Harbaugh's genius is in the little things...

Originally posted by Gore_21:
Probably mentioned already but getting the most out of our guys. Seeing what they can bring at another position. We've tried Sopoaga, Tukuafa, Smith, etc at FB. Dobbs at TE, Colin Jones, Ben Hannula, etc at WR and so on.... might save a roster spot or who knows maybe you find out a guy is better on the other side of the ball. Also, gives you options if we are in a jam. Then we draft Bruce Miller a 2 time CUSA Defensive Player of the Year. A guy who had 34.5 sacks in 4 years and we decide we are going to use him at FB. Most of us are like this guy has way too much potential to not move him but our staff turns him into near pro bowl caliber FB.

Other thing is and it's not new but I feel is very under-utilized is bringing in extra blockers and making them eligible WRs and actually having them go out for passes. We had two big plays with Sopoaga and Staley catching 1st downs. Last team I can remember doing that was the Patriots with Vrabel in their SB hay days. To me it needs to be utilized more often. Sure teams do it with TEs but you can really get the teams when you are sending out 300+ pound guys. I hope we use it more this year.

Last thing was the shifts on short yardage downs where we tried to get teams to jump off-sides. Most of the time it worked but it didn't seem like the refs were ready for teams using it so it did go against us occasionally. One group says it was fine, the next said we were moving too quickly and simulating the snap.

Edit: Also, this is a credit to the scouts, Baalke and the coaches but we are finding hidden gems in the late rounds/UDFA which is something we didn't really do in the McCloughan era.

Though we make fun of McC, much of the team is still still partly him. The scouts are the same, just pulling the trigger for the coaches and the coaches making the most of their talents. Not making the player fit the system, but getting players that fit the system, providing the systems plumbing is not clogged to begin with.

Originally posted by Gore_21:
I'll add in taking the practice squad on road trips. He treats them like a part of the team and they are.

how about the fact that he's loyal to his people. For example he did bring in his people from stanford (staff and players as well) and from san diego. I love that! it build a trust and causes more people to come play for him.

I wouldn't call Harbaugh a genius.

I'd call him an OCD competitor, which is outstanding to have as a coach. He just lives and breathes football in a way that is even kind of freakish for a proffessional.

Originally posted by WildBill:
Though we make fun of McC, much of the team is still still partly him. The scouts are the same, just pulling the trigger for the coaches and the coaches making the most of their talents. Not making the player fit the system, but getting players that fit the system, providing the systems plumbing is not clogged to begin with.

yeah as much s**t as we give McC, he did a good job. He just coudn't finish it. Same with Nolan, who took over a disaster of a team. I'm not saying either of them should have kept their job or they were great, but I think they are under appreciated in terms of getting the franchise back on track after the "salary cap purge era" of Donahue. I mean they were the ones that brought Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, Patrick Willis, Frank Gore and a lot of our cornerstones.

Originally posted by WildBill:
Though we make fun of McC, much of the team is still still partly him. The scouts are the same, just pulling the trigger for the coaches and the coaches making the most of their talents. Not making the player fit the system, but getting players that fit the system, providing the systems plumbing is not clogged to begin with.

He did a decent job and had a lot of hits I was just saying we are doing better in the late rounds and with UDFA than he did. Doesn't hurt to have a great staff who can actually coach the players up.

Originally posted by westcoast9ers:
how about the fact that he's loyal to his people. For example he did bring in his people from stanford (staff and players as well) and from san diego. I love that! it build a trust and causes more people to come play for him.

Yeah he is extremely loyal and he will stick his neck out for any of his players and coaches and in turn they will do the same for him. Another thing that I like is how he has the coaches and players deflecting any praise for themselves and pointing it to team mates and other coaches. Everyone is so humble... they are willing to praise others before themselves.

Originally posted by SunDevilNiner79: I wouldn't call Harbaugh a genius. I'd call him an OCD competitor, which is outstanding to have as a coach. He just lives and breathes football in a way that is even kind of freakish for a proffessional.

No doubt and you will have a hard time finding someone who loves football more than him. He expects it from his players as well. If you don't live, eat and breathe football you don't have a place on his staff or roster. You have to really love something to grind 24/7 and not get sick of it. Think of all the time these guys have put into studying film, studying playbooks, game planing, training, practicing, lifting weights, talking to the media, etc.

Originally posted by SunDevilNiner79:

Originally posted by WildBill:
Though we make fun of McC, much of the team is still still partly him. The scouts are the same, just pulling the trigger for the coaches and the coaches making the most of their talents. Not making the player fit the system, but getting players that fit the system, providing the systems plumbing is not clogged to begin with.

yeah as much s**t as we give McC, he did a good job. He just coudn't finish it. Same with Nolan, who took over a disaster of a team. I'm not saying either of them should have kept their job or they were great, but I think they are under appreciated in terms of getting the franchise back on track after the "salary cap purge era" of Donahue. I mean they were the ones that brought Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, Patrick Willis, Frank Gore and a lot of our cornerstones.

He was a good scout and had an eye for talent. He just wasn't GM material and had certain flaws in his talent evaluation that messed him up. He wasn't a good judge of a player's passion for football and their drive to be the best (Coffee, Balmer etc.). He undervalued guys who weren't prototypical size and as a result we had very poor speed. His attempts to get speed through free agency all failed (Jones, Lelie). Plus he wasn't able to locate the complementary pieces to compliment our core and thus turn our talented team into a winning team.

Baalke just has the "it" factor, savy or whatever you wan't to call it as a GM that McC just didn't have.