No playoff talk from Singletary in England

A new country. A slightly different tone.

Mike Singletary didn’t mention playoff hopes today in his introductory press conference in England.

Instead, he seemed to concede that at least some of the 49ers’ goals for the 2010 season were out of reach after their 23-20 loss to the previously winless Panthers on Sunday dropped them to 1-6.


“You hate to be at this particular time trying to figure it out,”
Singletary said. “But we are in the first half of the season still, so
we still have a chance to have a good season and accomplish some of the
goals that we wanted to accomplish at the beginning of the season. On
one hand, you look at close games and you say you’re not that far away.
On the other hand, you look at the record and it’s just not very
exciting right now.”

The Niners’ PR staff kindly provided the following press conference
transcript. Most of the Bay Area media is traveling to London today.
I’ll be arriving early Tuesday morning — late tonight on the West
Coast.

On his thoughts about playing in London:
“I think it’s great. For us, it’s a nice chance to kind of get away, regroup and rethink. I think it came at a good time.”
 
On whether he’s worried about the travel right after the game having an impact on the players:
“No, not at all. I think the fact that we came over right after the
game, the guys will have a chance this week to kind of get caught up,
relax a bit and get used to the environment. I think it will be a plus
for us.”
 
On the NFL having teams playing internationally and whether it is a bonus to the league or a disruption to the schedule:
“It depends on the way you look at it. I think for us, it really works
to be a bonus for us. I think it really gives us a chance to kind of get
away from the hustle and bustle of the NFL. To come over here and think
through some things, look at maybe some changes you need to make, it
gives you a chance to slow down the pace a bit. Like I said, the
environment here is a great environment for us.”
 
On whether QB Alex Smith will play this weekend:
“As of right now, we have to get the X-Rays and see what the doctors are thinking at that time and get a feel for it.”
 
On what his chances are:
“I’m not a doctor, so we’ll have to wait and see.”
 
On whether Smith is at the doctor right now:
“No.”

On having lost close games and what needs to be done to overcome those close losses:
“We’re going to figure it out this week. It’s important for us to
continue to try and put the pieces in place that give us the chance to
get over the edge. You hate to be at this particular time trying to
figure it out, but we are in the first half of the season still, so we
still have a chance to have a good season and accomplish some of the
goals that we wanted to accomplish at the beginning of the season. On
one hand, you look at close games and you say you’re not that far away.
On the other hand, you look at the record and it’s just not very
exciting right now. So, you’re at that place where we have to get over
that edge, we have to get over that hump, to get where we need to be. I
think this week gives us a great opportunity to take a step back, smell
the roses a bit and put the pieces in place that we need to put in place
to get there.”
 
On whether it is a mental thing to win close games:
“I think for us, we’re still maturing. I want our guys to mature faster.
I want us to get there yesterday. I feel that this week will be a
pivotal week for us. I’m excited to see how we respond on Sunday to some
of the changes we’ll make this week to try and get better.”
 
On what he expects this Sunday at Wembley Stadium:
“Excitement. I think football is a great game. We’re playing in a great
atmosphere and hopefully they really get into it. So, it should be very
exciting.”
 
On what went wrong against the Panthers:
“Too many big plays. We weren’t detailed enough in our coverages. We had
some mix-ups on the offensive line. A few guys got hurt, so the
continuity wasn’t there. I guess to sum it up, too many mistakes to
overcome.”
 
On whether it is an advantage financially for the NFL to play games internationally:
“I’m not sure, in terms of the financial gain one way or the other. I
think more than anything, it’s the exposure. I think the NFL is a
tremendous game. I think having a game here really gives the NFL a lot
of exposure. I think it gives the people here – it’s a two-way street,
the fans here have a chance to see the game. In what you call ‘futbol,’ I
think there are some similarities. The fans could get very excited
about it and want more of it. We’re hoping that is the case.”
 
On the feeling of having a franchise in London:
“It would depend on the team. That would be really interesting. It could
be a good thing. It could be dependent on if the team is young. It
depends on if it’s a mature team, if it’s a young team. I think if you
had a mature team here, it could possibly work, and work to their
advantage. I’m not trying to sell you on it, but I do believe it would
have to be a veteran team, it couldn’t be a young team.”
 
On thinking back to his playing days, and whether this could be a disruption to play internationally:
“As a player, I didn’t really care. I didn’t care where we played. We
showed up, let’s play. We can play in the street, play in the park, I
didn’t really care. It really didn’t matter to me.”
 
On whether the players are embracing the scenery and atmosphere:
“I think so. I think coaches and players alike. This has really come at a
great time for us. I think we’re going to take full advantage of it and
get the things done that we need to get done to get on track Sunday,
and head into the bye week and get ready for the rest of the season.”
 
On the decision to travel to London early in the week rather than at the end of the week:
“I always believe that we want to give the guys a chance to get
acclimated. If you’re going to come for just a couple of days – we know
it’s a business trip and we know that we’re coming here to win a
football game, but at the same time, we have a younger football team. I
wanted our guys to be able to come and get a taste of the culture, and
at the same time, get a feel for the environment. The weather and the
whole nine yards, and just be settled by the time the game starts. I
think it was a great decision.”
 

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