Q. Have you talked about the decision in overtime?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, we've talked about it quite a bit. Obviously won't get into the decisions what have we get into but we think about everything and that's the fun part of this job is just putting yourself through scenarios that you might not ever get to and that's how game planning goes, too.
Yeah, we thought a lot about it, had a lot of discussions about it and been able to talk to some other coaches about it and obviously talked to our own staff through it. Yeah, we have a plan in the event that happens.
Q. What about the opening toss, you've been 100 percent defer, right, every time?
NICK SIRIANNI: Is that right? That doesn't necessarily mean that's always what our thought process is, depending on if they win and they decide that they are taking the ball, you don't really know what we are going to do at that point.
But we talk about that as well. You know, we have different philosophy -- we have philosophies for that and what we want to do. It doesn't mean that it's the same every game depending on who you play, depending on the weather. There's a lot of things that go it but yeah that's always discussed as well.
Q. What's your primary message to the players this week?
NICK SIRIANNI: You know, we've talked a lot. I'm going to keep a lot of that in-house this week but we've talked a lot through -- last week was, hey, this is what we do well, this is continue to do these things well. That's what the bye week was for. That's what you do when you're winning -- when you've won the 14 games and then get into the playoffs. You don't just start fresh. So there's a little bit of that, of like, hey, here is our routine, here is what we do, here is our process and we are going to continue doing that.
But obviously, too, like some other thing, this is going to be a physical game. We know how physical they are. We know how physical we are and it's going to be a physical game on both fronts.
Q. What do you look for from your guys to know that they are locked in and that they are ready and that they are having a good week? What kind of signs?
NICK SIRIANNI: You look for how practice is going, how walk throughs are going, all those different things like that, the execution that's happening. We had a good practice yesterday and we had a good walk through the day before, and now the goal is to go out there obviously and have a good walk through then a good practice today. So you're just looking for execution. Execution, fuels emotion and excitement and so that's what you're looking for and then being locked in on meetings, the same thing you look for through all the weeks that we've been going through this.
Q. Veteran player like Lane Johnson playing Tua the serious injury he is, do you see that permeate the mentality of the other guys on the line?
NICK SIRIANNI: We know this is a physically and mentally tough team. We have shown that. These guys have shown that for their entire careers. In my two years, I've seen that with our guys of how physically and mentally tough they are. I say physically because you see that. You see them block well. You see them tackle well. You see them get off blocks well. You see them come after the football or protect the football with physicality. You know, with toughness. So we know we're physically tough because they just keep showing it. It's not just something that, you know, we say we are. We see our guys do it over and over and over again with those particular things that we mentioned, and that's obviously always important in football.
Shoot, that's important in every sport. I know, hey, that's the first thing I say to my kids is, hey, have fun, play hard, be fizz calm. That's what I say to them before any sporting event they play in because I know any sport the play physical part is very important. Then the mental toughness. Like, you know, the grind of what the season goes through, you go through in the season, and just sticking true to the process over and over again no matter how many weeks into this you are, how short you are into it, how long you're into it, just that mental grind, and I know all of our players have been through different things in their lives that have prepared them not only for life ahead but also football games, and through some of the things that we have all been through.
So I know this team is mentally tough and I know this team is physically tough. And I know the team that we are about to play is definitely those same things, so we know it's going to be a challenge and a big-time game because of that.
Q. You guys have a team that's very similar to the 49ers, from the staff to the rosters and even the GMs are kinds of similar. Do you see these two teams might be in the situation for several years to come? We saw that with the Cowboys and 49ers in the mid nine tees. Seems like when you look at the rest of the league and you look at the way these two teams are build, young players under contract, coaches, dynamic GMs, a mirror image and we've seen success?
NICK SIRIANNI: One thing I can say is I know how good their O-line is and I know how good our O-Line is and the same thing with the D-Lines, both really good D-Lines.
Obviously I think very in the present and I think about this game and this day and not think about, you know, what could happen down the road. But I know that both teams are built the right way as far as their O-Line, D-Line, so I get you guys be the decider if this is something that could be going on for years. I know the 49ers, this is their third out of four years that they have made it to this game, that's pretty darn impressive in my opinion and so that's great streak to have. Sure, we'd love to have that but all we're really focusing on is this game at this time and knowing that we are playing a good football team and that we're a good football team.
Q. The 49ers defense last seasons on its cover three. What is it about cover three that a lot of defensive coordinators like, and does it have anything to do with the fact that a lot of times it looks like man pre-snap?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, you're always trying to mesh things together and there's no doubt. But I think what sometimes -- it's having the guy in the middle of the field to protect against the deep ball and they are pretty good against that. Sometimes it's also to get an extra guy in the run game. So there's many different reasons why a team would play cover three. Sometimes it's that when you go install high school offense or you go install the basis of what younger kids play, it's cover three.
