Frank Gore was "noticeably slimmer" at the 49ers' mid-May OTAs, according to SI.com's Jim Trotter.
Gore was a little overweight at May 1 minicamps, but is back in top shape. He says new coordinator Jimmy Raye's offense is just like the one he played in under Norv Turner during Gore's 2006 breakout. Gore probably won't get back to the 300+ carry range, but should see more than he ever did for Mike Martz.

(rotoworld.com)

Consider Frank Gore a man of his word. After showing up for the May 1 minicamp overweight, the 49ers' star running back promised his coaches he would drop 10 pounds before the offseason coaching sessions kicked off two weeks later. When he walked through the locker room doors May 18, there was no need to put him on the scale. Gore was noticeably trimmer.

Perhaps it had something to do with him having a weight lifted from his shoulders after getting a look at new coordinator Jimmy Raye's offense during that voluntary minicamp. The system mirrors what San Francisco ran in 2006, when Gore had a breakout season in coordinator Norv Turner's one season with the 49ers.

"It's about the same, a lot of power counters, going at them, don't care what they have in front of us; they just have to stop us," Gore said after a recent OTA workout. "My type of running style is that I like to have my shoulders square. A lot of runs and a lot of the running plays are going straight downhill, just pick your hole and go."

Gore picked a lot of correct holes in 2006, when he set career rushing highs of 1,695 yards, eight touchdowns and 5.4 yards per carry. To put that into perspective, his second-best totals are 1,102 yards (in 2007), six scores (in 2008) and 4.8 yards a carry (in 2005).

Gore is clearly excited about what he has seen and heard from Raye, who worked for Turner for two years in Oakland. The coaches were raised in the same offensive system and speak the same terminology. But will that result in the same type of big season for Gore? The answer here is yes, barring injury.

Gore says the 49ers were more of a finesse offense under coordinator Mike Martz last season. That won't be the case this year, because coach Mike Singletary wants the offense to revolve around a tough, physical running game, which would decrease the pressure on whoever wins the starting job at quarterback.

(cnnsi.com)

The 49ers have finished their first session of OTAs and the team is slowly figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of both the offense and defense. Earlier in the week, the 49ers were hit with the injury bug and the hardest hit was on cornerback Walt Harris. Harris suffered an ACL injury and would more than likely be out for the rest of the year.

The 49ers then immediately signed veteran Dre Bly to a one-year deal to fill in for Harris' spot. Bly now will more than likely battle Tarell Brown and Shawntae Spencer for the open starting job.

One of the biggest things on offense that the team will focus on is the running game. The team already have an established star running back in Frank Gore. After three consecutive seasons of 1,000 rushing yards, a lot more pressure will be put on Gore and the running game.

Gore's best season came when Norv Turner ran the offense in 2006. Since then, Gore's numbers have dipped under the offense of Jim Hostler and Mike Martz.

Gore calls Martz's offense very finesse as the passing game was the main focus of attack. But now under the running style of offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye, we should expect a similar offense as the one from 2006. Gore has already expressed his liking to the new playbook.

"Yeah. I like it so far. We're running the ball a lot. We're doing a lot of downhill runs, and that's my type of running style," Gore said in comments transcribed by the team.

A part of Gore's running game is the straight ahead, downhill style. The new offense should provide that opportunity for him. Raye's playbook offers a lot of counters, which will allow the guard to pull out of the line to block for Gore. With that style, Gore will be allowed to follow his blockers through the hole.

Another part of Gore's success from 2006 came from his fullback Moran Norris. After spending one season in Detroit, Norris returned to San Francisco. Norris was a great complimentary back to Gore's running style and the 49ers are hoping that they can repeat such success.

In an earlier post, I had talked about a observation from the Sac Bee's Matt Barrows. I had mentioned that third-round draft pick Glen Coffee's running style might need improvement. The style, a galloping type, was something that I had initially believed to be something could require work. Obviously, such a style has seen success in the NFL (Roger Craig, Walter Payton) and I was quick to criticize it. However, the projected style of offense the 49ers have installed doesn't look to be something great for a galloping style.

The style itself is a style that can work if the rest of the running attack is smooth. Gore and Coffee are expected to be a 1-2 punch in the running game, but Gore does expect to see the majority of the carries. If Gore does take a majority of the rushes as he expects to, Coffee will be that "change of pace" back that so many teams have used in recent years.

Teams like the Jaguars (Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew), Vikings (Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor) and Giants (Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward) all featured backs with two distinct styles of running. That is what the 49ers are looking to establish themselves.

Watching Coffee at Alabama showed me that he is capable of going outside or going downhill. A little background on Coffee from the 49ers website:

In 35 games (17 starts) for the Crimson Tide, gained 2,107 yds. on 410 carries with 14 TDs, and 42 catches for 351 yds. with 2 TDs receiving. In his final season at Alabama, the All-SEC selection and Doak Walker Award semi-finalist rushed for 1,383 rushing yds and 10 TDs. His rushing yds. tied Shaun Alexander as the 2nd-best total in school history, while his 5.9 yds. per carry in 2008 ranked 6th all-time. In 2007, played in 9 games (3 starts) and rushed for 545 yds. and 4 TDs, and had 18 catches for 118 yds. and a TD. Granted a medical redshirt in 2006 after recording 179 rushing yds. and 91 receiving yds. as a true freshman.

The two-back system for the 49ers could very well provide the type of running success the previously mentioned teams have had. If the 49ers offense isn't all downhill running like I had initially predicted, Coffee can excel with his galloping style.

Coming out of Alabama, scouting reports said that he will be best suited as a downhill runner. Looks like he may be fit for both downhill and outside running. That definitely will be a great compliment to Gore this upcoming season. And as the 49ers continue to build their offense around the strengths of the passing game, we know clearly that the strengths of the running game have already been in place. Let's hope that it gels for this upcoming season.

(examiner.com)

SANTA CLARA – It's a tricky issue for an NFL running back. Sharing carries with another rusher can cut down on wear and tear and elongate your career. But it also can give a younger teammate a foothold from which to take your job.

That's what happened to former 49ers running back Garrison Hearst, who split carries with a younger rusher, Kevan Barlow, for several seasons. Hearst was displaced by Barlow following the 2003 season.

After splitting time with Frank Gore in 2005, Barlow was traded to the New York Jets before the 2006 season.
Three years later, it's Gore, 26, who is suddenly surrounded by eager rookie runners.

The 49ers used a third-round draft pick – the same round in which Gore was drafted – to select Alabama running back Glen Coffee. The team also is excited about another rookie, Purdue's Kory Sheets, a non-drafted free agent.
Coach Mike Singletary made it clear on draft weekend that Gore was still the team's primary running back. But he also said Coffee's acquisition was in Gore's best interest.

"Frank is smart enough to know that taking every snap, getting injured in the last couple of 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.

Gore, however, said the ankle injuries that caused him to miss games in 2007 and '08 were not because his body broke down. And he insisted he is the type of running back who gets better the more he touches the football.

"I couldn't help that someone fell on my ankle, and the year before it was the same," Gore said. "Last year, I felt like I was getting stronger. And I did get hurt. I won't say it was because I was worn down. It was just unlucky injuries."
Singletary and the 49ers have not yet decided how many carries Coffee and the team's other backups will see in a game. Gore, however, almost certainly will get more rest than he did last year when DeShaun Foster was the No. 2 running back.

Before Gore injured his ankle in a Week 14 game against the Jets, Foster had 21 carries for 42 yards. Ten of those carries came in the second half of a Week 11 blowout win against the Rams.

Gore said Tuesday that Jimmy Raye's offense suited his style of running more than Mike Martz's system did last season. Martz had Gore run outside the tackles more than he had in previous seasons, something Gore referred to as "finesse running."

"I like it so far," Gore said of Raye's offense. "We run the ball a lot. We're doing a lot of downhill runs, and that's my type of running style."

He also said he's gotten a good first impression from Coffee – "He's working very hard. He's learning the offense. I like him" – and wouldn't mind if the rookie got a few carries here and there.

That is, as long as Gore continues to get his fill.

Said Gore: "As long as I'm in most of the time and getting my rhythm and doing the best I can to help the team win, I'm fine with it."

(sacbee.com)

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 in 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 organized team activities. 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 seen his past two years curtailed by ankle injuries.
On Monday, Singletary was asked if he has talked with 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 last season. Five teams had two runners with at least 160 carries — and all five of those teams made the playoffs: Tennessee, the New York Giants, Baltimore, Carolina and Miami.

"That's just where people are moving," Titans Coach Jeff Fisher said near the end of last season. "Our whole plan going in was to keep them fresh for the final stretch of the regular season and hopefully the playoffs."

The Titans nicknamed their duo Smash and Dash. The Panthers had Double Trouble. The 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 Tuesday, the T-shirt makers shouldn't get started quite yet. He turned 26 last week and said his body is in excellent condition.

The coaches have told Gore to be in "tip-top shape," which he says is a sign they are expecting him to be on the field as much as ever.

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.

What about avoiding injuries? Gore pointed out that his ankle problems the past two seasons stemmed from bad luck, not wear and tear. In both cases, another player rolled over his ankle, which cannot reasonably be blamed on too many carries.

"I felt like I was starting to get stronger in the game I got hurt," Gore said, referring to a Week 14 game against the New York Jets.

Gore's desire to stay on the field is in part because of the potential he sees in Jimmy Raye's offense. He said there are a lot of straight-ahead power counter plays, 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. "A lot of runs and a lot of running plays are going straight downhill. Let me just pick a hole and go."

(mercurynews.com)

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)

The 49ers will be overhauling the team from what it was last year. By this, the 49ers know that they must change their offensive approach. With that in mind, the 49ers fired Mike Martz and hired Jimmy Raye to run the offense.

Martz's high-octane pass-friendly offense led to high risk plays which at times led to many turnovers. But with Raye, there will be a more balanced attack between the pass and the run-- with a little more emphasis on the run.

Last season, running back Frank Gore reached the 1,000-yard rushing plateau in the final game of the season. With that total, the star back has reached that mark in three consecutive seasons. This season, we should expect Gore to reach 1,000 yards way before the team's final regular season game.

As part of Martz's offense, Gore played in only 14 games and averaged 74 rushing yards per game. Gore received only 240 carries, which was a clear sign of the team's approach to passing the ball.

For the new 49ers offense, the established run will carry the team all season long. Gore will now be relied upon to set the tone for the offense.

The 49ers signed fullback Moran Norris this off-season and they expect him to help Gore return to his 2006 form. Norris was Gore's teammate in the running back's first two seasons as a starter.

The 49ers also drafted running back Glen Coffee and they expect him to help Gore with the load. As Gore has been battling injuries the past two seasons, Coffee will be relied on to make this two-back system successful.

With Gore, we should expect at least 300 carries from him this season. If he can handle the bulk of those carries, the 49ers will have established a solid running game that has eluded the team the past couple seasons.

The pressure will not be on Gore but also on the offensive line. A lot of credit was given to guard Larry Allen during Gore's breakout year in 2006. Now the team will rely on veteran tackle Marvel Smith and youngsters Joe Staley and guard Chilo Rachal to help open holes for the running back. If Gore does get his 300 rush attempts, he will surely make it to 1,000 yards and possibly a return to the Pro Bowl.

In Gore's 2006 Pro Bowl year, he was a relative unknown that took the NFL by surprise. Now he is the team's feature back and team's best offensive player. The opposition will surely be prepared to stop him. Gore will have a lot on his plate this upcoming season.

Frank Gore's late season ankle injury is now completely healed and is working hard this off season to get back to the Pro Bowl.

(examiner.com)

Troy Gore, the great-grandfather to former Miami Hurricane and current San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore as well as Miami Columbus High School blue-chip recruit Jakhari Gore, celebrated his 100th birthday Sunday during services in Coconut Grove.

Troy Gore, who raised four generations of Gores in the Grove after moving to South Florida from South Carolina in 1950, spent a career as a mason and landscaper.

Gore did not play sports as a younger man. But he has had a front-row seat to civil rights progress that allowed his sons to play on the same fields as kids of other races.

He was discharged from the Army because of a knee injury -- an ailment that is his only infirmity today after his first century on the planet.

''He is in excellent health,'' said Sabrina Gore, mother of Jakhari. ``His memory is still great, he was looking around [Sunday during the services] because Frank was late and he was wondering where he was.''

After the service, the Gore family and friends adjourned to nearby Carver Middle School for a private party.

