!Opening statement:"Hello. In terms of the injuries: (G Eric) Heitmann is out, (CB) William James is probable. I'm sorry, doubtful. (T Barry) Sims, out; (T Alex) Boone, out; (LB Ahmad) Brooks, out; (CB Tramaine) Brock, out. (LB Diyral) Briggs, Briggs is questionable, probable, same thing to me. Probable."
On whether Sims, Boone, and Brock are non-injury related:"Those are inactives."
On whether that is just the players who are definitely out:"Yes."
On who will be returning punts for Sunday's game against Seattle:"Well, it will be (WR Ted) Ginn. But it could be (CB) Phillip Adams too. We just have to think about it a little bit more."
On whether Adams is at the point where he just needs game experience:"Yeah, that's really what it comes down to for a lot of the young guys. You can have a great preseason and they get in a real game and it's too big for them. So we'll wait and see how it looks, but I'm excited to see what's there."
On whether T/G Adam Snyder is the swing tackle:"Yes."
On whether Snyder could play guard:"Yes. Swing tackle, guard, yes."
On whether G Tony Wragge will be the backup center:"Backup center, possible guard."
On whether WR Kyle Williams is out:"He's out, yes sir."
On whether he is potentially choosing Ginn to punt return because he feels more comfortable with a veteran:"Yes, I just think Coach Schottenheimer and I talked about it, his comfort level with Ginn. He felt good about Adams, and could possibly still work out that way, but he felt the experience factor with Ginn made sense."
On whether he expects RB Anthony Dixon to play more of a role than just special teams:"I would like to see him get a chance to play more than special teams, but we'll have to wait and see how the game goes. Hopefully we'll have a chance to see him play running back."
On whether giving QB Troy Smith a lot of scout team reps was intended to get him acclimated to the team:"Just to try and give him something. He's a guy that is used to playing, so he's really been studying and busting his tail to try and learn the offense, so you want to try and give him something, try and reward him for his attitude. I mean, he's really trying to pick up the offense."
On Seattle WR Mike Williams and whether he has jumped out on film:"Yes, I mean, he's a big target, good football player, and you can see why he was a number one pick when he was."
On whether LB Joe Staley has become more vocal in terms of leadership on the team:"More and more everyday. I'm finding out that he has quite the sense of humor. That concerns me a little bit (laughing). It's a wicked sense of humor. But he's coming on. He's doing a great job and the leadership role for him will continue to expand and he's just taking it a day at a time, but I think he's doing a great job, he's right where he needs to be."
On whether Willis is the type of person that people gravitate toward:"Yes, I think so. He's a guy that here lately, really this offseason, he's been the guy that will go and seek out guys and just talk to them about what this is all about, how we do it here. What the 49ers are about, and how you need to do it in order to be a part of it. I think he's done a very good job and just taking his time, and I think he's right on schedule."
On what he meant when he said at the State of the Franchise that he wouldn't talk to the officials:"It means no arguing. It means that I'm not going to sit there and try to talk them out of a call, I'm not going to get in their faces. If I felt that they've made a bad call, it's a call. And I'm going to have to go with it."
On what he has learned from his first year as a coach:"I don't think we have time for all of the things that I've learned. I really don't. I mean, there were just so many things, from the first game to the very last game, and the feeling after the season when you have a chance to sit down and think about all the things that you could do different as a coach, and how you could improve. So there were some things that I did poorly last year, and I just have to continue to work at it to be the best coach that I can possibly be."
On his insight into Willis' "wicked" sense of humor:"Here's an example. We have a meal today. It's kind of the team meal, for the players. Their time to get together and kind of talk – it's their meal. So I was talking to the guys about going and it's basically just the team. So Pat, after I had finished talking about it, he says, can we bring our significant others? And so it really caught me off guard (laughing), because some of the athletes, when you talk about significant others, there may be more than one showing up, and that's a very uncomfortable situation, and I want it to be a nice thing. So he really caught me off guard and he and I talked about that situation several times with how that can happen. So he just said before I could come up with an answer, he said, coach, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding (laughing). So that's one. Just, whoa, hello."
