SANTA CLARA – This is the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Friday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers.
Any complaints?
“New haircut there, [Bay Area News Group beat writer] Cam [Inman]?”
I got it in Atlanta. I like to go to barbershops on the road. Sometimes I win, sometimes I don’t.
“High and tight, looks good.”
What resonated with you from your chat with John Madden on KCBS Radio in San Francisco this morning about getting ready for the Super Bowl?
“Some of the advice he gave. Thought it was really good insight. Some that I have never heard before. And shared it with the team just a few minutes ago.”
The no complaints one?
“Yeah.”
Did you like that one a lot?
“I did. I did. I did like that. Yeah, some people could say what’s there to complain about, you’re in the Super Bowl, right? Well, I know where he’s coming from.”
Along those lines, do you remember and can you use what you went through in 2002 with the Raiders to kind of help you along in this Super Bowl trip?
“I think everybody’s, anybody’s experiences we’ll all use to cumulative affect thing, yeah.”
Does anything jump out at you from that 2002, from that Super Bowl?
“Yeah, a great team. Really well-coached team. Great players. Record-setting season. We learned a lot of football that year.”
Are you giving any general instructions to your guys? Like have fun for the first few days, or buckle it down at a certain time? Is there anything like that you’re telling them?
“The things that we always emphasize as a team, and that’s studying for the test. Preparing for the challenge and the task at hand. What we’re going to do today. What our expectations are for today. And that’s to have the best day that we could possibly have, meetings and practice. I want them to enjoy. I want them to enjoy every minute. And especially enjoy the competition. And that’s the most exciting thing to look forward to, is playing the game. That ball being kicked off. And working together, fighting together, playing together for a chance to win a championship.”
Have you established any off-field rules for next week yet? Or will you let your captains do that? Or what will that, how will that, what approach will you take there?
“Yeah, we’ll have a schedule. We’ll have rules.”
Can you share them with us?
“Share the…?”
Off-field rules?
“No. I don’t think they apply to you. Do you want a curfew? Are you going to have a curfew?”
I need rules.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. Protect the outside world from the media and protect the media from the media, yeah. We could come up with a few.”
The 8 a.m. interview sessions will take care of a lot of them…
Media wise you’re going to be asked to cover a lot of ground you’ve plowed a lot this season. You’ll have a lot of media obligations, obviously. Is that something you can enjoy as far as trying to appreciate and enjoy the Super Bowl experience?
“Not quite understanding your question.”
Well, you generally don’t like to cover a lot of questions that you’ve answered time and time again. Obviously, that’s going to come up quite a bit I would imagine. Super Bowl week you have a lot of media obligations. You talked about Madden saying no complaints. Is that something you can enjoy as you try to appreciate the Super Bowl experience?
“Yes. I don’t know where you’ve gotten the impression that I don’t enjoy talking to the media, or the fans. I do enjoy these sessions.”
Can you expand just a little bit on what Colts QB Andrew Luck told you about QB Colin Kaepernick after the Broncos QB Peyton Manning passing camp and just what you were hearing from him at the time?
“That they were friends and they hit it off. And they really enjoyed each other’s company. That was the main thing. He said who he liked. Who he liked hanging around with.”
And did he tell you anything about his physical skill or what have you? And just pitching off of that and what prompted you to kind of go down and visit him down in Reno?
“Well, let me say this that now’s not really the time for all that kind of talk. Because all those questions, all those answers are going to lead a lot of self-promotion and somebody trying to take credit. And the one that has the greatest share in that is Colin Kaepernick. What he’s accomplished, what he’s done. We’re so happy for his success and the kind of young man that his parents raised and his family, his hometown and his high school coaches and college coaches. This is his time and his teammates who’ve done so much for him. They’re the ones who protect him. They’re the ones who catch the balls. And defense that gets the ball back for him. Those kinds of things. So, I’d really take a pass on some of those other questions.”
I too enjoy these sessions and I wanted to ask you a question about WR Michael Crabtree.
“Why did you scoff then when I…?”
I laughed heartedly in agreement. May I ask you about Michael Crabtree?
“Yes.”
He’s an outstanding receiver. What attributes does he have that are so outstanding?
“Well, long documented his ability to catch the football. He just keeps catching and catching and catching the ball. And next his ability to get open, his route-running ability. And none of these are in order. Great receivers have these qualities. They’re like a carpenter that has a lot of tools. Can’t say the hammer or the saw is more important than the other. And his ability to run after the catch. Runs very much like a running back. And his ability to block. And his mind. He does a great job understanding his assignments and those around him. He’s very much a complete player.”
Regarding K David Akers, what have you seen him doing to try to get out of his slump? And are you or the coaches involved in that?
“Well, to try to answer the question I’d (have to) agree that he has something to get out of. He’s a competitor. He’s a football player. We all have great faith in David. He’s done a lot for our team. I believe he’s really hitting the ball well, consistently now for weeks. So, I can’t go to agree that he is in a slump. And all we can do is he can make the snap, make the hold, give great protection and him keep hitting the ball. And we all have confidence that those will go in. So, from a coaching standpoint, we’ll sure up the protection. And that’s the big part of what we do as coaches.”
About month ago, you talked about how much you leaned on former St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa occasionally for guidance and advice. And he’s obviously been in the baseball version of the Super Bowl several times. Have you talked to him at all this week? Is there anything he can share that will help you prepare for this?
“Yeah, we have talked. And nothing that I would share. Tony doesn’t quite like that when I do that. So, he has a great amount of humility. But, he’s been a very valuable resource and asset to me. I really appreciate it.”
How many resources have you sought out to sort of give you the idea how to organize this time before the Super Bowl? And has this time so far, gone about how you’ve suspected? Are you satisfied with how it’s going so far?
“Well, that’s another one of those words, satisfied, that we don’t really put into our football usage. But, the greatest share is just here. Our ideas as an organization, our coaches. Some with our players and mainly the people here in the building.”
What’s the concern level with LB Ahmad Brooks’ shoulder?
“Can’t put a real level on it.”
Do you expect him to be able to play?
“Yes.”
OK. He’s made every start I think for the last two years under you guys since he became a fulltime starter. What has he shown you in these two seasons at his position?
“Well, been fantastic for us. Played at a really high level. His opportunity to be an every-down player this year and last year, well documented the season he had last year. This year, he’s been fantastic. [Defensive coordinator] Vic Fangio made the comment the other day that smartest thing we did as an organization was pay Ahmad Brooks and keep him as a 49er. And we would all concur with that. He’s done it with very little fanfare, in terms of how he talks about himself. But, he’s been a tireless worker. Go back to the first days of the offseason program, don’t know if he ever missed a day. And been a great contributor, great leader. And really fine performer on the field.”
What did RB LaMichael James show you for the several weeks he was inactive?
“Quite a bit. His work ethic, number one, was really evident. He was taking as many reps as he possibly could. And predominately, they were on the scout team. But, he would do it as a running back. He would do it as a receiver. And really improved his hands a great deal. And route-running ability with all the thousand reps he took on the scout team. But, just great work ethic and deep desire to improve as football player and get on the field. And he’s gotten on it from the first time he’s stepped on the field. He’s been dynamic.”
What have you seen from the changes of the Ravens offense with Jim Caldwell as offensive coordinator? What have you seen as impact wise and from the film study?
“Yeah, we’re not going to get into a lot of scheme talk, what’s new, what’s different, what we expect then to do.
The way you guys use TE Vernon Davis in the passing game, how much of that is predicated on what you see the other defense do? And how much of it is his chemistry with Kaepernick?
“Can you start that again? Will we use Vernon Davis in the passing game?”
Right. How much of that is predicated on responding to what the other defense is doing? How much of it is Kaepernick just having a chemistry with him and reacting to what he sees?
“Yeah, Vernon Davis always has been, always will be a big part of our passing game. And a big part of our running game. So, that hasn’t changed or will change.”
