Jim Harbaugh on Aldon Smith: “He’s showing up. He’s working hard. He’s listening.”

SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh was interviewed by Bay Area reporters Friday afternoon. Here is a transcript.

Q: What do you think of the rookies and undrafted guys so far?

HARBAUGH: So far so good. They’ve done a great job studying. Coaches have done a great job bringing them up to speed in the last two weeks. Excited to see then competing out here today.

Q: What is the status of Marcus Lattimore?

HARBAUGH: He’s working through something. It’s not a knee. It’s something else that he’s working through. We’re going to go at the speed his doctors allow him and his body allows him to go.

Q: How has he looked?

HARBAUGH: The days that he was full speed he looked very good.

Q: How has Jerry Rice Jr. done?

HARBAUGH: He’s done a great job with his assignments. I’m excited to watch him and all of the guys compete. This as excited as I get. It’s a great thrill to walk out here on the practice field any time, but especially this time of the year when you have these youngsters. It’s like a horse race – they’re all starting from the gate. They’re surging out and running and competing. It gets me more excited than I can tell you. This is really fun to watch. They’re receptive to learning. They’re bright-eyed. They have an opportunity in front of them that they just don’t want to let get away. I can’t blame them a bit for it. It really helps the competition in the practices.

Q: Aldon Smith was successfully prosecuted for three felony counts. Does he remain a member of this team in full?

HARBAUGH: Yes.

Q: So, what’s your standard then? Is ten felony counts the standard? Do you have a standard?

HARBAUGH: I know you probably worked really hard on asking that question, probably stared in the mirror and thought about just the way you could ask that.

Q: That’s wrong.

HARBAUGH: You can write your story how you write it. If you want me to answer the question, I would be glad to. It’s part of a legal process. I am not an attorney or a judge. I’m a football coach. I’ll let that go through the legal process. There is nothing more that I can add to it. He’s a part of this team.

Q: Is he a starting linebacker?

HARBAUGH: We’re too early to tell who the starters are.

Q: He was your starting linebacker two days after his DUI.

HARBAUGH: There is nothing further I can add to that, Tim.

Q: Last year at this time, we were asking you about Seattle, how a lot of their players had gotten in trouble for using P.E.D.s. and you said you wanted your players to be above reproach. Do you want your players to be above reproach legally?

HARBAUGH: I want our players to strive to be above reproach in all ways. I can’t imagine anyone wanting youngsters to strive for anything less. Certainly wouldn’t promote that they strive to be below reproach. Would you, Tim?

Q: No, but are all of your players above reproach right now?

HARBAUGH: No. We’ve got some things we’ve got to resolve. We are always in a process of striving to be above reproach.

Q: Is there any negative to a team to have players in trouble? Does it take an effect on the locker room?

HARBAUGH: You tend to put a lot of things on a locker room. A locker room isn’t all encompassing, can take care of all of the world’s problems or each individual’s problems. There is a process that he is working through individually. That is his accountability, just like all of us. If we do things right, there is going to be consequences. If we do things wrong, there are going to be consequences. All of our actions – there are consequences.

Q: His sentencing comes after you start training camp. Will he be with the team when you start training camp?

HARBAUGH: As I said earlier, there’s nothing further I can add to it.

Q: We know that sentencing hearing is the 25th. We know that. That’s a fact. That’s after you start training camp. In your mind, is he starting training camp in pads with everyone else?

HARBAUGH: I’m not going to get into speculating on what’s going to happen, what could happen, what will happen. There is nothing further I can add to this line of questioning. You can take bamboo shoots and stick them under my fingernails, and there still wouldn’t be anything I could further add to this discussion.

Q: Has a decision on that been made, or are you saying you just won’t say if a decision has been made?

HARBAUGH: There’s nothing further I can add right now without speculating. I don’t know why you can’t understand that.

Q: He’s still here, participating in the program?

HARBAUGH: Yes, he’s coming to work. He’s showing up. He’s working hard. He’s listening. He’s doing what he says he’s going to do. We give him that opportunity, yes.

Q: What have you seen from Kory Faulkner, and is he your only quarterback out here?

HARBAUGH: Yes, he’s the only quarterback who will be taking part in this minicamp but we can get Bruce Ellington involved as an emergency quarterback. He played in high school. He’s got a pretty good arm.

Q: What do you like about Kory?

HARBAUGH: He was seen taking drops in the hallway of the Marriott hotel the last couple days. He is really diligent. He’s really into it. He’s very conscientious. And it shows up. When he comes out here, he’s calling the plays in the huddle. He’s moving the offense up to the line of scrimmage and making very few mistakes. You can tell he’s studying, he’s listening, he’s taking it back to the hotel and doing drops in the hall way.

Q: Did he not play under center very much at Southern Illinois?

HARBAUGH: He did both.

Q: What is Lattimore’s condition? What might keep him out a little bit?

HARBAUGH: He’s got something he’s working through. We will give him a couple of days.

Q: Is it a leg?

HARBAUGH: It’s something he’s working through right now. It’s not the knee.

Q: Does he look better?

HARBAUGH: He is improved from where he was the last time we saw him during those practices during the season. He’s quicker, faster.

Q: Will Jimmie Ward be able to participate this weekend?

HARBAUGH: Right now, just in the walkthrough type of sessions, but he is scheduled to be healthy for training camp. No change in that.

Q: Is it realistic to think Marcus Martin could be your starting center?

HARBAUGH: Right now he’s in the under study role. That’s the expectation that we put on him – to learn and get up to speed as fast as possible. We put no timetable on it. That’s his expectation right now. Learn the offense.

This article has 129 Comments

  1. <"..Q: So, what’s your standard then? Is ten felony counts the standard? Do you have a standard?…"

    Typical Kawakami …

    I can imagine him saying …

    ” …I’m not a horse’s patootie .. but I play one at these pressers ..”

    1. That was a fair question to ask. Good to see Harbaugh taken to task a bit.

      1. I thought it was a fair question as well. I think he could have left the question at “what’s your standard?” though. I think the second part is what rubbed Harbaugh the wrong way. But, fair question nonetheless.

        1. Jack Hammer&NinerGang365— It was in no way or form a fair question. It was not a question at all but a disingenuous agenda driven calculated statement. BarNone in his 2:44 post which is farther down the thread pretty much hits the nail on the had about what his agenda is. He knew that Harbaugh could not and would not add anything new in respect to Aldon until the sentencing results were known. He was not asking a question because he didn’t really expect an answer. Because of it’s timing, it was a leading question calculated to give the appearance that there was no reason Harbaugh could give for not have already released Smith. I am sure Tim might be smart enough to realize that the Niners plan of action, other than releasing him now, is totally dependent upon the resolution of both the sentencing and the leagues actions. There might have been some justification for a question in that respect after the 25th when the sentence is due.

          As to holding JM accountable for his statement last year about setting a standard for his players in respect to Aldon, the two are not necessarily synonymous. Harbaugh’s statement was in respect to the PED usage by the Hawks. That is a football issue and definitely the responsibility of the organization. People’s private lives are an entirely different matter. There is a limited
          actual amount of control that the organization can exercise in that respect. Responsibility and Authority must go hand in hand. If JM went over the line with a degree of self righteousness in that instance, than Tim K might want to take note. Never try to claim the moral high ground while promoting any personal agenda. It’s use in that respect will result in you taking a fall and looking foolish. Tim’s disingenuous use of his media access also decries his pseudo image of his self righteousness attempt at claiming the moral high ground.

          1. Well said willtalk, Kawakami needs to let the legal system take it’s course and then ask the tough questions.

      2. Tim seems to take the position that all felonies are the same. I, on the other hand, find some felonies to be much worse than other felonies.

        1. Seriously. Aldon’s felony charges are for the weapons that he purchased legally in Arizona, now I’m as pro-gun control as anyone but let’s not pretend like Aldon did something unforgivable by not reviewing California gun laws before bringing them across the state line. The DUIs were a much worse offense in my opinion but Aldon took corrective measures by seeking professional help for his alcohol abuse. Aldon’s situation isn’t nearly as disturbing as some of the other cases around the league. Hardy and Rice being two examples.

      3. It’s not a fair question. A fair question would be something like: In light of all the legal trouble 49er players have found themselves in this offseason is the team considering developing standards of behavior with defined punishment for violations. Instead, Kawakami went total d-bag and went with condescending jack ass tone in his questioning.

        I don’t mind a reporter being confrontational with a coach, especially one who is so belligerent with the media but Kawakami’s approach was unprofessional.

        1. I agree that the wording could have been different. I thought the question was fine in essence, but the second part is what was a bit much for me. There’s an implication there that wasn’t needed in my opinion

        2. I agree Houston. The line of questioning was fine, but the way it was asked was intended to be antagonistic. No need for that.

