Why Confident San Francisco 49ers Locker Room Is a Reflection of Jim Harbaugh

Last week, for the first time in Alex Smith's seven-year career, I didn't take a deep breath when he stepped back to pass the ball. Instead, I was confident that he would make the right decision and the right throw.

If a writer sees this dramatic shift in confidence, imagine what the players are going through right now.  

How Times Have Changed

It is still hard to get my mind around the fact that the 49ers are 8-1 and in the middle of a seven-game winning streak—as I am sure it is for you too.

This is a team that has had the talent to contend for a playoff spot in each of the last three seasons, but different factors contributed to their inability to make the playoffs.

Now, though, everything seems to be coming together at the same time under first year head coach Jim Harbaugh. His style of coaching has united a locker room and his confident attitude continues to spread to the rest of the team. 

A Marker Victory? 

On Sunday, everyone was talking about how the game against the New York Giants was going to be one of the first real tests of the season for the San Francisco 49ers.

Instead, it turned out to be a major test for the NFC East-leading New York Giants.

The Giants were in a hostile environment (yes, that Candlestick Park). They also had to go up against one of the most physical teams in the NFL—a team that had run off six consecutive wins and had the NFL's second-best record.

The Giants knew exactly how important this midseason game might be for playoff positioning and played a relatively good game. Yet, they couldn't escape the juggernaut that the San Francisco 49ers are quickly becoming. 

Brandon Jacobs had a statement for Fox's No. 1 crew during halftime, saying—and I am paraphrasing here—that the 49ers were "scared."

I don't know about you, but I didn't see any fear coming from San Francisco. Instead, I saw a confidence that showed that they were the better of the two teams and that they were going to win the game.

In the end, San Francisco came out on top by 27-20 in one of the biggest regular-season victories for the franchise in nearly a decade. 

It was big because they showed the entire NFL that this team was for real and ready to contend with the upper-echelon teams in the league—even the Green Bay Packers. 

The Confidence of a Quarterback

Alex Smith showed the moxie that I had not seen since his days with the Utah Utes. He made the right decisions in every possible situation and was a primary reason that the 49ers came out on top.

He was not, as Justin Tuck implied, just a game manager. In fact, Smith outplayed the "elite" Eli Manning. San Francisco's offensive line was quick off the snap and pretty much had the best pass rush in the entire NFL. 

On defense, the front seven continued to dominate as NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis combined for 25 tackles.

That wasn't the major surprise during the game, though. San Francisco had the confidence to leave Carlos Rogers in single coverage for the majority of the game and he came through big time.

In short, the 49ers' secondary stepped up and played one of the best games of the season. 

Leadership Still Matters! 

Vince Lombardi once said the following about leadership,

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"A leader must identify himself with the group, must back up the group, even at the risk of displeasing superiors. He must believe that the group wants from him a sense of approval. If this feeling prevails, production, discipline, morale will be high, and in return, you can demand the cooperation to promote the goals of the company."

"

49er players trust Jim Harbaugh and have confidence in his leadership. In turn, he has the confidence in them to execute the game plan and play good football.

"Fundamentals" is a term that has been thrown around a lot by NFL critics. For a team to succeed they must play "fundamentally" sound football.

While it may be concluded that this term has some ambiguity towards it, that's not true for the 49ers. They completely understand the necessity to play sound football, limit turnovers, take advantage of their opponent's mistakes and force the issue when need be. 

All of this leads to a confident locker room with extremely high team morale—and plays right into what coach Lombardi was talking about. 

The New Kid has it Right!

It wasn't just confidence, but cockiness that followed Jim Harbaugh from Stanford across the bay to San Francisco.

It is a bit like when the new kid in school goes above and beyond to prove to the rest of the kids that he belongs. While this might make some of the older kids upset, he is the one that usually gets the girl who you have been chasing for five years.

When it comes to the 49ers, they have been chasing after success and confidence for the better part of the last ten years—only to find it in the form of a cocky new head coach.

Harbaugh leads his team with a certain swagger, but isn't overconfident. The players don't read their own press clippings, they stay grounded and look at each week like it's a different season.

In short, they are not just a team. They are a team united in the common cause of proving skeptics wrong and bringing a sixth Lombardi Trophy to a city that revels in the idea of San Francisco 49ers football.