Vic Fangio on Alex Smith: “Sometimes too much study is paralysis by over-analysis. I watched the tape and prepared for him just like any other quarterback.”

SANTA CLARA — Here is the transcript of Vic Fangio’s Thursday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department.

What went into the decision to play LB Aaron Lynch so much more? And how do you use him? Is it similarly to the way you use LB Aldon Smith? Is it a little different?

“Well, the decision was, he had been playing a lot in the first three games anyway. And this game, that pass game was going to be harder to roll guys because of the no huddle. And we just decided to go with him as the guy in the sub packages. And the second part was, similar to Aldon? You mean when Aldon was a rookie?”

 

A rookie, but even now. Is it that same position or is it a little different?

“No, he’s basically playing the left end in our sub packages.”

 

And LB Ahmad Brooks goes to the other side?

“Correct.”

 

Why is that? Just generally.

“Aaron’s had most of his work on the left side since he’s been here. Feels a little more comfortable there right now. And Ahmad’s interchangeable, so it makes sense.”

 

How has he just improved so fast, Aaron Lynch we’re talking about, just this last week?

“Good coaching.”

 

Well, that’s obvious.

“Well he’s got talent, obviously. Like I said back in training camp, he came here in the offseason after the draft and was doing fine. Then had the hamstring issue, which ended his offseason work, I don’t know, 10 days early. That lingered into training camp. It also inhibited his period of time between OTA’s and training camp. He really couldn’t work out. He was rehabbing. Those are different. So, he was behind the eight ball in training camp up until Week 2 or Week 3. Didn’t want to play him in the first preseason game because I didn’t feel he was ready from a coaching standpoint and from a repetition and feeling comfortable. Wanted him to get a good, solid two weeks of practice before we put him into a game, which we did in Game 2. And he played well in preseason games for the most part, made some plays, and he’s continued to improve from there. And he’s gotten in better shape, which he got out of shape due to the hamstring issue.”

 

What’s an ideal weight for him?

“I’m not sure yet. Definitely not what he was after the rehab process. And he’s down into the 260’s now, the low 260’s, and I think that’s probably a good weight for him. We’ll see as we get to know him more.”

 

You got to see a lot of Chiefs QB Alex Smith when he was here, but just watching him now on film, how does he fit just that offense so well? How is it built around him that has maybe improved his strengths even more?

“Well, it’s a very complex offense. They do a lot of different things from a lot of different personnel groups. They have a lot of different formations. And Alex is a quarterback that can handle all of that from a mental standpoint and choreograph it and orchestrate it for them on the field. They do a lot of things out of all those different packages that suit his game. They throw a lot of quick passes, which is the so-called West Coast style. They’re running the gun-read option, which Alex can do, as he did here and did in college. So, that fits him. They’ve got a nice little boot game with them, which Alex can do. Alex is a very athletic and fast quarterback that sometimes people forget about, but it stands out when people watch the tape. And he’s a good scrambler. So, I think the offense is operating at a high level for them coming off that game on Monday night, and he played really well.”

 

Someone was saying that nobody knows him better than head coach Jim Harbaugh. Have you discussed with Jim or gone to Jim and kind of picked his brain of what’s his weakness that we can exploit, or what’s his strengths that we need to really pay attention to?

“I have not. Have not.”

 

Why not?

“I was here, too, for that time.”

 

But you didn’t study him, did you?

“No, but sometimes too much study is paralysis by over-analysis. I watched the tape and prepared for him just like any other quarterback. And I saw him play all those games and in practice. So, whatever I would ask him or answer I was looking for, I already had an opinion in my own mind.”

 

He’s second to QB Colin Kaepernick in rushing yards by a quarterback. How much of that has come on designed plays versus just scrambling?

“Just much like with Colin, it’s both. I can’t give you an exact percentage, but they have design running plays for him, or the design option, where he can hand it off or keep it, which he’s done. And obviously he’s gotten his scrambling yards. So, it’s both.”

 

How have you seen S Eric Reid grow in a year’s time and also maybe his role taking DB Jimmie Ward under his wing as a second-year pro? Do you forget that this guy’s a second-year pro?

“Well, he’s grown. He’s learning the game more and more every day, learning our package more and more every day. He had a good season last year. Got to play 19 games, three of them playoff games, which is your ultimate learning experience. He’s just continued to progress.”

 

When Alex Smith was drafted nine years ago, the first pick, everybody in the Bay Area – just general – was feeling they wanted Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers just because he was the University of California-Berkley kid and he did so well. And former 49ers head coach and current Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan’s argument was this guy was a better “athlete”, and he talked about rolling balls and sticks at him and he could avoid all this stuff. Used agile, very agile and evasive. Do you see that? And do you think years later that it makes sense? Or would you go after a QB with an arm?

“Man, that was a long question. Obviously, Alex is a good athlete. And he’s highly intelligent. And he’s a good quarterback. The rest of it I really don’t know.”

 

Talking to LB Patrick Willis and Alex, they said the time they were together they really sharpened each other just because they would have competitions on the field, off the field, all the time. Do you remember any of those? Were there any that stick out from training camp or 7-on-7 where Alex and Patrick were going back and forth?

“No more, no less than you get from any other team when you spend all off-season, all training camp working against each other. It’s good, fun competition.”

 

How much of Kansas City Chiefs receiver A.J. Jenkins do you expect to see on Sunday?

“Probably a fair amount. [Kansas City receiver Donnie] Avery’s not going to play for them, supposedly, so, that’s one of their full-time receivers that will not play and it kicks up the reps for the receivers that are behind him and that includes A.J. A.J.’s been getting reps anyway, so, I would suppose we’d see him more.”

 

When CB Tramaine Brock is ready to come back, what happens to CB Perrish Cox?

“We’ll figure that out then.”

 

Has his play merited a way for you to figure out how he stays on the field somehow?

“He definitely has played well. And his play has merited playing. That’ll be a good problem to have and we’ll solve it.”

 

Do you see Jimmie Ward continuing to elevate his game, game-to-game?

“Up to this point or going forward?”

 

Up to this point and then what that translates to?

“He’s the type of guy that’s going to improve. He’s smart, he’s diligent and he’s prideful. And he’s competitive, so, when you have those qualities you’re going to improve. And he’ll continue to improve going forward.”

 

Dou you approach Kansas City Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles the similar way as you do Philadelphia Eagles RB LeSean McCoy?

“A little bit. He’s much faster than McCoy. He might be the fastest back in the league. He’ll run it downhill a little bit more. This is a physical running game. The most physical running game we’ve seen lately, probably since the Dallas game. We’ll see. But he’s an excellent back with breakaway speed as is his backup, [Kansas City Chiefs RB Niles] Davis.”

 

To the, I guess, uneducated eye, LB Ahmad Brooks has not been quite as impactful as he’s been in previous seasons. Perhaps it’s not a correlation, but you said he wasn’t in great shape before the season. Is there something to that? Is he still working his way back into shape? Is that part of, if you agree, he has not been quite as impactful?

“He played better last week and I do think he’s working his way back to being in tip-top shape. It wasn’t so much the shape part of it. He just got overweight. He was here all offseason. He wasn’t like he skipped workouts and things like that. He worked out. He just got a little too heavy.”

 

S Antoine Bethea was able to pick up the Eagles tell on when they were going to go to runs. How commonplace is that and are there tendencies with Alex Smith that you guys have spotted already?

“No. Not much with Alex. It’s not really common. I think what happened with Antoine on that one particular play you’re alluding to, I think it happened earlier in the game and happened again and he was on it.”

 

Because Aaron Lynch, you mentioned keeping him in there because of the no-huddle, is that kind of his spot now or will LB Corey Lemonier get some of those reps?

“He’ll be back. He’ll be there. He’ll be the left guy in our sub-packages. Yes.”

 

How has NT Ian Williams played?

“Good. Had a nice game last week. Gave us some good pressure, played the run good and played good.”

This article has 127 Comments

  1. Sounds like Lynch has beat out Lemonier. Williams is starting to come into his own with each game. That’s a positive right in the center, the most important area of the field….

  2. When Alex Smith was drafted nine years ago, the first pick, everybody in the Bay Area – just general – was feeling they wanted Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers just because he was the University of California-Berkley kid and he did so well. And former 49ers head coach and current Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan’s argument was this guy was a better “athlete”, and he talked about rolling balls and sticks at him and he could avoid all this stuff. Used agile, very agile and evasive. Do you see that? And do you think years later that it makes sense? Or would you go after a QB with an arm?

    Why was this question even asked?

    1. Asked of the Def Co-Ord……who scouts, evaluates, and develops Quarterbacks I guess.

      1. It’s mind-boggling how stupid the questions have been from the media this season and just seems they are trying to one-up that stupidity each time.

  3. Niners (optimistic): “we won last week by five points”
    Chiefs (bold as they wanna be): we won by 27 pts.

    Those statistics are particularly appropos because of the
    dearth of second half scoring by San Francisco…
    And yet, oddsmakers have us as 6-point favorites…
    Go figure.

    1. Welp….. Maybe it’s because the 49ers destroyed the best offense in the league coming in. The best qb also. And the chiefs beat an offense who has no receivers at home, and a defense who couldn’t tackle a highschool squad. I think it’s generous.

  4. It always baffles me how football players come into the camp/season overweight or out of shape. That should never happen. If you even come close to either one they should hire a trainer or nutritionist. There’s zero excuse for it.

    1. It really doesn’t make any sense for any active professional athlete to be out of shape any time of the year. Not only that you risk losing your job because it will affect your performance, but you also increase the risk of injuring your body.

  5. Teddy Bridgewater with a bum ankle would probably have been a better option today for the Vikings than a healthy Ponder…

    1. I still cannot believe that this is the same guy who led the Vikings to victory against the Niners a couple of years ago.

      1. Hard to fathom, isn’t it? Easy to say now, but I think everybody knew from the get go the Vikings had over-reached when they drafted Ponder.

        1. The 2011 1st round picks could potentially produce a few 1st-ballot hall of famers and several great players, and to come out with Ponder out of that group is really heartbreaking.

  6. 2013 draft was April 25–27.
    2014 was a very late May 8–10.
    2015 draft will be April 30-May 2 in Chicago. Not bad, but still too late in spring for my tastes.

    Baalke said the May 8 date allowed the less organized scouting departments to “catch up” their draft boards.

    I’m taking that to mean dumber front offices had more time to scout and get info on who other teams covet… which means less blue-chip players falling.

    That was evident the way the first round went last May. Everyone I was hoping to slip to 15-25 were snagged. Baalke then put together a very good “plan B” draft. No trade-ups to the mid first, but lots of quality depth.

  7. You know, I’m getting tired of reading stories about guys complaining about not being able to shoot dice, play cards, listen to music, Harbaugh only wanted to scrimmage his brother, he makes us work too hard, he has too many meetings, BLAH, blah…… Someone needs to tell these guys to shut the heck up. You get paid, at the least 6 figures, to do that. If you don’t like it, go work a 9-5 where you will be easily replaced. The complaints are the dumbest thing ever. You want more freedom, bust arse, and win the Superbowl. Until then, grab your lunch pail, and get to work.

    Now let me get back to work.

    1. Good reasoning for those rules. Cards/Dice would lead to gambling with potential sore losers. Headphones are readily available. Not everyone likes the same music….

  8. note to Colin (speaking of elite quarterbacks):
    when was the last time you put up 42 pts…..
    in only three quarters…? (a la Aaron Rodgers)

    When you do this, it allows the coaches to insert
    the backup QB and give him some reps. Got it?
    But if you cannot put points on the board early,
    if you let the opponents hang around into the 4th quarter,
    (as was done TWICE last week), it is a different story.

    If you had already earned a Super Bowl ring, then
    you could stop reading here. However, that is not the case.
    So pay attention to the following:
    Green Bay had six receivers in double figures.
    Rodgers was 12 of 17 (156 total yards passing)
    He averaged 9.2 yards per catch…
    three touchdowns and no interceptions…
    DOING IT ALL IN THREE QUARTERS…!!!
    42 points….and no interceptions.
    Time for you to “snapback”….hmm???