        3. It’s pretty obvious that when it comes to the actions of the players off the field that Harbaugh and the oorganization has no standards.

          1. It’s pretty obvious you are totally ignorant of any and all internal discussions the 49ers have had with ownership, management, players, agents, the league, or the NFLPA related to available HR remedies for their employees.

            1. 9 arrests in the last 3 years, most of any team in the league over that time speaks for itself.

              1. What other team has a player convicted of 3 felonies in it’s starting lineup?

              2. Do you agree with the approach TK used in bringing it up, Jack?

                Nothing wrong with asking the questions, and nothing wrong with the line of questioning. I don’t think TK’s questions were that bad, but he did go the antagonistic approach and it wasn’t necessary. Jim is looking plenty foolish enough about his ‘above reproach’ comment without ramming it down his throat. And the question about how many felony counts it takes to be booted off the team didn’t need the smart alec quip.

                All TK managed by taking that approach was looking like he wanted to take coach down a peg or two in public, get one over on him in front of the cameras. That’s not the most professional way to go about it, but hey, he’ll end up being the most talked about 49ers beat writer for a few days so can’t argue with that.

              3. Based on that description, Jack, by pleading no contest he may well end up with his felony charges reduced to misdemeanours…?

          2. That’s a bit of an overstatement, I believe. I myself am not bothered by what troubles Kawakami. (I first thought it was Lowell Cohn, btw.) The only player who concerns me is, Culliver, who I think is a deviant, but I don’t know the whole story behind his last episode, so it’s possible they would be unfair to kick him loose at this stage.

            1. I also first thought Tim K was Lowell Cohn, who seems to enjoy needling Jim H and can be needlessly hard on players. Although I’ve thought he was a good reporter for the SF Chronicle and I mostly enjoy his columns and reporting in the PD (his folksy writing style can get tiresome), the rip job he did on Kaepernick (how much money is he worth?) was over the top. Kap didn’t “lose the Super Bowl” unless you choose to believe Roman and Harbaugh decided to take a break from calling plays for the most important possession of the game. I know this is old news, but it relates to how sports writers conduct themselves. Opinions are one thing; misplacing responsibility for choking the SB is inexcusable.

          3. There isn’t a team in the league that would be handling this any differently. Doesn’t make it right but good players get a lot of chances. Just how it is and Kawakami knows that.

          4. Jack Hammer you are such an ignorant troll. Organization has plenty of standards. Aldon Smith isn’t a bad guy at all you can tell by hearing him talk, he is going through some problems, get off your high horse you punk.

            1. What standards are you referring to Chris? The one in which their players lead the league in arrests? The one that told them playing Smith 2 days after he was so wasted that he plowed into a tree was good for him? The one that told them they should bring on guys with baggage from other teams? Or was it the one that told them it would be ok to go back on a deal with the Santa Clara soccer club now that their stadium has been built?

              Which is it? Please show me what their standards are.

              1. Gee jack, if thats how you feel i have a solution. Stop watching, reading and blogging about the team and find something else to do with your life.

            2. Dude, jack hammer is hardly a troll. The man is a significant contributer to this blog. Stop the name calling please.

            3. So, he still is a difference maker and whether they win or lose without him, he is still one of the premier pass rushers on the league.
              The point is why does Harbaugh deserve any scrutiny. He is his coach, not his father. You still gotta help your players through any type of issues or misbehaviour. Not letting him play and suspending does what for him?

            4. Chris,
              Hammer and I have had our differences, but he is NOT a troll. Not even close.
              While I like to opine by what I see with my eyes (50 yrs of football), Hammer presents his case with stats and numbers.

              I’d rather lean towards and trust my eyes, but you can’t argue with numbers (well, at least in most cases, lol).

          5. These are professional athletes not high school athletes. NFL coaches are not parents and are not responsible for the actions of these men off the field, especially in the offseason. The lure of the fame and money can temp these guys into doing all lot of destructive things. How it falls on management and the coaches is ignorant to say.
            No one knows the inner conversations that occur within the organization and to believe everything the media has reported on these incidents is pure speculation.

            1. They do hours of research into every aspect of these guys prior to drafting them. They know the risks they are taking prior to drafting them. They make the choice and have to deal with the consequences.

              1. But research wont tell you future behavior, that’s why the draft is such a gamble. Money and fame do strange things to people. I don’t think Harbaugh and management can be judged on anything these guys do off the field.

              2. Aldon had zero issues prior to the first DUI in Miami ( reduced to reckless driving) Niether did Culliver. The one guy that did was Boone, and hes been a model citizen since.

                9 arrest in 3 years but none for Murder ( rae Caruth, aron Hernandez) or attempted murder ( pack man jones) or drug trafficking ( sam Hurd, nate newton) assault of a women ( ray rice) or pedophilia ( lawarence Taylor)

                Those are some bad guys jack! we got some dumb kids, no the difference bud!

              3. Of course they can and should be. They’re the one’s who drafted Smith despite knowing there were character concerns. They’re the ones who chose to play him every defensive snap 2 days after being arrested for being twice the legal limit and crashing his truck into a tree. They’re the ones who decided that picking up an option for 9+ million was good business.

                They deserve every bit of scrutiny they get with this situation.

              4. Scrutiny from wanna be reporters or fans? In either case, does it matter. He gets paid to sack the QB and help win games. What he does outside that who really cares and why judge? The law will take care of wrong doing.
                He obviously has endeared himself to the organization and they believe in him. He is a young man with some issues. Why punish him publicly? To create more of an unnecessary story and surrounding drama around thee team? That would be dumb.

              5. Im going out on a limb here….in order to slap JackHammer down to size!

                Jack, you just said basically that it was a mistake to pick up his option for 9 mill…
                Aldon is the best defensive player in the league!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 9-10 mill is a bargain!!!!!!!!!!!

                I know a lot of ppl will disagree but hear me out:
                The highest paid D players are #1 cb’s and top tier pass rushers.
                A cb without a pass rush will get burned
                a good pass rush will make average cb’s look good
                therefore pass rushers are more valuable than cb’s
                with 42 sacks in 43 games, aldon is not only the best in the league stat wise, factor in his age….and baring off field issues would probably get the biggest contract ever for a non QB if he were a free agent right now!!!

                let that marinate b4 anyone foolishly speaks

              6. They were 5-0 without Smith last season and the pass rush productivity put up by his replacements was not much of a drop.

              7. c’mon jack! that is a weak point and you dodge mine. we played poor teams during that stretch and we had to use multiple ppl to fill his spot.
                If anything, your making the case he would be worth less to us, than most teams. In this league…..theres always a sucker!! see: albert Haynsworth and the redskins.

                So we beat 5 bad teams without him. You sidestepped the point about him being the best D player in the league at such a young age that he is not even in his prime yet!

              8. Yep and they were 1-4 in the first 10 games against the tough competition with him in the lineup.

                He’s a fantastic player, but one guy doesn’t make or break the team.

              9. I never said one guy makes or breaks a team, But again i disagree: QB!

                My point was that it was insane to even consider not picking up the option at 9 mill$. My reasoning is that on an open market he would fetch much more per year and that if we were gonna part ways……trade the bastard! And get something in return!

              10. The options were either release him outright (once all sentencing etc was complete) or pick up the option. They either thought enough was enough or they were willing to give him another chance, and if the latter it made perfect sense to pick up the option as it isn’t guaranteed except against injury.

                So they’ve decided to give him another chance. Not the decision I would have made – I think a hardline stance in this instance was the way to go regardless of how talented Smith is – I’m not surprised they chose the way they did. I believe most clubs would.

                On a side (but related) note, here in Australia there is a rugby league club called the Brisbane Broncos, one of the most successful clubs in rugby league for the last three decades. They had the best and most respected coach in rugby league for most of those years in Wayne Bennett – he’s since moved on to another club but the success they had was with him as coach. Interestingly, Bennett has a lot of similarities to Jim Harbaugh in that he’s taciturn with the media, gives them little, but is absolutely loved by his players. He also believes in good, old fashioned, simple but tough football.

                Despite Bennett being known as a disciplinarian, over the years they’ve had their fair share of ‘bad boys’ getting in trouble, some pretty serious. But they rarely just kicked these guys to the curb. Instead they disciplined them in some form but offered/ provided them with support, much of it coming from Bennett himself. If they continued to behave poorly they would be let go, but not without trying hard to help them turn their life around.

                The reasoning was simple – Bennett believed these kids weren’t bad eggs, they just had some rough edges and made some stupid mistakes as youths often do. But they were part of the family, and were worth the trouble of teaching them a different way. I don’t know for sure, but I believe Jim Harbaugh has a similar view of the world.

      4. Sure it’s a fair question…If u think Harbaugh is a babysitter of his players along with being their headcoach..lol..Timmy K just wanted a reaction..

        1. I truly think Baalke is the guy that wants to keep Aldon and Jim has to deflect all the negative comments.

      5. It was an unnecessarily aggressive and confrontational question. You want to know what his standard is? Then ask him just that. You throw in a taunt like “is it 10 felonies” and you are asking for him to essentially tell you to piss off.

        Kawakami knows that, and he did it anyway, because it isn’t about the answer with him, it was about being part of the story himself. He’s a jerk, and a joke of a “journalist”.

    2. “You can write your story how you write it.”
      Harbaugh knows Kawakami is trying to write a critical article and is not going to give him anything.

      “I know you probably worked really hard on asking that question, probably stared in the mirror and thought about just the way you could ask that.”
      Now that’s just mean, Jim.

      Jim v. Tim. Always entertaining.

  2. Kawakami trying to get something out of harbaugh to go into the national press.

  3. I like Kawakami, great writer and not afraid to ask the tough questions

  4. Kawakami is a d-bag. He’s the typical ‘gotchya’ type of reporter who wants to stir up crap to get himself noticed. What a jerk.

  5. Didnt tim run this blog b4 grant??? Im old enough to realize that theres “old school” and “new school” style of reporting. Old school guys were fans, they new guys werent perfect. They tried to shield them from embarrassing moments. Reporters loved guys like Ruth and Gerhig. Reporters were fans of the game and it was there job to keep the heroes of American youth from looking anything other than a hero. Look at JFK, guy was banging every skirt he could, but reporters/ white house officials swept unflattering details under the rug. You think Babe Ruth never hit a bar and tossed a couple of jerks on their butts?

    Now days, reporters are not fans….but nonathletic pencil pushers who take the job seeking revenge on all jocks because of the fact they feel inferior to these types of men their whole lives! They are snitches and rats who have issues and axes to grind.
    My how times have changed! We impeached a pres. for what all his predecessors did regularly. We vilanize kids because they make too much money playing sports.
    The press today is disgraceful!
    Grant, i get it! You think being overly critical makes you cutting edge….like the Nerw York press right??
    Gosh how i long for unbiased reporters that relay the facts and keep opinions to themselves! I call that professionalism!!

    1. Kawakami has never run this blog. It was Maiocco, then Eric Branch, then Padecky filled in until Grant came on board.

      I’ve never liked Kawakami. If he ever took over this blog I would leave.

      1. Houston!…..be honest…..Grant is better?? to me seems they have the exact same outlook and style

        1. I do think Grant is better than Kawakami by a long shot. I think he’s a better writer and he reasons his arguments out much better. Grant is negative and likes to tweak the team unnecessarily at times but it never rises to the level of what Kawakami does. Kawakami is just a flat out jerk. I cant stand his writing and his opinions are all crap. He’s an elitist jackass who thinks he’s superior to all those he interviews. I’m not a fan of his style in the least.

          1. I’m with you houston. Kawakami is an arrogant blowhard and I loved JH’s responses to him in this interview.

            Also you forgot Phil Barber for a quick minute

      2. Didn’t TK incite a raider official about 5 yrs ago?
        I actually like Tim, but he can get under your skin (lol).

        1. The Kawakami question was not a bad one just ill-timed. I have an issue with Tim asking the question at a time when what should have reported was information of the players on the field.

          Info (though small), about Lattimore, JRice Jr, JWard, and KFaulkner gives me more appeal than TK’ questioning Harbaugh’ “above reproach” statement.

          Since Grant mentioned that Friday would be the only mini camp activities (of the 3 day event) that reporters were invited to, I was looking forward for more on-field news.

  6. I think Kawakami’s a pompous, sanctimonious soapbox preacher. He’s all butt hurt that the Niners didn’t do what he “reported” they would do when it came to Aldon and his fifth year option. He knows he came out of that whole thing looking like an idiot and he’s blaming HarBaalke for making him look foolish, when he did that himself. Great job of slapping that punk down Coach!

      1. Old Coach, the funny thing is I can really see Kawakami doing exactly what Harbaugh said he did; standing in front of a mirror, puffing up his wimpy, hairless chest and practicing how he was going to really stick it to Harbaugh! Haha what a clown! He should be required to wear a jester’s costume to all future pressers!

