By BOB PADECKY
NEW ORLEANS — At Monday’s Super Bowl press conference, the 49ers coach was asked a question from a reporter who obviously had known Harbaugh a long time.
“Do you still hold onto negative things as much now as when you were a player?”
Harbaugh was a quarterback at Michigan and then played the position for 15 years in the NFL.
Harbaugh didn’t answer immediately. You could see the wheels turning and he was actually working hard on answering the question truthfully.
Finally, he did.
“Possibly,” Harbaugh said.
Usually, he’ll give you or two or three sentences that won’t reveal much, and here was one word that revealed so much.
If ever a “possibly” could be interpreted as a yes, this was it.
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I hope he remembers R Lewis getting his first sack in the NFL it was against J Harbaugh. Ray knows making it to the SuperBowl alone is a feat yet alone winning the big game, but he will take a “stab” at it. Ray said he hopes to “slice” through the offense.
“Less competition for jack harbaugh”
Too funny….
Another deep provative word, maybe…
How close is he to Haiku?
English often appear in three lines to parallel the three phrases of Japanese haiku, while in Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed in a single vertical line.
Figures. Just like Dodge’s small cars are bad imitations of Japanese cars.
And Harbaughs Obama needle? Yeah,he ain’t no Demo…
Liberals will never make it in sports.. “You’re hurt? Then sit the game out man!,no game is worth your future health!”. Hell,Harbaugh will send his kid back into a pee wee game with a broken finger “You got nine others! Wimp!”
Liberals NEVER make it in sports? Bill Bradley is in the Basketball Hall of Fame, 3 time All American, 2 time NBA champion.
I was talking about coaches,management,in the front office or commissioners of sports. Sure,you can play. Then get out.
You think Selig or Stern or are liberal? Goodell is the son of a Republican senator.
Sports is dog eat dog,the strong can own the weak. Conservatives believe all life should be like that.
I’m not positive but if i remember correctly Bill Walsh was a pretty politically liberal guy. When it came to race relations Vince Lombardi was very liberal.
Was Walsh liberal? I never knew that. I hope so.
Vince?..now we are going back over the decades..some with stuperhuman liberal foresight lasted,I give you. But,pretty much its been change by lawsuits and strikes not liberals in power.
Stan Where i would differ with you is that I believe That most if not all of the owners and most of the players are republicans because of tax policies but that does’nt make them conservatives overall just on tax policy. Bob Seger said in an interview that most of the rock and roll world had become republicans, not Ted Nugent style conservatives just tax policy republicans kind of like David Brooks of the N.Y. Times
Old Coach,they forgot about the “van days” when they wished they had enough income to pay taxes.
Leave it to the genius Stan to come with that statement? Did you pull that one out of your arse?
How about them Raiders? The Quest for Six wins continues …. buwahahahah
On a different note, here’s an article on pain and playing in the NFL.
I got the link to this article from a posting by an ex-NFL player on a Stanford fan blog. It’s worth a read.
http://www.esquire.com/features/nfl-injuries-0213
“It goes back to pee-wee ball,” Ryan Clark says. “When I was six, I was a punt returner on my dad’s team. I got hurt. I went up and told him, ‘Dad, I can’t straighten my neck.’ But I made sure I told him that after I returned a punt for a touchdown.”
I read posters’ dismissive blog comments about President Obama’s remark about kids and football. I have a nine-year old son and I agree with the President on this one . And I would not call myself a Liberal.
Your entitled to your decision, and I respect it. The bottom line for a grown man is this, “Do you want to play football?, Yes or No?” And that’s it. No complaining, lawsuits, and pressure from politically correct hypocrites.
I think I agree with Peter King’s comments this morning on Cowerd’s show: The game will change in the next couple of decades or will be litigated out of existence.
Adam the NFL is to big to fail, to coin a phrase
I don’t see the game of football going away, but the way it’s played will continue to change to the point that there will likely come a day when there will be little if any hitting allowed.
