49ers RB Frank Gore 21-photo from http://sports.yahoo.com

49ers running back Frank Gore has been lighting up opponents to the tune of 5 straight 100 yard games-a 49er franchise record.  Gore is third in the league in rushing this season and came into Sundays game against the Giants just 149 yards behind 49er great Joe Perry for #1 on the teams All Time career rushing list.

Gore ended the game Sunday still 149 yards away from Joe Perry for #1 on the teams All Time career rushing list.  Gore managed 0 yards on just 6 carries and had just 8 yards from scrimmage Sunday.  Gore left with a knee injury in the third quarter and watched as Kendall Hunter and Anthony Dixon took over in the backfield.  Gore had suffered a injured ankle last week in Washington, Gore played just 1 play in the second half but didn’t carry the ball after halftime.

What Gore says about the injury and my thoughts after the jump
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Thursday I wrote about the possibility that Running Back Anthony Dixon was on the hot seat with the 49ers.  It seems that the Harbaugh regime and the Mike Singletary regime have something in common. That is frustration over Dixon’s habit of dancing around and not running with power.  The 49ers drafted Dixon to be a power runner and after leading the NFL in preseason rushing yards his rookie season he seemed to have some promise. 

He soon fell out of favor however with the coaching staff and rarely saw the field even after star RB Frank Gore was lost for the season with a hip injury.  After just 1 game it was clear that veteran RB Brian Westbrook was far superior in all facets of the game even power running, a facet Dixon should easily have on him considering his clear advantage in the size department.

Westbrook proved to be solid in the run game, pass protection and receiving the football last season.  He rarely saw the field when Gore was healthy and still kept a positive attitude and didn’t become a distraction.  His return was left open ended at the end of the season but the team showed no interest in resigning him in the offseason.  While Westbrook has worked out for a couple teams no one has shown any real interest not even the Philadelphia Eagles who were looked into for possible tampering when Westbrook openly admitted to discussing his eventual return to the Eagles with Andy Reid while still employed by the 49ers. 
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“Yes, kind of ‘thunder and lightning.  You know, that’s been used a lot through the years with running backs but with both those guys it literally is applicable.” Mike Singletary said Wednesday.

Even with Brian Westbrook’s big game against the Cardinals last week the 49ers offensive philosophy minus Frank Gore will feature heavy doses of Westbrook and rookie running back Anthony Dixon sharing the load.  Mike Singletary has shown his love for the one running back system since becoming head coach working Gore to the point of injury in each season with the team.  Singletary applied his run, run, run offense with no adequate backups until Westbrook arrived this season with Singletary rarely using him until Gore went down.  There were reasons for Westbrook not playing much during the season which include him not knowing the pass protection schemes and Gore not wanting to rest and come out of the games.  Another reason is that Gore was a beast at picking up the blitz.

The 49ers will employ their version of thunder and lightning not because Westbrook or Dixon cannot get it done by themselves but because of Westbrook’s age and injury history and Dixon is a rookie with his only experience coming in the preseason.  Westbrook still has his legs underneath him however his body has suffered numerous injuries in the last few years ranging from an ankle repaired by surgery to his multiple concussions. To expect Westbrook to carry the load like he did against the Cardinals or similar to Gore is unwise.  Westbrook is still a good running back but the 49ers cannot risk him getting injured because the 49ers overworked him after hardly using him in the season’s first 11 weeks.

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