Q. Matt, it seems the overall consensus throughout the locker room has been that you guys are putting the correct and appropriate plans up but there is not the execution. Where do you think that disconnect is coming from on Sundays?
MATT CANADA: Obviously I don't think -- been doing this three years here. At no point have I come out and said anything about -- we got to get production. It's a bottom line business.
If players are saying that, that's great. Ultimately we got to score more points. We've lost two games, one scoring 7, one scoring 6. That's not good enough. We all know that. It's got to get better.
Q. Matt, on the fourth and one play what was the thought process behind, not just calling a pass there, but also being in shotgun?
MATT CANADA: It was just a play we had at the time. Obviously didn't get the result that we wanted.
Q. Matt, you talked about the production is the thing that needs to improve. How do you go about doing that?
MATT CANADA: Obviously it's a combination of everything. It's got to get better. We can't -- it's a bottom line business. We understand that. We got to score more points.
So it's all things encompassing, but standing here it's got to be better. I got to get it better.
Q. Do you feel like you have the personnel to come from behind when you get behind like 14, 16?
MATT CANADA: I'm glad you asked that question, because obviously Angela preps me on things. So that is an unbelievable misinterpretation of a conversation, so I'm going to take a real nice time here and explain what that was.
Obviously you guys know because you know everything about how it works pre-game. We talk to those crews, talk about what's going to happen. We try to give them information.
The conversation was why we ran more runs and play-action against the Raiders versus the opening game, and why was that as you look at a stat sheet, did it look that way.
As you guys all know the start 49er game didn't go the way we planned. Really didn't do anything until we had the 95 yard two-minute drive. We're down 20-7, so you're down two scores.
Come back, they score. We had a decent drive there. Moved it a little bit and Diontae got hurt as you recall. Got down, got stalled, got a stop, came back again, and the conversation was at that point -- I think it was 3:15 seconds ballpark when we got stopped.
At that point in the third quarter, at that point we're down three scores with three minutes and 13 seconds to go in the third.
Three scores.
You're not going to stick to your running plan and the plan of running play-action when you're down three scores. All we care about here is winning.
So the conversation was at that point the plan, you know, wasn't built to do that. You had to go. Obviously I believe we were going to win until the end. I kept throwing it to the point of we certainly -- our alignment had to do, what, 46 drop backs? Kenny had to do that.
At no point was that conversation meant in that regard. I certainly believe he knew that and obviously it was taken wrong if not.
Of all the things we want to talk about and say, at no point do I doubt our players, doubt where we are, doubt that we can come back. No doubts. I was saying any football person would tell you you're down three scores with what's that, 18 minutes to go, and you got to start going faster, start being in a two-minute mode.
You have to score more points. That's how that came out. Certainly everybody on the offense is well aware of that.
Q. Your substitution patterns with the backs, is that they play X numbers of snaps?
MATT CANADA: Falk does a great job of that. Some are down and distance -- we certainly have a down and distance, at time both of them can do it all. Both of them are very capable and have strength you might think are one better than the other at this or that. Falk manages that.
As we game plan we have those deals, but as far as in-game, if a guy is going, he's going. If he needs a break we have great confidence they can both do everything we do.
Q. Did you express your sentiment with CBS that they took that wrong?
MATT CANADA: No, not at all. Angela does a good job telling me what's going on. I'm not aware of everything, so that's something that all the things you guys -- it's ya'll's job, I get it. But that was just not a fair assessment of how that went in my opinion. I only care about what our guys think. Since Ray asked, I wanted to clarify it.
Q. So you're saying, just to clarify, so we clarify, you're not saying that you're taking off the record on the record, you're saying they misinterpreted?
MATT CANADA: I don't know. I'm not -- guys, I got enough going on. I'm not trying to get into that with him. I just gave you exactly how the conversation went, why didn't we run the ball statistically more in the opener versus the -- compared to the stats against the Raiders, play-action and run.
That was the -- again, those situations are more of a conversation. I would certainly believe -- I don't think he was trying to take me off the record. Maybe it came out differently. I don't know. I can't respond to that for him and I'm not trying to start anything with that.
I'm just saying that is exactly how it happened. Angela and Burt were in there. It is what it is.
Q. To be clear you do belive...
MATT CANADA: I firmly believe we're built to come from behind. I firmly believed with three minute to go in the third quarter we were still going to win the game and we would get a stop and we would go down and get the ball to Pat or GP or Allen and make a big play and make it a two-score game.
Obviously if we score there -- which we didn't -- it's a two-score game. It's completely different. Go out and get a stop we can still run our plan that we were planning on running with runs and play-actions and those types of things as the game's wearing on.
Then it's a one-score game and then you're there. When you're down three scores it changes how you're going to go about that process. This is talking back to the opener. That's the bottom line.
That was all that was said. I stood up here every time and said whatever it is. I've not placed any blame anywhere but me. I said every time I believe 1000% in our players and our coaches. If I've not been clear about that, I think I have been clear about that.
Q. Matt, when it comes to -- I know third down conversion rates is something everybody seems to look at, but what about winning more -- not even getting the third down. What do you have to do better in the first and second downs so you're not facing as many...
MATT CANADA: Yeah, I think that's a viable deal. How do you convert more on second down and stay out of third downs to have less of those. Obviously we want to be balanced. We want to run the ball. Be effective there. Complementary football and all those things.
