I’m linking this because it seems like a lot people prefer responding to my dad’s blogs on my blog rather than on facebook.
My dad wrote a response to your responses to his column on the boringness of Jim Harbaugh. Here it is.
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Stupid Questions
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grant werent you already asking somequestions asked by the bloggers?if im not mistaken there were a few that were taken and asked.seems to me your dad is a little peeved at the responses he got.no disrespect to you or your father,but thats just my take.
Its always interesting-not a real surprise- that Harbaugh can be all hard assed and Nixonian in San Francisco. As long as he wins. As somebody who doesn’t beleive in Karma..I’ve seen the rotten get away with being rotten until the day they died,no cosmic fairness intervened,I’m not holding my breath Jim becomes personable.
Sorry to say-I see the 49ers making sure only freinds of the team will get more time with Jim.
My question to Jim? Why are you such a pompous ass?.
Stan i listened to Hue Jackson’s interview with KNBR this morning. He was friendly, he was open. When pushed on certain questions that he didn’t want to answer, he changed his answer up without changing his stance.
I too wish Harbaugh was a little more friendly with the media. You want to love this guy for everything he’s done but his personality at his pressers leaves a lot to be desired. If I were a reporter handling the 49ers, I would dread having to drive in a do that interview. But it’s those scenarios that actually make you “better” at your job. I am sure covering the 49ers and dealing with Harbaugh forces the media to better prepare and ask more unique questions.
Being honest here BAF-As I watched Harbaugh grimace and turn away -and his back on Lowell…I felt about him the same as I felt about Demarcus Cousins when he was talked to by Jim Korzimar on Comcast.
Two,entitled -by success- men who feel free to be as arrogant and rude as they want. Jim doesnt play the game?..who’s Jim to remake the rules of being polite? If ignoring questions when asked-one he listened too,then-just turned away!..I’ve never seen that before!..ok,I have– with surly rock stars.
Woody Harbaugh wants to turn the clock back..too bad Jim.
Harbaugh has our Niners winning .Who gives a crap about how he deals with the media. Think ever one got a little tired hearing i gotta look at the film from Dingleberry. I guess some would prefer that
I NEVER cared for Singletary. I said that was a mistake the day he gave his speech about smash mouth. I foresaw dull losing football.
So what if Jim turns his back and does not answer questions from certain reporters it’s his right to answer who he chooses.
You need to think before you type Stan.
Harbaugh isn’t there for your approval nor to make the sports writers feel all cuddly. I find him to be dead-on ironic. And he also has a wicked and very subtle sense of humor that the Stans of the world will never get. He reminds me more of Sonny Barger than any coach. He has a crew and he backs them all the way and the feeling is mutual. Next year players and coaches will flock to the Niners hoping to get on board.
As far as responding to Lowell, it is very difficult now that you have to do it through a dump like Facebook.
I do believe in karma and it is friends, not freinds…
He’s there to entertain me. Nothing else. And rude coach’s dont entertain me. Jim don’t pay my bills. Screw his attitude.
For millions a year..to be so condescending when he does answer. Like a trained lout.
Subtle?..you really mean..unfunny but he doesnt care.
Stan, you’ve really lost it. Harbaugh is there to entertain you? What makes you believe this? His job, which he is being paid for, is to coach this team to the best of their ability, and then some more. He’s doing that. These press sessions are nothing more than league imposed brand building, to feed the masses, yet I really doubt anyone would notice, or care, if they were taken away. I wouldnt. I get more entertained reading Grants recounting of his in-locker room experiences. Id rather that coach is spending that hour reviewing film then telling us that “The golf course looks good, my swing feels good, I like my chances!”
blah blah blah who cares stand other than you.
Maybe a lot of us have tried to participate in your Dad’s blog through Facebook and failed. Maybe someone with an interest in your Dad’s blog should provide some assistance to him and his audience.
BANG too-they offer hotmail,Yahoo accounts as alternative. Yet,when I used them..my posts were sent..but never showed. If PD allowed alternatives to FB,the crowd would return. I mean,I can vent all I want on Bayarea Sports Guy Blog but I miss the smart people who would answer my Lowell’s blog post. All I get are SF GATE types using alias…scumballs,
The PD obviously doesn’t get it. You don’t change a blog and force people to do it your way. You accommodate your users by offering them what they want. The simple solution would have simply either kept Lowell’s blog the way it was OR give him the same format as Grant’s. You don’t have to be rocket scientist to figure something this simple out.
Right..PD knows the demographics of Lowell reader..brilliant well read people who don’t care for Facebook censoring free speech.
The interaction was the best in internet sports..ruined by a paper calling itself Democratic.
Brilliant, well read folks who know squat about grammar and punctuation, right Stan?
Streetglide-your the anal type who read papers LOOKING for typos or spelling mistakes to feed your gratification that you have no real argument or point to make. Just you found a spelling bee mistake. Pitiful.
My post was asking for help using the new Cohn Zohn. I’ve tried asking for help via email directly to Poppa Cohn, but so far I haven’t found any assistance. As usual, anything posted in this blog attracts the bicker-bicker crowd.
why doesn’t he ask JH why he is rude …. why write it in an article in an attack mode….. and then get upset and come at the fans….. turn that so called professional acumen into a perceptive keen question…..i have watched some of those press conferences …. looks like you and yours are going down the path that the pen is mightier than the sword…. i say so what and shame on you and yours for besmirching a wonderful turn around story….
Windsor then the relationship sours. It will eventually anyway if Harbaugh doesn’t loosen up. I think the 49ers brass will force him to loosen up because he is required to do these press conferences.
I remember Montana no doing many Ira Miller interviews, so Miller turned on him. He wrote many nasty Montana articles. We severely disliked Ira in our household because of it.
Well,There are some business investors who wish they had felt like Ira before,not after,giving Joe big money..
who is souring the relationship….not JH in my opinion….by attacking JH in the press with print vs a perceived body inflection at a presser is taking it to the next level…..game on
this will be an interesting story to follow just like it was interesting for me to watch the niners’ turnaround …. this kind of started a few weeks back when LC suggested he got along quite well with BW and therefore, because he was successful in the past he should be given a pass with JH and get the same kind of level of interaction….sounds like LC will need to prove himself…..not unlike the AS story…he proved himself in HS and college….but has had a rough go of it in the NFL…. now AS is possibly at the beginning of a comeback so to speak….he is intelligent and he is pretty damn tough and will any other hidden attributes emerge…. i don’t know ….oh crap did i bring AS into this
Yes you did : )
Grant, if you link your Dad’s columns on your blog then you should allow criticism on your blog as well. Since you don’t allow anyone to criticize your Dad then why post the articles?
Because its his father you want to insult. Whats so hard to understand?
There’s a big difference between constructive criticism and insulting someone.
Woddy: I agree complete.
I’ve seen that constructive published-Neal zinged on Harbaugh..I think that what you MIGHT think is ok..well,its his Dad..you crossed the line.
I would delete anything insulting to my dad,mom,family,..even good old dog. Man,lay off my goldfish.
maybe head coaches jobs are to address the media…..doesn’t mean he has to appease them….this head coach’s job was to turn this franchise’s field performance around….and it probably has taken a whole heck of a lot of his energy to accomplish this 13-3 task…. at this point in this turnaround story i don’t care if the media is bored because they act like reporters and maybe because they are not effective journalists …well except for the negative which yours has decided is the path to go down…
maybe he should have waited until the offseason to address this point of contention and keep it in the house a bit and maybe he would have gotten some give back going into the next season….but vinegar is what yours has decided to spew so be it…..good luck with future interactions with JH after calling him rude in public….maybe football and media doesn’t mix ….or maybe this is yours’ way of bringing in east coast stchick into the process
sadly, it won’t help with that east coast bias
I hope his suggestion for readers offering questions is a sincere attempt to improve the quality of questions. If it’s not then I call shenanigans. Lowell’s job, how he earns part of his salary, is not to come up with interesting questions but instead, get interesting responses from JH. The quality of JH’s responses is relative (I actually enjoy them/don’t find them boring), just like the quality of the questions asked is relative. I just think that a high quality journalist would be willing to share some (not most) of the burden for uninteresting responses.
One of the reasons I like JH conferences is because he doesn’t waste a lot of time b.s.ing with questions he ins’t going to answer honestly in the first place. I prefer a simple, “I don’t feel the need to answer that.” to a five minute, cliche-ridden diatribe. My humble and unprofessional suggestion is not to ask better questions, but to have more questions ready. If JH doesn’t seem responsive to a topic, quickly move away from it. Maybe you could note which questions he doesn’t answer and ask them less frequently.
I think it’s also important to note the distinction between uninteresting and uninformative. If journalists really want more information out of him then… ummm… Have a nice day!
“Now to the stupid questions. The journalists in that room are experienced and good and know how to ask questions. Believe me.”
Not from the transcripts I have read. Not all, but some of the questions definitely border on the dumb side. I would put the redundant questions in that category. I will agree that some of Harbaugh’s answers are on the dumb side, as well. But I am more interested in wins and football entertainment vs. press conference entertainment.
As for submitting my question per Lowell’s challenge – not my job. I am just an “opinion” poster. I am just here to give my opinion on the topic at hand.
I would agree with you that the question I have read that media ask Jim would be kinda annoying. The media is real good at creating a story that was not even there.
My impression of the interaction with JH and the media is that he is direct to the point of being borderline curt. Is that his intention? Not sure but his first priority is to the TEAM. JH is precise (as Grant pointed out yesterday) with his words for a reason. Think about it, politicians are professional mouth pieces and how often do they let something slip and it ends their career? In the field of sports, remember Cosell on Monday night football? Not a good way to end a brilliant career. Let your guard down something not intended to be discussed slips out and then it is damage control or major backpedaling.
In the age of digital media, any slip of the tongue or to miss-speak it is all over the internet. What is worse, being a stiff and calculated or being a loose cannon? LC just did an article on the HC over in Oakland after their season ending loss to SD. Do you think Hue would like some of those words back?
Maybe at some point JH will take a step back and enjoy his success a little more by not taking the presser so seriously. This is not the year to do that. Success comes and goes. Lose the edge and the team’s success does a 180.
Hofe, I heard Harbaugh on KNBR on the Murph & Mac show. He said that this mornings interview would be his last. His focus would be dedicated to the team. With so many interviews throughout the week, he mentioned that the story gets ‘stale’ by the end of the week.
He also suggested that M&M should interview some of the players who would likely be more interesting. Harbaugh would rather do his work on the sidelines than behind a ‘mic.’
Gotta love it!
AES, agreed. More important to win games than be the media darling. All good!
JH is not here to appease the media. At the end of the season, how is his success determined? W-L or how well liked he is by reporters? I have watched a few of his pressers and he constantly gets the same questions. Scheme/game plan and player availability. He will give his non-answer to a question that has been asked, and then a new reporter goes on to ask the same question mildly reworded. Do they really have that low an opinion of Harbaugh? Hehe, if I change a couple of words maybe he will slip up, hehe (devious grin)!! That is what I hear.
I could not care less if reporters don’t appreciate his demeanor and I don’t believe fans should really care either. If he is getting results and the organization is happy with him, who are we to judge?
Once again, Grant, your dad is obnoxious. I know he’s your dad, but I for one would prefer not having his column forced upon us. Maybe your mom has a column I’d like better. Or do you have any brothers? An uncle, perhaps?
It wasn’t forced upon you Wilson. He posted a link that you could click on to read if you wanted to. If you don’t want to read it, don’t click on the link.
I thought Lowell’s article was funny. Harbaugh doesn’t like our questions because they’re stupid, he doesn’t like our questions because they’re questions. Classic, and hilarious!
Also, asking all of those who call his, and the media’s, questions stupid to offer up their own questions was very funny, too. It’s easy to criticize what some else does, it’s entirely different to do what someone else does better than them.
Media are irritating and Coach Harbaugh is pompous. So what? Just win baby and it is all good.
Not everyone does the fascist commie FACEBOOK
Who does you dad think he is any way? Its just a football team and to some it is a matter of life and death. Your dad is a jerk! Why doesn’t he just retire anyway?
Woody would be proud of you.
One other thing why do you cover for him anyway? Do you still need him to tuck you in at night? Do you still need your blanky CohnClone?
See? Thats REAL constructive!
Let me guess-your a Republican?..well, its no guess.
Have any of you ever watched a Belichick PC? Harbaugh is a million laughs compared to Belichick. I don’t think the questions asked are stupid; they just can’t be answered by a HC who wants to keep the opposition guessing. I understand why the NFL institutes this policy of Coaches having to do these pressers every week, but it gets tedious because you know the HC won’t answer any questions that revolve around strategy and there’s really little else anyone wants to know about at this point in the season.
I watched the presser yesterday and I didn’t get the sense Harbaugh was being rude. In fact he extended the period when he decided he wanted to talk about the team and then answered more questions after that. I think he just gets tired of getting asked the same questions over and over again along with questions he nor any other HC will ever answer. It’s part of the job but I don’t see any HC’s that enjoy doing it.
JH was not on the job for a week before the so-called sports writers around the Bay started getting their digs in. It reached a crescendo after the New Orleans game in the preseason.
Then the Niners started winning once September rolled around. So now the writers begrudgingly said maybe JH could coach after all. But Jim has a long memory, and he has forgotten more about pro football than the combined intelligence of the entire Bay area writing clan. He’s played the game and been good friends with some of the best and brightest coaches in the league. He grew up dirt poor and he survived far worse than some namby pamby writer sneering at him in print, and I am not calling out anyone in particular when I write that.
You can say anything you want about him, he is a hell of a coach and a gentleman. I like him a lot and wish him nothing but success together with the once downtrodden Niners…
Besides, some of the questions at the pressers are really, really…really stooopid!
Perfect grammar…Jeez,that was too easy.
guess brilliance doesn’t cover sarcasm
To those who defend Harbaugh chiefly because the 49ers are winners right now, I hope you are
not raising any kids with the same attitude.
Harbaugh appears to hold the press in contempt—or he sure fakes that atttitude.
Showing some maturity and understanding, that the press has a job too, would be a pleasent change. A calm “I can
not answer that right now, because……….” would be reasonable.
Exactly. If you cant handle winning..
and how is he not handling winning…
he is architecting winning
And what attitude is that? Not showing Mother Theresa patience with a bunch of whiny reporters?
The other thing parents could take from this, when someone throws a temper tantrum because they aren’t getting their way you never give in.
Since Harbaugh’s obnoxious behavior isnt a one week-but every week and getting worse..who’s throwing the tantrums?
Why is somebody who has faced the press since high school..acting like he’s just been dropped in from Mars? “Who are you people? Why do you ask me such questions?” bah! Phony.
Stan where do you get “obnoxious?” You shouldn’t have retired so young. Seems like you have become a real grump.
What tantrum is he throwing? The writers are the ones coming to him hoping to get something worthy of writing and he doesn’t give it to them. JH isn’t the one writing articles and posting them on the web crying about being harrassed by reporters.
How is he being obnoxious? Is it because he doesn’t answer questions the way you want him to? If this bothers you that much, there isn’t really all that much left to be said.
I said it at the beginning of the year and I’ll say it again, Harbaugh believes in information control. He isn’t going to say one thing to the media that he feels will reduce his chances to win a football game. That makes it very frustrating for the media members covering the 49ers but as a fan I care more about performance on the football field rather than how charming JH is behind a podium.
I watched the presser on the 9ers website. Harbaugh’s PR guy said that the questioning was over when Jim made an point of highlighting some extra details (noting 22 quarters without a turnover, congratulating Akers and Lee on their terrific seasons). In this part of the presser, with no questions, Jim had a real glint in his eye saying how it was great that Akers had a record in the history of the game. This then led to extra questions where Jim was a lot more forthcoming, talking about Seely and detailing how Crabree has improved and and how his personality has evolved within the building.
The point I wanted to make was that the answers improved when the questions were coming from a positive, celebratory point of view rather than, “How injured is Gore” , “Did you think Swain and Hastings played well”, or even the questions about his brother, which seem to be pushing him towards a story that he clearly didn’t want to emphasise.
It’s Jim’s job to be professional and manage the information coming out from the building whilst fulfilling his obligation to the press. He won’t criticize his players or give details on injuries, that is his clear policy, everyone who follows the blogs knows that. If you want him to be nice, ask him positive questions that celebrate the achievements of his players. Does this make for sexy, hard-hitting, exclusive stories. Probably not, but this is sports journalism not Watergate.
