NFC Notes: Nick Bosa, Kyler Murray, 49ers, Cardinals, Rams

49ers

• 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said DE Nick Bosa looks “ready to go” for Week 1 after missing their preseason as he held out for a new contract: “He looked exactly how we expected: In real good shape, looks ready to go. … I think he’ll do alright. The hitting is less of a concern. It’s more about stamina,” per Cam Inman. 
• Bosa is unsure of the workload they are planning for him in Week 1 but he is comfortable playing his usual amount: “I’m confident. I’m not sure what Kyle’s plan is. But I’d be up for a normal workload, for sure. But I haven’t talked to him yet.” (Inman) 

Cardinals

Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon had high praise for Kyler Murray and thinks the perception of the quarterback not being passionate about football is “completely wrong.” 

“He loves ball, he loves ball,” said Gannon, via Zak Keefer of The Athletic. “That was the other thing, the narrative on him — completely wrong. Completely wrong. Everything I’ve asked him to do, he’s done, more so. Have I challenged some of his actions that I didn’t love? Yes, and I’ve talked to him about it.”

Gannon recalled moments he had to bite his tongue when he was the Colts’ defensive backs coach and Eagles’ defensive coordinator. 

“I know why I bit my tongue,” Gannon said. “Because of politics in the building, where my seat was, I didn’t wanna offend somebody, whatever… I don’t have to do that now, and it’s f—ing freeing. This is the best job I’ve ever had.”

Rams

Rams HC Sean McVay said he’s holding their younger players to a high standard and wants them to focus on correcting mistakes. 

“I told them, ‘I’m not going to apologize for having high standards for what they’re capable of,’” McVay said, via Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic. “There is a tolerance, there is an understanding (that) there’s going to be a lot of mistakes. It’s the repetitive ones (that draw his criticism), when we get a little bit tired and you’re not really thinking and it’s stuff that we’ve done over and over again.”

McVay thinks it’s important for his team to have mental and physical toughness. 

“There’s a premium on physical and mental toughness that we’re placing on this football team,” McVay said. “When we got away from that, I think I was less mentally and physically tough. And I think that’s really important for us to be that, if we’re going to be the team that we’re capable of.”

McVay wants to get back to his “roots of working hard” after a down 2022 season. 

“How do we really want to play, offensively and defensively and on special teams?” McVay said. “How are we problem-solving before those problems present themselves? … If you don’t have something going the way that you want, go back to your roots of working hard to try to figure (it) out … how do we provide solutions for our players as opposed to attributing talent or ability or ‘Oh, I’m just good at this.’ That’s not the truth. Work has always been at the foundation of that. What comes as the result of that? More resilience. More solution-oriented thought processes, as opposed to a fixed mindset.”