We got to be better at every down. We have to score more points. Third downs is what everybody looks at; we have to be better.
Q. Obviously you're confident that your team can come back, but nobody wants to play from behind.
MATT CANADA: That was kind of the point of the conversation. That was kind of what we were talking about.
Q. How do you get to --
MATT CANADA: Good point. I agree.
Q. -- a point where you have more success early in the game so that you're not in those?
MATT CANADA: Good question. We got to start faster. We look at those things, obviously last week got going and had a couple first downs and were moving in a decent fashion and had a really unfortunate play to lose eight yards, second and long and end up throwing an interception.
So we have to keep working on that. We're not doing a good enough job in that regard.
Q. What did you see in Najee? Is there something you can build on?
MATT CANADA: I thought he played with great energy and great passion. You know, he did everything we could ask him to do to try to win the game and do everything he can, making holes when they were there -- taking holes when they were there, excuse me. Making something happen if it wasn't as perfect as we wanted it to be.
I thought he played really hard and we'll continue to lean on him for that.
Q. Kenny said that he's going to be good to go for Sunday. How much preparation is there for Mitch this week in to the even Kenny can't play?
MATT CANADA: Obviously we're managing them both, doing what we got to do get them ready to play. Kenny is full planning -- nothing has changed with Kenny's preparation. He feels good about where he is and we'll make sure Mitch is ready to go if it has to go that way.
Q. Been a year with Kenny as starting quarterback. Where have you seen the most growth or development? How different is he from that guy that went out against the Bills?
MATT CANADA: He's a lot different. He has great command of the offense. He knows where he wants to go with the ball and what he wants to.
To this original question or way back there, I got great faith we're going to start seeing he those things happen really, really soon.
Until we do it, doesn't matter. That's all that matters. We got to be there, but I think Kenny has played through the summer and camp and all those times, and at times in the games been exactly what he wants and what we wanted. We have to be presenting a better picture for him so he can be more consistent so we can be more consistent and score more points.
Q. Do you anticipate any limitations in the game plan in terms of lack of mobility with the Kenny?
MATT CANADA: No.
Q. You're going to have Roderick starting for the first time. Darnell going to get more snaps. How have you seen the two rookies coming along?
MATT CANADA: We talked about how positive we were and how high we were on them during camp, right? It wasn't necessarily that they weren't ready to play. It was more the situations of Dan doing a good job, Pat doing a good job, and Darnell was already coming.
Obviously we're disappointed we have some of the guys out that we have out. That's not something -- a situation you don't ever want to have, but it's an opportunity for those guys to go, and we're excited about them being able to do it.
We have great confidence in them doing great job.
Q. You guys were on a somewhat similar(background noise.) You did turn it around. Is there anything, a blueprint or something you guys discovered the second half of last year?
MATT CANADA: No. I think we're doing the same things. I think Coach does a great job leading us. When things aren't great we try to come together more, we meet as a unit more, we talk more. You know, I don't think there is something magical about it. We can talk about this play or this play, you know, whatever it is.
I'm never going to talk execution with you guys, but we have to find a way to practice it more, be more detailed, whatever we have to do to get it better, because we have to score more points. There is no running from that, so the formula is being more clear, staying together more, making sure we're on the same page, and not having that one little blip here or there that derails a drive or a play.
Q. Along those lines, Kenny mentioned to us style of play.
MATT CANADA: Yeah.
Q. How will you eliminate and build that consistency?
MATT CANADA: You know, again, like I said, sticking together and doing the things we got to do. We talk about them. We talk about what happened, and I think you're referencing Kenny saying that. It's not just one guy. If it's only one guy you can make a change, one area. Hasn't been, which is frustrating, but it's also fixable because everybody -- they do it right here. We execute it right here, whatever happens and it doesn't, so we know it's in there. We just have to get it all together.
Q. (Regarding play caller.)
MATT CANADA: I think Kenny is -- we got to help everybody. We got to find a way to be better. Kenny is the focal point because he's the quarterback, but back to the other question, we just have to detail it up more, be a little bit better here and there, and get the results we all want.
Q. Established the run ball more. (Indiscernible) gets about 90 yards. What's that challenge going to be?
MATT CANADA: Tremendous challenge. Obviously this is a tremendous rivalry as we all know. They got a great defense as they always have. Linebackers certainly lead the charge.
So great challenge for us to go out and find a way to play. We're trying to get ourselves better, but ultimately all we're trying to do is find a way to win the game. That's the bottom line.
We'll continue to do what we got to do to do that. Running, throwing, whatever we got to do. We just got to score enough points to win the game.
Q. They're not blitzing as much as they had in previous seasons, still getting the sacks across the board. Is it just a matter of identifying who is coming, who's not coming?
MATT CANADA: Sure. They do a great job schematically. Do a great job disguising things and giving you different looks. There is a reason they have been really good at defense for a long time, and it's a tremendous challenge for us.
Q. I'm sure you're aware there is a rumor that you have a burner Twitter account and are tweeting out things. Is that your account?
MATT CANADA: No.
Q. I don't know how you would interpret this phrase, but rhythm back. Do you find Naj to be a rhythm back? If so, are you attempting to keep him going in that regard on that fourth down?
MATT CANADA: All things back to that, the call didn't work. I'll answer your first part. When Najee gets going we like to keeping him going in all situations.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports