Jim Harbaugh: “I’m not going to be consumed with anything but playing the game and things we’ve worked on, things we try to improve.”

SANTA CLARA — This is the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Friday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department.

What kind of week was the work? What did you see from your team coming off the two losses?

“Good week of work. Thought the meetings were good and good energy at practice.”

 

You were optimistic earlier in the week about TE Vernon Davis. Is that still the case? How’s that changed? How’s he looked in practice?

“Yeah, I think we’re still going to have to be closer to game time to know for sure. But, yeah, remain optimistic.”

 

How’s T Anthony Davis looked in his first practices of the season so far?

“Good. He’s done good.”

 

What did T Jonathan Martin show you in those three games that he…well and the four exhibition games too, while he was in there?

“Well, he was good. I thought he was very efficient. Did a fine job and that bodes well for us going forward.”

 

The Stanford program has had success recently against Oregon. You split your matchups with Eagles head coach Chip Kelly when he was head coach. Do you go back to the college tape and look at some of the things that were done on both teams in those games to prepare for this one coming up?

“Not this week we haven’t. In the offseason, we do some of that, but not right now.”

 

What went wrong on the missed field goal? Block.

“We didn’t communicate that the fake was off. Some of the guys out there thought the fake was still on and were blocking for the fake. Other guys, really half the line, knew it was a field goal and half the line thought it was a fake.”

 

Why call off the fake when they had only nine guys on the field?

“Because they were covering. They had it covered.”

 

Looks like a whole another week will go by without a resolution one way or another to the DT Ray McDonald situation. How eager or anxious are you to just know, one way or another, what’s going to happen? The investigation, it’s just still hanging out there. I mean, are you anxious, eager, nervous, just want it to get resolved or patient?

“Patient.”

 

How hard is it to be patient when it’s been four weeks?

“It’s what it requires.”

 

Has what your brother, Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh, and the Ravens have gone through, has it shaped your guys’ process at all with this or change the way that you guys want to handle it?

“We’ve handled it the way we felt was best and stated it from the beginning – how we were going to handle it and then have had the patience to carry it out.”

 

Do you take into account which officiating crew is handling your game, knowing they have a tendency to call certain infractions more than others and go in knowing which calls might get more emphasized than others?

“Yeah, as I said, I do look at that from time to time. But, I’ll tell you the same thing that I tell our players. I’m not going to be consumed with anything but playing the game and things we’ve worked on, things we try to improve. But, got to be consumed with playing the game of football.”

 

But, do you scout the officials like you would scout an opponent?

“No.”

 

One more Vernon question, obviously there’s a lot of attention on his pass-catching ability, but how big a role does he play in the run game? I mean, he’s from what I understand a very good run blocker at that position.

“Yes, he is, very good. He’s one of the rare tight ends that’s really good in the run game and really good in the pass game. He’s at the highest level in both.”

This article has 2 Comments

  1. ” I have got to be consumed with playing the game of football. ”

    consumed: …fully engaged in, engrossed in [something]

    Sarah [wife #2] – ya might wanta save a little juice for your family.

    And, if your team continues to lose, you might want to set aside
    some time for an activity in which you can be more successful.
    What else do you enjoy, Jim? what else makes you smile?

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