I’m asking because obviously he was a bigger part of the offense last time in the passing game in the game against Atlanta than he had been in the previous games.
“I think in all of our routes everybody’s running, everybody’s alert. Anybody can get the ball. And the quarterback’s going to throw it to the open guy.”
Can you talk about your personal intensity level and how that translates to the team? Motivational slogans, things like that. How intense do you want them to be? Do you want them up at your level, or do you want them…?
“I think we’ve got a pretty good feel for who we are as a team and how we need to prepare. And that’s where our expectations are. Our expectations are to have a great practice today, have the best meetings we possibly can. Hopefully the best of the season today.”
You’ve had some celebrities that have come in to talk to the team. Anybody you plan on for next week?
“No. Nothing’s planned.”
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Love the 49ers, but it will be 5-1 in a couple weeks after a surprise blow out in the 4th after a close game to that point. Flacco won’t choke like Ryan, and will take advantage of the tired out defense to throw for two late TDs and then a field goal to seal it. Kaepernick won’t be able to do his thing against a quality defense, and if he tries too much, he will get lit up by the defense. I don’t expect an injury, just enough to rattle his nerves and turn the ball over in the 4th quarter when the game is on the line. Ravens will go to 4-1 over the 49ers . Sorry to bring the bad news.
The 49ers will look like they did against the Seahawks by the end of the game, basically. It will take a loss this year to get people to kick into the mindset that getting there is not enough. That’s how this team operates, too much emotion.
WTF?
DON’T FEED THE TROLLS!! HE WILL GO AWAY! BYE JOSH.
Dear twenty-three-jordan-slash,
Go make me a sandwich while you’re at it.
You heard it here first.
Josh – We beat Seattle 4 of last 5 times we played them!! 80%! Enjoy the game on TV like your team will be doing.
Crab, what’s going on? SB can you believe it! What are you drinking tonight??
Hofe!! – What up bro? 9 more days! Make sure you pace yourself on Super Sunday. 3:30 gametime means easy on the vino til afternoon Hofe. ;)
Amstel Light tonight buddy.
Is this how you approach your own life, lowering expectations for yourself so you aren’t disappointed when you fail, again?
Your autobiography: “For an otherwise intelligent man, this jedi mind trick cloak of inscrutability he tries to toss over certain subjects is puzzling. He seems completely unaware it makes him look like a total dufus.”
Josh,this is not Madeen football. The best team usually wins the SB and the Niners are clearly a MUCH better team in just about every way you can think of.
What is that line from Men in Black…Old and busted against the new hotness ? If both teams play their best the Niners will win by 2-3 scores. If the Ravens slip Valium in the Niners water before the game,the Niners will only win by one score.
And by the way,since you mentioned them,the Seahawks would also beat the old and busted Ravens by 3 scores.
Keep it going Josh. I know what you’re doing. Freddie P in the house with a shin kick deluxe. Way to go buddy. Keep it coming.
Josh .. I hear your team is going to the Super Bowl, too !! ..
(they bought their tickets way back in the preseason)
Chinkasei yaro…
Wait, it costs 5 grand to go to New Orleans and watch the 49ers lose the Superbowl to go 5 and 1, and then flights to SF will be delayed due to people doing bad things in SF. Is this what the city of SF wants? I hope the 49ers do lose. I would never spend my good money on your awful new stadium in Santa Clara until you rename the football team the Santa Clara Sabercats.
We need more great fans like Josh. I got the game as a 6 to 3 snoozer though. Obama needs to help bail out the advertisers. I see a 1969 SUperbowl low.
For an otherwise intelligent man, this jedi mind trick cloak of inscrutability he tries to toss over certain subjects is puzzling. He seems completely unaware it makes him look like a total dufus.
There’s a reason only a handful of wildcard teams have won the Super Bowl. The Ravens will be the team that looks tired in the 4th quarter. They will lose.
Now that sounds more like it.
