SANTA CLARA — Joe Staley was interviewed next to his locker Thursday afternoon. Here’s what he said about the Cowboys’ defensive line.
Q: What about the Cowboys’ defense could pose some challenges.
STALEY: They do a good job of movement. Their defensive line does stuff that we call “Pirate stunts” which is three different guys moving in sync. That creates some trouble for some offensive lines so we really focused on that. And then Henry Melton has always been a guy that you circle on the scouting report. He’s coming off an injury so we’ll see how much he’s going to go, but he’s really talented when he’s healthy. They’re big, physical guys that play hard. We’re expecting a tough, physical game.
Q: Did the Bears do Pirate stunts against you two years ago?
STALEY: With Rod Marinelli, yeah.
Q: Do a lot of other teams do Pirate stunts?
STALEY: No, it’s kind of unique. Not with the consistency that they do.
Q: Did you go back and watch that Bears game from two years ago?
STALEY: Mhm, yeah we did.
And here I always thought a Pirate stunt was swinging one a rope from on ship to the other with a rapier clenched in your teeth.