He’s done that on a few occasions. After the Steelers game the reporters were asking question after question about the blackout and how theteam dealt with it and after about the 3rd or 4th questions Harbaugh stopped and started talking about how proud he was of the offensive line. He’s really big on pointing out the achievements of his team.
and there u have it…..it is all about the team and the accomplishments….not about what needs to be fixed….he doesn’t want to play that game in the media…he takes care of it in house were he has control along with his staff to make a difference with coaching….because after all he is a coach….
and to compare JH to cousins is just stupendously stupid…..just like comparing AS to JM…..or is it
@ street well put, I guess u have to understand his type to get the humor, or to enjoy the way JH and the media go back and forth.personally I enjoy the hell out of it and love the fact that we r winning…. AGAIN.
on a more serious side of football..ive been tyring all morning to get tickets to the game before preparing for my first trip to the bay area.the wife and i have plane tickets.hotel,which i believe she said was the mariott.the problem is cant find tickets.nfl ticket exchange was a no go.one site had them at 400$/each.hey i do okay in life but this trip may have to cancelled if i cant get a better deal.fellow niners please help out with any info on tickets
With all due respect to GC and PD, one of the other big blogs (NN) has a post with how to get a hold of tickets. Don’t know if you have checked their sources but I did see that post.
thx,i really want to be there in the stadium.we are discussing maybe just tailgaitig and then going to a local bar if we cant find reasonable tickets.the wife has a friend in sacremento that she hasnt seen since she transferred out there so we will have plenty to do doing the weekwe are there
No problem. I hope you are fortunate enough to get tickets to the game.
Hi grant, your dads article reminded me that I’ve been meaning to mention this to you. You have been asking for questions to ask during press conferences on your blog for a few weeks. I think it’s been a great idea and really makes your readers feel involved in the process. I haven’t asked a question myself but I have noticed that you have picked and used some of the questions others have posted. It has to be a
great feeling for a poster to actually have their
question used by you in such a forum (coaches press conference, locker room interview of a player, etc.). Thanks again for doing it- it is also a great business model.
Granted the questions you pick might still be questions you wouldve asked anyways (no problem with doing that) and in your dads case he may just pick questions that he knows Harbough won’t answer just to prove a point. Many of the questions that fans usually want to
ask and many of the ones posted on your blog
by readers have almost zero chance of getting a
response. Even if they do, many times they are
leading questions, or too easily suitable to
yes/no answers or the type that can easily be
brushed off. Your dad makes a good point-
really poignant, put you on the spot, type of
questions harbough avoids by just saying he
doesn’t want to answer. The “dumb” questions
he gives short empty responses to. So there is a very delicate balance with the types of questions that need to be asked to get the most out of him. And honestly, the problem goes both ways: 1-harbough taking things a little too far and needs to scale back just a little. 2- the reporters need to become more creative at asking questions that gets harbough to “give” a little more.
So, I wrote this on my phone and quickly, so I apologize for typos and if I wasn’t as clear as I couldve been.
Grant,
I don’t think the questions are stupid. When I listen to Harbaugh he is most open to talk about the success of his players, or respond to questions that are not scheme related or specific to what they are trying to do. For the most part it seems like you guys are banging you head against the wall here.
Try this type of question, X player has shown s tremendous amount of improvement over the year. Can you give us some things that you can attribute to that?
I’ll answer that hypothetical question.
JH:
“Player X has shown tremendous improvement, as has the rest of the team. Everybody on this team works really hard, and that is why they are constantly getting better and the team is getting better.”
Oh boy, what an informative response! Actually, the question was hopeless because the inevitable response would be nothing more than garbage positive hyperbole at a high level.
The challenge and theme of this thread is for perceptive fans to come up with specific intelligent questions to ask Harbaugh, and to predict his response.
Oops. Not so easy is it?
Hey Lowell how about asking him about cutting Braylon Edwards and the need for a WR, especially heading into the playoffs? Swain and Hastings didn’t exactly light it on fire last Sunday.
Oh yeah, difficulty rating 7/10. I don’t disagree with cutting Braylon and I certainly don’t want TO, but that leaves us pretty short of WRs. It’d be interesting to see what Harbaugh would have to say though.
oh that was tried in a negative way with hastings and swain….something like did they contribute to the game because we (reporters) know they didn’t ….looks like JH cut that line of questioning because it probably would have led to a Moss or TO thread….and then there would have been a lot of front office inferences taken from it etc…..
this is a blog where all kinds of opining occurs …. and this probably happens at 4949…..i just don’t want to be privy to it and neither should the press because it takes away from the organization from performing at an optimal level when deal making
As someone who gets his comments regularly censored by young Grant, I could not agree more with those that have questioned the thin skins of both father and son.
What respect can anyone have for bloggers that dish out harsh and sometimes inaccurate criticism of players and coaches yet deletes anything that is even faintly critical of them???
Man up dudes and be prepared to take what you dish out.
Wow, I didn’t get censored. Amazing.
Hey Lowell
Too bad about your blog change. Let me just say journalists are not stupid. Let me add that the most skilled journalists know which questions NOT to ask. Do not ask Harbaugh standard questions. Ask questions about his life, his approach to the game. Ask him why Kyle Williams didn’t get in sooner (1 out of 10). Ask him what he believes are Kyle Williams’ best attributes, and to describe his journey to semi-featured WR (6 out of 10). Ask him what he perceives are challenges peculiar to the NFL as opposed to the NCAA (7 out of 10). Ask him to list his Top-5 moments this season (8 out of 10). Ask him why Chilo Rachal is still on the team (0 out of 10).
Get the picture?
Here’s to the PD recognizing that you, Lowell, need your own wall back.
Best,
JC
agreed!
@V
You the same one who posted a few months ago?
Welcome back!
I don’t know if Lowell’s questions are stupid, but when I read his articles once or twice per season, they are very dumb.
I think Harbaugh is masterful in his handling of the media.
Stan, you saying Harbaugh is there to entertain you is one of the dumbest things I have heard. last time I checked, he’s there to win games…that’s it.