(miamiherald.com)

Sources present at the 49ers’ first minicamp were surprised by the lack of effort put forth by featured back Frank Gore. “It was a little strange,” one observer told PFW. “It didn’t look like he was going all out at all. He is kind of moody at times, and sometimes he struggles with his weight, but I’ll be shocked if he isn’t fully motivated by the time training camp rolls around.”

(pfw.com)

Michael C. Wright, of The Florida Times-Union, reports San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary said the team would like a running back to compliment starter Frank Gore. "It would help to have someone come in and share the load," Singletary said. "Maybe someone who has a different style, someone who adds another dimension to our running game."

(kffl.com)

49ers GM Scot McCloughan strongly hinted in a Q&A on the team's website that he wants to use a two-running back system going forward.

New OC Jimmy Raye thinks Frank Gore is a 25-carry per game back, but McCloughan said "I think nowadays you have to have that type of (two-back) system...especially with our (physical) approach on offense. You don’t just need a change of pace guy...you need two backs that can have production." The Niners have enough holes to fill that a new back is unlikely to top their priority list. Perhaps they'll draft another late-rounder like Thomas Clayton.

(rotoworld.com)

Following that theme, Jimmy Raye II, who is joining San Francisco as offensive coordinator, told the Sacramento Bee he sees a lot of similarities between the 49ers and the Chiefs squads he coached from 1998-2000. For what it's worth, here's how those offenses ranked:

1998: 19th overall (16th passing, 23rd rushing) 1999: 12th overall (22nd passing, 4th rushing) 2000: 8th overall (5th passing, 25th rushing)

Those teams never had a back like Frank Gore, though. Raye said Gore "seems like he has the capability to carry the ball 25 times" a game. That's great news for owners planning on drafting/keeping Gore, who averaged just 17 carries per game in '08 (20 touches per game).

Of course, this is just early pre-preseason talk from an optimistic, incoming coordinator. But it should be noted that Raye also said he plans to use a system that blends the one Norv Turner ran in S.F. in '06 with his own from K.C. For the record, Gore totaled 2,180 yards and nine TDs in '06, while averaging 19.5 carries and 3.8 catches per game.

Gore checks in at No. 11 in our early '09 RB rankings, but are you willing to take him even higher based on his past performances and Raye's optimism? I like Gore in PPR leagues, especially late in the first round, but I'm still hesitant to rely on an injury-prone RB in a questionable offense in non-PPR leagues.

(sportingnews.com)

New offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye believes RB Frank Gore has the "capability to carry the ball 25 times (a game)."

Raye's emphasis on the running game combined with new running backs coach Tom Rathman's influence figures to bode well for Frank Gore's value in 2009. Raye's next order of business is bringing in a Tony Richardson type of full back as a lead blocker.

(rotoworld.com)

San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Singletary announced the firing of offensive coordinator Mike Martz on Tuesday, which shouldn't be much off a surprise considering the their contrasting personalities.

From a fantasy perspective, this could mean more consistency from Frank Gore (pictured) in 2009.

I'm no football genius, but my guess is Singletary wants Gore to be like a certain RB who used to play for the Chicago Bears. We're not saying that Gore will in fact be the next Walter Payton, but Singletary likely will hire a coach with "an establish the run first" philosophy.

So what do we make of Gore heading into next season?

Gore wasn't horrible this season. He hit 1,000 yards for the third straight year, and he totaled eight TDs. Gore's production in the second half of the season, however, was disappointing.

He had just 407 yards and 2 TDs in San Francisco's final eight games after racking up 629 with 4 TDS in the first half. Gore did not score a rushing TD after Week 11.

The emergence of DeShaun Foster didn't help. Foster averaged 47.5 rushing yards in the 49ers' last four games. He could steal more carries from Gore to start next season.

As a result, Gore likely could fall from a first round pick in 2008 to a middle-of-the-second-rounder in '09. Depending on who Singletary brings in to call the plays, Gore could be the steal of the draft at that point.

From a personal standpoint, I won't be drafting Gore in the first or second round next season. I needed Gore to deliver late in the season (Weeks 12-13), and in those two games he totaled 92 rushing yards, 29 receiving yards and no TDs. You need more from a first-round stud, especially when it counts.

Your thoughts? Will you gamble on Gore in the first round again?

(sportingnews.com)

SANTA CLARA – The question seemed like a ridiculously easy one for Clinton Portis: Which former University of Miami tailback is the best NFL rusher?

