Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Tuesday, December 17th, 2024
“I think a lot of people — you guys [media], in particular — are going to be like, ‘Get these guys out of here; get these guys out of here; didn’t work; didn’t work,’” Bosa said.
“But there’s going to be a lot of criticism next year when it looks very similar. That’s just what I feel because we have the right people, in terms of coaches and players. We have the right guys. Defensively, is what I can speak on.”
49ers’ Nick Bosa says De’Vondre Campbell was acting up before Thursday’s game (paywall)
“Bosa said it’s clear his bookend on the defensive line, Leonard Floyd, is more comfortable than he was early in the season.
“His performance from the first Rams game to this one — unbelievable,” Bosa said. “He’s playing the run incredible.”
And he noted Maliek Collins and Yetur Gross-Matos are poised to have career highs in sacks.
“Watching that tape the other night really got me excited,” he said. “Obviously, this year — that game — didn’t turn out like we wanted. But I see a lot of guys in our D-line room and I want all of them back next year. I think we have all the players in our room right now to be that dominant line, and I think we looked like it on Thursday night.”
He said he hopes Sorensen is back, too, a sentiment he realizes fans and outside observers might not share.
“I’m not saying that we’ve been playing great defense all year,” Bosa said. “Because our red zone (defense) has been awful. I’m just saying we had to throw in a lot of young guys early on and that can cause some confusion, some breakdowns. But right at this point we’re hitting our stride.”
“You can’t play the play for the players,” he said, referring to Sorensen. “You can make calls. And I think he’s gotten better. I think DeMeco (Ryans) got better as he went on, too.”
Bosa was one of the players who took part in Monday’s so-called “bonus” practice. He called the rib/oblique injury he’s been dealing with “decent.”
49ers remove all signs of De’Vondre Campbell, who was heard complaining before kickoff (paywall)
“Campbell was suspended for the final three regular-season games for conduct detrimental to the team after there were signs that he wasn’t an ideal fit in the team-first culture the 49ers espouse. Last year, he said on social media during the regular season that he would no longer play through injuries with the Packers before he blasted Green Bay’s coaching staff when he was released in March.
In September, after he briefly split time with linebacker Dee Winters in the first half of a loss to the Rams, he said he “wouldn’t make a big deal about it right now” and would wait to see how the situation played out.
However, Lenoir said he couldn’t have imagined that Campbell would refuse to play when head coach Kyle Shanahan approached him in the third quarter with Greenlaw and Winters dealing with injuries.
“Never in a million years,” Lenoir said. “We welcomed him with open arms. We would never have thought he would do something like that. It’s crazy.”
Lenoir declares he ‘lost all respect’ for 49ers teammate Campbell
“I’ve never seen that,” Lenoir said. “That’s actually crazy, to quit on your team while they’re at battle. That just sucks.
“I’d never be a part of something like that. I got too much love for the game, too much pride to even tell the coach I’m not going into the game.
“I’m a person who’s going 110 percent every play. So if I’m hurt and the guy behind me is not backing me up and can’t go in or don’t want to go in, I feel like that’s being a cancer to the team.”
49ers suspend LB De’Vondre Campbell 3 games for refusing to play
“The suspension for conduct detrimental to the team technically means Campbell is still a member of the organization through the end of the season, but any sign of that being the case is already absent from the Niners’ locker room. On Monday afternoon, Campbell’s locker was empty, and his nameplate was removed.”