Winning is entertaining isnt it? And afterwords,I dont want to listen to the school BMOC make Ann Killion giggle as he plays the bully.
I CAN call the shots..like a taxpayer with a politician. Fan and team.
And its baloney that he lights up and smiles to praise his team after leading questions….then gets that arrogant rise when he’s asked something not on his list.
He’s trying to edit the press. To hell with that.
If winning is entertaining….Are you not entertained?!?!?
Again, he holds the pressers because it is in his contract but he does not have to give answers that make the reporters and certain people in the public feel all warm and fuzzy inside. His success is based on the team’s production, not whether beat writers love and adore him.
When I was pre 30.. I would have thought the same as you-”Who cares about the reporters?” ” He wins,don’t bother him”.
Since then-I see his attitude as looking through the wrong side of the ‘scope of choice. He has everything he could ask for right now…just for coaching football with young millionaires. So,maybe he’s just too shallow to show some humbleness. He’s like the ugly American-”Why dont you people be like me?”
@Stan
You have it backwards my friend.
If JH does not care about what the media thinks of him, then he is NOT worrying about what people think of him like yor ugly person analogy implies.
I think Harbaugh is being nice to the press, certainly nicer than I would be. During the preseason the press was all over him, especially Lowell, for bringing back Alex. Then they were all over him for losing in the preseason with only two weeks prep. Now they are all over him for not answering their questions. Please, go get a life!
Grant does a great job with this blog. He is entertaining, he is fresh and brings a perspective that no other sports writer does – like letting us ask some questions or taking us into the dynamics of the locker room. To many of these other writers are too full of themselves. That is why I don’t blame Harbaugh one bit. Now, if Grant complained about Harbaugh I would be more inclined to listen because I think Grant is very fair in his reporting.
i agree grant did do a nice job with some superficial locker room dynamics…..it was entertaining….
The last place to play “the get a life card” is with reporters and columnists who’s LIFE IS TO WRITE!…it pays THEIR bills.
Harbaugh should understand that..a different angle to a story is natural. It just burns me(uh,relatively-lol) for a guy who’s been interviewed for over 30 years now-play innocent and annoyed.
Stan, we all work, maybe not you, to pay our bills. When things don’t go my way in my business or something becomes much harder than I expected and it becomes more difficult to pay my bills – I don’t whine. I try a different approach. If you are going to whine all the time you do need to “go get a life”.
And that goes for any job you do. The press gets no pass with me. Quit the whining!
You must not read your posts Dennis-you whine all the time-like we all do, and have taken sides that were so wrong-it was obvious dogma based conservatism.
Harbaugh worship is more dogma…
You are right Stan, but this isn’t my job. I do this for fun.
Dennis-you whine,you whine about people who whine,you whine while drinking wine….
eh,couldn’t pass that up!.
“Coach, you’ve got either Detroit or New Orleans coming in, two very different teams. How do you prepare your team this week before you know who’s coming? Do you prep the team for both? Neither? Do you work on your own timing and adjustments? What’s your approach?”
I give it a 7 out of 10…BTW sorry to clog your blog with this…I just refuse to get a Facebook account…
right on Shark Dave!
I would love to be a fly on the wall to know why they refuse Lowell’s request ( I assume at risk)to return to a blog friendly page.
Man,-Oracle employees sure love Lowell..lol..
he already answered that
Must have missed it…what did he say?
Tiburon Dave – it was something about the NY Times small market newspapers having way too many blogs, I believe the number was over 300, and the cost of maintaining the blogs was exceeding the revenue being generated. Of course, then they sold all the small market newspapers to someone else.
Not even an accurate question. It’s not NO or Detroit. In fact there is no scenario in which the Niners face the Lions until the NFC Championship game. Tip to TibDave, get your story straight before you approach Kim Jong Harbaugh!!!
PBL…I thought the winner of 6v3 played the 2 seed…If that’s incorrect please forgive my ignorance
Dennis…I’m sure you’re right but the facebook thing also allows them to measure their metrics more accurately to set ad rates…that is if they have any metrics to measure…
Stan needs a hobby.
This is Stan’s hobby and over the years I’ve seen him be far more right than wrong…
How can you tell? I can’t understand a thing he writes.
Dave- You and Lowell must be only ones who can understand him. His posts are like fingernails on a chalkboard. He’s probably a nice guy, but man it’s like being inside a ADD brain, he’s all over the place, hedging ‘predictions’ all over so he can say “Told ya so”.
Thanks Dave!…and yes,it beats crossword puzzles!
I got you
You got me?
You got me or you get me? Because if you were pretending to be nice Dave-and didnt mean it…that’s not nice.
I mean I got your back…maybe I’m so dumb I can’t even get the slang right…meant to be nice…
Thanks Dave!
Question: All season on winning the coin flip you have deferred. Now your opposing teams are deferring on winning the coin flip.
- Why do you feel more comfortable putting your defense on the field first ?
(is it anything to do with your offense ?)
- Do you want to have as many chances to score as possible (on offense) ?
Unless you have an all world offense, it’s always better to start on D. I have been waiting for a Niner coach to figure that out. Deffering to the second half has nothing to do with how many possesions your offenese has, just when they get them. All coaches want as many ‘chances’ to score on offense as possible.
FOOTBALL people. Please talk x’s and o’s. This blog has turned into Jerry Springer online. I’m tired of reading arguments and insults and etc……. of b.s.
Grant, you’re loosing control of your FOOTBALL blog. Please fix it.
I loved Lowell’s response regarding the Stupid Questions.
The media has a really tough job covering the 49ers. Imagine yourself in their position – you are required to ask certain questions whether you think he’ll answer them or not. Things like “Any word on Gore’s injury?” “When will Delanie be back?”. They know he’s not going to give an answer, but it’s their job to ask those questions.
