Jim Harbaugh is gaining recognition as an outstanding NFL coach, but he’s also, well, a bit unusual. Thus it comes as no surprise he reacted somewhat unusually to comments made by Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride.
A day after Gilbride, complimenting Niners defensive tackle Justin Smith, called Smith “a beast’’ and also said he “gets away with murder,’’ Harbaugh amped up the rhetoric, accusing the Giants of attempting to sway the officials heading into tomorrow’s NFC Championship Game rematch at Candlestick Park.
“It is an incendiary comment targeting one of the truly exemplary players in this league,’’ Harbaugh said in a statement issued by the team. “It’s obvious that the Giants coaching staff’s sole purpose is to use their high visibility to both criticize and influence officiating.”
On Thursday, Gilbride was asked what it is about the 49ers defensive line and front seven that makes it so difficult to block and protect Eli Manning. This was Gilbride’s complete answer:
“Ability. That’s it. They have great players. They’re tremendous, they’re tough. They have great speed on the outside, Smith is a beast on the inside, he’s strong, he does as good a job of grabbing a hold of offensive linemen and allowing those twists to take place. He never gets called for it, so he gets away with murder. That, in conjunction with the ability level they have, makes them as formidable as anybody we go against, and we go against some pretty good ones in Dallas’ and Philadelphia’s. They’re as good as anybody up front.’’
That set Harbaugh off. He said, “Kevin Gilbride’s outrageous, irrational statement regarding Justin Smith’s play is, first, an absurd analogy.’’ Then Harbaugh accused the Giants of trying to influence the refs.