Jim Harbaugh wants no water cooler talk

Jim Harbaugh just held a conference call, and here’s the full transcript.

He addressed the Frank Gore trade rumors first, then he got into the rest of the team’s performance from last night.

Q: Have you guys ended camp mode or are you back in that mode this week?

HARBAUGH: We’re in training camp mode.

Q: Will you be in that through the third game?

HARBAUGH: We’re in getting better mode.

Q: Will you name official starters at positions? How do you approach this?

HARBAUGH: Week by week.

Q: Frank gore, has he approached you, do you sense unhappiness?

HARBAUGH: No I don’t sense unhappiness in Frank.

Q: Has there been contract talk recently?

HARBAUGH: Even the things you just alluded to, reports, conversations, talking points, things you’re asking me right now, I mean it all is and sounds like water cooler talk to me. I’m not interested in the water cooler talk.

Q: So there’s no substance to the reports?

HARBAUGH: I don’t think there’s any substance to the things that you’re asking me and the examples that you’re citing. We will deal with frank man-to-man and we won’t listen to the water cooler talk, so to speak. We’ll just deal with Frank and his agent. Like I’ve said all along, hopefully soon there’s a deal that’s fair for Frank and the 49ers and I’m looking forward to that and I know that our organization is.

Q: Do you have depth at running back and you don’t have to use Frank as the bell cow?

HARBAUGH: I see good things from our backs but there’s no bold statement agreeing with what you just said there, no. Frank’s a tremendous player and I also think the other backs we have are playing well too.

Q: What are your impressions of Xavier Omon?

HARBAUGH: There’s opportunity there. Xavier’s been someone who’s been improving and hopefully he continues to do that. And that’s the mode we’re in, we’re in the mode to get better every day. I don’t think it’s too much to ask to get 1 percent better every day. You do that for 30 straight days and you’d be 30 percent better. Everybody’s got that opportunity and I’d say he’s doing a good job taking advantage of it.

Q: What are your impressions of last night’s game after watching the film?

HARBAUGH: Well, a lot of things, a lot of things that we did right, that we can improve on, there were a lot of things.

Q: What does Braylon Edwards’ catch tell you about the type of wide receiver you’ve acquired?

HARBAUGH: He’s got the size and body and know-how to body people up and make tight-area catches. That particular play for example. He brings that physical nature when he caught the nine yard stop route and turned it back up field and ran physically with authority. That was impressive. He blocked. I was very happy after watching the tape that our receiver have really responded in the area of blocking. They’re all making the effort down after down to go dig safeties out, and run off corners, blocking at the point of attack, down at the line of scrimmage. I’m really pleased that our guys have taken that to heart and they’re executing that because it takes courage to do those things and you don’t have an effective running right without the receivers doing that.

Q: Anthony Davis had a couple false starts in these first couple games and Alex Boone is having a good camp. Is there a chance Boone takes the right tackle job?

HARBAUGH: I was pleased with the way Anthony played last night. I felt he made improvement from the 1st week to the 2nd week. He did so in practice and I thought he did so in the game. That doesn’t diminish Alex Bone either. He’s competing and he’s working hard. Both guys are working extremely hard and they’re all working hard together. There’s starting to become some cohesion in that room which is encouraging. They’re both good players, if that answers your question. If you were trying to dimish one player over the other I don’t see that right now. They’re both working very hard, both competing very well.

Q: Does Kendall Hunter add a new dimension to your offense?

HARBAUGH: He’s definitely got the ability and the license to do that. I was also pleased with his block, the one in particular where he took it head on and got in a great football position, got low and executed the pass protection very nicely. That and what we talked about last night, the fact that he’s coming from a background as a running back that is not similar to the one he’s doing now. In terms of what we’re asking him to do I think he’s progressing very nicely and just getting better every day. He could definitely emerge into someone who could be a real contributor for us.

Q: Who’s winning the center competition between Adam Snyder and Jonathan Goodwin?

HARBAUGH: Both working hard. Everybody on our offensive line played pretty well, pretty darn well. Real improvement from last week to this week both in practice and in the game. Those two guys in particular. I watch them both, I study them both in meetings, and on the practice field, they way prepare themselves, how important it is for both of them to understand the offense. They’re both in new situations – Adam’s in a new situation playing center, and Jonathan a new football team. I think they’re both doing a good job.

Q: Are you going to bring in another punter to practice this week and is Andy Lee’s hip still not a long-term issue as you said last night?

HARBAUGH: I don’t think it will be a long-term issue. I don’t know how long it will take to get right, so it would be a possibility. We’ll assess that. If he can’t punt this week or would be limited in the game we would definitely have to consider bringing in a punter this week.

Q: How do you feel about the way the secondary is shaping up, especially the cornerback position opposite the side of Carlos Rogers?

HARBAUGH: Feel good with Tramaine Brock and Tarell Brown, both were in position to make plays last night and did. Madieu Williams had a good ball game. Dashon Goldson really showed some dart from his safety position. It’s still coming. Dashon’s only had about 8 practices so there’s some rust there but I really thought last night he made a jump and those practices sessions are paying off for him as well.

Q: What about Phillip Adams? Where is he in terms of coming back from the ankle fracture?

HARBAUGH: I don’t know if I could give you a percentage of where he is percentage-wise as it related to last year. I see him making improvements daily, growing in his confidence. If I went back a week or two ago, I could tell it was bothering him physically and also mentally thinking about it, and that’s been getting better every day. He showed a nice punt return last night, some natural instincts. He got the ball north and south and he seemed to be running more naturally on the ankle.

Q: Could he factor in the conversation with Brock and Brown for one of those backup spots?

HARBAUGH: Could he? He’s already factored in. He’s already in the conversation. He’s competing.

Q: What was your response to violence that happened after the game outside?

HARBAUGH: I was saddened by that. I feel for those people that were injured. I didn’t know anything was going on during the game, I didn’t know anything about it. I feel bad for the people that got injured and for some people that had to see that, ushers in the stands and anybody that had to witness that. I feel bad for our organization that when you sponsor an event that those things happened, so, saddened.

Q: Do you approach the third preseason game as the most realistic dress rehearsal?

HARBAUGH: No, no, not the most.

Q: What is the most?

HARBAUGH: The next one, the next game is the most important one.

Q: So you mean the fourth preseason game?

HARBAUGH: Correct.

Q: How much of an adjustment do Special Teams have to make?

HARBAUGH: Yeah, there’s no carryover from last year, so it’s offensively it’s defensively it’s Special Teams for us in our situation here. That’s the biggest thing, there’s no carryover. We’ve got to install schemes and get guys playing together. Special Teams guys are playing together as much as the offense, as much as the defense, they’re all playing together. Yeah, there’s a learning curve.

 

 

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