I hope it doesn’t come to that, but that seems to be the way the world operates now. There are and always have been, dangerous professions that people undertake knowing the consequences that could arise. It seems now we have protectionist groups wanting to save people to the point of making decisions for them.
No rational human being could ever have thought playing football or boxing didn’t come with negative health ramifications. I broke my arm and tore ligaments in my knee playing football. Didn’t stop me from going back and playing the moment I could and I don’t see it stopping paid athletes.
What we are seeing now is people wanting to plead ignorance so they can recoup a financial windfall in litigation and outside interests playing up the results of studies that have not been fully completed. I’m not sure how the current lawsuits will end up, but I have a hard time believing the players involved will be able to prove the league knew the consequences of head trauma and knowingly kept it from the players. That is a big accusation and a tough one to prove.
Since the beginning of the sport, there have been severe injuries, some resulting in permanent paralysis that have not stopped people from playing the game. The game will always be played, but going forward there will have to be liability clauses put into contracts that players will have to sign before being allowed to play. In order to play in the league you will have to give up the right to sue for long term health damges, much like a number of high risk professions require now.
Rocket the problem is less with the game and more with the equipment. Todays equipment has turned the human body into a missle. I believe with some equipment changes and some alterations to the rules I.E. leading with your head on a block and or tackle would be illegal. The game can survive. I read something earlier this year and it said something like this. More players off of San Diegos 95 super Bowl team have Died than players off the last Lombardi Packer S.B. team. Now players have gotten bigger and faster but i believe the biggest difference has come in equipment.
Really good point old coach. Between refining the equipment and more informed Coaching early on, hopefully they can get it under control.
Harbaugh got fileted, skewered, roasted and broiled by the Chicago press during his days with the Bears. And that was after wins.
It’s no surprise his relationship with the press is a bit testy.
Everybody expects their 1st Round QB to be the franchise savior. Anything short of that and fans & media get petulant and start criticizing and finger pointing. Sometimes they even come up with names to deride them with. Doh! ; >)
Obama needs to focus football and guns?? we have an economic problem!! smh go play golf and invite more muslim brotherhood members to the white house!
your a dope
“your a dope”
That would be “you’re”.
Rock on!
DoughBrainSam
Stick to sniffing Alex Smith’s jock and leave politics off this blog
Harbaugh should learn that the press in the Bay Area is not as vicious as Chicago. The press wants to
Love the team. the better they are the more people want to read niner articles and kiss niner behinds. No writers are exceptionally critical about niner players and coaches. Singletary and Nolan made horrible decisions. But the press never really skewered them or asked unfair questions-
Sure ray ratto does- but everyone knows he is a hack writer with a small mind, including ratto himself… Hence the anger.
And the elder Cohn does as well- but very few read his stuff. No offense grant- you get way way more eyeballs. Also feel like the elder Cohn is more being a contrarion to stand out like A local skip Bayless.
Does this mean he holds grudges?
Would be interesting for our media to interview the Chicago reporters and columnists that covered JH back in the day.
‘Sure ray ratto does- but everyone knows he is a hack writer with a small mind, including ratto himself… Hence the anger.” That was funny stuff.
Lowell on occasion will write a master piece and you say to yourself, holy crap, that was incredible.
Lowell is hands down the best sports writer around when he chooses to be…
I must have missed those articles.
Your loss…
Aldon Smith is Niners MVP. Congrats to him.
For a discussion of awkward moments with Coach Harbaw (and the press), please see Kevin Clark’s piece in The Wall Street Journal (1/28/13). This stuff is funny (and revealing) enough that if I were you, Coach, I would resume the use of chewing tobacco. Warning: a football fight is small potatoes when compared to an oral cancer fight. Yowzer!!!!
Hey Coach! Gotta question; you referenced your son Jack today in an interview. The big plans you have for him to play football. What about Jay and James (the other two sons)…? What sports do you anticipate them playing? Since they live in Coronado (home to a waterpolo powerhouse) maybe they will be drawn to aquatics, huh? Try and be more inclusive in the future, willya?
