Michael Vick told reporters in Philadelphia today that there's a "100 percent" chance he'll play Sunday against the 49ers. But in one man's expert medical opinion, the Eagles quarterback really should sit out the game.
"I think with the (concussion) he had two weeks ago, and with the hand injury he had this week, it would probably be the prudent thing to rest him," Jim Harbaugh said, tongue in cheek, at a press conference in Boardman, Ohio. After the presser, Harbaugh and his team boarded buses for a short drive to Youngstown State and practiced in the school's football stadium.
Two 49ers, receiver Braylon Edwards (knee) and fullback Moran Norris (fibula) did not make the trip to Ohio. Every other player was in uniform and on the field today. Running back Frank Gore is obviously still bothered by a right ankle sprain. He moved about gingerly and was mostly an observer during individual drills. He was listed as limited on the team's injury report, as were receiver Michael Crabtree and safety Donte Whitner
Harbaugh backed away from his Monday "good to go" comment about Gore's availability for the Eagles game. On Wednesday he said his earlier comment was only an educated guess but he still thought that Gore would play.
Other injured 49ers seemed to be in better shape. Crabtree (foot) was running routes at full speed and seemed to have come out of the Bengals game, in which he played extensively, unharmed. Whitner (hip) seemed to be hampered a bit but still ran during individual drills.
Harbaugh, who has an uncanny knack for finding positives in any situation, said one of the benefits of the week-long stay in Youngstown is that 49ers will get to know each other a little better. That goes for Harbaugh as well.
For example, he learned that tackle Alex Boone's wife is about to have a baby. Boone, who grew up nearby, was able to attend a 9 a.m. doctor's appointment earlier this week. Harbaugh now knows that kicker David Akers trains dogs. He knows that Ted Ginn and Donte Whitner visited relatives earlier this week and that Ginn's father, Ted Ginn Sr., a high school coach in Cleveland, will be paying a visit this week.
Harbaugh also raved about the facilities the 49ers are using. They have converted hotel rooms at the local Holiday Inn into film-study rooms. And Harbaugh even found great beauty in a rather shabby, weed-lined concrete parking lot behind the hotel. That's where he conducted a Wednesday walk-through with the offense.
"When (you've been) coaching as long as I've been coaching and playing and things like that, you get excited when you get a good walk-through spot," he said. "Sometimes it's in a hotel ballroom, sometimes it's outside where people are looking and watching. That big slab of cement in the parking lot, even had lines and tall trees around it, it was very private there. That was one of the finer walk-through spots I've been associated with."
-- Matt Barrows
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