‘Gentleman's agreement' is news to the Harbaughs

Share

SANTA CLARA -- When asked what he remembers from his first exhibition game, 49ers rookie quarterback Colin Kaepernick said, without hesitation, the large number of blitzes he saw that August night against the New Orleans Saints.How many blitzes did he see?"One hundred and seven," 49ers receiver Kyle Williams said from a nearby locker."Actually, I think it was 108," Kaepernick quipped.Jim Henderson, the Saints radio play-by-play man, revealed on a Houston radio station shortly after that game the apparent reason for the high number of blitzes that defensive coordinator Gregg Williams called in the Saints' exhibition opener against the 49ers.
"Sean Payton sort of expected (49ers coach Jim) Harbaugh to call him throughout the week and kind of figure out a gentleman's agreement as to how the game would be played," Henderson said. "When that didn't occur, Sean just said to Gregg, 'Let the dogs out.' And they did."Harbaugh was asked Monday during his press conference whether he knew anything about the so-called "gentleman's agreement." The 49ers face the Saints on Saturday in a game that matters -- an NFC divisional playoff game at Candlestick Park.
"I don't know anything about that," Harbaugh said. "You hate to deal with hypotheticals on what somebody might have said or what somebody didn't say. It really becomes irrelevant. I'm certainly not aware of any gentlemen's agreement. I even asked my brother (Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh), 'Is there any sort of gentlemen's agreement that you call a coach before a preseason game?' Even he wasn't wasn't aware of it."And even if there was, we wouldn't do it anyway. We ask no quarter, we get no quarter."

Contact Us