  7. Very similar to grant……got me thinking…..I dont think ive ever heard grant say anything good about anyone on this roster! He’s overly critical of every guy on and off the field…. and for the handful of guys that DOES NOT apply to…..he says there old and washed up ( Justin Smith)

    Grant, you seem to never agree on personnel moves by the FO……lets say you took over as GM….who would you build around? who stays who goes? Who do you extend, who do you trade? What are you thinking for your first draft? Enlighten us .

  8. The 49ers changed their minds. They will close practice after the first 25 minutes.

      1. its obviously a slap in the face to the press. You cant treat ppl like crap and talk $h!t about them without consequences! Even reporters! welcome to the real world! Razor did a great job of relaying the Q without being an a-hole

  9. Are sports reporters today less or more confrontational compared to the old days? I’m saying they are far less negative today.

    What muddies the question are “insiders.” I really like Maiocco and Branch, but as 49er insiders they tend to go easy.

    1. you can’t have it both ways. If you want insider knowledge you have to be nice sometimes to the general crew. If you write too much negative stuff, people will stop giving you information.

      Kawakami tried to make friends with Jed York, I have a feeling that friendship has played its coarse.

    2. Brodie, watch ” pride of the Yankee’s” if you wanna see how great the old timers were. Like father figures. Remember, every ” spoiled ,entitled overpaid athlete” is really just a kid, someones baby. In a strange city with strangers pulling them in every direction. Everybody wanting something and being critical of their every move.

      1. In reporting there is the good kind of fishbowl (the insistence of transparency in government) and the bad kind of fishbowl (poking into the private lives of public figures). The two kinds of fishbowls get lumped together far too much.

        The 49ers have no obligation to discuss details about Aldon’s legal issues. That’s fine.

  10. Jim, after a number of players on your team have made headlines with arrests, prosecutions, detainment, and investigations reflecting poorly on the 49er organization, looking back, do you feel you should have had your own house in order before giving that admonishment you gave the Seattle organization regarding their ped woes?

    That’s how you ask the question without sounding pretentious, which obviously Tim is not trying to hide, and that is even more concerning to me. It’s all about showing the tough guys you’re tough, right Tim?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruiUgDyMf60

    1. There is no doubt those questions could have been asked without intentionally being antagonistic, without sounding accusatory. All Tim achieved was seeming petulant.

    2. That Raider guy was just a bit angry. Does anyone know what Kawakami wrote that made that guy want to knock him out? I wish THAT would’ve happened on camera! I would pay to see that!

        1. Thanks Jack. That was some very amusing reading! Wow, Da Rayduhs must’ve been fun for a beat writer to cover during that time frame…

    3. I sincerely hope the 49er organization gets AS the psychiatric help he needs as he’s clearly on a self-destructive path.

  11. Its a common management practice to praise employees in public, criticize in private. Sounds like Tim was asking questions he knew Harbaugh wouldn’t (or couldn’t by internal policy) answer. If I ever got into legal trouble, I’d never want my employer having an open dialog about it with a reporter.

    There’s a certain kind of negative reporting I’d like to see more of… from a sports consumer standpoint. I’d like to see more negative reporting on increased advertizing time making games absurdly long (and peppering them with “officials time outs), degradation of play (and danger to players) on Thursday games, teams strong arming cities into paying for stadium improvements, increased ticket prices and so on.

  12. “How has jerry rice jr done?”

    What a waste of a question. The guy is a bum

  13. The constant questions regarding Aldon Smith were not necessary at all. Just ask two or three questions in regards to his situation and move on. All that antagonistic line of questioning did was take away time from going more in depth in talking about the rookies and their potential.

    1. Yep. TK’s just hoping to get some national publicity with this BS. He’s jealous of our local boy who made the Bigs (for sportswriters), Mike Silver, and thinks crap like this might get him noticed. It just might if Harbaugh punches him in his smug little grill.

    2. Who cares about a bunch of guys who will have no impact on this team come September? Jerry Rice Jr and Kory Faulkner will either be gone or so far down the bench we’ll never see them. And he says Lattimore is working through something only to have him running drills a few minutes later.

      1. From the snippet I saw I sure hope that doesn’t constitute Lattimore ‘running’ drills. Looked like a pretty light, half-pace drill, more about going through the motion than going full bore. They said he wouldn’t be a full participant, and based on that probably true.

      2. Who cares about a bunch of guys who will have no impact on this team come September?

        Because you can’t predict which rookies will have an impact and which ones won’t Jack. You also mentioned just a few rookies, so I’m guessing that the others don’t really matter as to whether they could have an immediate impact or maybe be a key cog down the road. I myself would rather get a little bit of a take from Harbaugh on most if not all of the rookies rather than have the same question about a veteran pointlessly recycled over and over again.

        1. I do too. Sports is all about the unknown and maybe a wild shot, but who knows, maybe one of these guys comes in and does a great job and impresses. Maybe just enough to make the practice squad.
          If every game or issue was decided on paper, sports would not be very interesting.

      3. Lattimore is working on some things. lol. Jim is a kick. If a guy fell of a building and was in critical condition Jim would say he was working on some things.

    1. And Hyde may stink up the place. No one knows how well these guys will do Razor, but I’m going to think positive (or at least try to) and believe that Hyde and Lattimore will be a fearsome 1-2 punch RB duo for years to come.

      1. Mr. Hyde is a perfect fit for this offense, and will be an instant contributor. The bodies they work on are better now. Through genetics and nutrition, today’s athletes are built to recover. Dr. Andrews said he was proud of what he did with Adrian, but he said he’s also never seen a knee that clean before he’d even touched it. He said it looked like a newborn’s knee, not someone who had been playing football his whole life. And even as recovery times decrease overall, there are only a few superhumans. Bo Jackson, Adrian, Robert Griffin III. Those are extraordinary cases…..

        1. That still doesn’t mean that Lattimore may never see the field and that Hyde will be what everyone believes he should be.

          1. I’d say the odds are in Mr. Hyde’s favor, whereas the odds are against Dr. Lattimore…..

  14. I can guess reporters like Maiocco are not happy about reserving a chunk of their work day, fighting bar area traffic only to find a last minute closure to press. If practices were closed in retaliation for Kawakami’s questions its a bush league, knee jerk reprisal.

    There seems to be a pattern…

    Step 1 – Limit public and press access to information, players and practices
    Step 2 – Ridicule public and press when they ask uninformed questions
    Step 3 – Repeat Step 1

    1. Brodie2washington– Good points! I personally think there are also other front office agenda’s behind the closed practices.

      1. Brodie, willtalk…..call me crazy, but i love it!!! As TK is being a punk….talking about holding ppl accountable…..why should the press be exempt????? You dont HAVE TO write flattering articles …..but if you treat us bad….why not return the favor!?!? Its a football move….make the whole team run laps because one is misbehaving. Harbaugh’s attitude all along has been that the “press is the enemy “. and TK showed us that there is truth to that idea and as a result….the press will be all but shut out of practice.
        This is the #1 rule of life ppl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TREAT OTHERS HOW YOU WANT TO BE TREATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If we could all follow that…..the world would be in harmony!!!!!!!!!!!! To treat ppl poorly and expect anything less in return is insanity!!!

  15. to quote a famous person:
    …I’m excited.
    …This is as excited as I get.
    …It gets me more excited than I can tell you.

    …It’s a great thrill…Really fun.

    Help me out here, willya. Coach Harbaw
    just ended three straight seasons
    one or two pickles short of a full barrel,
    and he is having fun in the offseason..???

    I AM EXCITED. I AM THRILLED.
    I AM THE SUPER BOWL MONKEY.
    (and I am on your back, Mister Harbaw).

    1. I AM EXCITED. I AM THRILLED.
      I AM THE SUPER BOWL MONKEY.
      (and I am on your back, Mister Harbaw).

      Is anybody greatly disturbed by this part of the post?

  16. Which rookie would you like most to have a one-to-one chat with Grant and why?

    1. Marquardt released? Unless his foot injury has not fully healed this is another one of those head scratcher roster moves that we saw so many of last year. It follows a distinct pattern. I have my suspicions but we shall see.

      1. How is it a head scratcher? He hasn’t played football in 2 years due to a foot injury. They took a flyer on him as an undrafted free agent and found that he can’t cut it.Simple case of nothing ventured nothing gained.

          1. **UPDATE** I’m told Luke Marquardt re-fractured the same foot that kept him out of the 2012 season at Azusa Pacific and the 2013 season with the 49ers. Marquardt suffered the injury in practice, will have surgery on the foot and will revert to injured reserve. The 49ers will have an extra spot on their 90-man roster. The 15 players that are trying out this weekend will get the first shot at the opening.

            Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/sf49ers/index.html#storylink=cpy

          2. Whether it’s his ability or his foot, it still looks like he can’t play football.

        1. Re-injured his foot. Now that makes sense. I wish reporters would get all their facts straight before releasing news stories. If he had not re-injured himself it would not have made sense for them to release him this early even before he even had a chance to show what he could do healthy. Especially since they are bringing in everybody and their Uncle to try out. I did qualify my response with him being injured as a logical reason for his release. To bad because this might imply that he has a predisposition for chronic foot problems and might never see the field.

  17. Making homophobic statements, running down a bicyclist and fleeing, and brandishing brass knuckles are the actions of a moronic baby.

    Transporting a few cool guns over state lines, getting stabbed, and driving into a tree drunk are actions of arrogance and ignorance.

    Now, show me the moral reproachfulness.

    Ray Rice beat his woman’s ass. Jim’s brother has not released him. Jim said that he was okay with any man so long as he didn’t lift a hand against a woman. Maybe Tim should ask Jim why John hasn’t cut Ray. Tim seems to believe Jim has magical powers over other people.

    The Niners are one of only 3 teams not to have had a PED infraction since 2010. The Seahawks cheat with drugs and cheat the NFL rule book. I think if the Niners had cheaters on the field and in the coaching booth, then Tim’s questions might be on point.

    But until any Niner does anything that makes me embarrassed to support the team (cheat, beat, etc …), rather than just makes me concerned about the individual, I’m not self-righteous or stupid enough to conflate mistakes of judgment with crimes of moral turpitude.

  18. Kawakami is the Perry Stone of Bay Area sports reporting ..
    Seems it’s only a matter of time before he suffers the same fate
    Perry did …

    Tim’s act is getting old

    1. Rodger Ramjet,
      Actually your comments are quite racist. Since when does a reporter’s ethnicity have anything to do with the question Kawakami asked Harbaugh?

      TK’s question was ill-timed and obviously had an edge meant to stir controversy, but being Asian was not the reason Tim asked the question. SMH

    2. Roger, my man, pretend your son was Asian-American. Would you think that about him?

      1. I do think, though, that TK’s pushing the issue made little sense from the standpoint of professional reporting. Question asked, question answered. Sometimes sports reporters think that they are part of the White House press corps. Woops, the corps we have today seems scared to ask the hard questions.

    3. And Roger, I don’t give a squat about whether you “are usually not a racist.” You are a racist. and a jerk for what you wrote.

      1. I was not able to read what Rodger wrote ( before he deleted it)so I can not judge if it was racist or not. However it seems to be that the term is being radically over used. It’s today’s version of accusing someone in the fifties of being a Commie. Confusion might lie in intent as to if the use of an ethnic term is racist or just being used as an adjective in order to differentiate one individual from the other. I mean if we are angry and wish to insult an individual we might utilize the most obvious and available means to differentiate that person. It might be the color of their hair, weight, or even the glasses they are wearing. One might call someone a stupid German even if generally Germans are stereotypically considered smart. It might just be used as an adjective in that respect and not as a racial slur. That would be entirely different than if the adjective itself were used as the insult. Now it seems that any mention of ethnicity can be construed to imply a person is racist.

        1. Trust me willtalk, it was very much a racist comment. Worst part was he tried to couch it by the words “I’m not usually a racist”. The comment itself belied the truth.

  19. Matt:

    “**UPDATE** I’m told Luke Marquardt re-fractured the same foot that kept him out of the 2012 season at Azusa Pacific and the 2013 season with the 49ers. Marquardt suffered the injury in practice, will have surgery on the foot and will revert to injured reserve.”

  20. I take Kawakami to task here for the same reason I occasionally take Grant to task, its not about the content but its all about the tone and they know that. Kawakami’s first question was fine and his second question was fine also if it hadn’t been cloaked in language that I can only describe as juvenile and passive aggressive. He reminded me of a dysfunctional angry teenager. The question of whether or not the 49ers should keep Smith around or not for me comes down to one simple fact is he drinking or smoking again? If the 9ers have no evidence of substance use then they keep Smith. If there is any evidence of substance use they cut him loose. They gave him one very big chance but if he is not taking his sobriety seriously then they ca’nt trust him and should have let him go. imho

    1. coach..
      reading Tim’s side of the encounter (over on the Murkey News)
      and I thought he went way too far ..

      You’re right .. it’s all about his tone ..
      and his tone was abrasive enough that I’m surprised
      The Harbs didn’t smack him upside the head

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