Jim Harbaugh Expected To Accept 5-Year Deal With 49ers

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh is expected to sign a 5-year $25 million deal to become the San Franscisco 49ers next head coach. Harbaugh's name has been red hot for numerous coaching positions including Denver, Miami and Michigan. He will be leaving Stanford a 12-1 season and an impressive Orange Bowl victory over Virginia Tech.

Harbaugh began his coaching career as an unpaid assistant under his father at Western Kentucky while still playing in the NFL before becoming an assistant coach for the Raiders in 2002-2003. He then moved on to become head coach at San Diego U. from 2004-2007 and led the team to a 29-6 record. His coaching record with the Cardinals is 29-21 and he has a career coaching record of 58-27, all in the college ranks.

Coaching the 49ers will not be an easy task, as the team will be looking for a quarterback next season and they drastically need to upgrade their secondary. With that being said the 49ers still have a solid nucleus of young talent on both sides of the ball and have a chance to be much improved very soon. IF they can find a quarterback. Stanford red shirt sophomore Andrew Luck will be returning to school so you can go ahead and forget that scenario playing out.

I'll update with details as they become available.

-ALR

Lloyd's Not Scared of Niners and Redskins and Bears

Brandon Lloyd has been a completely mediocre wide receiver since being drafted out of Illinois by the San Francisco 49ers in the 4th round of the 2003 NFL Draft. Actually, mediocre might be an overstatement. From 2003-2009, Lloyd amassed an underwhelming 164 catches for 2,370 yards and 15 TDs. Over that time, Lloyd was mostly recognized for making the spectacular catches (like these):




...and missing time due to injury and/or questionable attitude.

This season, Lloyd has been the lone bright spot for the Denver Broncos, this fourth team he's played for over seven seasons. He was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career after catching 72 passes for a league leading 1,375 yards and 10 TDs. When asked by Denver Post reporter Mike Klis if he had anything he'd like to say to his previous employers, he responded by saying, "I want to say F--- you. And I mean that in the most professional way possible..."

The quote was reportedly a joke (like Lloyd's entire career), and meant to be good-natured (yeah right). The interview was promptly cut short by Broncos media relations director Patrick Smyth, in the most professional way possible.

NFL Trimester Report: NFC West "Contender or Pretender"

The weak NFC West has been confusing to date, to say the least. The team that some considered favorites to win the division (the 49ers) have looked lost for the majority of the early season, while the favorites to finish last in the division (the Rams) have flashed signs of the bright future that lies ahead of them. So who wins the division? Good question, but someone has to make it to the playoffs if by nothing more than default...

Arizona (3-2)
How the Cardinals are above .500 is beyond logic. Statistically they are one of the worst offensive and defensive teams in the entire NFL, ranking no higher than 26th in any category. But they have somehow managed to win three games despite being outscored by 50 points overall. They even found a way to defeat the Super Bowl champion Saints while only mustering only 194 yards of total offense. The Cardinals have already released their "quarterback of the future" Matt Leinart, benched Derek Anderson, has little known rookie Max Hall under center and their running game in non-existent. As their other two victories have come against the Rams in the season opener and a one point home win against the Raiders, I can't see this team going anywhere this season. Pretender

Seattle (3-2)
The Seahawks have looked decent this season under new head coach Pete Carroll. Their defense against the run has been stingy so far (2nd in the league only allowing 70 yards per game) and the Seahawks have notched some nice victories against the 49ers, Chargers and the Bears. Trading for troubled Marshawn Lynch should give the offense a boost, and if Matt Hasselbeck can limit the turnovers they should compete for the division. But that's a mighty big "if". When the defense and special teams have as many touchdowns as the offense (seven) through the first 5 games, that isn't going to cut it. Pretender

St. Louis (3-3)
Rams fans finally have something to cheer about. Rookie quarterback sensation Sam Bradford (pictured above) has been better than advertised and has looked solid early on, somehow getting it done with a very depleted receiving corp. The Rams have even already matched their win totals from 2008 & 2009 combined with 10 games remaining. There has been some talk that they could win the division, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Four of their first six games have been at home and so has all three victories. While there is hope, it's a little too soon to start organizing the parade. Pretender

San Francisco (1-5)
To say the 49ers have failed to live up to expectations would be an understatement. And that would be putting it lightly. The Niners have looked down right awful early on. At times QB Alex Smith has played more like a HS freshman than a no. 1 overall draft pick. Top 2009 draftee Michael Crabtree hasn't turned it on yet. One bright spot has been Frank Gore's play, but with a passing game so underwhelming defenses can just key in on the run. The defense is still hard nosed but it's hard to maintain that intensity when the offense is repeatedly -producing 3 & out drives. The only question for 'Frisco is who is first to go; Smith or Singletary? Pretender

-ALR

Los That Links 8-24-10

Brett Favre made his return (to something he technically never left) with a bang last night in the Minnesota Vikings loss to the Super Bowl-bound San Francisco 49ers (bias). Literally. The return was a whopping four plays long, complete with one highlight (a 13-yard swing pass to Adrian Peterson) and the aforementioned lowlight.

For all the hype about Favre, I'd have to say the television audiences were left a bit disappointed. Unless you were like me, and appreciate watching a dominant pre-season defensive performance by a dark horse Super Bowl contender, you were probably looking to see Brett Favre do Brett Favre-type things for at least 3-4 series.

Too bad.

What viewers last night were treated to, however, was more of the same unabashed apologizing and excuse making for the legendary Favre's diva routine. There was the story of the three Viking players who traveled to Mississippi to talk to him. There was the halftime interview where he gave vague references to contentious feelings he may or may not have towards Brad "Chilli" Childress, who occaisionally serves as head coach for the team. There was the story of anonymous players in the Viking locker room were quoted saying Favre didn't trust Childress, and how they were cowards for doing so. And, of course, there were the "Favre just loves this game" stories, complete with Favre slapping the butts of his teammates, as proof.

I know just last week, I posted an article stating how we shouldn't hate Favre, or the game, for all the love he receives. I'm not backing off my position on that. It's okay to hate Jay Mariotti, but not Favre.

Still, as a sports junkie, it is a bit nauseating to listen to the positive Favre stories being told by the media members who scathingly criticize Terrell Owens and Albert Haynesworth for underming their head coaches, and basing those criticisms on words from anonymous sources. It's hypocritical, at best, to do so. What's worse, every allusion to the identity of the anonymous sources is played up as being either backup QBs Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels, implying that they're saying things out of jealousy.

So, its okay to label guys cowards and team cancers, when they may or may not have done anything to deserve those labels? And you don't need to back it up with fact, so much as an entertainig opinion? This is wrong.

I don't mind giving Favre the benefit of the doubt, or even special privliges. That's why they make the big bucks. Just don't do it at the expense of guys who are just as accomplished (Owens), guys who are in similar situations (Haynesworth), or guys who are just barely hanging on (Jackson and Rosenfels).

Shouldn't be too difficult, eh?

- Here's an article from the thegrio.com, asking whether Favre would be given the same amount of rope if he were a black athlete. (http://www.thegrio.com/)

- Two QBs looked pretty good last night in the Vikes-49ers game. Neither one was named "Brett". (http://www.sfgate.com/)

- Tiger Woods is officially a single man. Hide your Hooter's waitresses. (espn.go.com.)

- Have gun, will travel? Maurice Clarett on work release. (http://www.baltimoresun.com/)

- Another amazing centerfield catch coming from Japan. Call it "Spider Man 2". (sports.yahoo.com)