Coach Jim Harbaugh opened with a one-word answer whether the 49ers have decided if Ray McDonald will play in Sunday's opener: "No." Then came a barrage of questions, which Harbaugh deflected by insisting that "information and fact" will ultimately decide McDonald's fate. Harbaugh pointed to the U.S. Constitution for his and the 49ers' rationale in allowing McDonald "due process." Then Harbaugh asked the media his own question: "I mean, I see a lot of polls. Should this or should not? Or this or that? I see a lot of polls. We can have an informal poll right now. Raise your hand if you are not in favor of due process." He scanned the 35 media members inside the team's auditorium at Levi's Stadium. "Not one hand (raised)," Harbaugh said. And thus, the 49ers are allowing McDonald to at least practice this week. He has not, however, spoken with the media, aside from a brief interview with KTVU upon leaving jail Sunday morning. Here is Harbaugh's McDonald-related transcript, courtesy of Tim Kawakami: -Q: Has a decision been made whether Ray McDonald will play on Sunday? -HARBAUGH: No. -Q: For you, what goes into this decision? What are the factors that determine this? -HARBAUGH: Facts. Information. -Q: Are you actively investigating this? Listening? What’s your involvement? -HARBAUGH: I wouldn’t concentrate on who. What who is doing or who’s making the decision. It’s what’s going to make the decision. And that’s information and fact. -Q: Is McDonald preparing as if he’ll play Sunday? -HARBAUGH: He is practicing. -Q: Based on your stated views, strong views on domestic violence, is there any hesitancy on your part to have him in the building and preparing to play? -HARBAUGH: Well, there’s two very strong principles in play. No. 1 is we will not tolerate domestic violence. And the second principle is the respect for due process. -Q: Due process can take a while. Based on your conversations with Ray and what the team has learned in its investigation, are you comfortable if he plays Sunday? -HARBAUGH: It’s something we all know. We all live in America, we all understand that sometimes patience is required when it comes to due process. But I think we all owe that—we all owe that to everybody that’s involved. There’s a respect for due process in my opinion. -Q: Due process is a legal term. Probably everybody here if we’d been arrested we’d have been suspended awaiting the legal outcome. You don’t think it’s prudent to sit him until you have all the facts? -HARBAUGH: As we have said, I mean, you want me to say it in a different way. This is America, you’re innocent until you’re proven guilty. I don’t know what more I can say about that. I have great respect for that principle. -Q: So he must be guilty before you do anything? -HARBAUGH: It’ll be based on information and the facts. -Q: In your meetings with Ray the past few days, assuming you’ve had them, what kind of sense do you get about his mindset and what he told you? -HARBAUGH: We can talk about that. We can talk about what those conversations have been. We can talk about where our relationship has been. I’ve known him for three years… How relevant is that? The decision you’ve asked about is based on information and fact. -Q: It’s very relevant because you can look at him eye to eye and get a sense of where he’s coming from. -HARBAUGH: Yeah, as I said… I mean, I’ve known him for three years. I’ve had many conversations. Those… if anything I could say, would be positive. But what I’m saying is we owe to everyone involved a respect for due process. So… -Q: Are you waiting for the district attorney to either file charges or not? -HARBAGH: Waiting for information and fact. -Q: If he had told you he had done this, is it safe to say he would not be playing? -HARBAUGH: This is a legal matter. And you know my position and that is that everyone involved needs for due process to take place. -Q: Just to clarify, have you told players in the past that ‘if you put a hand on a woman you’re going to be a 49er any more.’ Have you told them that? -HARBAUGH: You have to… you don’t have to rely on any source. What I’ve said to my team I’m on record very clearly with how I feel about the subject of domestic violence. -Q: What was McDonald’s demeanor at practice yesterday? Did it affect the way the players approached practice? -HARBAUGH: There’s probably a lot of questions we could answer. A lot that we could ask. I feel like I’ve answered as much as I think it needs to be answered on the subject. It’s a legal matter. Remember that please. Remember this is a legal matter. -Q: How do you move forward in this season—this is probably embarrassing going into Week 1—how do you get your players ready? -HARBAUGH: You use that word. I use… I take it personally with our football team and take on