    1. Note to still moping the reason a dog has so many friends is he wags his tail instead of his tongue….

      1. Yo Razor,
        Don’t spend too much energy on that one. Say, shouldn’t we be getting $200/hour like Psychoanalysts for reading/listening to the mindless ravings?
        Two other points:
        I enjoyed your comments about Nada Yoga yesterday. Reminds me some of Zen. Calmness in crisis is essential. Calmness in everyday life is desirable.
        Finally, I think you’d enjoy the music of Carolyn Wonderland whose show I caught last night. Powerhouse Blues-Rock-Texas Funk. This lady can sing and play her booty off.
        Ciao Bro

          1. Never heard of her BT, razor ..
            but thanx for the link ..
            I’d be down with goin’ to see her as well !

            Reminds me a little bit of Janis ..
            (but with a Telecaster) …

            Hey .. you can tell the guy with the sticks ..
            I’ve got a really old 6-piece set of Ludwigs
            he could borrow ..
            (and with the condition they’re in .. they
            wouldn’t look out of place on that stage) .. ;-)

        1. BT- I’ve seen Carolyn a few times, great live act and a real person too! Not ‘fake’ enough for full public consumption, kinda sad she’s not more popular.

          1. Well said, Bray. Part of the problem for her is a combination of cycles in music trends and demographics. The audience last night was old like me because my peers were and are into Blues while I think Rap and Hip Hop interests younger folks more. Usually things cycle around so I hope she can cash in as a new group of listeners embrace Blues.
            Yes, she is a very ‘real’ person. She put so much into her act that after she finished she was so exhausted she had trouble leaving the stage.

    2. When was the last time Rogers beat or outplayed ck he’s to head? Ask Aaron Rodgers defense if they think playing against ck is a walk in the park.

      1. You’ve heard of flavor of the month? Well, this nutcase has a new flavor every nanosecond. By the time Monkey finishes posting his mindless drivel, the number of times he switches between teams and players makes the U.S. budget deficit look miniscule in comparison.

      2. Anybody but the 49ers.
        A sad smither left with only memories of what could have been. Probably the devil on D sanders shoulder.

        1. MD,
          I know that DS is Mary / Darren / Xilicious. But it just came to me who this Monkey is. I think Monkey is…… Hofer. What do you think?

            1. Bay i have my doubts that DS is Mary but it could be true but i would bet the house that Hofer is’nt the Monkey.

              1. Razor… If it’s onelame…. You’ll see tons of these…………..
                And he would be following every post of mine…. Like he does now…
                He’s not smart enough to be a different idiot who gets his #11 panties in a bunch

            2. How long have you known him mid??
              Lol he’s been around for a long time. Well since smith was at least. Fraud from the start. Always called him leaving when smith did. And the funny part was he’d argue with me and said he was a longtime 49er fan and the qb didn’t mean the world. Wheeeeew! Saw uniting and a miss. Lmao

          1. That’s not my guess, but who knows. Does it really matter though? Do you have to know the name of the demented lunatic homeless guy yelling on the street corner to know to,ignore his crazed ramblings? Nah.
            I was wondering though why Grant or the PD doesn’t clean house. Other sites don’t put up with this balogna because it reflects on the Blogger. Does Grant not clean up his bedroom too? Are the PD’s files and offices a mess?
            NorCalMafia overstepped last week, got his posts, deleted but now is back and all is good. Surprising that the chronic trolls are allowed to run wild.

            1. Yep… You try the crap like Mary/DS, ghost, and this 8-8 idiot and you get booted. How do you think Mary/DS knew that’s what happens on the webzone.
              Shoot Grant doesn’t care. More names the better. No integrity on this blog. Not like when MM was running it. The good ol days. The days onelame would love to forget. After being booted 2 times for loosing his lid over Alex smith. Lol still laugh about that. We all could just switch over to MM or MB and flood their pages with comments. They actually do get the scoop anyways. Not copy and paste articles. IJS

          2. I agree. He still comes around from time to time. I was thinking ghost too. He thinks he’s smuuuuve like that. The ghost of hoff???? Hmmmm lol

            1. Our SoCal brothers may appreciate this:
              Maybe another new name for Mud could be “Doctor Dimento”

            2. Ghost has never been anyone you know. And just because I don’t agree with some of you, doesn’t mean I’m a troll, cause I’m not…

              1. IMO, ghost is not a troll, just a grumpy old guy like me. No smarter or dumber. It’s pov.

  9. note to Andy Reid:
    if you just happen to surprise the Niners on Sunday,
    please give Coach Harbaw a vice-grip (Detroit style)
    handshake (and a robust back slap). Do not release
    until he ‘grudgingly’ makes eye contact with you, ok?

