Harbaugh on The Handshake: “There’s nothing I can possibly add.”

I was in an airplane somewhere above Nebraska or Colorado when Jim Harbaugh spoke to the media in Santa Clara Monday afternoon. He reiterated all the good things his players did against the Packers on Sunday, and he spoke about the upcoming opponent – the Detroit Lions – and the “mini-controversy” surrounding last year’s slap handshake with Lions’ head coach Jim Schwartz. Here’s a complete transcript, courtesy of the 49ers….

September 10, 2012
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Prediction: Packers defeat 49ers

The Packers will beat the 49ers Sunday, 34-23. The Packers are going to double-team both Justin and Aldon Smith. The left guard and center – T.J. Lang and Jeff Saturday – will take Justin Smith, and the left tackle and running back – Marshall Newhouse and Cedric Benson – will take Aldon Smith. Aaron Rodgers will have enough time to find open receivers and exploit the 49ers secondary, which is…

September 8, 2012
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Fangio on Rodgers: “He’s Brees with great scrambling ability and a stronger arm.”

SANTA CLARA – Here’s the full transcript of Vic Fangio’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Fangio praised Aaron Rodgers and Marshall Newhouse, and confirmed that Perrish Cox is the No.4 cornerback. As a defensive coordinator, when you know you have more than four months to prepare for one team, the next team on the schedule, how do you approach it? “Well, me personally, we get right into it…

September 6, 2012
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Aaron Rodgers on Alex Smith: “I think he plays the position pretty well.”

SANTA CLARA – Aaron Rodgers spoke to Bay Area reporters this afternoon on a conference call. He spoke about the Justin Smith, NaVorro Bowman, Alex Smith and the term “game manager.” Here’s a transcript. Q: What makes the 49ers’ defense stand out among the NFL’s defenses? RODGERS: They have the best players. Front the front-seven to the back end they’re solid. They don’t have any weaknesses. A lot of Pro-Bowl…

September 5, 2012
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Five questions for the defense

SANTA CLARA – Tuesday was a defense-dominated day in the 49ers’media tent – Vic Fangio, Larry Grant and Ricky Jean Francois all spoke at the podium, and I spoke one on one to Chris Culliver in the locker room. I asked each guy the same few questions, and here are their responses followed by my conclusions. Question 1: How would you characterize this defense? FANGIO: To me it’s in the…

August 21, 2012
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Training camp report: Monday, the good – the defense

SANTA CLARA – The 49ers’ run defense is the best in the NFL, but their pass defense stood out on Monday. Justin Smith dominated the first half of practice, sacking Alex Smith twice. He constantly forced quarterbacks to abandon the pocket and throw on the run. He sat out the second half of practice and as a result the offense played much better. Perrish Cox picked off Alex Smith. On…

August 6, 2012
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Top five performers: Week One

Here are the top five performers in training camp at the end of Week One. Justin Smith – The defense has dominated the offense for most of training camp, and Justin Smith is a big reason why. He’s almost too good. Sometimes when the offense is really struggling, I wonder if they’d look better if only they didn’t have to practice against Justin Smith. Sometimes Jim Harbaugh makes the second-team…

August 5, 2012
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Jim Harbaugh says the defense dominated the offense “about every which way it could be dominated.”

SANTA CLARA – Friday in the media tent, Jim Harbaugh explained that his defense dominated his offense in practice. He also explained why Mike Iupati did not participate and why Alex Boone did not finish the team drills. Here’s a transcript of the press conference, courtesy of the 49ers.   Opening statement: “Hello. [G] Mike Iupati was excused from practice today, expecting their first child, [his wife] Ashley and Mike…

August 3, 2012
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Training camp report: Sunday, the good – Nathan Palmer stands out

SANTA CLARA — It’s very early in training camp, and I’m no expert, but the undrafted rookie wide receiver from Northern Illinois, Nathan Palmer, is good. He may be better than A.J. Jenkins right now. Palmer caught five passes today by my count, including one 50-yard reception in a seven-on-seven drill. In a one-on-one drill he beat Pro Bowl cornerback Carlos Rogers. After the play, Rogers walked over to Palmer…

July 29, 2012
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Justin Smith on playing offense, defense and more