So you get guys to fly around and make plays out there as a defense because they are used to -- there's different rules obviously but they are used to playing cover three, so I want that familiarity with that coverage. There's a lot of different reasons why a guy, why a coordinator, why a defense might do cover three more but those are the ones that stick out in any mind.
Again, you have the guy deep. You've got an extra guy in the box and also familiarity with the defense and they can fly around and play fast because of the familiarity with the cover three.
Q. The turbulence on the airplane -- you said that was the goal for you this year. How do you think you created -- in that regard?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I feel like that you're always growing. Look, you're always growing in things and you're never going to just become, like I said yesterday, no man suddenly becomes different. That doesn't mean you gradually can't become different.
And so am I perfect in when the turbulence is really rocky, am I sitting like that stewardess -- I wish I knew who that name was -- do I wish I was sitting perfectly still like this at all times? No. But I know I'm better than I was when I was looking around like that. So I'm growing, just like we want our players to grow in all areas. I'm growing, too, and I do definitely feel like I made steps and was still trying to grow in that area.
Q. You mentioned the 49ers -- been to this three times in the last four years. When you have that same pedigree, you have guys that have won college national championships the last few years, how much do you think that helps them in preparing for this game and the message you want to send to the rest of the team?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, big time. Big time. Playing in big games, that's why you want guys like that from those types of programs because they have played in the biggest spotlight in college for the biggest prize. You know, we got a lot of guys on this team, the guys that you mentioned that have done that, DeVonta, Landon, Jaylen, Jordan, Nakobe, Josh Jobe. I know I'm missing some -- Dallas. Did Dallas play in the National Championship Game his senior year in the subdivision? I think they were close. I remember talking to him about that a couple of weeks ago. And then obviously all the guys that we've had on the Super Bowl team with the six guys that were on the 2017 team. So any time you're playing in big games like that, that's super helpful because again, it's not that you treat it any different but you've been in that scenario before and we've got a lot of guys that have been in that scenario before.
Q. You see guys who thrive on those big stages, why do you think that is?
NICK SIRIANNI: You know, it's just who they are as players, right and who they are as people that they don't allow -- you hear all the time, he has ice water in his veins, big-time players make big-tame plays in big-time games, you hear that all the time. I think the cream rises to the top at the biggest moments and so it's the work that they put. There's no doubt it's the talent that they have, the work that they put in for it but it's also their mentality of, hey, I'm here, but I'm not treating this game like any differently than I treated the last game.
I'm treating this game with everything like I treated the last game and everything like I got treated the game before that and I'm a completely locked in the moment and I'm not thinking about anything but how to do my job and how to make plays and I'm not thinking about the magnitude of the game, the magnitude of the moment, what happened to me the play before, what's going to happen to me after this. They are just locked in. Again, I talk about that all the time with dog mentality. Like the best players, the best teams that I've been around, best coaches I've been around can be able to lock themselves into the moment they are in and focus on the task at hand only.
Q. How has Young responded to what will be the first time he's had to turn around in one week in over a month?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah -- I don't think he's thinking about that at all. He's ready to go. I know he hasn't.
Q. In practice?
NICK SIRIANNI: Nothing there, still getting treatment, stuff like that. But he's just ripping it like any normal week.
Q. Have you spoken to frank?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I actually did get ahold of frank yesterday and-was happy to. I'm really excited for him obviously. Well deserved, very well deserved. They have got a great head coach in Carolina now, not to say -- I'm just saying I know Frank is a great head coach and I'm really happy for him. And he'll do a great job there, there's no doubt in my mind. I know what type of leader he is.
Q. The crowd is known in Germany, I don't want to say hostile, but not very friendly, throwing snowballs at Santa Claus or booing. How crazy is the crowd and how important is it for you?
NICK SIRIANNI: I think that Santa Claus snowball thing was like in '79, all right, but I know it's still talked about. When was it?
Q. ' 68?
NICK SIRIANNI: Okay, it was '68, 1968. But it's so important to us. It's so important to us. Our crowd inspires us. Our crowd makes it difficult for the opposing team with how much communication that has to happen in this great game. And so it's -- and they are hostile, they are hostile. I knew that as being an opposing coach coming here how intimidating it can be. And so they will make life difficult, there's no doubt for this team that's coming in here because who they are as fans and it's going to be loud. We'll feed off that and it's going to be energetic and it's going to be, you know, everything that I've ever seen on TV as far as the NFC Championship game that happened a couple years ago here. Obviously we get to live it every week here that we're home of how important the crowd is to us and how important our fans are to us but it will even be, you know, even though we as coaches and as players take it one game at a time and don't treat any game differently, I know that's not always the case with fans and they don't have to.
They don't have to be like a coach and they don't have to be like a player where we take every game and treat it the exact same. They can get a little more amped up because of the stakes of this game, right and they are going to be a little more amped up and I say welcome. I welcome that, and be as loud as they possibly can be and be as energetic and it's going to be great. It's going to be a great atmosphere.
DraftScripts by ASAP Sports ....
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports