PETE CARROLL: Wednesday kicks us into high gear. Week's on. A lot going on to get ready for a really good-looking football team. The 9ers have played really well the last couple weeks. They bounced back from a little bit of a different start for them. Looks like a terrific division opponent again. So here we go. Got to get ready, ready to rock'n roll. Good to be coming home.
What do you want to know (smiling)?
Q. You mentioned them bouncing back. You're coming off your first loss. What goes into the process of getting past the loss?
PETE CARROLL: It's really important for us every Wednesday, regardless of what just happened, to get back on track. We have a real routine about it. We know that big wins can be just as difficult as a difficult loss. It's all about distraction and inability to focus.
We're in a routine right now. The routine should take care of getting our minds right. The practice will certainly catch our attention. We'll have a good, hard day today, then we're back at it. We have to leave what just happened behind us.
Q. What attracted you to Carlos Dunlap? How might he be able to fit?
PETE CARROLL: We are in the process of finalizing that, I'm sorry to tell you guys. Isn't done yet. Until it is, I'm not able to comment on it. We're going to have to wait. We'll let you know as soon as we can. I'm sorry. That's why I'm late here. I was trying to wait for it. It just didn't get done.
Q. You don't have to wait till he's through all the COVID and stuff like that?
PETE CARROLL: No. The answer from Dave is no. Phone a friend (laughter).
Q. We've talked about pass-rush not just being on certain aspects of the whole defense, but what is an edge rusher, the need for outside edge pressure?
PETE CARROLL: It's critical to develop your rush so it can complement with the rest of the game. To get on the edge, force it, break down the pocket, perhaps get clean on the edge, you get right in the face of the quarterback. It's huge.
That's nothing new, nothing that we haven't talked about forever. So that element, it's a built-in need if you're going to have a good, developing pass-rush.
Q. Did you know coming into this season you were rolling the dice there, things would have to break your way with personnel?
PETE CARROLL: Well, look what we did in the draft. We took a couple guys in the draft to help us. We picked up two guys in free agency. We were working at it.
Losing Bruce was a big deal to us because we knew he was an accomplished rusher. Both he and Mawoya had seven or eight sacks last year, had been productive on the teams they came from. We felt bringing those two guys together would give us a start.
The draft picks as well. Darrell has been banged up, not back yet. I'm hoping he'll be a factor. Other than that Alton Robinson has been trying to help us out in the rotations, and he has done that.
We're still developing. Unfortunately, five, six games into it, going on seven, that's where it is. We're going to get better.
Q. How would you evaluate how your ends have played through six games? At times with no pre-season, you've talked in the past about how it takes some time to find footing, cohesion.
PETE CARROLL: They've been battling. They've been working real hard, working at it. We've been rotating guys when we can, try to keep guys as fresh as possible.
Benson, for instance, had eight sacks last year on less than 300 snaps. He's already played that many snaps. We had not intended him to play as much as he's had to play, to keep him fresh like he was a year ago where we thought he was really effective. Factors we're dealing with.
The guys have been working their tails off, they do right, they know what they are doing, they're in the right spots and stuff like that. We just have to keep working to collect our wins.
Q. You talked on Monday about the difficulties of trying to bring in players from the outside, the injuries at the runningback position. Are there some guys on the roster, other positions, David Moore, somebody like that, that could be ready in an emergency capacity to play this weekend?
PETE CARROLL: There are players like that, you're right. We'll check out what we need this week, watch our guys coming back off the injury list, see who comes back.
We have to make some moves in preparation in case the guys don't get back. We're doing that. We'll wait and see when the week is over, figure out who it is.
Q. What is the update with your runningbacks with Chris, Travis and Carlos?
PETE CARROLL: They're all in their own situation. Different entirely. We'll have to wait and see through the week.
Carlos with the hamstring, it's not a major hamstring. It happened during a celebration more than running on the field. We're hoping it was a little more crampy than it was a pull. We'll find out here in the next couple days.
Homer, he's got a bruised knee that he's already moving way better. He won't practice today, but he's moving way better from yesterday already.
Chris has got a foot, something going on in his feet. We have to see how it goes. We'll be real quiet on Chris until the end of the week, see how he goes on the weekend. We won't know entirely what's happening till the week is out.
Q. What is the plan for Jamal for this week?
PETE CARROLL: He's going to be practicing in a limited fashion for the first time today. We'll see what that means, see how he goes. Tomorrow will be a really important day for him, as will Friday. We're going one day at a time. We're mixing him in the preparation with the thought there's a chance. We're just going to have to wait and see how he does.
Q. In general, if you were to bring in a player right now, would he still have to go through the same testing as a free agent would, meaning probably wouldn't be available to play this weekend?
PETE CARROLL: Yeah, you can't make it. There's not enough time. There's not enough time to get it done and test him all the way through it, have any opportunity to work with the player prior to the game. So we're out of days already.
That's why you have to stay ahead. We had four runningbacks last week, so we thought we were in pretty good shape. Right now it would be time, you would want to have had another guy, a fifth guy at least. We could have had a couple guys to cover what happened.
There's nothing you can do about it. That's what the rules are. Everybody is dealing with the same situation. You can get stuck. That's why you have to have versatility with our guys. Possibly we have some guys that can help us out.
Q. I should clarify. If you were to hypothetically trade for a player right now who has been in another team's testing protocol, would the same thing apply?
PETE CARROLL: I went a long ways down a dark road, didn't I (smiling)?
They would have to start all over again. You would think... But maybe it's the plane flight. I don't know what the reason is. Like a guy could have tested today and get to here tonight and test with us tomorrow, but that's not allowed. They fall into the same category as anybody coming from the outside.
Q. Shaquill Griffin, how is he doing?
PETE CARROLL: Take him through the week and see how he does. He's in the concussion protocol.
Q. Are you still hoping to get Rasheem Green back? What kind of boost would that give you?
PETE CARROLL: He's good to practice this week. He and Phillip Haynes are coming out on the practice field for the first time in a long time. We're really excited to get them back out here.
Q. Did something happen to Ryan Neal late in the game Sunday?
PETE CARROLL: I think he just came out for a couple plays. He just got -- I don't know. I don't know what happened. He was not hurt.
Q. What was the messaging, kind of the approach this week after a loss? How much do you go back and look at that and try to make adjustments of that specific game?
PETE CARROLL: We go through the process of trying to get to the truth of what happened, figure it out, then evaluate what needs to be addressed specifically to make sure that we don't continue down the road what we need to fix. We're working on stuff.
It just depends on the game, what happens. We don't ignore the last game. We're making sure we can grow and get better. We're on a course where we're continually trying to improve right now, fundamentally, scheme-wise, all of that. We don't want to lose sight of that at any time regardless of what happened before. We really think we can get better, we can keep improving. That's what the focus is.
We take all the information we got, try to make some sense of it, apply it to the plan, apply it to the way we instruct the guys.
Q. San Francisco has been dealing with a lot of injuries throughout the season. What has stood out to you in how Shanahan and Saleh have been able to scheme against teams given the injuries they've had to deal with?
PETE CARROLL: We haven't seen them change much. Subtly, when you don't have Kittle to design a game plan around, you do other things. Things change there. You don't see the ball going to the tight end as much.
They're both really, really bright coaches. They use their personnel really completely. They know what they're doing. They're very creative. We know they're game planning according to who is available to them, what they're up against. We know that's going to happen for sure. We can count on these guys. They're going to have a heck of plan.
Q. (Question about Kittle.)
PETE CARROLL: Anything. He has great feet, blocking. He has a great base under him. He can block big guys, he can block backers. He's really willing, got a great attitude about it. Tough and physical, all that. We know he can catch the football. He runs very well after the catch.
He is really a consummate player. He can do the whole thing. In Juszczyk they have a guy in the fullback spot that is similar. He has such a well-rounded game. They do a lot of stuff with those two guys. They're the highlighted players in their offensive approach. You can't get any better than Kittle is. He's really, really good.
Q. The Bengals have announced the trade. Does that change your ability to comment on Carlos Dunlap?
PETE CARROLL: Hang on a second.
He's trying right now to get the word officially. I'm sorry. Got to stick with the rules here. I don't want to get bounced for something we could have avoided. Maybe we can check in later this afternoon, something like that, give you the word. We'll work something out with Dave.
Q. (Question about DK.)
PETE CARROLL: It had nothing to do with DK. It was totally a game that just went to Tyler. We had not intended to throw him 15 passes, get 15 catches in the game. We thought he was going to be available. We thought the matchup would be good. He just made the most of it, just put together a spectacular night.
We were talking about it out there. The three catches that he had, the special catches that he had, some guys that would be the best catch they had in their career. He had three in one night. We just kept going to what was available.
Obviously we're still trying to get the ball to DK. You can see why. That's obvious. That's the way it unfolded on this night.
Q. Back to the San Francisco offense. Jimmy Garoppolo playing, getting injured, coming back, seems to be confident, in a groove. Talk about his confidence, how he runs that offense.
PETE CARROLL: They really are a clean-looking group when he's in there. He's real efficient. He's real quick with the football. Doesn't hold the ball at all. The passing game is really designed off of the running game. If they had their way, they'd throw it 10, 12 times in a game, just like they did against Green Bay. They'll run the ball all day long if you let them. That's a great part of their mentality I think, their commitment there.
But Jimmy really complements well. He certainly understands everything they need him to do to be efficient. If they're running the ball well, he's really problematic. They would rather not be in a shootout throwing game. They would rather throw the football and mix their stuff in.
He can do all of it so he's really good for them.
Q. L.J. Collier had 39 snaps Sunday, one tackle-for-loss, which is about all the statistics we saw. Is he living up to the expectations you had for him at this point in the season?
PETE CARROLL: Well, in the sense that he's playing a lot, playing 39, 40 plays, that's a good amount of plays for a D-lineman, for a guy first time really getting going.
Playing hard, playing tough. The throwing game came out real quick last week. Minimal amount of pressure during the game. He was not unlike anybody else. He's playing good football. He's working his tail off.
Of course we'd like to be able to see him get clean and free in the backfield a couple more times. I'm pleased with how hard he's working, how hard we're counting on him.
Q. How did the injuries in the first couple weeks on D affect what you want to do philosophically, whether it's more man, maybe more zone now?
PETE CARROLL: There has been some effects, yeah. I'll tell you, we're adjusting to our personnel as best we can. I've not felt the continuity of the first couple weeks in our approach because when you have such a special player like Jamal, he just draws a lot of attention for us in planning and also for your opponent. That's been different.
Not having Quentin, those guys have hardly played together. Brooksy, too, you can see why we really like him. Jordyn is going to do a fine job for us playing in that spot. He's like a couple games old.
It feels like it's still coming. I don't like being patient at all. In this case, before it really gets to its best, it's going to be a bit. That's where it is.
Q. Do you think the adjustments after the injuries has been hard on some of the guys who have had to play more than they expected?
PETE CARROLL: It's not been hard on them. I wouldn't say it that way. They're thrilled to play. It's been challenging. You're playing with new guys with new experiences, so they're in a learning mode totally. Ryan Neal is a good example. Jordyn Brooks is a real good example. They're just getting going. Robinson gaining some snaps and all that. It's just new.
That's just what it is. Like when we added Benson, those guys just come in, they play right off the bat. They just assimilate so quickly, it's different for the guys that haven't played much.
I don't think it's bad or hard, it's just what the experience is, what the experience brings to you.
Q. We saw more of Jacob Hollister on Sunday than any game previous. What is getting him going do for the offense?
PETE CARROLL: We'll, he's got a little spark to him. He's a good run-after-catch guy. He gives great effort. A really nice all-around football player. We like his stuff. He's got versatility. We just felt like in the last couple weeks, not by any design, he didn't get the turns with the ball coming his direction. We stepped it up with purpose last week to get him going, make sure he was involved. I'd like to continue doing that.
Q. After the game on Sunday Bobby Wagner was pretty blunt saying we're nowhere where we want to be defensively. Can you speak to the challenge of trying to turn it around?
PETE CARROLL: Last week, going into last week, we really wanted to see if we could make a move here, get going in a direction that we felt better about. Just because you want to doesn't mean it happens right away. It takes some time.
As we continue, I totally am planning on this turning, being at the top end of our game. It's out there for us. We're going to keep battling to get it done. I agree with Bobby. He's on point. Everybody is working at it. We got a great attitude about it. The guys are spending their time studying, all that. Have to get the combination of guys right, max out, make sure we're really, really clean with our execution. So that's coming. Again, how long I can keep telling you it's coming? Our best football is still ahead of us, there's no question in my mind.
Q. I read an article today that Russell announced he's going to be opening a high school in the Seattle area down the line. Speak to his willingness to be out in the community.
PETE CARROLL: Russell has assembled a team around him that allows him to really act on the heart that he has. A guy all by himself it would be hard. Russell assembled a team to support really his care and love for doing the good work.
You got to admire the heck out of it. Both he and Ciara, their way about it. They are giving, loving people. Where they can find ways to do stuff, they do it. I don't know, it's an unmatchable desire to just be active and to be mindful and thoughtful and caring. I just marvel at how well they're able to do that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports