Fred Warner had some pointed and honest comments for his 49ers teammates after\u00a0a frustrating 23-17 loss\u00a0to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the assembled media after the game, the three-time All-Pro explained what he told the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told the team in there that it\u2019s never going to be an issue of us playing hard, we always play hard,\u201d Warner said. \u201cWe got so much talent in that room, we\u2019re always going to play hard. But it\u2019s about playing smarter, we have to protect the football, on special teams, we can\u2019t give up that blocked punt. And then defensively the game plan, when we say we got to stop the run and got to be good on third down and we don\u2019t do either of those things, it\u2019s going to be a long day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n“We’re always going to play hard, but it’s about playing smarter.”<\/p>\n
Fred Warner illustrates how the 49ers’ defense needs to adjust\u00a0pic.twitter.com\/JFH3JHrsKU<\/a><\/p>\n