49ers
49ers HC Kyle Shanahan knows that his players weren’t ready to return following their heartbreaking Super Bowl defeat, yet let his roster know that he won’t understand this time around.
“The way I addressed it the most was at our last meeting in January,” Shanahan said, via NBCSportsBayArea.com. “I just told the guys, I talked about how the season ended the year before, and how when I felt them all come back. I felt guys weren’t ready to come back, and I understood that. But I told them how I really won’t understand it this year, not that that was right or wrong, but I couldn’t comprehend it. We’re off five weeks earlier, we all know how disappointed we are. And a lot of us have played a lot of football here.”
Cardinals
Cardinals 2024 first-round DL Darius Robinson had a delayed start to his career after suffering a calf injury in August, but had a solid six games to end the year. Arizona HC Jonathan Gannon spoke on Robinson’s work this offseason, heading into his first full season in the pros.
“(Darius) has worked extremely hard this offseason, he looks good, he’s ready to go,” Gannon said, via Darren Urban of the team’s website. “He wants to get on the grass and play football. That’s all of our guys. You are never a finished product. You’re either getting better or getting worse – whatever that means, kind of a cliché, but it’s probably true.”
Robinson was dealing with physical and mental challenges a year ago as he had calf issues and his mother passed away. He opened up on the crazy ups and downs 2024 had for him and how he’s chasing those highs consistently this year.
“Last year was the hardest year of my life but it was the best year of my life in the same year,” Robinson said. “I definitely felt the lowest but I also felt the highest and I am ready to get back to the highest.”
“At my lowest I kept showing up each day, I kept fighting in the pursuit of my dreams. I realized it can’t get worse that that. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and just go.”
Rams
Rams QB Matthew Stafford was asked by reporters about his connection with WR Davante Adams now that the two have had a chance to work together.
“Oh, it was good,” Stafford said of his connection with Adams, via RamsWire.com. “It’s always a work in progress. We’re always talking out there, which is a lot of fun. A guy that’s a veteran player, has played a lot of football, and had a lot of success, so it’s fun just trying to communicate as much as I can with him. Obviously, he’s made some great plays today but it’s fun to work with guys that understand the game and still have a lot left in the tank. So, it was good.”
“Yeah, I was texting with him late last week a little bit and just saying, ‘Hey man, you’re a great player because of your skillset and I’m going to continue to work and watch… whether that’s watching live after I throw and then go back and rewatch and make sure what I was seeing and feeling at that moment was real,’” Stafford added. “Then we just talk about it too, right? After every single set, it feels like we’re over there talking about, ‘Hey, this is kind of how I’m thinking that I’m going to come out of this or feel that.’ And it’s just constant dialogue. Honestly, those are the best relationships I’ve had with the receivers and the most success that I’ve had is guys that want to talk to you on what they felt, what they were doing. I can also say, ‘Hey, this is what it looks like from my angle and go from there.’ But he definitely has that feeling, he has that understanding and that’s a huge positive.”
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