great responsibility. And will continue to emphasize the things that… what I think is good for our team and will continue to do that and look and continue to search for better ways to do that. I feel that’s my responsibility. -Q: How do you get the message across to your players that there’s something wrong going on here and how much responsibility do you take? -HARBAUGH: I take full responsibility, the greatest share of responsibility in that respect. That’s my responsibility as a head football coach. We continue to do our very best. I’m speaking for myself, I’m speaking for our coaches, I’m speaking for our organization. That is our job, it is our responsibility, and we do our very best, as we have done. Our best needs to be better. -Q: How do you balance taking players with risky backgrounds? -HARBAUGH: We continue to point out self motivation. That is the only lasting thing. We continue to do a good job, take our responsibilities and do a better job. I’ve exhausted the subject. -Q: Will it be your decision, Trent’s or Jed’s on whether McDonald plays Sunday? -HARBAUGH: Again, I see where you’re focused on the who is making the decision. I feel like I explained this; the important thing here is what’s going to make the decision. That will be based on information, it will be based on facts. -Q: But someone is going to have to make the decision, decide where the preponderance of information is, correct? -HARBAUGH: In my opinion, it’s what information that there is. You’ve asked that question, I answered it. -Q: Might some information come forth before the game? -HARBAUGH: Once you get fact, once you get information, then you’re going to be in a better time and a better place to make a decision. Or to make judgments. -Q: Do you think you will get that information before Sunday’s game? -HARBAUGH: I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m not here to tell you exactly what happened because I don’t know. -Q: But you don’t expect to have that information by Sunday? -HARBAUGH: I don’t know that. -Q: If McDonald plays Sunday, does that mean someone within the organization uncovered some pertinent information? -HARBAUGH: Again, I’m going to reiterate, this is a legal matter. There is a principle at stake–you seem to keep questioning that. You have a lot of follow-up questions on a very fundamental principle that could indeed require patience. I mean, I see a lot of polls. Should this or should not? Or this or that? I see a lot of polls. We can have an informal poll right now. Raise your hand if you are not in favor of due process. (Pauses, looks around, nobody raises their hand.) Not one hand. -Q: Define due process. -HARBAUGH: It’s in the Constitution. I’ve taken as many questions on this as I’m going to take. It’s in the Constitution. Fifth Amendment. -Q: You’re not putting him in jail. The Constitution is about putting somebody in jail, not whether he plays football or not. -HARBAUGH: Man or a woman is not to be punished before due process occurs. I’ve taken as many questions as I’m going to take on that subject.

Blaine Gabbert said his right, throwing shoulder is "fine," even though he isn't sure what postgame X-rays officially revealed following Thursday's exhibition finale. Gabbert's stat line wasn't fine: 4 of 11 for 60 yards, with a touchdown pass. But that came shortly after he was hit hard by Julius Warmsley, and it won Gabbert praise from Harbaugh. "Blaine got hit on the shoulder there, pretty good thump," Harbaugh said. "To come back in and fire a perfect pass, one foot in front of the numbers, and Asante (Cleveland) made a great play on it." Gabbert played through the pain by relying on adrenaline and motivation to produce a touchdown drive. "Moved the ball down to the red zone and I just didn’t want to come out – competitive juices, wanted to finish the drive with the touchdown," Gabbert said. That 14-yard touchdown pass to Cleveland was Gabbert's final pass before Josh Johnson replaced him. Gabbert said of his overall performance: "Some ups and downs. We were in a little rut early in the game. But as we became more consistent we started moving the ball down the field. It was nice to finish that last drive off with a touchdown." Gabbert's exhibition season struggles have called into question his role as the No. 2 quarterback. Harbaugh declined to state how the backup order will shake out, but the coach wants to keep both Gabbert and Johnson behind Colin Kaepernick. "The more reps you get, the more comfortable you are," Gabbert said. "We’re still going to look at the film, learn from our mistakes, because there were some that I made. The biggest thing is you have to learn from them and get better from them. If you have a consistent trend going upward, you’re going in the right direction."