Like most ex-Hurricanes, Portis doesn't lack self-esteem, and he has a well-developed sense of humor. The question was a softball, and the Redskins running back would oblige by hitting it out of the park. The next words out of his mouth would be "Clinton Portis."

Instead, his smile disappeared and he grew serious.

"Honestly, I always thought Frank was the best one out of all of us, and I'm big on myself," Portis told the NFL Network in June.

When you're a key player in a high-profile college program, you don't always root for your understudy to succeed. But to hear Portis and Frank Gore tell it, there wasn't a speck of jealousy between them at Miami.

Gore said Portis, who was a junior when Gore was a freshman, treated him like a younger brother, teaching him the playbook and letting Gore hold his car – an old, gold Toyota Camry – whenever Portis was away. In return, Gore's mother, Liz, threw Portis the mother of all draft parties at her home in Coconut Grove, Fla., when Portis left Miami for the Denver Broncos in April 2002.

Portis said he was impressed with Gore even before the latter set foot on campus. While Gore was in high school, Portis and his Miami teammates sat in the stands as Gore's school, Coral Gables High, took on the school of future Miami wide receiver Sinorice Moss.

"They ran a four-receiver, run-and-shoot set and just gave (Gore) draws," Portis recalled. "He single-handedly ran through Carol City (High School), and they were the top team. That wowed me."

Far from begrudging him playing time, Portis said he would remove himself in the second half of games to give Gore extra carries. Before Miami was to play Nebraska in the 2002 Rose Bowl, Portis turned to his roommate.

"He said, 'I'm going to give you the rock,' " Gore said. " 'This is my last game. Now you've got to hold it down for me.' I was excited about that. Now I get the chance to be the man."

Which isn't to say the former Hurricane tailbacks don't have a brotherly rivalry.

The two have gone head to head only once, in 2005 when Gore was a backup to Kevan Barlow. Late in that game, Gore broke a 72-yard touchdown run, and he finished with 89 rushing yards.

Portis, however, was 12 yards better, and he scored three touchdowns in a 52-17 Redskins rout.

Gore also knows Portis has the edge over him this season in rushing yards, 1,407 to 978.

"We're so competitive we always want to outrush each other," Gore said. "He got me this year, but you know, I'm going to try and come back this Sunday and outperform him. We've got to win. If I do that and win, hey, we're good. Happy New Year to me."

(sacbee.com0

He got his 1,000 yards, gimpy ankle and all.

Frank Gore went into Sunday's season-ender against Washington needing 22 rushing yards to attain 1,000 for the season and become the first 49er to rush for 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons.

Gore, who had missed the previous two games with a sprained ankle, finished with 11 carries for 58 yards to end the season with 1,036. Joe Perry (1953-54), Roger Craig (1988-89), Garrison Hearst (1997-98) and Charlie Garner (1999-2000) all rushed for at least 1,000 yards for two straight seasons.

"It's great to be the first running back in this team's history to do it, especially with all the great players who have been here," Gore said. "I'm very happy. Everyone wanted me to do it today. I have a record in this great franchise's history, and that's a great thing."

Coach Mike Singletary was mindful of Gore's ankle and limited his playing time. DeShaun Foster played well in relief of Gore with nine carries for 44 yards and a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

(sfgate.com)

SANTA CLARA — Twenty-two yards short of becoming the 49ers' first running back to gain 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons, Frank Gore said Monday that he plans to practice this week in hopes of playing in Sunday's season finale against Washington.

But the milestone isn't Gore's only motivation.

Sunday's game also is an opportunity to renew a friendly rivalry with Redskins running back Clinton Portis, Gore's former teammate at the University of Miami.

"We talk to each other during the season," said Gore, who has missed the past two games because of a sprained left ankle injury. "We're so competitive. We always want to out-rush each other. He got me this year, but I'm going to try to come out this Sunday and out-perform him. If I do that and win, hey, it'll be a Happy New Year for me."

Competition aside, Gore noted that during his freshman season at Miami, Portis essentially served as his big brother. He helped him with the playbook, loaned him his car, etc.

"He used to look out for me," Gore said. "You know how other players would be (with) a young freshman coming in and playing right away, they probably wouldn't help him out or do anything for him. But he was different. He helped me out a whole lot."