Jim probably does enjoy watching the media folk squirm around in their chairs when he looks at them with distain and then gives them those 2-3 word answers to their mostly long winded and mostly dumb questions. I know I enjoy it !!!
“Disdain” (Sorry,never could type).
Very inappropriate man from an inappropriate owner. I hope the 49ers do so badly that the Yorks will sell the team.
Perfect! You can use these posts as the “Before” examples for your hopefully successful mental health treatment regime. Don’t go with some touchy-feely new age program, you’ll be needing serious professional help. We wish you well with your recovery.
Completly off topic,on the fourth down throw to White the first down was at the 6 if he would have caught it he landed at the 7. How come nobody noticed that. His forward momentum wouldn’t have mattered either. Just wondering.
I thought it would be close to the first down. Often players can twist just enough and when the defender reaches for the knock down he looses some of his leverage to stop that twist.
“Akers is not in a slump.” Ahem. Cough. Cough.
JH gives little and expects less from the media.
He has not been in a slump getting off good strong kicks,it’s just that they have not been going straight,lol.
Hopefully he has been saving all his accuracy up for the SB !!!
Best friend, season ticket holder is going to the game with GF, he has to fly into Houston, and rent a car then drive to Louisiana, staying at a hotel on Sat night which is 4 hours away to stadium, leave Sunday to the game. Then drive to the stadium, he already has a parking lot reserved for him, then go back after the game and do the same thing all over again. Crazy but I love it.
Once in a lifetime…go for it!
I been to one Superbowl, hope to go again.
Can somebody tell me why a legend like John Madden was talking to an arrogant coach on the 49ers that benched Alex Smith illegally and gave his job to a real drip in CK that can’t throw? Is today’s NFL about throwing a football like some high school yout? Thank goodness other QBs will always throw better then CK and someday, they’ll be winning a superbowl the right legal way.
Your a loser and a unhappy camper. GET A LIFE.
This one is for you:
http://twitter.com/WeAintDone/status/294662061672239105/photo/1
Hi Darren….
Guys do me a favor dont respond to Darren or he will polute this blog like he does Matty Barrows blog…
Bay,
That loser (Darren35) was doing the same thing on the Barrows blog the other day. How miserable do you have to be to hang out somewhere where you aren’t wanted? SMH. There is only one person I know that was hypnotized that deeply by the milky blues…..
@ Bay, Jordo, Neal, Nick, Big P
For years I found you guys to be hyper-critical of Alex to a fault. Y’all mixed it up in spirited debates with Prime,DS, and 19R; and c’mon, a lot of bull flew,in both directions, right? ; >). But I always thought you were wrong about those 3 liking AS more than the team. You were wrong about Prime, he’s still here rooting for his Niners and giving grudging credit to CK, but he’s here, one of us.
Much to my dismay, DS turned out to be who you said and has returned here under multiple personalities as an attempted Troll; to what purpose I can’t say. I’m no clinician, but it looks to me like a descent into Madness. “Illegal” QB change? “Illegal” move to Santa Clara?
What happens to someone that they get into a fan chat room and become so self possessed that they can’t enjoy the first trip to the Super Bowl in 18 years?
Tuna,
Hofer and Prime have turned around slowly but you can’t teach a old dog new tricks and still don’t give CK and JH, their proper due of respect. I always knew DS was a AS fan first, especially when he said that AS could of won multiple Super Bowls with Montana’s teams of the 80′s and he always compared JM to AS, very distorted and stupid, DS knowledge of football is next to nothing, and that has shown thru his delusional mind.
Alex is leaving
On that midnight train to Cleveland
…leavin’ on a midnight train…
They got to go, they got to go
They’d rather live in his world
Than live without him in theirs
…leavin’ on a midnight train…
Neal, more drama? I already mentioned to you after you came over from LC’s blog due to the FB issue, debate with facts, but we don’t need your drama. When was the last time you posted a comment related only to only football? Do you have anything football related to add Neal? You miss the people you criticize most!
