So much for the Suck for Luck sweepstakes, it appears the 49ers aren't going to be one of the worst teams in the NFL this year. In fact, with first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh calling the shots, the Niners appear to be (gulp) good.
During the 49ers training camp earlier this season, I asked Harbaugh a question during a post-practice press conference. "How do you plan on changing the culture of a very proud franchise that's suffered through consecutive losing seasons and hasn't been to the playoffs since 2002?" Harbaugh looked right at me like I was a fool and replied, "people like to use that word culture, that seems to be the big buzz word from everybody. To me it's more attitude and our attitude is do as many things right as we possibly can." At first, I felt like he didn't take my question seriously, but as his response settled into my mind, I realized what he meant.
From the first day he took over as coach, Harbaugh made it is mission to change the 49ers character. He wanted his squad, and everyone around it, to believe they were winners. It was almost like he was coaching the Super Bowl champions and even though everybody knew that wasn't the case, Harbaugh didn't care. He was sending a message, "why not us, why not now. We're going to be good, deal with it." So far that message has worked. For the first time since 1998, the red and gold sport a 5-1 record
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It's not like the 49ers have played a bunch of cupcake teams, either. San Francisco's opponents have a combined record of 19-15, and the team is 3-0 on the road, beating the Bengals, Eagles and Lions. In fact, if it wasn't for a tough loss to Dallas in overtime, San Francisco would be undefeated.
The reason San Francisco is nearly undefeated has been it's consistent play on both sides of the ball. The Niners are winning by playing the right way, the way championship teams do (did I really just write that). It's all about minimizing mistakes and utilizing the team's greatest strengths: an awesome defense and a powerful run offense. Ironically, those are the same things Harbaugh's predecessor Mike Singletary tried to instill, but when Singletary was calling the shots, the players weren't buying in. With Harbaugh, it's a different story.
The Niners are ranked third in the league against the run, and they also have Frank Gore, a guy who is fifth in the league in rushing. Quarterback Alex Smith isn't playing like Joe Montana or Steve Young, but he is managing games. With 8 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions, Smith is currently 8th in the league with a passer rating of 95.2. That's not incredible, but when you take into consideration the team's elite rush defense and rush offense, Smith doesn't have be elite. Yet, you can tell he is playing with a renewed confidence, and that confidence is spear-heading big time quality play. Against Detroit, facing a 4th and 5 late in the game, Smith threw a perfect game-winning TD pass to Delanie Walker. I almost couldn't believe my eyes. Then, after the game as Harbaugh addressed his team in the locker room, he pointed right at Smith in front of everybody and yelled, "clutch, clutch, clutch!" The camera quickly panned over to Smith and he was chuckling like a school boy.
It all starts with the coach. Harbaugh transformed the Stanford Cardinal into winners by changing their approach to the game. Now, he's doing the same with the 49ers. I guess we shouldn't be surprised by the overall demeanor he's brought to the team. They have adopted Harbaugh's emotional hard-working outlook and they're playing confident football. As a lifelong Niners fan, it's great to see.
One quick note, if you're expecting anything about the Jim Schwartz/Jim Harbaugh incident, I'm sorry. I think that was completely blown out of proportion and I'd rather not comment on it. But I will say this, out of Harbaugh and Schwartz, who came out as the winner? Yep.
