**
Opening statement:**
"Hello, ready to get on the road and get this thing going here on Sunday. Today, I would say all week and early on, it was a decent practice. Guys getting back into it. Today we had a good practice they executed and did the things that they needed to do. In terms of who's up and whose down [S] Michael Lewis will be out for the game. He is out for the game and [S] Reggie Smith will be out for the game. Other than that, the other things will be game time situations. In terms of Michael Crabtree – will he start or will he not start – when you look at [WR] Isaac Bruce, when you look at [WR] Josh [Morgan], when you look at Crabtree, they are all going to play about the same. It just depends on how the game goes and the flow of the game. We'll see what happens, but there is no significant reason to look at one guy and say 'he's the starter,' because it depends on what packages we're going with and how the game flows and we'll go from there."
On whether Crabtree will be in on two receiver sets:
"It depends on what package it is. It could be [WR] Arnaz [Battle], it could be Michael [Crabtree]. It just depends."
On whether he would consider Crabtree one of his best receivers on the team:
"He's getting there. Obviously, you see that the talent is there. It's just a matter of him going to play that much faster as he gets it, but he's definitely a talented guy and, like I said, once the game starts and the game is live, then we'll see how it goes. Everything you will be able to judge by the game."
On what was the deciding factor on S Michael Lewis:
"I think it was a matter of continuing to talk to the doctors, continuing to talk to the trainers and just making a decision on what's really best for him. That's kind of it."
On continuing to evaluate Lewis for next week's game:
"I would just say let's get through this week and we'll figure it out next week."
On who is the team's fourth safety:
"[S] Curtis Taylor."
On why Shaun Hill's completion rate so low:
"It's a combination of things- the protection here and there, getting out of rhythm, getting out of sync, continuing to develop that trust in the pocket. I would say little things and once again, sometimes when you are not able to run the ball as effectively as you would like to run it, it causes people to really tee off on the passing situations. Hopefully we can move forward and get better and get in a better rhythm. Hopefully we can run the ball more, and that's all with the offensive line. We just have to continue going forward with that and know that it will get better."
On whether WR Arnaz Battle will return punts:
"Yes."
On who will return kickoffs:
"46, Delanie [Walker]."
On whether he expects Crabtree to make plays:
"That's why he is playing. Absolutely. How many plays? I don't know. But the plays he has the opportunity to make, absolutely I do."
On DT Ray McDonald's health:
"I think Ray is fine. He is coming along. I think he is doing fine."
On whether McDonald will be a game-time decision:
"Yes."
On RB Frank Gore's progression throughout the week:
"No. 1, it is just great to see him back. Frank has been doing fine. It is just one those things we have to continue to monitor, keep our eyes on him. He has done a good job."
On whether Gore will start:
"Yes, absolutely."
On whether there is a big gap between QBs Shaun Hill and Alex Smith:
"Let me put it this way, I think to go back and go through all of it, all I know is I wanted to go with the guy that gave us the best chance to win. I felt that Shaun Hill was that guy. So, it's just a matter of, who knows what happens in a season, but the coaches and myself, we believe in Shaun. We believe in his ability to move this team and help us win football games. We'll just continue to go with that."
On how QB Alex Smith has looked in practice:
"Alex looks fine. You can bring guys in here off the street and practice and they'll look fine. It's just a matter of continuing to get better, refining those little things. But, Alex is getting better. He is getting better."
On whether QB Nate Davis is sick:
"Yes."
On whether Davis will make the trip to Houston:
"Probably not."
On who will be the third quarterback:
"Don't know."
On whether Davis has the flu:
"It could be, but I'm not sure. I didn't go that far. I just know that it's some kind of cold or something like that, but I'm not sure exactly what it is."
On what he remembers about his first game in the NFL as a player:
"That's a bad question. My first game, I played the first play of the game and called a timeout and got sat down, got benched for the rest of the game, and we won the game. It was the longest day of my life. Long day. Very embarrassing."
On why he called a timeout:
"I called a timeout because Buddy Ryan told me the night before, 'Whatever I tell you to call, that's what I want you to call. If you call anything other than what I said, then we're going to have a problem.' So, Gary Fencik was the safety, been there for years. Well, I got the call from the sideline, and I called 2 Z. Gary Fencik thought it was 3 Z, and I said, 'No, it's 2 Z.' So, he and I are arguing, and so I called timeout because I'm doing what Buddy told me to do. I go to the sideline, he tells me to sit down, curses me out and I didn't get up for the rest of the game."
On whether that was the first game of his rookie year:
"Yes."
On the opponent that day:
"San Diego. They had the hottest offense. To this day, I think it was Dan Fouts' worst game, that day that I didn't play."
On whether he played his second game:
"Yes. The next week I started against Kansas City, and it was good."
