agree. He has injuries. Earlier this season we heard hints Tomsula was not happy with how little Ellington was working on the component of his conditioning that related to injury prevention. He had a “man to man” talk… or something sounding like that.

          2. I just get the feeling the coaching staff trust and like Patton as a player, rightly or wrongly. He’s an ok depth WR that appears to be willing to do whatever is asked of him and brings a lot energy.

          1. That is both nice and innacurate.

            Patton ran 4.48s officially, and Ellington ran 4.45s officially.

            1. Sorry, my figures I looked up were Patton 4.53 combine result but Patton had a pro day 4,48 and Ellington had a 4.37 and 4.31 combine result.

  6. *** Redshirt Tracker ***

    Draft – Overall Pick – Player – Status

    2013 – 40 – Carradine – Active Roster
    2013 – 132 – Lattimore – Cut. Knee never recovered.
    2013 – 157 – Dial – Starter (Missed some games as rookie. Did he totally redshirt 2013?)
    2014 – 100 – Thomas – Active Roster
    2014 – 170 – Reaser – Active Roster
    2014 – 180 – Acker – Starter
    2014 – 245 – Millard – Cut. (Knee seemed OK)
    2015 – 132 – Smelter – Redshirt. 2016 “Rookie”

    Average Draft Spot – 144 (5th round)
    Number of Players – 8
    Eligible To Play in 2015 – 7
    Active Roster – 5
    Did Not Recover From College Injury – 1

    Notes:

    Carradine – Knee fine, but was expecting much more the 40th pick. Might be better suited to a 4-3 DE at lighter weight.

    Lattimore – Only red shirt that never recovered from his college injury. Everyone knew it was a long shot. Turned out to be a bad pick.

    Dial – Quality Starter. Not sure if he redshirted entire 2013.

    Thomas – Active Roster. Disappointing he isn’t playing. Bad fit for ZBS or just bad?

    Reaser – Active Roster

    Acker – Starter

    Millard – Cut. His seemed OK. The 49ers are not longer fullback oriented or he just wasn’t good enough.

    Smelter – Knee seems ahead of schedule. 2016 will be his “rookie” season if he spends all 2015 on NFI.

    1. Nice work there, B2W.

      My take away, not as bad as most thought.

      Still, Baalke’s record with 1-4 round picks in 2012-present has been underwhelming. Some of those guys had better come on, or Baalke might be in his way out.

      It might be that Baalke was saying JH wasn’t coaching his picks properly, JH was saying Baalke wasn’t making good picks, Jed got along better with Baalke, took his side, fired Baalke, and now might be learning a hard truth.

      Might be… We’ll find out soon enough.

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