“It wasn’t the prettiest win ever, but every win in this league, including pre-season, has to be celebrated. It was a great atmosphere. First game at home. 12s rocked. I’m told that’s nothing compared to the regular season. We’re looking forward to it in a couple of weeks. We’re moving on to the next part of the process here. We’ve got some big days ahead of us. Just proud of the effort the boys put in really throughout the off-season, training camp. I think we’ve got a great group. Excited about the next phase here. But it was a good win.”

How is Uchenna Nwosu doing?

“Not sure yet. We’ll have it looked at tomorrow. We’ll probably know more in the next few days.”

(Question about Geno.)

“Made some great throws, looked decisive. The plan was to do a couple of series. I think we saw enough after a good five plays.”

What about the defense, that one drive they had?

“Overall, good. The energy was there. The execution was solid. We had the penalty on third down, which is kind of a theme of the night, something we’ve got to clean up going forward. It was good to get the stop after we gave up the penalty.”

What happened to Uchenna?

Did you see the intensity you needed from the first unit to the last?

“We gave up a lot of yards and 33 points on the board is not enough. It costs everybody. The standard is the standard. Not exactly happy with the defensive performance as a whole. There was a lot of good stuff on tape. We’ll look at it and we’ll improve. We’ll see. We made them convert third downs on third down penalties. Good teams make you pay. They made us pay.”

Have you already made a choice about the starter?

“No. We will know that in the coming days.”

The reason for Nwosu’s injury is that it is a football game or…

“I don’t really want to comment on it. It seemed like an obvious penalty.”

Artie, his foot or something?

Jamie Sheriff, what did you see of his performance?

“He’s a guy that really stood out during the rookie tryout. Just kind of a message to all the guys: if there’s not a spot for you right now, we’re still investing in your growth and development. To his credit, he hasn’t skipped a beat since he’s been here. He should be proud of the way he’s played.”

Dee Eskridge had the big punt return. How did you rate his pre-season?

“He’s able to make plays like that. That’s the type of player he is. Proud of Dee. He’s worked really hard to get himself in a good position here. He should be proud of himself.”

You have players on the whole list that have flashed, how hard is it going to be to get this selection in a few days?

“Yeah, these are tough decisions. You let what’s best for the team be the guiding light. John (Schneider) and I, we’ve walked hand in hand through this whole thing. I’m looking forward to the next phase. This is a tough time. This is probably the toughest part of the job. I think if you look at it optimistically, you say, this is a long-term investment. There are opportunities for guys to be on teams, other people who have earned an opportunity somewhere else. Again, like Jamie (Sheriff), there could be an opportunity to come back. Hopefully the guys feel like we’re investing in their growth as well. Bittersweet, for sure. It’s going to be some tough decisions.”

Kenny McIntosh, what did he show you?

“He and George (Holani), I thought they both played really well. George didn’t have the flashy run, but he had some tough, good runs to get back to the line of scrimmage, get some positive yards. I think they both made plays on special teams. Just two really good players. Kenny Mac, another example of a guy who’s worked really, really hard. To have the opportunity to make a great play like that, I’m just really happy for him. Really happy for where he’s at. He should be proud of himself.”

Do stiff arms make men excited?

“Yeah, the guys were really excited about it. It was cool.”

How ready is the team to start the season?

“I think we’re exactly where we need to be. We’re not the team we need to be yet, but it’s still early. The most important thing is to keep taking the steps we need to take. That’s the focus here as the team starts to explain itself this week. Then we have a couple of days off and come back for a whole week to prepare for Denver. Whatever happens in the Denver game, it’s going to be the same mentality through Game 17 and the playoffs.”

What did you think of Dareke Young’s preparation?

“I really like Dareke. He’s a really good player. He always does the right thing. We talk about the kind of toughness he has, the type of football player he is. I don’t know what he did on teams today. I’m excited to see that tape and what Jay (Harbaugh) thinks about it. I’m excited for him.”

When you and Jay (Harbaugh) decided to do two kickoff returns, is that the path you went down?

“Yes, probably.”

Mike Morris has played a lot this pre-season. You have used him in different ways. What do you like about what he has brought so far?

“He’s just so big out there. He can play up and down. Underrated versatility. Underrated smart player, too. He just makes plays. He’s the guy that coordinated that group, that pass rush, later in games. He’s been an asset to us.”

What was behind the Darrell Taylor trade yesterday?

“I don’t want to go into all the details. For DT, this is a great opportunity. I’m excited about what he’s going to do. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for him.”

Any indications that Dre’Mont (Jones) is coming back?

“Yeah, it looks positive. We’re optimistic about Dre’Mont. We’ll see how many reps he gets and how we ramp it up.”

FastScripts transcript by ASAP Sports