Jaguars’ Liam Coen Prepares for 49ers Test — Here’s What He Said

For a partial transcript of his comments, read below.

On the challenges of facing 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan

Coen: “Very well coached in all three phases. Offensively, very detailed, the wide zone, mix it with some gap and perimeter and then just the illusion of the run with the formations and the keepers, the boots and the play pass is all pretty clean. They’ve done a nice job. I have a ton of respect for Kyle, obviously offensively but also as a coach with what he’s been able to do in San Fran, playing against those guys for so long being in LA.

So, defensively they fly around, there’s a huge, clear distinction in terms of the way that they play, very similar to the defense we just played and the way that they attack, the way that they run to the football, the way that Fred [49ers LB Fred Warner] tries to take the ball away and then on special teams, very well coached. [49ers Special Teams Coordinator] Brant Boyer's been an NFL special teams coach for a long time and you can see that the way that they play on [special] teams very similar to the way that they play on defense and very similar to the way that they try to run the ball and impose their will physically on offense. So, a lot of respect.”

On what makes 49ers LB Fred Warner a unique player in the NFL

Coen: “The athletic ability, obviously. The length. His ability to dissect all the different schemes, he plays with a ton of patience knowing that he does have the ability to go run, change direction, redirect, dissecting the pass game and making plays in zone coverage. So yeah, I've competed against Fred for a long time and a ton of respect obviously for the way that he plays. We've got to make sure we get a hat on him in every possible scenario.”

On the biggest takeaway from playing the 49ers last year with Tampa Bay

Coen: “I don't think we ran it great in that game. I know we didn't have Mike [Buccaneers WR Mike Evans], CG [Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin] or J-Mac [Buccaneers WR Jalen McMillan], I think we were really down. Baker [Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield] gave us a chance at the end of the game, we went down, had a chance in the red zone to go win the game, ended up settling for a field goal and then they had a two-minute drive to go win it. So, it's the physicality, it's going to be a very violent game I can imagine again. They don't really panic.

Like they've been to Super Bowls over the last few years, been in division championship games, so they do know how to win. Obviously, they're 3-0 with the injuries that they've had, speaks so much to probably the culture, the way that they operate, the way that they practice. So last year was just we were down a little bit, no excuse because they've been down guys too and found ways to win games and we just didn't end up pulling that one out. I thought we played hard, thought we played tough, we played physical, we just didn't make enough plays in the pass game, really to go and stretch them at all to make them respect us.”

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