    Teach him the right way to finish off a football fight…

    Yes, I am the Super Bowl monkey and I approve (yadda yadda)

    1. Hey guys, how about let’s all pitch in to hire an exterminator to hunt down and exterminate this annoying monkey that’s always defecating on this blog.

  10. Jairus Byrd gone for the season with a knee injury. Was ranked in the bottom ten of Safeties by PFF and said to be playing the worst of any Safety in the league by Greg Cosell.

    If only we had signed this guy to a huge deal….

    1. There are plenty of critics of Baalke’s ability to draft and sign talent. This offseason it was apparently essential to sign a big money safety, CB and WR. This of course gave no consideration to the 49ers salary cap situation, but never let that get in the way of determining who the team should sign (as an aside, some people lauded the Pats aggressiveness in FA, showing a team that was going all in for the SB this year. Isn’t that turning out wonderfully so far…).

      Instead the 49ers signed two established WRs on the relative cheap (and drafted another), got a pro bowl SS on a very reasonable contract that has been very good so far, and have let their young stable of CBs compete which has seen one guy elevate his game to be one of the top ranked CBs in the NFL through 4 weeks.

      Our D was supposedly going to suck the first half of this year while key troops were out. Its been a bit up and down, yet the 49ers rank very high in both run and pass D through the first 4 weeks. In that time they have played some very high powered offenses, so its hard to say it was a fluke.

      Meanwhile, the offense has been without Vernon for much of the first quarter of the season, yet has been able to keep the aerial attack going in part due to the additional weapons Baalke added at WR. It hasn’t always been effective, but Kaep is completing a much higher % of his passes through 4 games than his historic average and that is partly due to having more than one WR he trusts to get open.

      1. You like Baalke enough to get rid of the 3rd best coach the 49ers have ever had, if forced to choose? If York/Marathe/Baalke are the sources of the locker room story, in order to psychologically prepare fans for his eventual dismissal in the not so distant future, I will no longer support ownership of this franchise….

          1. Before you and management plan the Fall Of The Empire, I would remind you of the old saying, ‘be careful what you wish for’. There are no sure things on the farm, and Harbaugh has plowed victory fields for the 49ers. Weak ownership with short memories could send this franchise back among the cow patty’s…

            1. Fall Of The Empire?

              Shouldn’t a team win a championship before being called an empire?

              1. Jack… Get out some time. The empire is a name coming from a huge fanbase that opposes the word nation. Like raider nation.. Get it?

              2. NFC Championship is chopped liver to you? Do you disagree he’s the 3rd best head coach in 49er history? If you keep one foot in the past and one in the future, you’re just pissing on the present….

              3. If you paid attention you’d already know that I think Harbaugh is a tremendous coach.

                Would I hate to see him go? Yes

                Do I think others could maintain what he’s built? Absolutely

              4. Please name the “others” that you believe can coach this team to the same record as Harbaugh….

              5. That option guarantees Godfather Fangio leaving for another family and Donatell as your new DC. Meanwhile you’re left with a defensive minded head coach to grow your quarterback and offense. Who would be the offensive mastermind to compensate?

        1. I’m not sure where my comment suggested anything about siding with Baalke over Harbaugh, Razor. If forced to decide it would be a tough choice. Both positions are hard to find good candidates for. Regardless of my opinion, York has pretty much already confirmed he will take Baalke over Harbaugh, if it comes to that.

          I don’t believe for a second that Baalke is trying to force Harbaugh out by leaking stories. Maybe someone in the front office is telling stories, but I highly doubt it is Baalke. He knows how important it is for everyone to be working together to win championships, and I think he wants a championship this year as much as anyone.

          Good news is that if we do lose Harbaugh we now have a strong squad that has been successful the past few years, a good balance of vets and young talent, a salary cap that is under control, and a new stadium. Those are pretty attractive features for a coach, so they should be able to attract some decent candidates, if necessary.