Then there are the scheme questions, the “what went right” and “what went wrong” questions – again, with both scenarios they are also acutely aware of what type of answer they are going to get with Harbaugh.
He’s been stand-offish about answering family questions and personal questions, but these reporters are still being lobbied hard to find out those answers (“Jim, what do you and John talk about while prepping for the playoffs”). Heck, who doesn’t want to know that. Yet again, they probably know what’s coming. But if they don’t ask, they’re not doing their jobs.
Harbaugh is a tough interview – especially since his answers are also dependent on what type of mood he’s in. Ever hear him on Murph and Mac – some days he’s chatty, other days he’s a one word with as few-of-syllables-as-possible answer kind of guy.
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t fault Harbaugh for his attitude with the media. I like a coach who thinks his time would be better spent prepping for the next game than standing in a room full of reporters. He dedicates every waking hour to this team and doesn’t want to waste a minute of his time. The preparation of Harbaugh and his staff is one of the many reasons the team is so successful. As far as I’m concerned he can be stand-offish, aloof, boring, dull, etc. as long as he keeps doing what he’s doing as the coach.
Lowell’s response was spot on – the job is a lot harder than you’d think. Trying to come up with a creative question that will get Harbaugh to open up is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I applaud them for having the guts to ask some of those “stupid” questions.
If you want an easy job as a beat reporter, then cover the Raiders. Hue’s always happy to give an interview, and the team is so dysfunctional there’s always some juicy gossip to be had somewhere.
nobile9erGirl :-)
You know I dig Harbaugh but I’m with Lowell on this subject. I prefer the Bill Parcells/Jim Mora style press conference.
I will have to learn to deal with Harbaugh’s thrilling pressers.
13-3 takes the pain away.
No arguments here – I’d rather read a Hue Jackson or Rex Ryan interview – they’re totally entertaining.
But I wouldn’t trade Harbaugh for anyone – I love, love, love that guy as the Niner HC!!
In Harbaugh we trust!!!
Now I’m really getting ticked about all of this media crap. We are FOOTBALL FANS, not press con fans!! I could give a fat rat’s a$$ about pressers or how “rude” JH is, or he doesn’t answer questions to reporters’ liking (or even fans for that matter). All I care about is that we are 13-3, in the playoffs, and still have tons of room to grow. Even JH gave only 2 word answers all year, I’d still say props to him. I think he answers all questions sufficiently or refuses to answer them. Now he could flat out lie and give false answers, they would be long “heart-felt”, “in-depth”, but be 100% false. I still wouldn’t care, if that’s what he does to help him help the team win, then so be it! They should be happy that the man is genuine in his desire or lack of desire to answer questions and he’s always straight-up with them on that. Unlike a certain coach who couldn’t tell the color of his shirt without “looking at the film”. He’s never going to answer questions to anyone’s liking but his own, and if he keeps winning and being competitive who cares, get over it.
I personally enjoy JH’s pressers! I feel like he’s ALWAYS on and focused. And I think it’s a clear indicator at how focused the entire locker room has been all season, because when those guys give interviews they’re pretty similar (especially Alex’s). So many people complain about how much “show” and “glam” has seeped into the game, but coach Harbaugh is a beautiful throwback to NFL glory and I welcome that any day. It makes me feel about football when I first started watching football with my dad as a kid. It was all about being MEN and playing to win, not putting on a “show” for the cameras; for us the game itself is all the show we need. As a matter of fact, the only time I ever felt that the media folks was able to knock him off of his “presser game” was right before the Baltimore game. They kept pressing him on the sentimentality of the game. That was deeply personal to him and he caved. I think he knew it, and he’s been even more closed off since then.
Please, let’s get off the press con crap! We’re talking about coach of the year! If you want a sound bite guy of the year go talk to Rex Ryan about his NON-playoff team. Media darlings don’t lead teams to super bowls, coaches do!
Let’s stay focused on football!
+1
How about this perspective? Premise 1: JH hates to do press conferences. Premise 2: There are certain types of questions everyone knows JH will not answer. Premise 3: There is a built in conflict of interest between JH’s job and the media’s job. Premise 4: The media is totally aware of premises 1, 2 and 3. Premise 5: Therefore, the media is either insane for asking the same stuff over and over again and expecting different results OR the media have alterior motives for continually asking these same sort of questions.
Hey, I’m not saying JH doesn’t deserve criticism for how he gives Press Conference… nor am I saying the media has any right to expect an answer to every question they ask… nor am I saying that the questions are silly. I’m just trying to set a perspective on the dynamic between JH and the media… the media and any public figure for that matter. Believe it or not, I do place news media (sports included) at least a few rungs above the paparazzi. :-)
I asked before……. Is Harbaugh that dumb when answering questions or very smart when answering. He IMO is a master at ducking questions and rambling to great lengths to suck up time, so he doesnt have to answer more questions. I know he isnt as dumb as he sounds when answering these questions. So now FDM…….. Was it that stupid of a question? Sucker!
Q. Coach, does your dislike for the media stem from being hammered by the Chicago and Indianapolis press when you were playing?
I’d give this about a 2 on the answerability scale but his facial expression might be fun.
@ Clemons
I wondered that too………but rather than it being an anti-media thing per se, I think its more about criticism in public. Confidence is a big factor in performance, so JH keeps “it” positive to keep his troops upbeat. A quote Grant posted from one of JH’s former players (was it Gerhardt?) was (best recollection): Praise publicly, criticize privately.
Its good advice in managing people, not just in football.
Oh, I just thought of a question I’d say has a 10 rating for answerability: “As of this moment, are there topics you will not take questions on?” And I’ll steal one of Stan’s LOL’s!
