San Francisco Head Coach Jim Harbaugh
(On his thoughts on tonight): "I thought that we would be a little bit more effective on offense. We struggled in that regard. There will be good work and good learning (that comes out of tonight). We will get back to work on Sunday."
"I knew coming in that we had a lot of work to do. Tonight, we got some good reps and some good things transpired. There are some other things that we need to work on."
On if he considered taking Alex Smith out of the game earlier given the amount of pressure that he was under:
"No, I didn't consider pulling him out earlier."
On his view on the amount of pressure the Saints applied tonight on defense…
"They are allowed to do that. We had some errors in protection. It really comes down to we had zero man to man of bringing seven. We've got to make them pay for that. We didn't capitalize on any of those opportunities, therefore they kept doing it."
On allowing Saints defensive pressure…
"We have to do a better job of protecting the quarterback. (The Saints had) six sacks and six hurries. It wasn't just one guy. There were protection issues where a guy came free. Sometimes it was the back, sometimes it was a main lineman. It was more than just one guy. We've got some work to do in that regard."
On penalty issues…
"Penalties hurt us and cost us."
On the defense…
"The positive (tonight) was the defense. (We had) three three-and-outs starting the game with their starters."
On David Akers…
"David Akers hit the big 59-yard field goal, the longest of his career. That was fantastic."
49ers Player Quotes
San Francisco Center Jonathan Goodwin
"It's a challenge for anybody to come into a new system and learn things. The good thing is that we are finally playing for real. It's always good to get a game under your belt."
On the play of Colin Kaepernick…
"I think he played well and I think he played a game that he is going to be able to learn a lot from. Seeing the live bullets and at times stepping up very nicely. (He was) staring down the gun and making the throw….He forced a couple of balls. He is going to learn from that as well. Several times he got through his progression very nicely and got the ball to the back on the fourth read. He got a good amount of reps. I'm glad that he got them. It will be a good learning experience for him."
