The San Francisco 49ers are set to face the Minnesota Vikings for Week 2 of the preseason at U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday night. Here's what both teams had to say ahead of their second exhibition game:
Niners Liners
Kyle Shanahan on if quarterback Trey Lance will get any game reps on Saturday:
"I'm not expecting to, but we're day-to-day with that."
Shanahan on cornerback Samuel Womack III's performance so far and if he's earned the No. 1 nickelback position:
"Everyone saw him during the game and he did a real good job. He's done a decent job in practice too. We have some safeties who we can mix there also. So there's still some competition, but yeah, we've been happy with how he's been so far."
Shanahan's advice to Kevin O'Connell in his first year as a head coach:
"Just be himself. Be aggressive in everything you do, don't hesitate, if you believe in something, there's a reason you've gotten this opportunity, listen to everybody and the people who have the experience, but when you have an opinion and you want to go somewhere, don't hesitate and don't look back."
DeMeco Ryans on if he's determined who will start at cornerback on Saturday:
"We're not there yet. We've been down some guys, so we've been moving multiple guys around at the corner spot. So whoever we have, all those guys will see action in the game for sure."
Ryans on what cornerback Ken Crawley has shown him so far:
"Crawley is a vet. He's shown that he can step in on short notice and he's been here probably a week, but he's stepped in. He's picking up the defense really well and he's still doing a great job of competing, so I love his competitive spirit. He's been able to make plays on the ball. He's a physical player. He tackles well. So I'm excited to see him actually play in the game this week."
Lance on the Vikings defense:
"They give a lot of good looks, obviously a real talented defense with a lot of guys who have played a lot... I know (Minnesota Vikings S) Harrison (Smith) is going to mix up the looks, (Minnesota Vikings CB Patrick Peterson) Pat P is also really good. I mean those guys, their whole secondary, they do a great job of holding their looks pre-snap and then waiting post-snap to move."
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. on the Vikings secondary vs. the 49ers secondary:
"It's kind of different because our corners really press a lot and they don't press a lot here. It's more of us coming off the ball, running the man down, because they don't play a lot of man coverage, so it's just a little different."
Samuel on which rookies have impressed him the most so far:
"Danny Gray is a speedster, he's pretty fast. Womack III is a scrappy guy. I wouldn't say I'm too much impressed because we see every day what the guys are doing. It's good to see them carry it over to the game and see that they're the same players at practice."
Vikings Quotes
O'Connell on the 49ers defense:
"How they hit blocks, how they attack – when you play a defense like that, every level of the defense, from the front to those great linebackers that they have that's led by Fred Warner. Obviously on the back end, it's an attacking mindset. They're downhill, they're trying to beat double teams, split double teams, they're trying to fill gaps. One man, one gap mentality. And it's different, quite honestly, than some of the other techniques we play against, and then obviously throughout training camp, it's just been different. So we get to feel that in an environment like this where the repercussions aren't on a Sunday at 12 o'clock and you're trying to adjust on the sideline. We now have this inventory of playing against a team like this, that we can circle back on when we do that during the regular season. This will be great tape for us."
Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips on 49ers and Shanahan's style of play:
"Kyle has been one of the best play callers in this league for a long time. Their ability to scheme and marry both the run and the pass, they're a very physical front, really on both sides of the ball, so it was a big challenge... Kyle has always been great at scheming guys open and marrying the run in the pass, and the play action pass game has been big for them. They're just a really challenging team overall with both the coaching and the personnel that they have."
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins on playing against the 49ers:
"Excited now to go against the 49ers, to have a different team in here. I think that football-wise, it helps a lot to go against a different defense... Sean (Mannion) and Kellen (Mond) played well and did nicely so hopefully we can build on that and have a great couple of days here against the 49ers and then go into a great preseason game."
