SANTA CLARA – Justin Smith spoke at his locker Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what he said.
Q: Are you excited about the HarBowl?
JUSTIN SMITH: No, not really. I don’t even know John Harbaugh. Just from playing against him, he’s on the other sideline. But that’s for them. They’re probably focused on it, it’s an awesome deal for their family but, you know, we’re concentrating here on bringing home a championship.
Q: Is your defense as good as the Ravens’?
JUSTIN SMITH: I mean, we’re just trying to win a ring. I really don’t care about getting to this or that, what defense we’re ranked overall or anything like that. We’re just trying to go out and make sure we execute, do our job, get the job done.
Q: What difference will the extra week make for you physically?
JUSTIN SMITH: I think it does the same thing for everybody. But it’s good. Everybody’s kind of beat to hell right now. So kind of rest up an extra week, get a little time off and be ready to go next week.”
Q: Your injury, it doesn’t make that much of a difference?
JUSTIN SMITH: That thing is what it is. So it’s not gonna heal.
Q: You didn’t feel any more effective vs Falcons than you did vs Packers?
JUSTIN SMITH: No, it felt about the same. It felt all right.
Q: How good are the 49ers linebackers?
JUSTIN SMITH: I think that’s one of the main reasons we’re in the situation we’re in, getting ready to play in the Super Bowl, is you gotta have good players. And that linebacking corps is probably one of the best in the league, if not the best. So that’s one of the big reasons we’re at where we’re at right now.
Q: How important is it to get pressure on Flacco?
JUSTIN SMITH: I think the main thing is to stop the run. The main reason they can chuck it so deep is they run the ball successfully. They max it up, get you thinking run, suck in the corners and the safety, then they’re throwing over your head. And they guy they’re throwing to runs about a 4.3, 4.2 or something. I think the main thing is let those safeties set deep. Hopefully we don’t have to use them that much in the run game, and they can do their job back there and we take care of the run.
Q: Do you see a difference in their offense under Jim Caldwell?
JUSTIN SMITH: A little bit. They’ve changed up some of their tendencies. We really just looked at what they’re doing, as far as with him as the offensive coordinator, not all their game breakdowns. But yeah, it’s a little bit different.
Q: Are you guys where you would be on a normal Wednesday, with a game Sunday?
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah, we’re pretty much staying on the same schedule that we’ve always been on, and get down there and probably just do it again. You know, get bored with the game plan, everybody kind of sitting back in the chairs a little bit. But it’ll be good as far as you know it inside and out. You think you know your opponent pretty well. They’re gonna put some wrinkles in, because you’ve had this much time. Coaches get a little bored, too. I think they start drawing some stuff up. But we’ll be ready.
Q: You’ve had playoff byes this year and last, does that help you manage Super Bowl break a little?
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah, I think so. The opportunity as well. I think the team realizes, we got bye week, we played two games. It happened again this year: man, we gotta bring this thing home. Because, I mean, these don’t come every year, and it’s gonna be tough to keep these type of teams together as well. So we feel the pressure to get it done, and get it done now.
Q: You’ve waited a long time for this. Is it sinking in?
JUSTIN SMITH: I think that’s something you think about after the season, but right now, just getting as familiar as we can with Baltimore and what they do, and how we’re gonna try to beat ‘em.
Q: Describe Frank Gore as a football player.
JUSTIN SMITH: Stud. I mean, he does it all. Some guys, they just carry the ball, they can’t block. Some guys can just block. Or if they can do those two, they can’t catch the ball out of the backfield. He can do all three. I mean, he’s just a complete, all-around football player. I mean, that’s a guy I’d want to start my team with, is a guy like Frank.
Q: What do you think of the switch from Alex Smith to Colin Kaepernick now?
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah, I mean, that’s the job that comes with being the head coach, is you got to make those decisions, and you got to live with ‘em if they’re good or if they’re bad. And he made a decision, turned out to be the right one, and helped put us in the situation we’re in, and you move on from there.
Q: Should we be concerned with only 2 sacks in the postseason?
JUSTIN SMITH: I mean, we’re winning. We’re doing what we usually do, as far as how we game-plan. You always want more pressure. We don’t blitz a whole lot. We don’t try to do all those things, and it’s been working so far.
Q: Any concern with kicking situation?
JUSTIN SMITH: No, we have faith in Dave. Dave’s the kicker, and he was one of the main reasons we got as far as we did last year. He’s done well this year, and we have all the confidence in him in the world.
Q: What does the 17-point comeback do for this team?
JUSTIN SMITH: We realize, yeah, we’re on the road against that type of team. To come back from 17 points down doesn’t happen all the time. So it’s just one more way to drive home that thought of, you know, let’s get this thing done this year. Let’s make sure we handle business, put every little extra effort you can into it, make sure you know what you’re doing this week and get it done.
Q: You and Giants could bring two titles to SF in one year. Have you thought of that?
JUSTIN SMITH: You know, I haven’t. I can only speak for myself. I haven’t. I try to take it one week at a time, and not really try to get into all that.
Q: Could your career be a success without a Super Bowl title?
JUSTIN SMITH: I mean, I’d definitely like to win one. Yeah, it’d be good. I’m really not too concerned about… You play as long as you can play, and you’re thankful for the amount you can play and all that. I’m not really looking at my career like it’s a legacy or anything. I’m just happy to play as long as I did, and an opportunity to be in the Super Bowl game and hopefully come out on top is real exciting.
(Turns to Aldon Smith)
JUSTIN SMITH: Aldon, on the other hand, may be thinking of his legacy.
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