By, Mario Miller – Inspin Insider Extraordinaire

50 years ago, Jack Harbaugh and his wife, Jackie, tied the knot. Since then, the Harbaughs have had a long and industrious career in football. One that follows to this day, with brothers John and Jim, head coaches of the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers respectively.

Jim, the All-American quarterback playing at Michigan under legendary coach "Bo" Schembechler, the first round draft choice of the Bears in 87, the grizzled player for 15 NFL seasons where he threw for 129 touchdowns and more than 26,000 yards, is clearly the best athlete in the family.

John, the once defensive back at Miami University in Ohio, the highly successful special teams coach for the Eagles from 1998 to 2006, the battle tested veteran with over 24 years coaching is the more experienced of the two leading a team.

The sibling rivalry continues as the battle comes to an epic climax this Thursday, when the 9ers visit the Ravens in the first ever NFL game of brothers as opposing head coaches.

Come Kick-Off, The Blood And Guts Will Be Spilled On The Field…

However nostalgic the Harbaugh brother's Thanksgiving get-together makes you, the focus is going to be on the game and on the teams at kick-off.

This is a meeting of two equally lean and mean first place teams, and I can guarantee that neither will be pulling any punches.

San Francisco (9-1), has steamrolled over opponents this season. With Jim Harbaugh calling the shots, the 9ers have clinched the NFC West division title and secured a playoff spot. Under the "Who's got it better than us? Nobody…" motto, the team is revved up and ready to go all the way.

They have to overcome a few hurdles to succeed in Thursday's game however. Rookie fullback Bruce Miller will not be playing, after suffering a concussion in the second quarter of last week's game against the Arizona Cardinals. Miller has been a key blocker for running back Frank Gore and his absence may put a dent in the 49ers running game; veteran fullback Moran Norris is expected to be back, but since breaking his fibula back in week 2 it's hard to know if he'll be playing at full steam.

San Francisco's defense will also be tested by Baltimore running back Ray Rice, on the NFL's most productive players. We'll see if they can keep its 32 game streak without allowing more than 100 yards from opposing runners.

There's also the fact that it's been a short week for recovery and preparation. Not only will the 49ers become the first NFL team to travel three time zones to play, they'll also be the first to travel three time zones to play a Thursday game since the NFL went to a 16 game schedule in 78. "They're going to have to use their superhuman powers of recovery this week, and do the best they can," Harbaugh said of his players. "It's a big challenge - there's no question about it."

Fresh off a win against division rivals Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens (7-3) seem to be firing on all cylinders once again, but they will have their hands full against the motivated 49ers. Despite being the -3 point favorite and having home field advantage, Baltimore has its lacks.

Let's remember, there's still a huge gap in Baltimore's defense with Ray Lewis possibly being out with a foot injury for Thanksgiving's game. In last Sunday's game, Lewis was sorely missed and the defense struggled allowing the Bengals to gain close to 500 yards in the game.

Nevertheless, Baltimore is still tied for the AFC North lead with the Pittsburgh Steelers and they're never a team to be discounted.

It's clear that this will be a game that measures running abilities and defense. In what seems to be a historic game, I'll take the 49ers to pull the upset.

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