the TD was phenominal, and I think the 49ers know they’ll have to get a run game going against Seattle a bit more than Jacksonville. Gore had to get to 1000 after all, if the Niners don’t get the ground game going against teams like Seattle, Arizona, or Philly, they aren’t making a run at the playoffs. Maybe pass heavy will work against Seattle, but not Zona or Philly (at least I don’t think so).

Or we get a new OL coach. Gore has had a tough year all year and will continue to do so until we have improved line play. I thought the spread would effect the options for gore in the run game, since running out of the shottgun is not for our team, but our O Line is just pitiful. frank will have bad gains and losses and occasionally break a few but nothing will be steady. (no games at 25 att. for 145 yds without a run over 30)

…I expect Gore to have a huge day. Seattle was already vulnerable in the middle, and now without Tatupu, it will be even worse for them. Sunday vs. the Jaguars was the game for the passing attack to get off the schnide. Next week vs. the Seahawks will be the game for the running attack to get off the schnide. Both facets figure out how to play just in time for the MNF division showdown after the Cards lose to the Vikings.

Gore’s vision wasn’t very good at time yesterday. Maybe he needs to adjust to running out of the gun…but there were several gaping cutback lanes that he kinda missed. I’ve noticed he has a tendency to pick the wrong hole at times in the past too…hopefully Rathman is working hard with Gore to get him finding the right holes.

I hope the guys are giving him the business about dropping that TD catch. Wow, that would have blown it really wide open. I wanted the kid to finish with several TD’s this season too, get some confidence going into a playoff year next year.

Then again VD had a few bad drops too. Hopefully they strap it up for next game.

and it’s not all been the O-line’s fault. He’s missed open holes, he’s hesitated a bit when he’s gotten the ball. Sad fact is that RBs have a very short shelf-life. You can expect a running back to be awesome for 4-6 years, after which he’ll be merely ok.

This is Frank’s 5th season.

Will a better O-line help? Absolutely. A good change of pace back will also help.

I’m beginning to think that we are underestimating the ability of Jimmy Raye to play to his strengths when playing different teams. I don’t think Raye opened it up because the fans and everyone was calling for it I think he opened it up because the team was ready to do so because teams stack the box against the run. Now that the 49ers are trying to throw more teams will have to bring more players out of the box and we will see the return of Gore…“In Singraye We trust”

Against the Jaguars, Raye ceased to be Jimmy Raye, curmudgeonly assistant. He was Air Raye, ambitious innovator.

Barrows

That’s very unlike the Gore of old. He should be able to get more yards than that without even having an O line, ’specially as good as the the passing game was.

He’s hit the 200 yard mark against them multiple times. Hopefully he’ll have another big game on Sunday

It seems like most comments so far have been negative, but on a more positive note, Gore has scored 9 touchdowns despite only playing in 8 games. Excellent production.

that Singletary is right: The shotgun handicaps Gore’s ability to run downhill. Anyway, he certainly redeemed himself with that ballerina-like TD catch.

They have to be if they have a shot at anything.

I didn’t see the whole game, but the network switched to it in the fourth quarter. During the last quarter I don’t recall Gore running from the spread at all. What I saw is what I’ve seen all year—Gore is getting hit in the backfield, or at best the O-line isn’t getting a push. And almost every run was right up the middle.

So I missed all the scoring and have no clue as to whether there was any running from the spread earlier in the game, but it seems that Frank can’t do any worse running from the spread than running from a regular formation.

How badly is Warner dinged up? Will he be back against the Vikings next week?

First, how often has Gore had to run out of a shotgun set? It’s a completely different look for him. I’m sure once he has some more work with it, he’ll get going like we all know he can.

Second, the Jags are pretty darned good at stopping the run. Just sayin…

Third, just like some teams use the run to set up the pass, the opposite can also work. Teams can use the pass to open up running lanes. If the shotgun spread Alex is running continues to find success, defenses will have to respect it more and drop more defenders back into coverage. This will open up more running lanes for Gore. Now, Jacksonville’s pass D is pretty terrible, so Smith looking good against it, while nice to see, isn’t necessarily a sign he is turning any sort of corner. It may be, but we’ll need more time to see what develops in this offense.

Finally, Gore has taken a beating over the last few years. He’s been really good at getting extra yards after initial contact, and diving into piles trying to move them…but all this takes a tole. There’s a reason running backs have a short life-span in this league. I’m not saying that Gore is anywhere near the end of his career. However, I think it’s starting to get to the point where Gore needs a reliable change of pace back that can be legitimately used for 10 carries a game or so. Whether that is Coffee, or someone else, a RB who can take some of the load off Gore, and give him a few series off, will keep him fresh and ready to dominate.

Anyways, I’m not too concerned yet. Gore is an elite back, and he’ll figure out how to make it work in the new offense. But it does give one pause when he has such a lackluster game (aside from the TD, of course).

Gore had some nice runs in the 2nd half against Chicago when we ran the spread on occasion. I think it has more to do with Gore getting comfortable in that formation. He has never run it up to this season and it’s an entirely different ballgame then the normal offense they run.

I am going to assume that the 49ers will beat Seattle (more on that in a second) and that Arizona will lose to the Vikings ( i don’t think that is too much of a stretch) So if that happens it sets up a huge Monday Night Matchup in two weeks that will most likely be for the division. Also don’t forget that the Philadelphia game becomes increasingly important in the Wild Card hunt.

Reasons why the 49ers will beat Seattle.

1. My sister is traveling to the game and he brings great luck to our 49ers team. Take that for what it’s worth but they are 6-0 in the last 6 games that she has attended LOL

1. Seattle’s pass defense ranks 25th in the NFL and with the 49ers running the spread offense and Smith most likely to throw it 40+ times again i see this as a big advantage for the 49ers. Smith: 487 Yards- 5TD- INT 65.6 Comp % over the last 6 quarters. He is starting to show why he was a #1 pick, I expect that to continue next week

1. Seattle ranks 28th in the league in rushing offense and the 49ers are #5 in rush defense. That is an obvious advantage for San Francisco heading into the game. And it puts more pressure on Hasselbeck to throw more. And with a questionable offense line (26 Sacks allowed in 2009) i expect the 49ers pass rush to be effective.

Why do the Niners suck so bad at screen passes?

I could think of a few reasons… but don’t have any film (or time) to check.

1) OL sucks at, you know, moving – or maybe just bad technique
2) Screens only called at obvious times
3) Screens called to wrong personnel (Gore?)
4) QBs goof them up somehow?

It does seem like 3) makes the least sense… I mean when the Niners run a bad screen (i.e, most of their screens) they seem to get immediately blown up… so I am inclined to think some combination of 1) and 2).

Screens are mostly useful vs. a blitz or strong straight-ahead rush, right? So it seems like it would be useful for us. Maybe when the defense is just getting pressure with front 4 they don’t work?

you could’ve posted this on wednesday or thursday… lets soak in this W for now…