Jim Harbaugh

49ers offense catching up to defense’s dominance

By: Antonio Gonzalez 10/08/12 6:47 PM

Alex Smith had just engineered the most offense in 49ers history and the best balanced approach the NFL had ever witnessed when the attention started to shift to this week’s NFC championship game rematch against the New York Giants. “There’s a lot of baggage, a lot of history there,” Smith said. “A little unfinished business, I guess.” Read More

49ers guard against becoming ‘soft’ after big win

By: Antonio Gonzalez 10/03/12 4:43 PM

Jim Harbaugh had to go out of his way last season to keep his San Francisco 49ers focused following big wins, even inventing a fictional character to get the message across to players. Now Freddie P. Soft is back. Only this time, players are on the lookout. Read More

Turnovers are keying 49ers’ success again

By: Janie McCauley 10/01/12 7:43 PM

The 49ers defense has a little inside game of its own going on in practice each week to force as many turnovers as possible to prepare for more of the same come Sunday. Linebacker NaVorro Bowman claims his unit had nine turnovers during one such session recently — though quarterback Alex Smith begs to differ, calling that number inflated. The total hardly matters, it’s the principle. Read More

49ers win against New York Jets was textbook Harbaugh strategy

By: Paul Gackle 09/30/12 8:11 PM

The 49ers didn’t need to paint the Mona Lisa to beat the New York Jets on the road Sunday. They just needed to return to the formula that worked so well last season: run the ball, stop the run and win the so-called “turnover battle.” Tape of this week’s 34-0 blowout win won’t be shipped off to the Louvre any time soon. But it was a textbook example of how coach Jim Harbaugh likes to win football games. Read More

49ers run all over Jets in 34-0 romp

By: By Dennis Waszak Jr. 09/30/12 1:37 PM

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The San Francisco 49ers are everything Rex Ryan wishes his New York Jets were. San Francisco used a solid running game, a smothering defense, a little bit of the wildcat-style offense and even blocked a punt to cruise to a 34-0 victory Sunday. Read More

Humbled 49ers look to get back on winning path

By: Alexis Terrazas 09/27/12 9:55 PM

They were only 2-0, and already pegged as Super Bowl favorites. But San Francisco’s humbling pummeling last weekend in Minnesota illustrated precisely why the Lombardi Trophy isn’t awarded a mere two weeks into an NFL season. “I think when you come off a loss,” 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said, “you wanna get back to work and make darn sure it doesn’t happen again.” Read More

Loss to Vikings raises plenty of questions for 49ers

By: The Sports Xchange 09/26/12 5:24 PM

Parity seems to have descended over the NFL again this year, and no team has been more mercurial than the 49ers. After possibly their most impressive regular-season win in a decade over Green Bay on opening day, the 49ers then lost 24-13 two weeks later to the Vikings, a 3-13 team in 2011. Read More

Cardinals look to keep things rolling

By: SportsDirect 09/26/12 4:49 PM

Andrew Luck and Jim Harbaugh may have moved on to the NFL, but second-year coach David Shaw and No. 9 Stanford haven’t skipped a beat. For the first time since 1970-72, the Cardinal improved to 3-0 for the third straight season with their fourth consecutive victory over then-No. 3 USC on Sept. 15, holding the Trojans to only 26 yards rushing and intercepting Heisman Trophy hopeful quarterback Matt Barkley twice in a thrilling 21-14 victory. Read More

49ers' Smith, Moss yet to start clicking on the field

By: Staff report 09/24/12 7:27 PM

One player who could shake the 49ers out of their lackluster performance on Sunday in Minnesota is wide receiver Randy Moss. Moss returned to the place he started and caught three passes for 27 yards as the 49ers targeted him early with six passes thrown his way. Read More

49ers fall to Minnesota Vikings 24-13

By: The Sports Xchange 09/23/12 2:30 PM

It was nothing less than stunning, given that the San Francisco 49ers already were being considered NFL royalty and the Minnesota Vikings court jesters. But here it is: The San Francisco defense, so stout, was attacked, successfully, from the opening whistle. The Vikings defense, for two years an Achilles heel, stood tall, making stops, taking away the ball. And Christian Ponder? Well, the young Vikings quarterback was simply amazing. Read More