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On how soon he expects to have a decision on a kicker:**"Don't know, I mean, there could be a kicker that jumps out at us that's obvious this morning, or we're going to take our time and pick the right one."
On whether any of the kickers they are looking at are left-footed:"Don't know. I don't know that personally."
On whether anything stood out about K Shane Andrus:"No."
On whether K Joe Nedney is definitely out for Sunday:"He will be out for this game."
On whether this is a big decision given the close nature of a lot of the games:"Yeah, it's – it's football. Guys get hurt, unfortunately it's Joe. The bottom line is one of those guys is going to have to be the guy. And at the same time, there are other guys on offense that have to step up. There are other areas on special teams that guys are going to have to step up and make plays."
On whether he has decided on a left tackle:"No, no. We'll get there sometime this week."
On what the criteria is to choose a kicker:"There are a number of things. You look at leg strength, you try to look at accuracy, you try to look at probably one of the biggest things is probably the toughest thing to evaluate, and that is the mindset. A lot of guys, just like anything else, can come out here and kick 50-yarders, but in the game, it's tough to kick a 20-yarder. So I just think it's tough to evaluate. There's a reason why they're out here trying to kick the ball. So, hopefully we find the right one."
On whether it is more difficult to try to find a temporary kicker versus one for the whole season:"Yeah, I think that's a correct statement."
On how difficult it is to go to a guy with limited experience:"I'm going to try not to make it difficult, you know, really, really difficult. I mean, it is what it is. We're going to try to find the right guy and go with him."
On whether Steelers K Jeff Reed is on his radar:"I'm not going to rule out anything at this point."
On whether he will possibly bring in other kickers to evaluate:"Could be. I'm not going to rule it out right now, it just depends what we feel this morning, what we see."
On his mindset during overtime play and whether there is different thinking as a coach:"Yeah, I think you have to think about coaching a little differently. I think first and foremost, if they get the ball, the kind of defense you play, you have to make sure that you're playing whatever they're strengths are. If they're a team that likes to go down field, do you gamble and go get the quarterback or do you cover and spend more time covering – so yes, it is, because it's a one-shot deal. If you're on offense first, do we try to take the ball down field, walk it down, or do you make quick strikes? Are they tired? Are we tired? Are they beat up? There are a number of things. It just depends on, what are the factors at that time."
On how T Barry Sims did filling in for T Joe Staley last year:"I thought he did a very nice job. Last year he was pretty fresh. This year, we just kind of have to see what it looks like and how it works out and we'll make a decision before the game."
On whether he is more likely to go for it on fourth-and-one with the kicker situation:"I don't think it's any different. Depending on who it is, I don't think it's any different than the mindset right now. If it's fourth-and-one or whatever, depending on where we are in the red zone area, if we feel that it's more advantageous to go for it and we can, then we'll do that. If not, you know, we either punt it or try for the field goal."
On whether S Reggie Smith played well enough Sunday to earn a starting position:"I think we're going to continue to work Reggie and [S] Taylor [Mays] and there may not be a starter right now. But we'll let that work itself out. Right now, the combination of both of those two and we're trying to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of both of them and it will work itself out in time."
On what he saw from Reggie Smith:"He's a good football player. Taylor is a good football player. They both have strengths and weaknesses, and we've got to continue to look at which guy deserves to be out there the whole time. For right now, the system that we have working is going to be in place."
