I know he's not very polished, ... But he'll fit in perfectly with my new eight-year plan to get this team to the divisional round of the playoffs.

I think we made a little mistake last year not throwing him in there sooner. He would have struggled a little bit, but when he did play, he was very good.

Our depth in the secondary, particularly with our nickel back and dime back coming in, was not good last year, ... I'm glad we have Kelly Herndon. One thing about Kelly, he'll battle you. He'll physically play the game with you, and that's what you need, what you want.

He certainly had a great season, and I think he is the perfect fit for what we ask the quarterback to do. It just takes a little time to feel comfortable in the offense, and now he is at the point he's very comfortable.

I've been fortunate enough to be around good lines before. Those guys [on the 49ers' line] were together eight, nine years. Since free agency, this group is the best.

It's probably something we're going to have to baby a bit all year,