John Harbaugh reflects on his third-ever game against his brother Jim.
That’s right, after nearly a decade away, partially due to NFL scheduling, partially due to Jack’s younger son leaving the league for a run with his collegiate team, the University of Michigan, Harbaugh Bowl III is set for the Monday before Thanksgiving and the results will surely impact the playoff picture for the foreseeable future.
Asked how it feels to play against his brother during his Thursday media availability, John celebrated the opportunity, as it should be a fun, physical matchup between brothers.
“It’s a tough matchup. It’s a very good football team we’re playing this week. [The Chargers are] highly ranked in pretty much every area. [They’re] a winning football team, very physical, very tough [and an] extremely well-coached football team – no question about it. [Jim Harbaugh] is one of the best coaches of this generation, no question – I believe that. Even if he weren’t my brother, I would say the same thing. We have our work cut out for us; we have to travel across the country and play on Monday Night Football.”
Welp, that was the last either brother would be asked about the game, right?
…yeah that’s not how the modern-day narrative-driven NFL works. Fortunately, John had some interesting things to say about coaching against his brother, as they’ve always been competitive.
John Harbaugh reveals Jim Harbaugh’s “crab technique”
Discussing the roots of his rivalry with Jim from their time growing up, Harbaugh reveals how they would settle their disputes as kids, which included some very, shall we say, interesting physical altercations.
“It used to get hot. Back when were younger, it was every day – it was one fight or another. He was reminding me a month ago – I used to be bigger than him most of the time, and he ended up bigger, obviously. He’s a Pro Bowl quarterback – a 17-year player in the National Football League. He’s a great athlete [and] always was. But most of the time, I had an edge on him in growth until we got to be about 18 or 19, and I’d hold him down and stuff. But he had this technique called the ‘crab technique’ he called it,” Harbaugh curiously declared.
And he would basically get on his back, and he’d get his hands and his feet up there, and he’d just fend me off with his hands and his feet, and I couldn’t get to him. He was really athletic, so I came up with a technique. We had these big brown pillows in our basement that you would lay on to watch TV – these old corduroy brown pillows – and I would take the pillow, swipe his feet down and pin him and then get back on top of him. I had forgotten about it; I did not remember it. But when you’re the younger brother, that’s the kind of thing you remember. I take a little credit for his toughness, I guess; he’s probably one of the toughest people I know.”
Will Jim put John’s Ravens in the “crab technique” on Monday Night Football? Needless to say, the game is a must-watch either way, as no matter the outcome, this will be a game ripe with storylines.