SANTA CLARA – Today Justin Smith answered questions about his teammates and about playing both defense and offense. Here’s what he said. Q: How much of a head start does the defense have this year as opposed to last year? JUSTIN SMITH: I think the biggest thing is you can actually see some of the things you did last year and some of the things you need to work on…

July 28, 2012
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Vic Fangio on the state of the Niners defense entering training camp

SANTA CLARA – Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio spoke in the media tent today, and here’s a transcript of what he said, courtesy of the 49ers.   How much more of the defense are you going to be able to install with this training camp compared to last year? “Not much more. We pretty much got everything we wanted to put in last year. And then as a matter of fact,…

July 28, 2012
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Niners media tent schedule

Here is the Niners’ current weekend interview schedule, which is subject to change. If you have any questions you would like me to ask, please leave them in the comment section below.   Friday, July 27 between 12-1pm Head Coach Jim Harbaugh QB Alex Smith WR Randy Moss   Saturday, July 28 between 12-1pm Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio DT Justin Smith LB Patrick Willis   Sunday, July 29 between 12-1pm…

July 27, 2012
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Vernon Davis and the smell of the Super Bowl

SANTA CLARA – Vernon Davis spoke about the Niners Super Bowl expectations this afternoon, and here’s what he said. Q: How does it feel to be back? VERNON DAVIS: It feels awesome. I’m excited about the players we have here. I can’t wait until the season starts. Sometimes you want to skip preaseaon and get right to the season. It’s going to be a good year. I can feel it….

July 26, 2012
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Jason Slowey learning center and both guard positions

SANTA CLARA – After practice, the 49ers P.R. staff invited the media out to the field to interview a few players. Most Niners were already in the locker room, but sixth round pick Jason Slowey stayed out on the field with Joe Looney and Colin Kaepernick to do some extra work. Slowey lined up at center, Looney lined up at right guard and Kaepernick took about 20 snaps from Slowey,…

July 25, 2012
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Top five athletes on the Niners

Who are the top-five athletes on the 49ers? This is an interesting question – people ask me all the time who is the Niners best athlete. My answer is a little subjective because we don’t have access to the data the team has. These are my sideline impressions from hours and hours watching the team. I base my rankings on speed, quickness, strength and endurance. Patrick Willis – One of…

July 5, 2012
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Five players the Niners can least afford to lose

In the wake of Aldon Smith’s stabbing – and the frightening possibility they might have lost him, it appears they didn’t – let’s rank the players the 49ers can least afford to lose for next season’s Super Bowl run. This list is highly subjective. I’m open to your ideas. It’s hard to quantify value. Aldon Smith –I recently ranked him as the Niners’ third-best player behind Justin Smith and Patrick…

July 2, 2012
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Justin Smith: “Your team isn’t always stacked forever.”

SANTA CLARA – Justin Smith philosophized about his team and his future this morning at the 49ers facility. He said he’s got three, maybe four more good years of football in him, and that the Niners window to win the Super Bowl is right now. Here’s everything he said. Q: How’s minicamp going? JUSTIN SMITH: It’s been good, every day just keep installing, getting everything done that you can get…

June 14, 2012
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Fangio says the Niners defense has potential to be best defense he’s ever coached

SANTA CLARA – It was defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s turn to explain the state of the Niners defense today. He said it has the potential to be the best defense he’s ever coached. He also talked about turnovers, and why he’s confident his players can continue to force them at a high rate next season. Finally, he spoke specifically about Aldon Smith and new cornerback Perrish Cox, and how they’re…

June 13, 2012
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Aldon Smith on learning new positions

SANTA CLARA – Last season, Aldon Smith played about half of the Niners’ defensive snaps and recorded a whopping 16 sacks. This offseason he’s working to become an every-down player, and today he talked to reporters about his progress. Here’s what he said. Q: How’s the transition going to being an every-down guy? ALDON SMITH: It’s going good so far. I’m enjoying the learning process and the watching-myself-get-better process. Q:…

June 13, 2012
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The top-five 49ers under contract

Who are the top-five Niners under contract right now? Recently, we’ve focused on players who don’t have contracts, like Coby Fleener and Carlos Rogers and Alex Smith, to name a few. What about the players the Niners have currently? Who are the best ones? Here’s the top-five. 1. Justin Smith – He’s the best player on the team, arguably the best defensive player in the NFL. He’s a great run…

February 27, 2012
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