49ers coach Mike Singletary said he wants Gore to get his 1,000th yard but only if the ankle is OK.

"Hopefully, he's healthy enough to go," Singletary said. "But if he can come back next year and get 2,000 (yards), that's even better. I'm good with (playing him), depending on where he's at."

(insidebayarea.com)

Frank Gore seemed much more sprightly today than he did a week ago, but he said his availability for Sunday was "50-50." Gore, who is dealing with a sprained ligament in his left ankle, will not practice today but he will do some on-field work with trainers, something he wasn't able to do last week. As was the case a week ago, the 49ers are calling Gore's ankle injury a game-time decision. Gore didn't even test the ankle before Sunday's game in Miami, but he said he planned to do so this coming Sunday in St. Louis.

(sacbee.com)

49ers feature running back Frank Gore is still dealing with soreness in his ankle. As disappointed as he might have been not to be able to suit up in his hometown of Miami on Sunday, the fact that he was limping all week is enough to confirm that resting was a smart move. The next question is whether he will be ready for a favorable matchup Sunday against the Rams. At this point, he is very questionable, and fantasy owners should prepare a backup plan. But if he makes major progress with the ankle, we will upgrade his status.

(espn.com)

Matt Maiocco, of The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, reports San Francisco 49ers RB Frank Gore (ankle) missed the team's practice Thursday, Dec. 11, and it is looking doubtful he will be available for Week 15. Head coach Mike Singletary is calling him a game-time decision.


(kffl.com)

Mike Singletary just wrapped up his Wednesday press conference. The big piece of news is that running back Frank Gore has what the coach described as "an inside sprain" of his left ankle and likely will be a game-day decision. Gore will not practice today and Singletary said that DeShaun Foster will get the bulk of the practice repetitions this week. If Thomas Clayton is elevated to the active roster, it will be later this week, perhaps Saturday. The good news is that Gore does not have a high-ankle sprain, which almost certainly would have knocked him out a week or more.

(sacbee.com)

Frank Gore said he intended to play in Week 15 after suffering an ankle injury in Sunday's win.
"I'm going to come back and play," he said, although he was limping noticeably after the game. Coach Mike Singletary would only say that Gore was sore and the team would have to wait and see if he plays against Miami. Gore isn't likely to practice much this week.

(rotoworld.com)

Running back Frank Gore exited the game at the start of the third quarter with an ankle injury, but not before doing some damage of his own first, including a 4-yard touchdown catch from Shaun Hill to put the 49ers up 14-7 at the half.

The heart and soul of the 49ers offense needed just 74 yards to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark. He got 52 of them in two quarters and two plays on 14 carries for 3.7-yard average against a Jets defense that entered the game ranked fourth against the run.

“I was going to have a great game,” said Gore. “I was going to have a big game today, but it just wasn’t meant for today. Things happen and I have to try and get well. I’m trying to get alright for the Miami game.”

Gore required assistance clearing the field after picking up a first down on a 5-yard carry at the start of the third quarter. Shortly thereafter, he headed into the locker room on a cart for x-rays.

He returned to the bench area later in the game, hobbling back and forth as he cheered on teammates.

“It’s tight. Tight and sore. It’s sad, but I’ll be fine,” he said.

In his absence, DeShaun Foster took the bulk of the carries, gaining 35 yards on 16 carries with a long of 6. Foster did fumble once, but guard David Baas quickly fell on the loose ball.

Gore was disappointed about sitting out, but still had a huge grin on his face following the victory.

“I was happy man. Shaun Hill, the receivers, DeShaun, Mike Rob – they did a great job. That’s what we need. The more depth we have on the team, the better your team will be,” he said.

Gore expects to know more about his playing status by Wednesday or Thursday, but if he has any say, he’ll be in action when the 49ers go again next Sunday in Miami.

“Aw man, I haven’t played at home in four years,” said Gore. “I’m ready. We’ll just take it one day at a time and try to get better, go into Miami, get my 1,000 yards and try to get a win, then bring it back to the West Coast for my fans on the West Coast.”

(49ers.com)

Frank Gore rushed 24 times for 66 yards and caught three passes for 23 yards in Week 13 against the Bills.
The 27 touches are Gore's most since Week 3, but he's produced just 2.4 yards per carry over the past two games and doesn't figure to find much success against the Jets' stout run defense next week. Despite the poor two-game stretch, Gore is on pace for 1,700 total yards on 340 touches as the focal point of Mike Martz's offense.

