Coming off a tough road loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Colin Kaepernick delivered a concise and focused press conference on Wednesday.

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback addressed his team's shortcomings in Week 2 and looked ahead to beginning NFC West play this Sunday against the unbeaten Arizona Cardinals.

Here are seven newsworthy notes that came out of Kaepernick's weekly question-and-answer session with the Bay Area media.

1. Trailing by several scores in the second half at Heinz Field, the 49ers were forced to rely heavily on the passing game. Kaepernick completed 22-of-31 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns after halftime. But when asked if he had "fun" slinging the ball around so much versus the Steelers, the quarterback swiftly shot down that notion.

"I don't ever see it being fun being down by 20-plus points," Kaepernick said.

**

2.** San Francisco's best moment from the lopsided defeat came when Kaepernick connected with prized free-agent acquisition Torrey Smith down the middle of the field for a 75-yard catch and run. The quarterback was not surprised by Smith's ability to turn the 25-yard throw into six points.

"That's part of the reason why he's here," Kaepernick said.  "He's someone who gets respect every time he steps on the field. We've seen that this year already with Minnesota and Pittsburgh playing deep and trying to take him away." 

3. What did Kaepernick see on the play that allowed Smith to get behind the Steelers defense? 

"We got a split-safety coverage, and he took his route right down the middle like we practiced," Kaepernick said. "It unfurled how we planned. He made a great catch and took it the rest of the way."

Check out this breakdown of the coaches' film for more details on the touchdown.

4. Kaepernick reiterated Smith’s comments from Monday, when the wide receiver told reporters that he and his quarterback can build on their productivity in Pittsburgh.

"It's confidence moving forward," Kaepernick said. "Torrey made some big plays for us. He was very consistent. It's more experience for us to take."

**

5.** With the offense placing an emphasis on getting to the line of scrimmage earlier in the play clock this year, Kaepernick was able to induce three offside penalties from the Steelers.

"To me, those things happen because they get antsy," Kaepernick said. "They're trying to get a jump on the ball. We'll take advantage of anything we can from a defense."

6. In five career meetings with the Cardinals, Kaepernick owns a 4-1 record. He has thrown for 1,287 yards, nine touchdowns and just one interception in those games for a 106.2 passer rating. The quarterback has also run for 164 yards on 30 attempts.

Kaepernick gave his early take on what it's like to face the Arizona defense, which ranked fifth in the NFL a year ago.

"They do a lot of things; they play fast, they play physical and they give you a lot of looks," Kaepernick said. "Those are things we have to account for."

7. Asked if he has a solid understanding of Arizona's players on defense and where they will be on the field, Kaepernick said that the Cardinals coaching staff does good a job of disguising their formations.

"It's hard to determine that with Arizona because they mix their personnel up and put people in different positions," Kaepernick said. "You can't really get a beat on that, you just have to go out there and recognize what they're doing."