Opening Statement:
"Our guys have continued to fight and it's been every single week. It was a short work week for us--we played late last Sunday night and we had to travel to the west coast. I have to give the 49ers credit, they fought hard. We knew that would be the case. The thing I'm proudest of most is just the way we fight. Today some of the things out there weren't pretty, but I felt like we'll fight and play hard. If there's one thing I'd like to have in a football team, it's that."
On where the team stands through 14 games:
"I can't say enough about the defense. They have played hard all year. It's been a real consistent for us all year. Where we need to improve is offensively. I felt that through the middle portion of the season we just weren't hitting. I do feel like there are some things you can kind of count on to improve. And I think special teams is a little bit hit or miss."
On blitzing 49ers quarterback Ken Dorsey:
"Actually, we've blitzed a lot all year. Our defensive style is very aggressive. Gregg [Williams, assistant head coach-defense] is very aggressive. That's pretty much our style of play."
On the goal line offense:
"We got the ball down inside a couple of times. I think you have to give some credit to the 49ers. They gave us some different looks down there. We had some guys miss some assignments, mainly because they changed some fronts on us that we weren't expecting."
On the return of LaVar Arrington:
"We suffered so much with injuries and the fact that LaVar has never been healthy. It was an injury that we thought was going to be four or five weeks and wound up being almost the entire year. There's one thing to be healthy enough to play and there's another to be [conditioned] to play; I don't know how he did, I haven't seen the film yet, but I did see flashes out there. Certainly he means a lot to us. He's a player who can be a real impact guy. I think it was real good to get him back out there and I think he felt good about it."
On Jeff Chandler:
"With Jeff, I have to tell you, the guys in the locker insisted that we give him a game ball. He did everything we asked, from the first day he worked out for us in the cold to today. He did a good job for us. You give him credit. When a guy gets a chance, you like to see him make the most of it."
On whether he is surprised that Clinton Portis is on the verge of 1,500 rushing yards given his up-and-down season:
"I don't consider him to be an up-and-down back. Clinton Portis is one heck of a back. Just to consider all of the great running backs, and he's on the verge of [rushing for 1,500-plus yards for three consecutive seasons]. Whether he can do it, I don't know. He was consistent for Denver. He's been super consistent for us all year. And as I've mentioned, one of the things that's really impressed me about Clinton is how he plays when he doesn't have the ball in his hands. He's been a very good blocker. I think he's been a real constant for us on offense."
On whether the offense achieved the balance he was looking for:
"You would like to develop a formula over a period of time that your team buys into and has confidence in. That's what we're trying to do here. We're trying to build something that we can hang our hat on and this is what we believe in. What I'd like to see us do is finish the next two weeks strong and finish this the right way."
On finishing strong and what it means:
"I think it would mean a lot for us. The best way to help your team and build for the future is to win games. We'll play two tough teams, Dallas in Dallas and then Minnesota. It was a tough test for us today. Like I mentioned, San Francisco played hard. So you'd love to see us finish strong."
On his history at Candlestick Park:
"I'm not sure, you need to go back and check it, but I have never won here. Never. So that's a bad feeling to come here. I can still vividly remember the play that cost us in the last game [in 1992], what happened and where we were on the field. It was a trap play, and we went to hand the ball off, and somehow a chunk of sod somehow got between the ball and our handoff. We fumbled the ball down there around the 34-yard line. I'm not saying we would have won the game, San Francisco beat us, but I remember that play."
On playing the great 49er teams:
"First of all, to get out of our division, we felt like we were ready for the playoffs. But also they were a dominant team at the time. We'd lock horns-I remember once at our place we won in a low-scoring game. I remember them well, particularly because both teams were really good and had stars."
