Q. When was the last time you dunked?
CLINT HURTT: College. I want to say college, so that's a long time ago. I'm an old man. That's a long time ago.
Q. Did you play hoops in high school?
CLINT HURTT: Yes, I did. I played hoops in high school, football, and then I did all the big man events in track, too, so shot put, discus, all that kind of stuff.
And anytime they had a big man relay I got out there and did the second leg of the 4 X 1 relay.
Q. Did you collect a lot of fouls in hoops?
CLINT HURTT: No, I could play. I was good. I could play. I wasn't like a 20 point per game scorer, but I could play. I wasn't going out there just to beat people up.
Q. I don't know if there is a benefit of seeing these guys so close together, but when you know exactly what to expect when Christian McCaffrey is on your mind from just a couple weeks ago, what does that help the defense do in preparation?
CLINT HURTT: Obviously just familiar opponent, obviously in division. Then when you play them so close by, you just have a good feel if there's anything that's different from the previous year.
Generally speaking, not a lot -- with them, there's a different route concepts in some ways, but a lot of things are the same, they just get to it in a different manner, different way, formationally and all that, so that's the stuff you're aware of.
But they don't change a lot, but that's why they operate so efficiently. They're very good at what they do.
Q. I didn't realize there was a game in between, but it must help with some of that recall --
CLINT HURTT: It does.
Q. Being able to identify quickly.
CLINT HURTT: Absolutely, because they're unique in all the motions that they have pre-snap before the ball is snapped. Not everybody does that, so they make themselves unique in that manner, so for the young players to be able to see that and get familiar with it, yeah, absolutely, the second time around it makes it a lot better.
Q. What did you think about Devin Bush's play?
CLINT HURTT: I thought Devin was solid. Obviously when you get into that role where you're getting the second unit reps you may not get as many reps throughout the course of the week, so really mentally I thought he was solid while he was out there. He is stepping in and kind of filling that void. He has dual training at a couple positions for us, so nickel spot and linebacker, so I thought he handled that well.
Q. The short motion that they use, I think some guys call it (indiscernible). What does that specific stress put on a defense?
CLINT HURTT: Really any of their motions. Not just unique to one, just creating leverages in the defense, so if you don't bump correctly and they see it upstairs in the box and you don't align correctly with the motions, adjust correctly, they out-leverage you in the run game.
And then if you're too fast with leveraging the motion, meaning you are trying to get out in front of it, they do a great job with the complement of the play action passes boots to get to the opposite side of the field.
So they make you defend the entire field and play with great discipline. That's what those motions create for them.
Q. From a couple weeks ago when you saw them, what's the one thing you'd like to see your defense do better when you play them?
CLINT HURTT: The biggest thing is obviously cut down on the explosive plays, just understanding what they're trying to do, kind of what I just spoke about, just understanding all the motions and whatnot to create the angles in the run game, but then obviously avoiding the zones when you end up chasing the ball as hard as you do in some of their wide zone runs.
Just understanding that discipline and playing deep or short on stuff, so those are the things we'll be working on in preparation for the match-up.
Q. Understanding that discipline, how much do you have to know whether they're motioning to get info gathered on your defense? Is that film study? In-game adjustments?
CLINT HURTT: There's always in-game adjustments. They know already the structure and understand -- calling the game the way he does versus everybody, he has a good feeling and understanding of the opponent's defense when he plays.
The thing you have to do is you're playing a chess match throughout the game to kind of counteract and change up where you're doing things at to throw them off key. But it's a chess match throughout the game. He's an unbelievable play caller.
Q. Purdy (indiscernible) middle of the field more than other quarterbacks.
CLINT HURTT: Generally with their offense they do a lot of that. It kind of works back into the numbers. A lot of his throws do that in their style, whether it's Purdy, if it was Garoppolo, that's the nature of their system.
Q. Is stressing them in turnovers kind of a keynote if they're going to put it over the middle of the field and you have to find a way to tip it up in the air and get it in there? Is that one of the things you have to do?
CLINT HURTT: Yes, I would say that applies with any team you play. Always winning the turnover battle is a big deal to give your offense more opportunities and obviously cut down on the amount of time that you're on the field.
But they definitely stress you with that because a lot of their routs are deeper over-the-field routes, and Purdy can make those throws, to his credit.
Q. The numbers show Jamal is not being used quite as much as a pass rusher as he was in 2020. Has that been hard to get to with his injuries?
CLINT HURTT: I mean, you're kind of finding your spots of when you can go and when you can do that. The thing is is when he is there whether blitzing them or not, there is a lot of protections that go his way because he brings a lot of attention to him because of his ability to blitz and win one-on-ones and things of that nature.
But in turn that helps other guys become available, too, when you do send them. So sometimes it's finding the right opportunities and time to do that. He can still have an impact on the game if he's not blitzing because of the attention that he can draw to himself because of his reputation and resume.
Q. The fourth quarter, is there a similarity, a trend, something you can point to that has been the same the last few weeks?
CLINT HURTT: Yeah, I would just say finishing the game strong, which always is a big point for us. It's finish time when you get to that. You come out a couple games where we have some slow starts to the first half, third quarter came out well, fourth quarter it's always about finish finishing the game, and that's obviously keeping guys fresh, rotations, things of that nature, so that way guys don't feel worn down.
Q. What did Derick Hall do to earn more snaps?
CLINT HURTT: Ideally when you've got five guys rotating one spot, you just find your areas right now. That's a big thing. Just find a way to get him out there when we can and keep the rotation going, and like I said, keep guys fresh.
Q. (Regarding penalties.)
CLINT HURTT: You're trying to get me fined. I'm not going to touch that. I'm going to let it be what it is. They've got a job to do. It's a tough job. I respect what they've got to do even though as much as I may not like it in the heat of the moment. Christmas is coming; I'm trying to keep some change in my pocket.
DraftScripts by ASAP Sports
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports