Gore still wants to carry the load for 49ers

After selecting a running back in the third round, the 49ers indicated they would like to ease up on Frank Gore’s workload.

Gore, however, is no hurry to share.

“I feel like the more I’m in the game, the more I touch the ball, the better player I am,’’ he said Tuesday.

Gore spoke shortly after the 49ers’ second day of OTAs. He said any talk of a two-back system with rookie Glen Coffee was news to him.

“I don’t think we’ll be rotating,’’ he said.

Gore was standing in the precise spot outside the locker room where, about 24 hours earlier, Coach Mike Singletary talked about his desire to keep his running back fresh. Gore has had three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons but has also seen his past two years curtailed by ankle injuries.

On Monday, Singletary was asked if he has talked to Gore about a reduced number of carries.

“Frank is smart enough to know that taking every snap, getting injured in the last couple years – a little nick here, a little nick there – it helps to have somebody in there who can give him a break, share some of that load,’’ Singletary said. “So he’s smart enough to know that that’s going to help him as well.”

In the copycat NFL, teams no doubt noticed the success of two-back systems a year ago. Five teams in the league had two runners with at least 160 carries – and all five of those teams made the playoffs: Tennessee, New York, Baltimore, Carolina and Miami.

The Titans had Smash and Dash. The Panthers had Double Trouble. The New York Giants went with Earth (Brandon Jacobs), Wind (Derrick Ward) and Fire (Ahmad Bradshaw).

So after the 49ers drafted Coffee, the most popular game in the pressroom was thinking of a new nickname for the hard-charging, power backfield. Smash and Gore? Coffee and Express-o? Frank and Beans?

But to hear Gore talk on Tuesday, the T-shirt and slogan makers should give it a rest. The coaches have told him to be in “tip-top shape,’’ which he says is a sign they are expecting him to be on the field plenty.

Plus, Gore said, he gets better as the game goes on. If the coaches want to give him an occasional breather, that’s fine, but he wants as many carries as possible.

“As long as I’m in most of the snaps and getting in my rhythm, doing the best I can do to help my team win, I’m fine with it,” Gore said.

It helps that Gore seems promise in Jimmy Raye’s offense. He said there are a lot of power counters, just as there were in Norv Turner’s offense in 2006 when Gore rushed for 1,695 yards.

“I like to have my shoulders square,’’ Gore said. “Let me just pick a hole and go.”

(mercurynews.com)