There will be football this week. We promise.
As proof, we can tell you that the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens practiced Thursday. At the same time. In the same facility.
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John Clayton of ESPN.com reported on the 49ers practice, noting that the NFL acquired roughly 100 feet of piping drapes to block the views of both teams while they practiced. The league covered up the windows in the weight rooms so you couldn't see out of them.
The 49ers' practice lasted 100 minutes, and the two teams only overlapped for about 10 minutes.
"Just cooperating spirits," Jim Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh continues to be happy with the level of play at practice. Struggling kicker David Akers' teammates made a little extra noise during his kicks to simulate crowd noise, and Akers came through. Harbaugh thought the whole practice was crisp.
"I thought yesterday was outstanding, but today was a photocopy of that," Harbaugh said. "In some ways, it was maybe a little better. I'm real pleased, real pleased. ... You don't want burnt meat, stale bread or overripe fruit. It's coming along nicely."
So John Harbaugh likes to "grind the meat and rattle the molars." And Jim Harbaugh doesn't like "burnt meat, stale bread or overripe fruit." These guys have a way with words.
After Friday morning's scheduled news conference featuring the Harbaugh brothers, the words nearly will be over for this week. Football is almost here.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.