By admin 
All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner didn’t mince his words after the San Francisco 49ers took it to the Los Angeles Rams in their season opener in Melbourne, Australia.
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“I think it was definitely a matter of us feeling like we got stronger as the game went on,” Warner told reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground after thumping the Rams, 27-7, on Friday in Australia (Thursday evening in prime time for U.S. viewers). “The opposing team, it felt like they withered away.”
Warner had the most eyebrow-raising quote of the 49ers’ postgame press conferences ahead of their 16-hour flight home, while many of his teammates sidestepped questions about the disparate approaches the teams had before the game. The 49ers got to Australia a week early for a normal week of practice, while the Rams stayed in L.A. and arrived just over a day before kickoff.
The result was profound. The 49ers put together a dominant performance on both sides of the ball, playing perhaps one of their most complete games of the last two years against the presumptive Super Bowl favorites.
“The stadium was awesome, just how filled it was and how high it was,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “It felt ‘Gladiator’-ish.
“… There was a lot of red out there. And they were yelling all game (and) they sing pretty good too.”
Receiver Mike Evans, who scored a touchdown and caught six passes, five of them for third-down conversions, was surprised the Rams arrived so late in the week.
“When did they get out here, seriously?” Evans asked a reporter, who answered. “Oh, dang!”
The 49ers were able to get four practices in during their week in Melbourne, while the Rams practiced at their L.A. facility and left Southern California on Tuesday night.
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“It was definitely worth it coming a little bit early. I feel like we got acclimated,” Evans said. “… We didn’t complain. We actually enjoyed being out here in Melbourne.”
Christian McCaffrey, who is mostly known for his stoicism in a press conference setting, told a funny story during his podium session after he ran for 68 yards on 10 carries, adding five catches for 20 yards.
It was about the differences in the English dialect between Australians and Americans.
“I was getting a haircut a few days ago, and one of the barbers looks at me and goes, ‘Looks cracker,’” McCaffrey said, drawing laughter from the room and George Kittle and Deebo Samuel at the podium. “I was like, ‘Sorry, what did you say?’ I didn’t know what it meant. I guess it means it looks good.
“He said it again. And I’m like, ‘Dude, I hear that every Sunday.’ So that was good. We had a good moment. I enjoyed all the slang.”
Shanahan says no Achilles injury for Stribling
It appeared as though rookie receiver De’Zhaun Stribling was getting his Achilles looked at by trainers after it appeared he went down with a non-contact injury in the first half.
Shanahan said Stribling is dealing with an ankle-related injury, though the severity remains unclear. The good news is that it wasn’t his Achilles.
“They checked his Achilles, they said that was intact,” Shanahan said. “But they’re not exactly sure of the magnitude of the ankle injury.”
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