This is my Thursday column. Your favorite NFL team probably isn’t good. Ten weeks into the season, only 11 of the 32 teams in the NFL have winning records. That’s the fewest number of winning teams this late in a season since 1990, when the number was also 11. Then, the league had 28 teams, not 32. When did the NFL become so mediocre? Where have all the good teams…
This is my Friday column previewing the Warriors-Hawks game. WARNING — this is a basketball column. 49ers’ fans, feel free to skip this. OAKLAND The Warriors play in Atlanta Friday Night against their alter ego — the Atlanta Hawks, the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference. Is the game a special test or just another regular season NBA game? “Just another game,” Andre Iguodala whispered through gritted…
This is my Sunday column. This Super Bowl will be nothing like the previous one: Seahawks 43, Broncos 8. This one will be grim. The Seahawks won’t blow out the Patriots. The Patriots won’t blow out the Seahawks. Neither team will score more than 20 points. This year’s Super Bowl could come down the final play. As opposed to last year’s Super Bowl, which came down to the first play….
This is my Wednesday column. I don’t get you, Jed. You say you know what you’re looking for and you still can’t find it. I asked you Monday what qualities the next head coach of the 49ers should have. You were prepared for that question. Right away, you said, “I want a teacher. I think what made Bill Walsh so successful is that he was a great teacher, whether that…
This is the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Friday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ p.r. department. I’m assuming you guys had to change things up a little bit yesterday as far as the practice plan with that small enclosure that you guys were in. Did that impact you guys much as far as how you normally have a practice week? “Yes.” In what ways? “We weren’t able to run…
This is my Thursday column. Jim Harbaugh isn’t helping Colin Kaepernick. All this talk of greatness is a burden. Here’s what Harbaugh said at Sunday’s postgame press conference: “(Kaepernick) is a great player. I don’t know how everybody else doesn’t see it that way. Great with a capital ‘G.’ At the highest level of great.” Never mind that Kaepernick’s passer rating ranks 17th in the NFL. Never mind that he…
Who are the top-five defensive coaches in the NFL right now? By defensive coaches, I mean guys who actually are instrumental in designing the defensive game plan during the week. The defensive coordinator does it for some teams, but the head coach does it for other teams. When Bill Walsh was the 49ers’ head coach, he had various offensive coordinators but the offense was Walsh’s and he called the plays….
Here is my Wednesday column on Jim Harbaugh. Under no circumstances should the 49ers give Jim Harbaugh a contract extension this offseason. Let him play out the final two years of his deal. Or let him win a Super Bowl before giving him a raise. Apparently, Harbaugh wants to be the highest-paid head coach in the NFL. Hey, so do I, but I don’t deserve to be. Harbaugh doesn’t deserve…
This is my Sunday column on what makes Jim Harbaugh a good head coach. SEATTLE — Serious question — what makes Jim Harbaugh a good head coach? Clearly, he is a good coach. His record reflects that. More than three wins for every loss as a head coach in the NFL. But Harbaugh doesn’t call his own plays like Bill Walsh or Sean Payton, and Harbaugh isn’t a defensive specialist…
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Wednesday afternoon. Here’s a transcript, courtesy of the 49ers. WR Kassim Osgood is back on the team, what do you expect from him? “He is. I expect major contributions on special teams.” Will he be a gunner? “He’ll be a core player.” What weighed into the decision to put LB Nick Moody on short-term IR rather than…
SANTA CLARA – Pete Carroll spoke to Bay Area reporters on a conference call Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what he said. Q: What were your impressions of the 49ers’ Week 1? CARROLL: They couldn’t have been much more explosive in the throwing game. It was a fantastic day for the quarterback, a great breakout day for Anquan Boldin in the new uniform. Vernon Davis was no surprise, he did great. They…
Here is my Tuesday column on the Seahawks-49ers rivalry. The 49ers and the Seahawks have the best rivalry in sports right now, and it isn’t even close. Here are the top five reasons why: 1. They are two of the best teams in the NFL. 2. They are in the same division. 3. Their head coaches hate each other. 4. Their players hate the other team’s coach. 5. Their players…
SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh was asked about the Seattle Seahawks’ recent scandals with performance enhancing drugs Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what Harbaugh said. Q: There have been a few reports this offseason about the Seahawks and PED problems. Is that a concern for you knowing that they’re a chief division rival? HARBAUGH: I’ve definitely noticed it. You don’t know what it is. Even when people say what it is, you…
This is the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Monday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. I did not attend this press conference. I was flying home from Seattle when Harbaugh was speaking. Did you guys get away with the run game too early yesterday? “Like we said last night, we didn’t do really enough good things. Only one thing you can do after a battle, win or lose, and that’s…
The 49ers and Seahawks’ offensive game plans were polar opposites Sunday night. Let me explain. The Seahawks did what the whole world expected – they ran at Ricky Jean Francois and they threw at Carlos Rogers. The Seahawks’ message was simple: We’re going right at your weakest links. Stop us. It was as basic as an offensive game plan gets, and it worked. The 49ers did the reverse. They over-finessed…
Let me start by listing everything that’s working against the 49ers this week. They are trying to win their third game in a row. They haven’t won three games in a row this season. Seattle’s crowd and home field advantage – the turf – will be tough for the Niners to overcome, even more so than last Sunday night. At least the Niners won’t face a time change and will have…
SANTA CLARA – Pete Carroll spoke on conference call with Bay Area reporters Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what he said. Q: How much has Russell Wilson evolved, and how much has the offense evolved since the last time you played the 49ers? CARROLL: We really started out with the idea of not going too far too fast. We didn’t want to overexpose him. We were excited about him in camp and…
SANTA CLARA – This is the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Wednesday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. I heard you say yesterday that the Cowboy will ride. Do you expect DT Justin Smith to play Sunday against Seattle? “If it’s humanly possible.” Is it going to be humanly possible? “We’ll see. We’ll see how he feels today and tomorrow.” How do you feel about just the overall…
Here’s what NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell said on The Murph and Mac Show Thursday morning about the Seattle Seahawks cornerbacks’ rough play against the 49ers wide receivers last Thursday night. Q: Did your film study show the Seahawks DBs were too physical with the 49ers? COSELL: “Clearly there were plays when you watch the film, you say, ‘Boy, that probably should be a pass interference penalty.’ [Jim Harbaugh’s] concern…
First Pete Carroll responded to Harbaugh’s claim that the Seahawks’ cornerbacks were too rough Thursday night. Now one of the cornerbacks in question, Richard Sherman, has fired back at Harbaugh as well. Here’s what Sherman told the Seattle Times Wednesday: “Sometimes, man, when the bully gets bullied, that’s how that happens. He’s the same guy who said the other guy was irrational and ignorant for talking about the refs.” Richard…
