THE MODERATOR: Questions for Matt.
Q. As an offense, how do you guys carry over all the good things that you did this pre-season?
MATT CANADA: That's a great question. I mean, we'll see. It counts on Sunday, playing the best defense in the league last year.
You couldn't have scripted it better what's happened. But as I've said multiple times, none of that really counts. We'll see how we play on Sunday. I think we're coming into it with the right mindset. We're healthy right now. Our guys are excited to play, as you always are this time of year, so...
We'll just have to see how it goes on Sunday.
Q. It doesn't count, but is it encouraging, instill confidence?
MATT CANADA: I think so. I think there's obviously a good energy around. I think you're always going into the season, you're going to be positive. If things didn't go quite right, you're going to say...
Like I said last week, you would much rather be feeling like this than, Oh, we could have, should have. There's a good vibe with our guys, a confidence. The maturity of some of our players that have year one to two, year two to three, whatever that is.
I think we're in a great spot, but until we go out and play, we won't know.
Q. How do you account for Bosa being back?
MATT CANADA: We definitely have to account for him. I mean, he's the defensive player of the year, best defensive player right now in the league. We're going to have to know where he is all the time. We had no doubts that he was going to be back. We prepared for that. That doesn't mean that you're magically going to be able to contain him. He's a tremendous talent. I'm sure they were planning on him coming back, as well.
We'll go out and, just like you have a game plan, we played a lot of great players, but he's certainly the top of the list right now because of the accolades he received last year.
Q. To that point, looking back at how he got to his sack total last year, a little bit more rushing from the defense's right side over the left tackle, but not overwhelmingly. He loops quite a bit. To that end, how do you account for him pre-snap when you know he could be moving?
MATT CANADA: Well, obviously we all have a good plan, right? You have a plan to do that and account for. Certainly his stats and all those things, those are challenges for everybody he has played against, a challenge for us, because they move him around.
He's talented from both sides. He's not just a guy that can rush from one side or the other, a guy that can just have this move. He was named defensive player of the year for a reason.
We're going to do the best we can to know where he is and account for him. He certainly deserves our attention and we'll do our best to give it to him.
Q. Kenny got voted a captain the other day. How have you seen his leadership evolve?
MATT CANADA: I think obviously just Kenny asserting, becoming the number one quarterback helps that a little bit. A year ago right now, we are in a different situation.
I have known Kenny a long time. A lot of you have, too. I don't think Kenny's changed a lot, who Kenny is, it's just his role has become more defined. Certainly the confidence he has in the system and the confidence he has with the players. Some of that is just familiarity all the way around.
His leadership has always been what it's been, but I do think being with the guys for a year, being in the system for a year, being clearly the starting quarterback, I think all those things go to it.
Certainly well-deserved and not a surprise.
Q. Darnell is now number two tight end. What kind of role do you expect from him this season?
MATT CANADA: Well, obviously he's a big guy that we know can block and can make some plays in the passing game. I don't know if we can define his role just yet.
We're excited about that room. I'm excited about what he brings to the table. He and Pat doing some things out there. We'll see how that goes.
A little bit to the previous question, we're going to go out here and see how things go as we're getting game planned. We're doing the same. I don't know if we can pigeonhole ourselves into what it's going to be.
We're excited about it. A guy that's continued to ascend since the day he got here. I think he's done things that we saw on tape. He's certainly been a guy whose arrows continue to point up.
Q. Kenny said it's important to be able to read the defense, put the ball where it should go based on the coverage.
MATT CANADA: That's great. I'm a fan of that, too (smiling). That's awesome.
Q. Is that the way you have to play in the NFL Now, or do you envision times where maybe it's a critical third down or critical spot in the game, and you say, we're going to player X regardless of what they do?
MATT CANADA: Oh, I would say most everybody in the league, coverage dictates where you go with the football most of the time. Obviously you're going to always work and scheme, try to get the guys we want to get the ball in those spots.
I say it all the time. The defense wants to take somebody out of the play, they can do that. That's an opportunity. Kenny's job is to do what you said he said. He has to put the ball in the best place based on the coverage we see.
We feel real good about the weapons we have on the outside, the pass catchers, running backs that we have. If they take one guy away, we should be able to go to somebody else and still have success on the play.
Q. I think it was Kenny last year who said that he was going to watch the 49ers in the Playoffs and see what he could steal. How similar is your offense with Shanahan's offense?
MATT CANADA: Oh, I think there's similarities all the way around the league, right, of what we do. I have great respect for what they've done on offense. They do a very good job giving you multiple looks. They get their players matched up very, very well.
Obviously we're striving to be a much more explosive scoring offense. We all know that's a challenge for us and a goal. But I have great respect for Coach Shanahan and what they do. They've done a great job for years here with what he does schematically.
Q. You have a couple guys with unique skill sets in Connor and Calvin. How do you get those guys involved or is that a matchup week to week?
MATT CANADA: I think a little bit of both. You're always going to try to get your guys involved. I mean, we feel really good about where we're sitting today because we're healthy. The amount of play-makers we have... How can you get everybody to touch the ball. I don't know that that's necessarily possible in a 60-, 65-play game every week.
To your point, there may be some weeks where one guy, based on matchups or how it starts going, he gets that hot hand and you see a little bit more production, you might see week to week.
We feel really good about the guys you mentioned, getting those guys involved. Again, still feel good about the guys that have been around, done some things.
I think it's a game-to-game situation, based on how they're playing and how people are playing us.
Q. Speaking of guys that have been around, three years you've been around Deante', how have you seen him work to get better and be the complete receiver he is?
MATT CANADA: I think Deante' has really continued to mature since I've been here. He's come in with a real hard-working attitude this camp. I think he's excited about where we are and excited where he is. I think he and Kenny have done the things that we all wanted to see happen much faster last year, which really don't happen fast.
I mean, timing and those things does take time. I think you see that. With that you've seen some more confidence with Tay and with Kenny.
To your question, he's working hard at it. He came in to put the work in. Put the work in this summer to get that. I think he's continuing to try to be a master of his position and continues with knowledge of the game to grow.
Q. How much does George developing and getting attention end up helping Deante' out?
MATT CANADA: I think to the prior question, I mean, we've got to be good enough that if they decide that they want to stop Deante', George, Allen and Pat, Connor, Darnell, whoever those guys are, that they're still capable, which we believe that they are.
However that would go? Is it Deante'? Is it George? Whoever they're trying to stop, we've got to be good enough to have those guys make those plays. To the previous question, great faith Kenny is going to put it in the right spot to do that.
Q. Through the pre-season, five drives with the first team is a pretty small sample size, is that an accurate snapshot of the identity of the 2023 offense or will there be added wrinkles and dimensions come Sunday?
MATT CANADA: Obviously our offense is what it is. We're going to continue. Each week you're going to do little bit different things. We're going to just try to find the best matchup week to week. I hope that's a snapshot. I hope we score all the time. That would be great (smiling).
We'll see how it goes. Again, we're really excited about where we are, excited about how hard our players have worked since going back to Phase I, Phase II.
I think our guys have come in and really accepted a challenge of making a huge jump as an offensive unit. I think they deserve credit for that. Through camp you've seen the work in camp, the plays we made in camp. Obviously the small sample size in pre-season games. But all that only matters as we get into these next 17 regular-season games and beyond.
We'll see how we go, but we're excited about going on Sunday and seeing how it looks.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports