GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Observed and heard in the locker room after the San Francisco 49ers 23-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium:
Amid a stunned and silent locker room, running back Frank Gore, the 49ers’ longest-tenured position player, had little to say after the loss. He paused for up to 10 seconds between questions before offering no answers. Finally, he waved off the media horde and said, "I can’t talk right now. Sorry." Then he buried his head in his hands. Gore had 10 yards rushing on six carries, and rookie Carlos Hyde carried the ball three times for 13 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown.
Receiver Anquan Boldin owned his unnecessary roughness penalty for head-butting Cardinals strong safety Tony Jefferson (Boldin got away with a similar action in the playoffs the past season against Carolina’s Mike Mitchell), but was quite steamed at the disparity and timing of penalties -- San Francisco was flagged nine times for 107 yards; the Cardinals drew five flags for 36 yards. "If you look at it, it’s unbelievable," he said. "We’ll send the tape into the league, and they’ll say, 'We made a mistake.' But [Arizona] got 30 yards down the field (on those calls), and some were coming at crucial times ... if you’re going to call it, call it both ways." Boldin can probably expect a FedEx folder with a letter for a fine at his locker this week.
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick, again rocking his big-lens sunglasses inside, shifted his stance again in the wake of a report that he used the "N-word" last week, which got him a penalty for "inappropriate language" and a fine of $11,025. After saying last week, "I didn’t say anything," he said he did not say anything "racially deragotory" to Lamarr Houston. Pressed on the issue, Kaepernick then said, "I talk on the football field -- yes, I do." It cast a pall over an already dour locker room.
