Frank Gore’s first day as 49ers rushing king

Frank Gore summed up his upbeat feelings Monday in a six-minute session with reporters. Turns out it was a warm-up act for defensive line coach Jim Tomsula’s 60-minute interview during the lunch hour. I’ll post the highlights from Tomsula later, complete with an anecdote about Justin Smith chipping his teeth at a non-padded practice and the defensive linemen cast as Muppets.

For now, here is what Gore said, a day after he became the 49ers’ all-time leading rusher in a 26-0 win over St. Louis that clinched the 49ers’ first NFC West title since 2002:

– On what it’s like to have a playoff berth for the first time in his career: “It’s been a  tough time for us since we’ve been here. It’s the first time to win the division and get to the playoffs. It’s big, big.”

– On any interaction with fellow 2005 draft class product Alex Smith: “I talked to Alex after the game a little bit, in the locker room. We were happy.”

– On seeing fellow co-captain Patrick Willis get hurt: “I was kind of nervous, kind of scared. We need Pat. He’s a big part of this team. He’s a leader. I feel real good when 52 is on the field. I’m happy it was a hamstring. He’ll be fine. He’ll be good. Pat, he’ll be back.”

– On the next order of business: “Our goal was to be division champs. Now we did that. Now we’ll try to be the No. 1 or No. 2 seed. We’ll go from there.”

 – On whether he wants to rest down the stretch: “Nah, nah. We’re playing. We’re playing ball. We’ve got four more games left, right? So we’re playing ball. We’ll try to win these last four. Hopefully whatever happens withGreen Bay, we can get the No. 1 or No. 2 seed, and that will be great for us.”

– On a recent lack of 100-yard games and how defenses are keying on him more: “Yeah, they are, but we’re winning. In some of the games, I haven’t played. In the Arizona game, I didn’t play some of the third or fourth quarter, and that would have been a 100-yard game. Yesterday I didn’t play the fourth quarter. We’re still doing good in the running game. A lot of guys are gearing up to stop the run, but we’re winning and I’m good with it.”

– On seeing big plays in the passing game: “I love it. I love it. I love it. If they want to keep playing eight or nine men in the box (near the line of scrimmage), Alex will keep killing them. As long as we get the win, I’m good with whatever happens, if it’s running or passing.”

– On last night’s celebration: ”I just hung out with some of my teammates and enjoyed the win and our first time in the playoffs since 2002. Now that we got that out the way, the next step is to get the No. 1 or No. 2 seed.”

- On passing Joe Perry as the 49ers’ all-time leading rusher: “It’s a blessing, to do something in this organization with a lot of great players. My name being mentioned amongst them guys, I’m happy about it. It was hard work. Had some ups and downs. It’s a blessing.”

(mercurynews.com)