Three downs with …49ers Head Coach Mike Nolan
1. On coaching the team his father coached: “It means a lot. Having lived here for a length of time, a lot of my early memories as a child were here. My love for the game originated here by being around the locker room and the players that were here. So, a lot of my memories go back to that.
“In trying to restore the 49ers, it is something that when I took the job was a huge challenge and it still is. We’re in the process. We’re getting ever so close all the time. I guess just because of so many memories, so many great memories I have in coming back to the area are what make it special as much as anything."
2. On his familiarity with Brian Billick: “I think that Brian knows me and my philosophies about certain things, and I feel I know the same about Brian’s, not only because I worked with Brian, but probably because I competed against him as a coordinator before. There’s a lot of history between the two of us. I know that I’ve got tremendous respect for Brian, as well as Rex Ryan on the other side of the ball.
"In some cases, that gets overrated because it does get down to players on players. It’s a physical game and it’s a game of physical matchups. Brian and I obviously aren’t going to have a physical matchup to determine the outcome of the game. But our decisions that we make, whether it be to run the ball, pass the ball, blitz, something in the special teams, anything like that does affect the game."
3. On the Ravens’ offensive progression: “It looks to me like they have more weapons than they may have had when I was there. The line is young, but it looks like a talented group of guys. I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for Steve McNair.
"I think he’s an outstanding leader and I think he’s a guy that not only the offense believes in, but the defense players do as well. Looking at their offense, I just see them as the same tough unit that they were before, but with a very competitive guy pulling the trigger.â€
Three downs with …Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis
1. On his memories of Trent Dilfer: "He was just the ultimate team player. I think you just love playing with Trent because no matter what Trent went through, Trent always kept it positive. Just being able to play with Trent, no matter what happened in the course of a practice or a game, Trent was always able to just come back.â€
2. On playing on the road: It’s you, all 53 men and your coaches that you go out there with, that’s all you have. You can’t look for anybody to help you. You can’t look for any enthusiasm. You’ve got to create your energy because everything is going to be hostile. That’s why we enjoy playing at home, because it’s a very hostile environment. Anytime you go on the road, it’s always going to be tough."
3. On the 49ers’ last-ranked offense: “I know they’ve got a good running back over there in Frank Gore. I know they like getting him the ball, whether it’s running, screens, checkdowns, whatever. He is a football player.
"He’s a great young player. I think the main challenge for us right now is just going in and trying to deal with another running back. We take pride in it. So, it’s going to be another good challenge for us.â€
