EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh didn't take kindly to New York Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride's comment that 49ers defensive end Justin Smith "gets away with murder."

In a statement released by the team Friday, Harbaugh said, "Kevin Gilbride's outrageous, irrational statement regarding Justin Smith's play is, first, an absurd analogy.

"Second, it is an incendiary comment targeting one of the truly exemplary players in this league. It's obvious that the Giants coaching staff's sole purpose is to use their high visibility to both criticize and influence officiating."

Gilbride made his original comment Thursday after he was asked about why San Francisco's front seven is so tough.

"Ability. That's it. They have great players," Gilbride said. "They're tremendous, they're tough. They have great speed on the outside, (Justin) Smith is a beast on the inside -- he's strong, he does as good a job (as anybody) of grabbing a hold of offensive linemen and allowing those twists to take place. He never gets called for it, so he gets away with murder.

"That, in conjunction with the ability level they have, makes them as formidable as anybody we go against, and we go against some pretty good ones in Dallas' and Philadelphia's. They're as good as anybody up front."