Denver bracing for 49er running back Gore

Dec/28/06 01:15 PM Filed in: Frank Gore
DENVER - The Denver Broncos don't need to be reminded of the kind of season San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore is having. With 1,542 yards, he leads the NFC in rushing and trails only LaDanian Tomlinson and Larry Johnson in the NFL.

"We are aware of him," defensive tackle Gerard Warren said. "We will be aware of him."

The second-year pro needs 29 yards to set the franchise's single season rushing record, surpassing Garrison Hearst mark of 1,570 set in 1998.

"You don't have to know his stats to know what kind of year he's having," safety Domonique Foxworth said. "You can tell by looking at film."

Gore has a good chance of finishing the season as the conference rushing leader. He takes a 114-yard lead over Tiki Barber (1,428) of the New York Giants into the final weekend of play.

Top running backs aren't something new for the Broncos this season. Denver faced San Diego's Tomlinson, the NFL's rushing leader with 1,749 yards, and Johnson of Kansas City, who has run for 1,651 yards and Seattle's Shaun Alexander on successive weeks.

"We've dealt with a couple of pretty good ones within our division," defensive end Kenard Lang said.