NFL Team Report - San Francisco 49ers - INSIDE SLANT San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, self-admittedly, has a new favorite player. The honor belongs to fourth-round pick Quinton Patton, a receiver from Louisiana Tech, and the rationale has nothing to do with football. Patton was so excited to begin his NFL career that after being drafted by the 49ers, he bought his own plane ticket and flew from Nashville to San Francisco to get to work.

British discus thrower Lawrence Okoye wasn't taken in the NFL draft, but says he'll pursue his American football dream by signing as an undrafted free agent with the San Francisco 49ers. "Proud to announce that I will be signing with the San Francisco @49ers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Okoye said Saturday on the social networking site Twitter as the 2013 draft of new players -- virtually all of them out of US university football programs, wrapped up. Okoye, a 21-year-old from Croydon, south London, finished 12th in the Olympic Games' discus final last August.

By Steve Ginsburg OWINGS MILLS, Maryland, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Just days after winning the Super Bowl and being hailed as a hero by several hundred thousand fans, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh is already preparing for next season. "We talk to our team about, 'We've got to improve,'" Harbaugh told reporters on Thursday. "We have to get better next year as a football team, just like we always do.

Feb 5 (Reuters) - San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh said on Tuesday he wished he could change his play-calling at the end of Sunday's 34-31 Super Bowl loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Despite marching down the field, the 49ers failed to score on the final three plays before the Ravens punter took a safety with four seconds left. The clock ran out on the ensuing kick.