The story behind the 49ers' winning drive

Matthew Barrows: Will 49ers' Crabtree live up to Harbaugh's props?

SANTA CLARA – When Jim Harbaugh said on KNBR (680 AM) last week that wide receiver Michael Crabtree has the "best hands I've ever seen," it was hard not to think back to last offseason when the 49ers coach said Alex Smith was a "very accurate passer."Chris Lee St. Louis Post-DispatchWide receiver Michael Crabtree enjoyed his best NFL season last year, though his production tailed off noticeably in the playoffs.

'He's really a man now, a real strong man'

When San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh wasn't remarking on Michael Crabtree's hands during a recent interview, he was confirming something of greater importance: Alex Smith has grown up physically.Smith looked sturdier last season, and there was something to it. He started all 16 games, plus two more in the playoffs, despite taking 51 sacks -- four more than Smith absorbed while playing 22 games over the previous two seasons combined."I think if you look at some of the pictures of him when he first came into the league as a young, skinny 20-year-old, and watch him develop and watch him, maybe you call it a late-bloomer physically," Harbaugh told KNBR, according to Sports Radio Interviews.