NFC Notes: 49ers, Bears, Seahawks

49ers

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan had high praise of rookie S Talanoa Hufanga and mentioned that Jaquiski Tartt‘s return doesn’t mean he’ll replace Hufanga in the starting lineup. 

“I like ‘Huff’ a lot,” Shanahan said, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports. “I think he’s played well. No, Tartt doesn’t automatically get the starting position. We’re not sitting here trying to replace Tartt, either.”

Shanahan added that they were eager to get Hufanga playing time prior to Tartt’s injury and expects both to play in Week 11. 

“I think Tartt’s played at a high level for us for a number of years, can do a bunch of things,” Shanahan said. “But even before he got hurt, we were trying to get ‘Huff’ in there, too, because of what ‘Huff’ has brought to the table. But we’ll see how the week goes this week. I’ve got to see where Tartt is at, but I expect them both to play if Tartt’s healthy.”

Shanahan said he’s been pleased with Hufanga playing without any hesitation on the field. 

“It looks like he’s not just thinking about that on game day,” Shanahan said. “It looks like he decided on Wednesday how he’s going to play. You can see it in everything he does and there’s just no hesitation in his game. And that’s what I want to see, 11 guys out there not hesitating and flying around.”

Bears

Regarding the Bears’ four-game losing streak, HC Matt Nagy compared to last season when they also held a four-game skid leading into their bye week. 

“We had a bye week last year, too. We lost six games in a row with a bye week stuck in between,” Nagy said, via ProFootballTalk. “The only way to get back to it is say, Why is this going on? It’s no one’s fault other than everybody’s. And now we pick the pieces up, and we get a chance to play a great football team that’s really well coached at home. And what are we going to do about it?”

Seahawks

Seahawks LB Bobby Wagner said he spoke to WR D.K. Metcalf after he was ejected from Week 10’s loss to the Packers. 

“I just was talking to him wanting him to understand that this moment was bigger than it needed to be,” Wagner said, via Gregg Bell of The News Tribune. “That’s really all it is.”

Wagner added that his time with Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor with the Seahawks has helped shape his career. 

“I’ve been around a lot of passionate people, like ‘Sherm’ (Richard Sherman) and Kam (Chancellor). Sometimes the camera caught it, sometimes it didn’t. This is a passionate game, a game played with a lot of emotions, and sometimes you need a person to bring you back in.”

Wagner recalled heated moments during his own career and doesn’t think Metcalf’s ejection was alarming.  

“No, it doesn’t concern me,” Wagner said. “I think it’s part of growth. There’s a lot of growth when you (first come) in the league… I remember having moments when I was kind of angry and frustrated and things of that nature on the sidelines. But I wasn’t at the level (of stardom and excellence) that he is with everything he has going on: the chase down (in Arizona last season of Budda Baker in a famously fast 100-yard sprint on a goal-line interception), the stuff that he does off the field, with his hair. So it’s like there’s a lot of eyes on him. They are always going to be looking, and seeing. I don’t think anything that has happened is out of the norm.”