Hey LC,
How about a question along these lines…
Everyone has a different approach obviously but your brother is doing quite well as HC of the Ravens and he seems to have a good relationship with the media in a way that is often lighthearted and gregarious. Do you feel questions and insightful responses from a HC to the media is a personality trait or a job requirement?
Or better…Do you feel questions from the media and insightful responses from a HC is a personality trait or a job requirement?
he will just turn that question back onto the reporters….it is their article to write and their subject matter….and does not help him accomplish what he needs to do for the organization in the locker room…
He knows Doctor he knows…
Q: On ESPN Radio they were talking about NFL qb’s. The guy went on and on about who the top qb’s are and who the bottom qb’s are. He did not even mention Alex Smith in the conversation. Can this current offense have much of a chance against the Saints or Packers ?
I don’t know. Are their defenses any good?
I believe we can beat the Saints at the stick, if it was at their dome, no way Jose. The Saints are not the same playing outside, now going to Green Bay, that is another story, even when we had a really great offensive with Steve Young, we could not beat the Packers.
But that’s was against Brett Favre. Regardless of the kind of season Aaron Rodgers is having, he is no Brett Favre. I don’t know if I’ve seen a QB as relentlessly competitive as Favre other than Young.
no-name, the media and the NFL has sold us all on the “this is a passing league” premise. They yearn for the gaudy QB numbers. There’s no room in their ‘world’ for a team who boasts a QB that passes for under 300 yards a game, does not gamble away interceptions and still wins. This completely goes against ‘their grain.’ They don’t mention Alex’ name in the conversation because so far he’s been an anomaly.
I would ask JH, since we have seen the Rev underwear in the famous locker room scene. Hey Jim do you wear boxer’s or briefs?ok seriously. What is the biggest adjustment you had to make between being a college coach and a elite NFL coach? Would you rather have Andrew Luck or Alex Smith? He won’t answer that. What is your second favorite sport? Anything is better then asking about injuries. What do you dislike most about your job? Probably the media asking you questions about who is playing this week or not. Other then Bill Walsh who did you look up to as coaching guru.
A few of these seem like some good questions that Harbaugh would answer. He won’t answer questions about scheme or injuries, but he loves talking about his mighty men. Maybe ask him what he has liked about a specific position group such as the offensive line. I’m sure he would love to talk up those guys. The group has struggled at times, but I think they have made some big strides this year, particularly by Joe Staley and Anthony Davis.
Question 1:
Against Dallas the 49ers, deep in Dallas territory, kicked a field goal and received a penalty & first down. Harbaugh would not take the 3 points off the board and gave the ball back to Dallas with a lot of time left.
Later in the season (I think it was the Rams) the exact same thing happened but he took the first down instead of the 3 point (eventually scoring a touchdown).
1. Was Dallas a mistake he can admit too? 2. does he have a solid policy on this or is how he feels at the moment?
Question 2:
Why not use Anthony Dixon in different rolls other than running back? Perhaps use him like Delaney Walker? The kid can run in open space.
@dennypat
I would not say mistake. It was an experience.
1. Consider Dallas is a better team, so you may well be fine taking the points. As opposed to the Rams. If you don’t get any points there (Rams), you can make it up later.
I don’t think the 2 are really similar. If both teams are good or bad, then you have something.
2. Dixon is a RB. Very different I imagine from TE. Just from the start of the play. TE is going to get contact immediately. RB can have a split second to move around/react/etc.
But I would like to see more of Dixon near goal-line/short yardage situations. I think he is learning not to dance so much and just go straight. So he is ideal in these situations.
Why doesn’t Lowell or Grant just ask why Harbaugh acts the way he does in pressers?
Maybe they’ll get an answer they can use to make them better.
Why the hate on Facebook?
I totally understand why folks don’t want to use it to comment on blogs – there’s enough loonies in the world that post that you don’t want to see your private details. Who wants them banging on your front door in the middle of the night.
But away from blogs, what’s wrong with it?
Nothing as long as you don’t mind being tied in to everything on the planet and having slimy advertisers trying to anticipate your every move.
Yeah, then there’s the creep factor.
Hi DS94everXev
yeah your probably right about Q1.
Q2. Dixon is now a vet. If we can turn a defensive end into a fullback, I’m thinking we can find new ways to use Dixon. Just to much natural talent to leave on the bench. It could give us an extra punch.
Hi Dennypat
Are you new? I don’t remember you. If you are new, let me welcome you to the blog!
I like AD a lot. I like his energy and his eagerness to do anything to help the team. I would think he would be a perfect fit for JH’s player attitude philosophy. But, from an outside observer like I am (fan), it seems like he is in the outs somehow with JH.
I would definitely like to see more of AD on the field. I’m thinking maybe the issue he has as RB (dancing) may be a harder thing to overcome perhaps in the process of being converted to TE. Bruce Miller, our FB was a DE. A position which I interpret pretty much as go get ‘em. Not so unlike how I interpret the FB position (there is the Defender, go block him). So the same mindset is there for both positions.
I don’t think the mindset is the same for a RB and a TE. RB’s are usually very instinctive. TE’s need to learn a lot more technique, and relies less on instinct I think.
For JH especially, I always hear how he wants to use TE’s a lot. Move them around a lot, shift them, etc. That may require skills/training that AD simply does not have at the moment. But his willingness to do special teams (and do it well and enjoy it) tells me that he is perceptive to the coaches ideas, so maybe.