If I was you I’d just worry about your campaign, and not tell a grown man how he should be.
Actually if I was him Razor, I’d not crack wise with the coach about his kids or you might be on the end of a knuckle sandwich…
Nice write up about the Harbaughs.
http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/story/0ap1000000131455/article/jim-and-john-harbaughs-shared-history-shaped-coaching-styles
We need to break the Philidelphia Eagle curse!
In 2009, the Eagles opened the regular season against the Saints. The Saints won the SB that year.
In 2010, the Eagles opened against the Packers. The Pack won the SB that year.
In 2011, the Eagles opened against the Giants and you guessed it. The Giants won the SB.
So, who did the Eagles open against this year? Hint: It wasn’t us.
That’s way too deep Montana. We are the better team. Now it’s about who prepares the best and who wants it more.
Does anybody on here want it more than I do? If so, let me hear you!
It is deep. I know we are the better team. It’s just a long 2 weeks. lol!
@Razor!
We’re gonna win this game and it won’t be close!
It was cleveland so…
Montana, we don’t get the Eagles, hello?
North: home to Packers, at the Stick
East: Road to Washington, at the same field that took out RG 3′s knee and Seattle defender, Clemmons I believe.
Maybe the 49ers got to take on Indianapolis COlts, Thursday night game at the stick.
Let’s see… Razoreater…. is that sorta like Tim Rossovich
… the former Eagles linebacker and light bulb eater…?
Judging by the number of youtube comedy references
to Coach Harbaw’s sideline hissy fit after his challenge to the ruling on field was denied (late their last game),
it seems that quite a few people disagree with you….
about the coach’s status as a grownup man…,
If you are elected I’ll concede your genius, until then Caw-Caw, nevermore!
Grant…quick question off topic….DO YOU THINK DASHON GOLDSON WILL BE BACK NEXT SEASON? i really hope he comes back way more than rogers or brwn…
You know, Pet, I wonder a lot about all the good niner players that no one else wants. Goldson, for sure. Every time he holds out from us no one else picks him up. I wonder if Alex won’t be the same way. He certainly was last year. I don’t seem to recall any teams putting up a big bidding war for one of our guys. Could it be the coaching?
looks like the niners are gonna need help with the secondary and defensive line next year, anyone know how deep this draft is at those positions?
D Line is deep in this draft. I’ve seen a projection where up to 6 DTs could go in Round #1.
Deep in the trenches!
The D tackle from Penn ST. looked really good in the senior bowl has anyone heard a projection on him
23J – By saying how great Alex played in his 9 starts, Farmer Jim planted an Alex seed for all NFL GM’s in need of a QB. Ever since Kap started vs Saints, Farmer Jim has nurtured that Alex seed during every press conference by continuing to praise Alex. This heavy dose of fertilizer has increased the seeds value.
About a week after Niner Super Bowl victory celebrations have ended, Farmer Jim and Billy-Bob-Baalke will harvest their Alex crop to these desperate GM’s who have no QB.
Farmer Jim can plow a field like no other! Farmer Jim is a “sod buster” and a “quarterback whisperer.”
You’re dang/darn/dern tootin’ that Farmer Jim will get a granny-slappin’ good trade for Alex!
Crabs,
Its one thing for us on this blog to sing Smith’s praises but the NFL is not of the same mindset. The NFL will not ignore the first 6 years of Smith’s career. They know that Smith was a different QB under JH. They will question
whether or not he can thrive in a different
system.
We all know Smith has limitations. We see his strengths. Those strengths were recognized under JH. Harbaugh nurtured Smith. Most NFL coaches don’t and won’t do that with Smith. Can he function successfully without it? Think about what would go through your mind. Would you pay him 8.5 mil? I don’t think he’s worth itand we will find out soon enough.
