QB Michael Vick

On how his hand feels today: "It's a little sore, but I just have to do what I have to do right now and that's get back on the field as fast as I can."

On how he has tested the hand in practice: "I tested it in the walk-through and it's pretty painful, but I have to do what I have to do. I have to get out there and support my teammates, and try to get back into it."

On how sure he is that he will be able to fight through the injury and play on Sunday: "I think there's 100 percent chance that I'll be out on the field this week. I just want to be out there for my teammates and hold myself accountable for my responsibilities and what I have to do as a quarterback. Regardless of what I have to go through, I just want to be there."

On how the pain he experiences now compares to what he felt on Sunday: "It's getting better because I'm getting treatment, but it's still painful and sore in different areas. Hopefully the guy from IE can come in and put the pad up there and make it easier to bear with the pain. I'm pretty sure he'll do that."

On the biggest obstacle playing with this injury: "Just blocking it out. Like offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg always tells me, it's all in your mind. I'm trying to take that kind of approach and hopefully it'll work. I think it will. I'm just going to try and go out there and not think about it, and that's what I'm going to do."

On whether he worries about fumbling and ball security with the hand: "I was thinking in my meeting today that the most important thing this week will be to protect the ball. The good thing is I don't put the ball in my right hand and I'm predominantly left handed when I'm running the ball. I just have to take care of the football and even if I have two hands that are 100 percent, I still can't turn the ball over. It's just something I have to mentally prepare for, and I think I'm strong enough to do that. I have to go out there and be mentally conscious of everything going on around me."

On what the biggest challenge will be this week for him: "The biggest challenge will be facing the 49ers. They're a good team defensively and they've done a lot of good things. They have some great players and pass rushers, and they have some good players on the back end and they just play hard, good football. We have to bring our A-game."

S Jarrad Page

On whether he has looked over his shoulder with all of the defensive shuffling going on: "You don't worry about that. The second you start worrying about that, you definitely won't be starting. You just go out and do what you can do. None of that stuff is in your control. It's in your control that you go out and make plays, but that's it. Any other decision is not for you to make. You don't even worry about it."

On whether the defense will be shuffled until the coaches find a combination that works: "I can't tell you that. I don't know how things will be handled but I know we have to play better. Whatever they have to do to have our unit playing better, that's what they'll do."

On how close the unit is to playing better: "I think it's very close. I think if you sit on the film and look at it, we're very close. We're a couple of inches away here and there, and that's how the National Football League works."

LB Jamar Chaney

On what LB Brian Rolle has done to impress coaches and get an opportunity to play more: "Just getting to the ball. When you're a linebacker and you go out there, no matter how many opportunities that you get and no matter how you're doing it, as long as you're getting to the ball and making plays, that's what you need to be doing."

On how long it will take for the new group to come together: "I don't think it's going to take a while. They need to find three guys to go out there and play how they want them to play, and that's who is going to start."

On facing a tough and physical running back in San Francisco's Frank Gore: "They're a great offense with one of the best backs in the league. They have a big, physical offensive line and you know they're going to run the ball, so we look forward to the challenge. We consider ourselves improving every week, and we look forward to improving on what we did last week."

RT Todd Herremans

On whether the offensive line has been taking too much criticism: "You know what? When the quarterback takes hit, your linemen are going to take hits. That's the way it is. It doesn't really matter what I think, it's just the view on it. It doesn't matter what I think because he's getting hit too much, and we have to come together as a team and solve it somewhere."

On how much that hurts the team to have him miss game time action: "Exactly. And not having him be able to practice throughout the week. It's all stuff that gets in the way of us developing as a squad. The important thing as an offense is that the other 10 of us who are out there need to do what we can to keep the hits off of him."

WR Jason Avant

On what he thinks it will be like to play through an injury like Vick has: "I don't know. I can't really comment on that. I've had a broken hand, but that's totally different. He's a quarterback and he touches the ball every play. I can block a person with one hand, catch it with my fingertips, receivers are way different from a quarterback."

On whether he can sense Vick's frustration that he hasn't finished the last two games: "Anybody who doesn't finish a game would be frustrated because you want to. I think the team understands the circumstances so we wouldn't want to put any added pressure on him or anything like that. We see the frustration on his face, but by no means do we get frustrated by it."