Frank Gore made an appearance on NFL Network Wednesday morning, and he had some interesting comments about quarterback Andrew Luck. You can watch the full video here, but check in at around 1:37. Gore said he was not knocking his previous quarterbacks with his comments about Luck. And he has never struck me as a guy to go out of his way to make a pointed comment. But this is still a very interesting thing to consider for the San Francisco 49ers.
Gore spent the bulk of his career running behind Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick. There has always been debate over leadership and the 49ers quarterbacks. There is plenty of narrative to it, but it is also hard to know exactly how the team stands with their quarterbacks in leadership roles.
We're not in the locker room or on the field, so we can't say anything with certainty. We do know, Alex Smith made some big plays to help the team get to the NFC title game, and Kap was critical to the 49ers playoff performances in 2012 and 2013. But neither has been put into the same "leadership" category as guys like Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Whether that's fair or not is something that could be debated for the foreseeable future.
Comments like this will raise eyebrows, and only further fuel the debate. Kap is entering his third full season as the starting quarterback, and it is coming at a time when the team is getting younger and younger. There are still plenty of notable veterans, but we are reaching a point where hopefully Kap is, or at least will be, grabbing the proverbial bull by the horns in the huddle and in the locker room.
Fooch's note: I forgot to also reference the fact that given the time-clock issues, who knows what the play-calling between Roman, Harbaugh and Kap meant in regard to huddle issues. One more issue in play.