I think 1 or 2 of these clueless GM’s will be sold on Alex because he spent 2 years learning from the QB guru.
I hope Alex gets a shot at starting somewhere, he’s a good guy. If I was Alex I would change my uproach though and start fricking winging the ball deep! I would do anything possible to not be labeled a game manager ever again. Even if I throw 3 picks per game until I get cut, at least I would go down ballin.
Alex has enough dough in the bank to start taking some chances. Hell, it just might work out. I’d be pullin for him if he became more of a gunslinger. Unless he was on Cowboys, my most hated team.
Crabs,
It’s not who he is. Don’t you remember the Philly game under Singletary? He was about to get benched. Vernon had to talk Smith into telling Sing that he wasn’t coming out of the game. Several times Smith has admitted that he wasn’t being agressive and that he would play more agressive in the future. He never did. In comes JH and he tailors an offense where Smith does not have to be agressive. Smith’s career was saved.
Smith does not have the arm strength to successfully throw downfield. He completes deep balls to VD because VD is in mismatches against slow safeties or linebackers. What about deep balls to wide receiver with defensive backs in coverage. He continuously underthrows or overthrows the ball. Sideline routes that are thrown out of bounds.
He’s on the bench because he lacks velocity and arm strength, pocket presence and anticipation on throws. Alex Smith could fetch us three # 1 draft picks if JH were thrown in the trade. However, that’s not the case. Can Alex Smith succeed with JH?? We have no evidence to indicate that. Neither does the rest of the NFL.
Where ever smith goes, I wish him well and hope he succeeds, but without exception, I do not fear facing a Smith-led opponent. And I’m guessing most of the league feels similarly. But then again, I also don’t fear a Kolb, Wheeden, McCoy, Cassell, Quin, Sanchez, Locker, Henne, Hasselback, Foles, Gabbert, Vick, Palmer, Fitzpatrick, Rivers, Freeman, Bradford, Dalton, or Tannehill-led opponent. :0
Is anybody going to ask:
Why Harbaugh benched SMith
What did Smith do wrong
Why is CK a good Qb when he throws similar numbers
Why can’t CK look at the media directly when being addressed
Why did the 49ers arrive Sunday and not Monday like the Ravens did
Any possible nervousness of Saints fans in large numbers openly booing the 49ers?
Would you trade SMith or release Smith and what is your working relationship like with him now?
I’m telling you, paid monkeys must be reporting for peanuts in NOLA.
Have you fans ever considered that maybe Alex has a problem in the shoulder? Maybe it has to be scoped/cleaned. Maybe he doesn’t have enough muscle in the area or something. Maybe he needs more practice or an established WR other then Crabtree. Don’t forget how diva like crabtree was in asking who Alex smith was during the lockout. When Alex SMith puts up more numbers, it’s evident that he was held back.
I would not guess its a shoulder injury, he’s been medically cleared to play for a while now. If we’re fishing for reasons as to why Alex is no longer the starter, I’d go with more like he’s just not as good as the guy behind him on the depth chart. This kind of thing happens all the time.
I don’t hear many people demanding that Parys Haralson be given back his starting job when he returns from injury.
……dude dont feed him!
Yeah, I have to agree with you. It’s funny how an Oline will protect for one QB but they won’t protect for another.
I think that darren has touched on one of the reasons kaep won the starting job, his ability to avoid sacks has been impressive! I dont think for a microsecond that the o-line would consiously put more effort into protecting any one qb over another! Whether it be alex, colin or anyone! Even the great jim druckenmiller would have got the same effort from his o-line.
……please no one feed the troll!…..
Troll? is society getting this bad? OK, you say troll and I’ll say ‘That’s Racist.’ How does that work for you?
Sorry darren Neal is already the blog bigot!
