SANTA CLARA — Internal strife has accompanied the 49ers’ free fall to last place, but coach Jim Tomsula and other team leaders are downplaying it — for now.
Tomsula said Tuesday that he had a “heated” team meeting after an Oct. 4 loss to the Green Bay Packers, with players given the floor to vent once Tomsula exited the room. Now, nearly four weeks later, the 49ers (2-5) aren’t convincing anyone they’re a harmonious bunch on the upswing.
“The biggest thing I said to them was, ‘Guys, it’s like an Italian dining room table, OK? Everyone is sitting around the table, and sometimes it gets heated, dishes get broke and people leave,’ ” Tomsula said Tuesday on KNBR 680-AM, the team’s flagship station.
” ‘But everybody’s got to come back to the table to eat. OK? When it’s all said and done, there’s hugging and kissing, and we’re eating good food again. OK?’ I mean that with all due respect. I’m saying that complimentary.”
Tomsula termed that meeting “very productive.” It hasn’t stopped reports of ensuing locker-room discord, however.
A Fox Sports report Sunday claimed Colin Kaepernick has isolated himself from teammates and is “on an island,” to which Tomsula said: “That’s definitely not reality.”
Running back Reggie Bush also stated that the embattled quarterback is not a loner. “I see him interact all the time,” Bush said. “On the football field he’s always talking to guys and working with them and talking and communicating. As far as I’ve seen, he’s doing a great job.”
Another report stated that a teammate “called out” Kaepernick in last month’s players-only meeting, prompting another teammate to quickly defend the embattled quarterback, according to Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.
Safety Eric Reid, one of the 49ers’ nine captains, publicly advised his teammates Tuesday to stick together.
“I don’t think anybody needs to start a yelling-fest, point fingers at anybody,” Reid said. “That’s what we don’t need. We have to understand the mistakes we had and correct them.”
Reid was one of three players the team separately ushered into the media room Tuesday at Levi’s Stadium. Locker-room access hasn’t been available since Thursday night’s 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, which is standard protocol because of the altered schedule.
“It’s easy to dig up stories and say things when your team is not playing well,” Bush said. “The most important thing we can do is focus on us, block out everything outside and try to go out and win this next football game.”
The 49ers, 0-3 on the road this season, play Sunday at the St. Louis Rams (3-3).
While a calf injury has limited Bush’s impact during the 49ers’ offensive struggles, Kaepernick has been at the forefront of criticism, despite the offensive line’s consistently poor performances.
“He’s young and he still has, I think, a long career left in this game,” said Bush, a 10-year veteran. “We’re all struggling. Nobody is playing well on offense right now. We can all be better.”
Tartt, a second-round draft pick out of Samford, has played about 20 percent of the defensive snaps. “He definitely hits hard. He can cover,” Reid said of Tartt. “He has all the things you need to play the position. He’s shown that. I mean, he had a tackle for a loss on Marshawn Lynch, which might be the hardest tackle to make in the league.”
Bush has eight carries for 28 yards and four catches for 19 yards this season.
Sunday’s game
49ers (2-5) at St. Louis (3-3), 10 a.m. Fox