And, we can see what happens when the players are perceptive to the coaching (AS and even FG this year after the Philly game). lol
yes. I could see both sides of the coin. A HC that doesn’t feel the need to entertain the media and the media who collects a pay check by interviewing “boring” HC’s. Whatta a Dial-ma ……
I have no beef with what you said about reporters asking questions. It seems that Harbaugh does not like to answer questions almost to a pathological degree. It is almost as if he is suffering from a mile form of paranoia. Oh well, just win baby. But if the winning stops then his eccentricities might become more glaring and annoying.
By the way, Lowell, John Skelton is now 6-2 as a starter this year. If Cardinal receiver Doucet did not trip over his own feet two weeks ago against the Bengals, Skelton would have engineered a 23 point fourth quarter comeback and he could be 7-1 as a starter on a one dimensional team without a running game. Two years ago he was quarterback for Fordham against Lafayette in the Patriot league . So give him some credit. Smile.
How about some real questions Grant, like “Do you feel like you’ve made any mistakes dealing with the media?”..that’s pretty good.
@Stan
JH will either not answer or so “No”.
True..and then smile…then,Ann Killion will laugh loudly.
I don’t know Stan. I think I see JH peeking over towards Mindi Bach more. lol
Harbaugh on THGAMES version of the softball KNBR crew..He wasn’t evasive-no. They never asked a tough question. It was 10 minutes of Jim going down the list of players who are great…its was like Jim was accepting an Oscar award and wanted to thank all the people who helped him.
And-WHY does 95.7 tell Dan Dibley to say nothing? He never said a word. No impish Dan to bother Lord Jim? ..like he can’t take it?
A question for the Cohn family to consider in a separate article. I know that Lowell has touched on Hue Jackson’s press conference after the Charger game – truly one of the more remarkable throwing under the bus sessions I have ever read. I’m sure that both Jackson and Harbaugh have huge egos, but one of them seems to manage it a lot better than the other. Also, you never hear Harbaugh criticize his players. Not once. So I guess I’d be interested to read Lowell’s or Grant’s (or both) opinion on how the different these two coaches are. I just think that Jackson’s over-inflated sense of self worth is going to be his downfall. And, I never thought I’d say this, but I think Jackson may be an even worse head coach than Mike Singletary. While Singletary does not have the knowledge of X’s and O’s like Jackson does, at least Singletary could lead a locker room of men.
It seems to me that Lowell used to have a thicker skin. Whatever, Harbaugh is certainly reticent, but he is an interesting guy and a great coach. And the reporters really do ask a lot of lame questions.
Dude, get a job. You spend way too much tie on your man-hate for JH. It’s getting creepy…
Random thought:
If Harbaugh is really not boring and everone only wants to talk football, then why did “Full Harbaugh” get the fewest amount of comments this week?
Exactly-and the worst of them -like streetglide-reads EVERY post of what he says he doesnt like. He must be a SF Gate Splash type..
Grant, I’m getting in late on this, but here’s my two cents:
1st- The Facebook deal has disconnected me from Lowell. I won’t go there, so I guess I’m done with replies to the Zone.
Granted (no pun intended), coaches have obligations to the Media, and I want to know every detail inside JH’s mind; what he thinks, what he plans, what he sees in his minds eye, how he feels about the issues, etc. As a consumer, I want it all, at no cost.
In your opinion, does JH fulfill his obligation to the media? Does he refuse to hold press conferences, does he jerk you around with the Media schedule? My impression is that he meets his obligations, but is perceived as evasive because he’s not forthcoming with the information you and I seek.
Do you feel that as part of the coach’s obligation to the Press, that he answer every question asked of him? If asked tomorrow, “what is your specific game plan for beating New Orleans next week?”, or, “do you plan to run Frank Gore 25 times nest week?”, etc, etc, would JH be obligated to answer in a full, detailed and honest manner?
Where is the limit where obligation ends? If put into JH’s shoes, how would we answer if our responsibility is to our team and owner first, then the news people?
We all filter our answers to best suit our purposes, and JH’s purpose does not lend itself to full disclosure. I understand this and as much as the press tries, god bless you all, I’d be shocked and disappointed if my head coach turned his back to discretion. He is in a cut-throat, high-stakes situation and if him I would be absolutely mute concerning intension, player evaluation and strategy. It is of no benefit to he or his team to answer some questions, and if it does not benefit the team, why answer?
You have your job to do and seem to be doing just fine without psychoanalyzing another coach, We’ve had enough of that with Nolan and Singletary (and wow, weren’t those some great press conferences?)
After every game you writers all give grades to the team units, including the coaches. This year the grades for “Coaching” have been uniformly very positive. I don’t ever see a grade included for “media friendly”, because after all, how big is that?
To borrow from Clinton, “It’s the GAME, stupid”.
What say we all get on the bandwagon and back up our coach? I love Lowell’s stuff, but it seems very premature to nit-pick JH’s methods. 13-3! He deserves a passing grade
And IF he was asked questions you consider relevant..it wouldn’t be long before he complained you wanted to know too much of that..He’s that way.
You’re probably right, and I suppose that’s the point. He is what he is. Some of us are good with that and some aren’t. C’est la vie.
Given the strong reactions Lowell invokes in his readers, it is clear his blog survives on sensationalism and riling people up.
Not very professional, in my opinion
What I find interesting is that when JH does radio interviews with the guys on the radio, they generally ask him questions that are real football questions, not sensationalist questions or questions that show a grave ignorance for football (or the culture at least). And I think because of the questions the radio guys ask him he gives them much more of an answer. I think the fact that he’s only talking to two people instead of a pack of reporters might have something to do with it too. I think JH loves to talk football, and if he doesn’t feel that a question is legitimately football related then he doesn’t want to talk about it (i.e. Q: Will your captains wear a “C” on their uniforms? A: “That’s not football, that’s hockey”. No further explanation.) couple that with scheme-related & injury-related questions, and that leaves a very narrow window of topics that he WILL talk about.