I think it’s odd that the Oline to me has never given Smith the protection, yet they give the protection to CK, and even so, CK still can’t find anybody other then Crabtree, Davis. Maybe it’s the constant lack of talent the WRs have for years on the 49ers: Slow, no timing, not able to catch, and most of all, YAC. The 49ers of old with a Rice and even a Taylor, WCO produced a lot of YAC. It’s like the 49ers catch the ball and either get tackled or run short distances, except for V Davis and Crabtree that got the ability to be open, but if they get shut down next year, don’t be surprised CK will never surpass 4000 yards or ever get to a Pro bowl. In time, you will be complaining about lack of production and why teams will shut us down each week if the numbers on CK don’t go up.
Media day. Starting now with Harbs: http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/47/live/tuesday
Use it or lose it. ;)
File doesn’t open.
“In order to be great, you have to be a slave, and a servant.” – Vernon Davis.
wow, Deion can really get these guys to open up. and so true.
Yeah, Prime is getting the best interviews so far.
Grant
I thought that was an interesting moment also. I read a thing or two into it, but it’s mere speculation on my part. What we can say for sure is there wasn’t any follow-up discussion.
Yeesh, CK needs to wake up! He’s coming across with as much fire as a turnip.
Crabs looks like he’s sleepwalking too.
Nice stories by Patrick Willis!
Prime with Crabs though is hilarious!
Guarding themselves. Pacing themselves. Cards close to the vest.
It’s all good.
Did you just hear Moss? “I’m the greatest receiver to have ever played.”
Whew… confidence? Or?
I liked Rich Eisen’s comments: “Jerry Rice just swallowed his tongue.”
Haha! No kidding.
Moss is the most talented WR to ever play the game. That much is true, but best? No, that would be Jerry Rice.
All things being equal Rice was a more diverse receiver than Moss. But had Moss played his entire career with the same team, same system and back to back high level QB’s like Rice, then Moss would own more offensive records. IMO.
Also IMO what separates these two receivers is work ethic. Rice’s work ethic is unmatched.
By far. Randy Moss can be good when he decides to be good or he can just decide to take off a season.
The other thing too is that Rice played in the era when you could still get frilled in the middle of the field on a cross. Before the defenseless player rules.
I saw JR’s reaction at lunch. Classy.
*drilled
Anybody else see Harbaugh’s press conf from yesterday? I found it kind of troubling; for the first time, it looked to me like he was lost. Deer in the headlights kind of look…and his “answers” to the questions were way off base, even for Harbaugh. I understand that he doesn’t particularly care for the press, and I understand why. But someone asks about his reaction to the President’s comments that he thinks football’s so dangerous that he wouldn’t let his son play, and Harbaugh’s reaction is, “Good, less competition for my 4 month old son.” And then he goes into this rap about how big his son’s head is. Sorry, that’s just a little bizarre, and avoided the whole point of the question. Saw that happen with a couple other questions, too, and it concerns me a bit. No doubt about it, this is a WHOLE different level of game, and I’m hoping that it’s not too big a stage for Coach at this point in his career. Gotta admit that I’d NEVER have thought Harbaugh could be overwhelmed by anything in the football world. Maybe I misread it…?
You need to relax a bit. This is Harbaugh’s shtick. Deal with it.
That’s why the 49ers shouldn’t be in the Superbowl. Back then, they knew what to do. Now they come across as arrogant kids thinking they deserve something. This is now how Walsh raised the team.
Nope, Eco. I’ve seen Harbaugh’s “shtick”. This was different. Did you see the conference?
I think he’s looked that way several times now, Rusty. I’ve noticed it, too.
It’s weird actually because if you go back and look at the special (ESPN or NFL Net) did on the family (when Jim was still at Stanford) and they were all sitting around a table talking to Steve Sabol, Jim is sharp and witty. Kind of a completely different guy.
You wonder if maybe all the stress is taking its toll. Kind of weird because he does sort of get a vacant stare sometimes and seems to grasp at finding the right words.
I guess I’m the only fan that can’t move on with what Harbaugh did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWpQBYBDaC0