[linchao]

SANTA CLARA Solomon Thomas Color Rush Jersey , Calif. (AP) — Nick Mullens knows how to make a good first impression.Whether it was wearing a suit to his pre-draft interview with the San Francisco 49ers or setting records in his NFL debut, Mullens has proven that he can get off on the right foot in a new situation.Now the key for Mullens heading into his second start for the 49ers (2-7) on Monday night against the New York Giants will be building on the big performance he had last week against the Oakland Raiders to earn that second chance.Instead of getting rushed into action on a short week with no real practice, Mullens gets the benefit of a full week of work with his teammates as he tries to match the three-touchdown performance in a 34-3 win over the Raiders last Thursday night.“He doesn’t have to cram everything in in a day and a half,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Thursday. “He’s got the whole week to kind of let it saturate, learn the play calls, spit them out easier, gets to throw some full-speed balls to all our players where last week there wasn’t one full-speed rep. I think it helps prepare him more and makes him more comfortable going into the game.”Mullens has felt comfortable ever since joining the Niners. He impressed people by dressing up for the interview and even though he went undrafted out of Southern Mississippi, he showed enough to stick around last year on the practice squad.Mullens kept working hard https://www.49ersfan...glinchey-Jersey , knowing the offense as well as anyone and improving at working under center after spending so much time in college in the shotgun that he had to watch YouTube videos to teach himself how to drop back properly.“He worked as hard as anyone last year and he played scout team safety all last year,” Shanahan said. “We spent most of last year this time messing with him on how bad his backpedal looked and things like that, on tape. But, he was a guy who just, he knew he had to do that, that’s how the league works. You don’t have enough guys to practice and he didn’t just sit there and mope about it because I get how people could because it isn’t a fair situation. But, he found ways to work on his own, to grab guys after Jimmie Ward Jersey , to go out late at night and do stuff. He’s obsessed with getting better and he’s needed the time to do it and it helped him get ready for last week.”That hard work paid off when Mullens got his first chance to play in a game when C.J. Beathard was hampered by a sore right wrist.Mullens completed 16 of 22 passes for 262 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 151.9 passer rating last week. That’s the highest since the merger for a player in his debut with at least 20 attempts.Mullens also joined Hall of Famers Jim Kelly (1986) and Fran Tarkenton (1961) as the only QBs to throw for at least 250 yards and three touchdowns without throwing an interception in their NFL debuts.That made it an easy call to give Mullens a second start this week, although Shanahan said he will evaluate the quarterbacks on a week-to-week basis.“I don’t think it was too tough of a decision,” Shanahan said. “Our team played really well and he played well. It was going to be hard to not give him the opportunity.”About the only time Mullens got flustered was when Shanahan kept talking after relaying the play call into Mullens’ helmet. Mullens got frustrated enough that teammates said he told Shanahan to quiet down even though the helmet offers only one-way communication.That ended up amusing his teammates and lightening the mood in the huddle.“Sometimes in the huddle, you hear the play call and you’re ready to repeat it …,” Mullens said. “I was just ready to call the play.”Shanahan joked that Mullens will have to yell at him louder if he wants his coach to hear him on the sideline but he understands the frustration.“That’s always the dilemma for coaches and quarterbacks. It’s funny because I know if I was a quarterback and someone was yelling in my ears, I would handle it much worse than those guys would,” Shanahan said. “I struggle. I’ve almost gotten in trouble with head coaches for saying the wrong thing when you’re trying to think and make a play call and someone’s yelling in your ear Dwight Clark Color Rush Jersey , it’s hard to think.”NOTES: LB Reuben Foster (hamstring) and S Jaquiski Tartt (shoulder) didn’t practice and will be questionable this week. … WR Pierre Garcon (knee) and LT Joe Staley (veteran’s day) also didn’t practice. … The 49ers promoted DB Greg Mabin to the active roster from the practice squad and signed CB Tarvarus McFadden to the practice squad. Smokescreen central at the 49ers latest media availability"You can tell pretty quickly during these press conferences that most of these coaches and general managers have no interest in speaking at these things. Before the draft, most of these guys know they’re not going to say anything. San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch opened up with a sincere message on the passing of Reggie Cobb. That set a genuine tone for the next 30 or so minutes Lynch spoke. Here were the six biggest takeaways from yesterday’s media availability.Two at the top?You can spin what Lynch said in a couple of ways. It certainly sounds like the team would be comfortable trading back. The guessing game to figure out the group of players that “separated themselves from the pack” is fun. Is it two to three? Or did Lynch tell us 10 for a reason. The follow-up question was just that, but Lynch declined to answer.Bosa’s social mediaOn Monday some old tweets/instagram posts resurfaced of Nick Bosa involved in some not so great things. The tone of the majority that comment have come to the defense of Bosa. It feels weird to turn him into the victim here. Lynch did a good job of letting us know just how much goes into these decisions. Lynch also mentioned how when he was in Columbus he had a chance to talk to just about everyone in the building. I’m sure he’s done his due diligence on the matter.Quinnen is in contentionLynch, on if Williams is more of a nose tackle or a three-technique, “He can play anything, that guy. He’s special.”On the future of Solomon Thomas and Arik Armstead That sounds like this is the 49ers giving two athletic players one last chance. If Kocurek is truly going to run the “Wide 9” defense, that will be a significant change to what the defense looked like last year. I know Lynch downplayed it, but changing your launching point two yards is a big deal.Staley staying putThat just feels right. I imagine Joe feels the exact same way. In my short time getting to know everything 49ers https://www.49ersfan...urbridge-Jersey , Staley is already my favorite 49er. Easy guy to root for. Feels like “one of us.” He just so happens to be one of the best players at his position.A cornerback on Day 2?You’ve mentioned feeling good about Solomon Thomas and Arik Armstead. I would assume you feel similarly to CB Tarvarius Moore and CB Ahkello Witherspoon, but just given that CB Richard Sherman is not going to be here forever, are you taking a close look at corner in this draft relative to how you feel about Moore and Witherspoon?“That’s another one of those positions where I think you have to consistently add those guys. We’re throwing the ball, just at a rate this league, we’re in nickel packages upward to 70-percent of the time. You’ve got to have those guys and you’ve got to have great depth at that position. I think you’re always focused on trying to find good players. We took a chance on [CB] Jason Verrett because when healthy Jason Verrett was a top-level corner so we felt the risk-reward made sense in that instance. That’s an example. When you have an opportunity to improve your team there you take advantage of that.”So, a cornerback is coming. Maybe earlier than we expected?