SF Examiner: San Francisco 49ers aren't catching breaks these days

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

Jim Harbaugh was talking about criticism, conceding when the 49ers lose, there will be second-guessing.

“The whys for what happened,” he calls it. The worry is not what happened, but what didn’t happen, with the 49ers unable to get a victory.

“They’re the hunted now,” Harbaugh said of his Niners, after winning the division...

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: Niners need extra push in red zone

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

So the Niners are less than perfect in the red zone, which is football newspeak to describe when a team is within the opponent’s 20-yard line. And they rank 24th in the NFL in offense. Yet, only one team has a better record, so what’s the problem?

That they get field goals instead of touchdowns? When the other team doesn’t score, as the St. Louis Rams didn’t score Sunday, at the moment, that’s only a trifle. Now when they face the Packers ...

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Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: 49ers quarterback Alex Smith finished biding time

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

He was wearing a 49ers hat the other day, to which you would say, of course. But Alex Smith more often is seen in a Giants hat. Or on occasion, as a salute to his first love, a team of which he always will be a fan, the San Diego Padres.

“I’ve always worn something,” he said about his personal preference.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2011 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: Oh, Brother! Harbaughs Ready for Battle

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

Oh, brother! Coach Jim Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers against coach John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving night. “Yeah,’’ said Jim, “it’s a big deal.’’

Jim, a month from his 48th birthday, John 49. “We’re cut from the same cloth,’’ agreed Jim.

Of course they are, two sons of yet another football coach, Jack Harbaugh...

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011

RealClearSports: 49ers Bringing Back the Past

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

SAN FRANCISCO — They're completing passes to offensive tackles and nose tackles. They're on a winning streak that's bringing back thoughts of the past while keeping alive dreams of the future. They're playing football in a devil-may-care style that the coach seems to value almost as victory. Almost.

These are not yet the San Francisco 49ers of Jerry Rice and Steve Young, but what they've accomplished this unimagined season of 2011 allows - no, demands: legitimate reference to the teams of Rice and Young, the last occasion things were this good.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2011