          1. Seems like its easier to find a GM than a winning coach. I’d swing the other way but like you said it seems York leans towards Baalke. From my view point Baalke brings in a lot of questionable character at reduced prices. Some of the arrests attributed to the 49ers is because of the number of players Baalke has picked up with problems. JH seems to be a bit more selective on player’s character, see Reid and Donte Johnson. Both high character guys.

            JH seems to have a good nose for selecting talent at Stanford and in the NFL. What would you think of him controlling everything? Could be worse eh? Or better?

            1. I’d say the number of top notch GMs out there is about the same as the number of top notch coaches. Finding a GM capable of continually finding and replenishing a roster with talented guys isn’t easy. Of course part of the GMs role is also finding (and replacing, as needed) top shelf coaches.

              Too early to say with Baalke as he’s only been in charge for a few years. We’ll see how the team goes from a talent perspective over the next couple of years, see whether he’s done a good job of replenishing talent. And we may well get to see if he can do a good job of finding a new head coach as soon as next season.

              1. I’ve no problem with Harbaugh, Razor. He’s proven to be a coach capable of getting his team to play consistent, winning football. No mean feat. Though he hasn’t taken them all the way, so he can’t be considered a truly great coach just yet.

                But if reports are to be believed he is unlikely to be here next year. So like it or not, Baalke’s job will be to find a capable replacement.

              2. Harbaugh is right up there when it comes to best 49ers coaches in history. Bill Walsh is on a pedestal of his own. Seifert goes down as #2 as he also won 2 SBs. After that Harbaugh is thick in the conversation for #3.

              3. That’s how I have it, and while I don’t believe Baalke is a bad GM, he’s certainly not the 3rd best in 49er history is he?

              4. How many were better than Baalke, Razor?

                McVay would be #1. A few other guys held the GM role during the glory period but McVay was the one primarily responsible for talent evaluation, I believe.

                McCloughan? He brought in some talented players, but couldn’t find the right coach to bring that talent together.

              5. You just named three guys that were in charge at the same time. McVay was the key man running the talent evaluation side of things through all three guys tenure at the 49ers.

              6. I don’t think Baalke is a better evaluator than McCloughan, let alone each of those individuals. It seems you’re saying those three just sat in the GM’s office and provided no individual contributions to the position…

              7. Nope, not what I’m saying at all. They each had their roles. McVay’s primary role was player evaluation, which is what he was originally hired as, I believe (Director of Player Personnel).

          2. I fail to see where I intimated such a suggestion Scooter. I was merely curious as to where you stood. I highly doubt Baalke is an innocent pawn in this game of screw the fans, we’ve already sold out our expensive stadium seats….

            1. I must have misinterpreted “You like Baalke enough to get rid of the 3rd best coach the 49ers have ever had, if forced to choose?”. The way it was written (without the “do” to start the sentence) made it seem more an incredulous statement than a question.

              1. I thought the “if forced to choose” would be evidence of my curiosity, however I do find it interesting you trust Baalke to find another head coach that’s better than Harbaugh….

              2. I trust him to find a capable replacement. Is there any reason I shouldn’t?

                He did a pretty good job of finding a head coach first time round. And while the jury is still out on his ability to replenish talent on the roster I feel he is doing a pretty good job of it.

              3. Harbaugh was hardly a discovery of Baalke’s. Have you scouted any coaches Baalke may have on speed dial, that he believes can coach this team to the same winning record?

              4. How do you define discovery, Razor? Harbaugh is the guy Baalke identified as the one he wanted as his first head coaching hire, and convinced the front office to go hard to get him. Harbaugh was unproven in the NFL at the time.

                Its not up to me to find a new head coach. I don’t follow college football enough to have much of an opinion in those ranks. I’ll leave that to Baalke. But I’m confident he would already have some people in mind.

              5. Scooter, Harbaugh was the coach everyone wanted, not just Baalke. I trusted Baalke in the 2012 draft and he whiffed. Has Harbaugh whiffed yet? Playoffs every year….

              6. Yep, Baalke has had one very bad draft, and boy was it a stinker. And yet it appears that despite 2012 he has done a pretty good job of finding and replenishing talent overall.

                Player evaluation is quite a bit different to coaching a team. Far more variability. You aren’t going to knock every draft pick out of the park, and you aren’t going to hit every draft out of the park.

              7. How good is the 2013 draft looking? Tank, not so much. VMac, not so much. Lemonier, not so much. Patton, not so much. Daniels, BSki, Cooper, oh where art thou?

            2. With regards to Baalke’s intentions, he may be more than happy to see the back of Harbaugh, but I find it very hard to believe he would intentionally undermine the 49ers chances of winning a SB this year by leaking stories about Harbaugh losing the locker room, just so the fans aren’t upset when they let him go at the end of the season. That sounds like a conspiracy theory to me.

              1. So you’re saying Baalke would have no idea that York is behind these stories. Shouldn’t the GM have his head coaches back, like in a foxhole, as long as it is warranted?

              2. Yes. Which is probably why Baalke came out this past week and said he doesn’t believe the stories on 95.7 The Game.

                “All I know is this team is fully committed, everybody from the head coach on down, we’re all-in, and we’re all in it together,” Baalke told the station. “We’ve got to continue to grind.

                “… As long as we stay together, stay focused, we can’t worry about what the outside world is saying. The only thing we can control is what takes place in our locker room and this building. That’s all we try to focus on.”

              3. Disbelief is not an excuse if you have knowledge of it’s origin and the means to extinguish it. Remember when Baalke took the Browns phone call?

              4. You have decided that the front office is behind this (I’m guessing the speculation this week has led you to believe this), and that it must be from one of the top execs. You seem pretty keen to finger York or Baalke as the leak, or at least blame them for not stopping the leak. Personally I think it is far more likely that agents and lower echelon execs may be the sources.

                My take is that Harbaugh is an exceptionally difficult person to work with. I don’t think there is any doubt he has rubbed certain 49ers execs the wrong way, one of which is Baalke. I believe Baalke would lose no sleep if the 49ers let Harbaugh go at the end of the season. But I equally believe Baalke wouldn’t actively try and undermine the football club during the season.

              5. Exactly, but everyone knew the way in which Harbaugh rubs, and they were fine with it as long as he made them relevant again by conquering the battlefield known as the NFL. Now that he’s built their new empire and filled all the seats, all of a sudden winning isn’t worth the stress. I call Bull Sh*t!

        2. If that comes out to be true, I will sell my seats. I will not pay for some wanna mafia style organization. Listen up York. Because I will be writing you and bashing you every minute I can. And those season tickets seen selling so well. Gapishke???

          1. WOW! My Brothers, My Brothers! Calm thy souls! Soothe thy passions!
            Let us chill. Nothing has happened yet.

  11. Jairus Byrd out for the year. Who was the person ripping Baalke mercilessly for not picking him up?

      1. Yeah, Sully left himself open to a lot of ripping by complaining so loudly about guys we picked up, and guys we didn’t. Wonder where he is these days? Wonder if he’s happy about getting Bethea instead of Byrd now?

  12. Thanks for the Wonderland turn-on. She can really sing and pick, zowie!

    When Robert Crumb and Dana were sharing a house with me and my old lady, Janis would come around in that painted-up Porsche roadster. She would ride around San Francisco in it singing away, I’d catch a ride over to North Beach sometimes. Ms. Wonderland has the same vibe for sure…

    1. She is a cool earthy lady from Houston area. Easy-going sense of humor between songs. Her power and range is impressive. In her music last night I was getting Janis, Bonnie Raitt and Little Feat. Rattled the rafters at the little Mystic Theater. Very innovative on the Lap Steel Guitar.

      1. -LLL- She was a very cool lady back in the day. Used to get one of her diet pills on the day I was off — I worked night shift at Rincon Annex. Wired me up good… -L-

    2. Ha! I learned to drive in 48′ Chevy truck, split window with 3 on the tree, we called it R. Crumb.

      BT- If you’re around Petaluma, check out Hard Working Americans at the Phoenix in November, good ol’ fashion rock-n-roll with a bluesy feel.

  13. Per Maiocco Ian Williams “Questionable” with ankle. That’s a blow vs a run team like KC.

    1. Would love to see Dial, JTE and Tank with their long arms, punch and athleticism… but Ian and Dorsey are classic fireplug run plugging NTs. I’m hoping Ian is ready to.

  14. Grant

    I haven’t received any new articles for over a week…Are you taking a break, or di I get 86’d for something ?

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