General manager Trent Baalke expects the NFL to announce any discipline for 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith before Saturday at 1 p.m., at which time their 53-man roster must be set. Smith would not count against that roster if he's suspended for the start of the season, freeing up a spot for another player. Smith met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell three weeks ago, and while the league has not announced any discipline yet for the 49ers' outside linebacker, Goodell may have tipped his hand a bit Thursday. In Goodell's letter to NFL owners outlining the league's strengthened stance on domestic violence and sexual assault, he also wrote about other infractions involving weapons offenses and drunken driving. Earlier this summer, Smith pleaded no contest to three counts of illegal weapons possession and two counts of drunken driving. From Goodell's letter: "In addition to focusing on domestic violence and sexual assault, we will continue to maintain strong policies regarding weapons offenses. We are similarly working to strengthen our response to impaired driving. "We have sought – unsuccessfully – for several years to obtain the NFLPA’s agreement to more stringent discipline for DUI, including mandatory deactivation for the game immediately following an arrest and a minimum two-game suspension for a first violation of law. We will continue to press our position on this issue in the hope of securing the union’s agreement." Reading into that, Smith would face at least a two-game suspension for his Sept. 20 drunken driving arrest. Goodell, however, is also expected to factor in Smith's five-game absence last season when he voluntarily checked into a substance-abuse treatment center. The 49ers are in Houston for the exhibition finale Thursday against the Texans. Last month, Smith was sentenced by a Santa Clara County judge to 11 days on a sheriff’s work crew, three years probation and 235 hours of community service. Most suspensions for personal-conduct violations have ranged between one and eight games since Goodell became commissioner in 2006. Prior to Smith’s ruling, Goodell recently drew widespread criticism for suspending Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice only two games after a domestic-violence incident. In Goodell's letter to owners Thursday, he apologized for not taking a harsher stance with Rice: "We allowed our standards to fall below where they should be and lost an important opportunity to emphasize our strong stance on a critical issue and the effective programs we have in place. My disciplinary decision led the public to question our sincerity, our commitment, and whether we understood the toll that domestic violence inflicts on so many families. I take responsibility both for the decision and for ensuring that our actions in the future properly reflect our values. I didn’t get it right. Simply put, we have to do better. And we will." Goodell then stated that players will face a six-game suspension the first time they violate the Personal Conduct Policy regarding assault, battery, domestic violence or sexual assault that involve physical force, "with consideration given to mitigating factors, as well as a longer suspension when circumstances warrant." "Among the circumstances that would merit a more severe penalty would be a prior incident before joining the NFL, or violence involving a weapon, choking, repeated striking, or when the act is committed against a pregnant woman or in the presence of a child. A second offense will result in banishment from the NFL; while an individual may petition for reinstatement after one year, there will be no presumption or assurance that the petition will be granted. These disciplinary standards will apply to all NFL personnel." Will Goodell's new, hard-line stance impact Smith's upcoming discipline? Smith, at least, will have the NFL Players Association to help make sure he's treated fairly. In response to Goodell's letter, the NFLPA issued a statement that read in part: "As we do in all disciplinary matters, if we believe that players’ due process rights are infringed upon during the course of discipline, we will assert and defend our members’ rights."

Shayne Skov acknowledged there’s “always a little anxiety” when cuts are made. The undrafted linebacker out of Stanford survived the 49ers’ first wave of roster reduction Monday. Up next in his audition is Thursday’s exhibition finale against the Houston Texans. "I'll be prepared," Skov said. Skov remains an underdog to make Saturday’s 53-man roster. He’ll likely be one of 22 players who turn in their playbook iPads. But each of the past three years, an undrafted rookie has stuck around to play under Jim Harbaugh, Skov’s former coach at Stanford. In 2011, it was defensive linemen Demarcus Dobbs and Ian Williams; in 2012, tight end Garrett Celek; in 2013, long snapper Kevin McDermott. The way Skov sees it, he’s not the only one fighting to make a Super Bowl-contending roster. “Unless you’re a starter, you’re always on the bubble,” Skov said Tuesday. A 2011 knee injury and concerns about his speed derailed Skov’s shot at getting drafted, even though he was Stanford’s leading tackler the last three seasons. Skov insists his speed shouldn’t be an issue anymore, telling reporters: “Watch me run on special teams and kickoffs. I’m not 5 yards behind anyone. I’m right with everyone else. I feel great.” In signing with the 49ers and reuniting with Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Skov entered an inside-linebacker competition with Michael Wilhoite, Chris Borland and Nick Moody. While Wilhoite and Borland have been in a close race to replace an injured NaVorro Bowman in the starting lineup, Skov has been backing them up, along with Moody. Both Skov and Moody likely will rely on their special-teams prowess to make the roster, and Moody is the favorite to win, considering the 49ers thought enough of him last year to use their injured reserve/designated-for-return tag on him after a Week 1 hand fracture. Skov knows a roster spot is at stake not only on the 49ers but possibly with another suitor via the waiver wire. Making a team, he said, is “everyone’s goal. We all play to get on the field. I’m playing Thursday and that’s all that matters.” So are four other undrafted rookies who’ve been with the 49ers since May and survived Tuesday’s cuts: tight end Asante Cleveland, safety James McCray and offensive lineman Dillon Farrell.