Here is what some of the 49ers’ notable players had to say in the locker room after the 49ers’ 24-21 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday.
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Alex Smith
Q: Did it work to your advantage to be able to watch the first 5 ½ games before getting into a game?
Smith: “The last couple years I definitely tried to take advantage. I tried to take advantage of being in meetings. All things you hope that will help you get better.”
Q: Was there chemistry with Crabtree after working with him during bye week?
Smith: “He played really well for a young guy, being here a couple weeks. He really competed. He was up against a lot of man coverage, and he played really well. I was just making my reads and throwing the ball. I wasn’t thinking about anything else.”
Q: Did it make it difficult because you haven’t been running two-minute offense as the backup in practice?
Smith: “It had been a while since I’d taken a two-minute rep, that’s beside the point. We got to fix our mistakes. We had some glitches with the sideline — delay-of-game penalties.”
Q: Is this how you anticipated getting into a game?
Smith: “I was ready for anything to happen.”
Q: Did your heart start racing when you were told you were entering?
Smith: “No question. I’d be lying if said it didn’t. It had been a while since took some game snaps. It was nice to go out there and get sweating and not think about it anymore.”
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Shaun Hill
Q: Did you try to talk Singletary out of benching you?
Hill: “He was pretty adamant about it. When the offense isn’t going you have to put it on the quarterback. He gave us a spark. Obviously I wasn’t giving us that.”
Q: How did you feel like Alex played?
Hill: “Alex played a great second half. He had a great second half out there. I’m very proud of the way he played.”
Q: How did Crabtree play?
Hill: “Obviously, he showed you guys a little bit of what he has. He is going to be great player for us.”
Q: What happened on the first play of the game (a pass that was designed to go to Crabtree)?
Hill: “It was just a miscommunication. More than anything it was lack of experience. But after that, he knew exactly what had happened and was ready to move forward. He played a great game.”
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Michael Crabtree
Q: What happened with the first play of the game? Shaun said there was a miscommunication.
Crabtree: “Yeah, it was a miscommunication.”
Q: Specifically, what happened?
Crabtree: “Just a miscommunication.”
Q: How did it feel to finally be out there?
Crabtree: “It felt good man. It’s football. It felt better to be out there on Sunday instead of Saturday.”
Q: Was there an adjustment with the speed of the game?
Crabtree: “I worked on that all this week in practice. It came kind of easy today because we did such a good job of preparing. I’m looking forward to next week.”
Q: Did you have better chemistry with Alex Smith after working with him during the bye?
Crabtree: “Both of them have the same timing. They are both good. My place is to run routes. Whoever is throwing the ball, it is my job to catch it. I like them both.”
Q: How would you rate your performance:
Crabtree: “I have to watch film. I can’t really remember everything I did. I will watch film and give you that later.”
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Arnaz Battle
Q: Was the sun a factor on your muffed punt?
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Q: What kind of chemistry do you have with Alex Smith?
Q: Were you surprised by Alex’s play?
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Frank Gore
Q: What did you say to your teammates when you guys got off to the slow start?
Gore: “I was telling them that we can’t win like that. We kept going three an out and we kept the defense on the field. I just told them that we had to get going. I just brought them all in and told them we got to get going.”
Q: How did you feel Michael Crabtree played in his first game?
Gore: “He did great. Like I said man, I told him he would be fine. I told him as long as he knew the plays, he would be fine.”
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