Kaepernick on Gore: “There’s some times he goes into a red wall and pops out the other end for 15, 20 yards.”

SANTA CLARA — Colin Kaepernick was interviewed by Bay Area reporters in the 49ers’ locker room Thursday afternoon. Here’s a transcript courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department.

Are you going to get next in ping pong?

“I don’t want to beat anyone right now.”

 

Are you a pretty good ping pong player?

“Hold my own.”

 

Did you play a lot as a kid or more in college?

“At my cousin’s house.”

 

Who’s the best in the locker room? Who’s the champ?

“I haven’t been beat yet, so…[FB] Bruce [Miller] is good though. Bruce plays a lot.”

 

How’s your strength of schedule though?

“I have taken Bruce out, so I’m going to go with it’s up there.”

 

Do you guys still have the old dunk hoop in the old locker room?

“Yeah, we do. It’s smaller now though. A little harder to…”

 

Are there still games going on in there?

“Here and there.”

 

What are teams doing, what are offenses doing to combat the Rams’ pass rush through these first five games?

“Teams have attacked them differently. Teams have been able to run the ball well, though, and I think that’s affected their pass rush to some extent.”

 

Does that kind of play into…can you take things that you see other teams doing and apply them to a team that you know so well?

“Yeah, I think you do that every week. Try to find where their weaknesses are and take advantage.”

 

Head coach Jim Harbaugh was talking about how all the different receivers have come through at different times in games and made the big play. From your point of view, are you seeing all those guys are on an equal plane right now where you’re confident in each one of them?

“Yes, very much so. They’ve all came through like coach said at different times during the game. So, to have that many receivers that are viable options is great.”

 

A lot of wide receivers over the years have always asked for quarterbacks to get them the ball. With four or five guys, how many of them are coming to you asking for the ball?

“Really they just want to win. If they see something that we can take advantage of, of course they’re going to let me know, but our receivers have been very unselfish.”

 

Is that a quarterback’s job, though, to kind of try your best to keep everybody involved in the game and everybody happy on the sideline?

“It’s not about keeping everybody happy, it’s about winning. You might have one game where a receiver gets 10 passes, 15 passes, and another game he doesn’t get any. If you’re winning, it doesn’t matter.”

 

Coach Harbaugh talked about the relationship between RB Frank Gore and Bruce Miller and just how unique that is. How would you describe how those two work together that makes them so good at what they do?

“I think they view things the same way. View defenses the same way. Bruce is like a running back leading the way, so he sees the creases Frank sees and that’s why they’ve been so successful.”

 

You have a unique vantage point for some of Frank’s runs. He’s been slithering through very small spaces. Does it no longer surprise you when you see him do some of those things?

“No, it still surprises me. There’s some times he goes into a red wall and pops out the other end for 15, 20 yards, and I don’t know where he went or what crease he saw, but he found one.”

 

Is there another running back either that you remember growing up or you played with that had that ability or is that just kind of unique to him?

“I think that’s his unique ability. He has a different style than most running backs, but it’s very effective.”

 

G Mike Iupati was saying that he feels a lot stronger now and that his leg feels not as weak as it did in the early part of the season. Do you see that at all?

“He’s been playing well. So to me, as long as he’s playing well, I’m going to let him keep doing what he’s doing.”

 

What is it about this division rival that Rams head coach Jeff Fisher is always able to get the Rams able to play at a level against this team very well?

“He’s a great coach. They have a lot of great players on their team, especially defensively. They’re out there to make plays and they have the players to do it.”

 

Do they bring something new that you don’t see on film every time? Are they kind of one of those teams that tests this team with different looks that you haven’t seen before?

“They always have something up their sleeve. They’re going to have different looks, different blitzes. Always something new you’re going to have to be ready for.”

 

You guys are kind of, last year kind of scuffling around at the point where you went to play the Rams with a couple losses. Do you think that game…what do you remember about that game? Do you think that that game kind of helped right the ship and get you guys going until the season that you ultimately had?