Hof,
Fight with the wife, bad glass of wine, issue at work, sounds like you have the drama this morning, my blog was totally football related, I could care less if you disagree.
Neal, we know why you don’t post football related comments is because it’s not your forte. BTW, do you think there were *only* three here that were skeptical about starting a new QB mid season? I’ve got plenty of comments to choose from that proves otherwise. So do your homework first before looking uninformed!
HOF,
Probably about 6, but Prime has so many profiles, how does anyone know for sure. You are so sensitive this morning you must be in touch with your metro side. lol sorry hahha
Brotha Tuna,
I have cheered the good and booed the bad with Smith. I always wanted him to succeed. He has played well the last two seasons. My arguments involving Smith usually come in response to somebody trashing the O-line, the play calling or the receivers to defend him. DS simply never made sense. She would make bold statements, be proven wrong, and then still not admit to it. She would type a whole page, just to not admit to it. The sacks were never his fault, the receivers were never open and the play calling was questionable. If she were the G.M., Crabtree and Kaepernick would have been traded last spring. For her, Smith losing his staring gig was a travesty. When CK played well, she was pissed-even though the team won. Harbaugh committed the ultimate betrayal, and would surely pay for it in the playoffs. She did the moon walk across her cardboard box after CK threw the pick six against Green Bay, delirious with joy and malt liquor. By the end of the game, she was a sobbing mess. There would be no “I told you so” from DS. Harbaugh looked like a genius. After the Falcons went up by seventeen points, the moon walk was dusted off again. Old McChicken wrappers went flying as she celebrated. She was ready to invade the blog again, but the neighbor changed their wifi password. When the game was over, pipes burst and o-rings blew. Her personality split again, and they showed up as new bloggers, hoping the team fails. The regulars are still here. Hof, Bay, 23J, MsClemons, Rib, you, Chicago, prime, etc. They want the team to win.
This guy is definitely the Supreme Idiot DS9. I know we’ve all been guessing it for the last few days, but this gives it away beyond any doubt. It is the Single Tiny Mind disease. It knows not how to use the language. It is developmentally disabled. It rides the short bus.
I’m trolling, trolling, trolling down the river.
Oh, this isn’t ESPN? Sorry about that. Anyway, I got Bal 35 49ers 0. Remember the last time the Ravens were in a Superbowl, Raven blowout win! I hope SF doesn’t have a parade. THe SF Giants parade should’ve been held Saturday, traffic was tied up all day and that made me late for work. I am one of the dedicated workers.
Driving back and forth from your shrink isn’t considered work
That clown isn’t allowed to have a license. He isn’t even allowed to leave the house without taking his medicine.
Funny Nick, we get these trolls every week , and then we win and then they are all gone, dust in the wind.
Well, the 49ers losing will make more people happy then you realize. Then Alex Smith can leave with a smile on his face. If the 49ers win, the maybe like the real Jesus, I should never read a newspaper again.
Off topic.
Hearing about the possibility that Javhid Best may need to retire because of recurring issues with concussions.
I still remember the hit he took while at Cal, when he scored a TD and was hit while he was jumping. The extra hit on him lofted Best about an extra two feet in the air thereby causing a traumatic fall.
I have a huge problem with player being hit in the end-zone after they have already scored. I see this happen more often than not. When a player has scored they usually ‘let-up’ and relax. An extra hit by a frustrated defender catches the scoring player off guard and opens the door to multiple injuries.
It surprises me that while players are constantly being protected on the playing field that little attention is being given to a player in the end-zone after he scores.
A rule or standard for protecting a player after he scores would have been crucial in Javhid Best’ case.
From Eric Branch…
Guess which Harbaugh brother said this today: “It’s been a great year with the media, and we appreciate everything you do for us …”
LOL !!!
That’s why as God’s son, I have turned away from the newspapers and will not read anymore of the 49ers. I have cancelled my subscription.
Cancelled subscriptions are you perogative. Just don’t cancel your trips to the local shrink.