On whether it was a difficult decision to not start G Chilo Rachal on Sunday since he wasn't at practice because his wife was giving birth:"No. I was in favor of him missing practice. If a guy is – I mean, I have seven kids. The thing that I want you to understand, because some people really, really misunderstood that, unfortunately, but the thing is, on Friday, Friday Chilo texted and told us. He did all the right things, he did all the right things in letting myself and Coach [Mike] Solari know that he wasn't going to be here. Even on Thursday. And that was fine. He was going to miss Friday. That was fine. [C David] Baas had a baby, did something very similar, [T/G Adam] Snyder had a baby, did something very similar. And then the next day, there was a text. But I think the biggest thing, the biggest reason that Chilo did not start is because to miss Friday and Saturday, without getting the finer details from Coach Solari, the changes or whatever they were, and Snyder was here Friday and Saturday, getting all the little details. And having a rookie beside you that's trying to make sure that he has all the little calls and we got a new quarterback trying to make all the little calls, and it's a little bit much. So the things that – the reason that I had Chilo not start, because there are complications in the situation. I know that – I want a guy's mind to be where he is. I don't want him to be in a situation where he's thinking about losing his job. He's going to start this week. It would be different if I said, you know, you're not here, you're not going to play and you're not going to start. I mean, I don't do stuff like that. That's a family issue, you got complications there, worry about that first. But just know that I have decisions here that I have to make and I can't put the offense in harms way by making a decision on emotion. I felt that I did what I had to do in order for our offense to have a chance to win. And at some point in time Coach Solari felt that okay, it's time to get Chilo in the game, get him in the game. And that was – it's as simple as that. All the other stuff, I don't really know what it is. That's what I was looking at."
On whether it is a concern that Sims has not been active at all this season:"He's going to move fine. He's been moving fine in practice, he just hasn't started any games. It's no different to me than it was last year when he came in at Indianapolis and he hadn't taken any snaps. He didn't play in the games until Joe [Staley] got hurt. So, I want guys that are able to do that. Thankfully we have a guy that's a veteran guy that is tough minded and we just have to see how it works."
On whether Snyder will practice today:"From what I understand, I think he's going to practice. He'll go out here and do walk-thru and whatever and kind of see how it feels, and if he can go, he'll go. And if he can't, we'll try and look at it tomorrow. We'll have to see how it works out."
On whether CB William James will be able to practice:"Don't know about that one. That's something that we have to continue - you know a concussion as well as I do. You just have to kind of see and weigh it and look at it, monitor it, and see how it works out."
On what he is hoping to see next from QB Troy Smith:"Just another step; just a continued progression, trying to get the full understanding of the offense, protections, and all of those things."
On Chicago Bears MLB Brian Urlacher approaching his record for all-time tackles:"You know what, I don't really think about stuff like that. If he breaks a record, more power to him, fantastic, I'm happy for him. But I don't really, I don't really get into that. It really comes down to - I hope that he stays healthy and I hope that he continues to play well and that's a good thing."
On the evolution of a black quarterback in the NFL and having a matchup of two this Sunday:"It's interesting that you'd ask that, because I hadn't thought about it. Maybe so. You know for me, I just look at Troy and I'm happy for him and the steps that he's been able to take so far. And [Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB] Josh Freeman, you know, he's been able to do some good things as well, so I'm – it's a good thing to see."
On his reaction to the game plan this past Sunday and whether he thought it showed creativity:"Well, I think there was a reason why [offensive coordinator] Mike Johnson was chosen as the coordinator. I think the best thing about Mike Johnson is his ability to get everybody in that room – the reason that game plan is creative is because [offensive line coach] Mike Solari, [wide receivers/senior assistant coach] Jerry Sullivan, [tight ends coach] Pete [Hoener], [running backs coach] Tom Rathman; all those guys have the opportunity to have input and when you do that, then you're going to get creativity. You're going to get a different thought process when everybody is involved, so its definitely going to make a difference and it has so far."
On Tampa Bay RB LeGarrette Blount changing his original decision to come to the 49ers and Singletary's impression of him being a physical player:"That's why I like him. He's a big physical guy, runs hard, and he's got a little edge to him. So it seems like he's having a good season, having a nice impact on their team, and that's good to see. I'm happy for him."
On whether he is okay with the way the Blount's decision to not come to the 49ers was handled:"Yeah. I thought he handled it – he was a class act in the whole thing and he made certain it made sense, but Jeff Fisher was a better salesman than I was."
On whether Blount committed to him:"Yeah, just like a recruit, you know? But I understand that, I understand that – the thing that I told him at that time is, I appreciate you calling me back. I appreciate you not having your agent call me, or me hearing it tomorrow. The fact that he called me back and said Coach, you know what, I have reservation and this is why – I told him, I'm not going to try to talk you out of it, I appreciate you calling me back, and best of luck to you. And that was it."
On whether Blount's reservation was the amount of depth at running back:"Yes."