“It was a must-win at that point last season, similar to the Eagles this year. At that point, that was our first win to get us on a win streak. So, it was a very important game for us.”

 

If you don’t mind me asking, you played baseball, you threw out the first pitch at the Sam Francisco Giants game, have you been watching any of the playoffs for the Giants?

“A little bit. Can’t watch a whole game. Normally I end up watching the later innings.”

 

They’re going to be at the same team hotel as the 49ers this weekend. Is there a player, anybody you know on the team you keep in touch with that you want to see or say hi to?

“Not that I keep in touch with, but big [San Francisco Giants pitcher] Sergio Romo fan. Great player and great person.”

 

You saw San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence’s catch probably, highlights of that at least.

“Yes.”

 

What can you speak of that athleticism that he showed making that play?

“He’s an amazing player for a reason. He goes out and makes those plays time and time again.”

 

Did you get fined for the Beats after the game?

“Yeah.”

 

How much?

“10k.”

 

And does Beats cover that or do you pay for that?

“We’ll let that be unanswered.”

This article has 15 Comments

  1. Yup. And there are just as many times when he runs into a red brick wall . . . for little or nothing!

    1. That is a major contributing factor as to Gores effectiveness. If there are no holes he does get nothing. He does not push the pile as he used to be able to do. Although he looked really strong in the KC game and gained a lot of hard after the hit yards. The Niners and every team needs a RB who can get a couple of yards by their own power when there isn’t any opening. Hyde once he is in motion and through the line is really hard to bring down and will carry tacklers with him, but he still is not a pure power runner like Lynch. What Jack stated about Gore being able to run low is what Hyde needs to learn to do. That’s a major part of pushing the pile. It the combination of power and leverage. Hyde has the power but not quite the leverage.

        1. I believe pushing the pile refers to an OL pushing the RB in a short-yardage or goal-line situation to get the first down or TD. It’s a 10-yard penalty.

              1. Jack, I know, lol. That’s why when I saw that I forgot to put “also” I tried to correct it. “Pushing the Pile” is one of the oldest terms I remember learning in football. But I am pretty sure the call on the field when an OL gets behind the RB to push him forward is also called “Illegal Pushing the Pile against # whomever.” I was just supplying ancillary info as to the term Push the Pile.

  2. No one runs lower or has better feet than Frank. He’s patient and knows how to get small, as evidenced by his run between blocker and defender….

  3. I urge all the 49ers opponents to stack the box over and over and stop Gore. You see Hyde in there, stop him too. I am sick and tired of the run and no pass show. I don’t care if stats may say 49ers only do it 55%, I still say it’s 80%. Not one WR is clearly dominating at all because the problem with running the ball is the stupid opposition finds ways to be behind by 10 points and we run the ball some more and not bother passing. That means don’t ever count on CK to have a game like Andrew Luck did tonight. THe game CK will have will feature like 230 passing, no WR has 100 yards receiving, and Gore runs for 130 yards and expects me to be happy for him.

  4. Tonight Andrew Luck threw two touchdowns in the first quarter against Houston. They also used strong running and an onside kick to score 24 points.

    After that they managed one field goal at the end of the second quarter and two in the third quarter. They didn’t score in the fourth quarter. They held on to win 33-28, but they couldn’t pass their way into the end zone for three quarters in a game that they really needed to win.

    Except for the brainless, balance in an offense is a valuable strength to rely on. Maybe the Huston Texans exposed Andrew luck as a QB who is not smart enough to adjust when a team makes effective changes in their defense.

    That analysis has been applied to a local guy very recently. Cheers.

    1. ERROR CORRECTION:

      I was using the NFL Network box score showing six points scored by the Colts in the third period. It was a touchdown and a two point try not two field goals.

  5. What is, the 49ers going to win the game and Gore is going to run the ball and 49ers are not going to pass? I really wish our opponents, other then Seattle, had a defense that can stack the box, stop the run, and make CK pass. That’s why QBs like Brees, Luck, Peyton pass for the running game can be stopped. I’m tired of Gore’s 100 yards and 49ers win. It’s boring. It’s like half a dinner entree.

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