(rotoworld.com)

With each passing week, the Bay Area turns up the dial on Mike Nolan's hot seat.

On Wednesday, it was New York's turn.

Reporters in the Big Apple asked Frank Gore what it's like to play for a coach with such uncertain job status.

The 49ers' franchise player responded with a strong vote of confidence.

"Coach Nolan is a great head coach and a great guy and I like him a whole lot,'' the running back said.

Nolan is 18-36 since arriving in 2005, and the team's erratic play during a three-game losing streak has led to increasing questions about his employment.

Gore insisted he hasn't heard any such talk and remains a fan both personally and professionally. "I talk to him about more than football,'' he said.
Meanwhile, keeping Gore involved on game days could be the key to Nolan's future. The 49ers haven't gotten him 20 carries since a Week 3 victory over Detroit.

The team is 10-4 in Gore's career when he gets at least 100 yards.

For that reason, the Giants are expecting to see a steady dose Sunday.

"I think what makes Frank Gore a great running back is the fact that you can't pinpoint what type of running back he is,'' Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said. "He's a slasher. He's a downfield runner. He's patient. He's quick. He's elusive.

"He fits just about every category you can say about a running back, but you really can't pinpoint on how you need to attack him. "... He definitely has all of the tools to be a great one."

(mercurynews.com)

SAN FRANCISCO – Frank Gore is not that easy to overlook. This isn't the same Gore who wins peace prizes and quietly runs around trying to save our planet.

The 49ers' Gore runs through people. And around people. And sometimes right past people. At 5-foot-9 and 215 pounds, with a thick neck and wide, compact frame, his rushing style is noisy and muscular, and effective enough to command attention around the NFL.

But early in the fourth quarter Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles? With the 49ers leading 26-17 and presumably intent on running clock and maintaining momentum? Gore? Earth to Mike Martz, to Mike Nolan. The guy is really good.

Good, but forgotten. Through the first three quarters of Sunday's 40-26 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Gore rushed 17 times for 98 yards. He squeezed through holes and busted loose for one impressive 25-yard sprint. On several other occasions he broke tackles and stubbornly lugged defenders along for extra yards. He also provided a balance to the offense, and of no less significance, appeared to have a calming influence on an erratic J.T. O'Sullivan, the former UC Davis and Jesuit standout who is struggling to establish himself as a starting NFL quarterback.

But that fourth-quarter evisceration was swift, inexplicable, stunning. Candlestick Park became so silent, you could almost hear the flights landing at the nearby international airport. Closer to the carnage, Nolan fumbled through his postgame news conference, sounding like a teenager who had just been pulled over for speeding. There was a lot of explaining to do. A lot of explaining.

There was the timeout situation and his two challenges – the first on Donovan McNabb's deep throw to DeSean Jackson and the second on David Akers' 38-yard field goal. There were questions about O'Sullivan's job status (no change yet), and a hint that Nolan's own future will make for some hearty Monday morning chewing. Yet most notable were the inquiries about Gore's mystifying absence during the first two possessions of the final period.

Ignore the NFL's third-leading rusher at the wrong time and this is what happens: O'Sullivan incomplete pass on second down. O'Sullivan sack. Andy Lee punt.

O'Sullivan incomplete pass. O'Sullivan incomplete pass. O'Sullivan pass to Vernon Davis for minus-seven yards. Lee punt.

Gore, who still finished with 101 yards on 19 carries (for a hefty 5.3 yard average), spent most of the closing minutes watching O'Sullivan fumble once and twice throw interceptions, all of which contributed mightily to the Eagles' 23-0 eruption. And none of which was enough to prompt anything controversial out of Gore.

That's never been his style. The 2006 Pro Bowl selection remains the consummate pro, the company man. He runs, he scores, he catches passes. He wants to win, desperately. But he leaves the grumbling to others and the coaching to his coaches.

"I'm just frustrated that we're not finishing," he said afterward, visibly upset. "If we had finished today, we'd win the game. … I'm not the coach and I don't make the calls. We made mistakes and we lost the game. Our coach did what he thought was the best thing for us to get a first down and move the ball."

There were no shots at Martz for favoring the pass, nor at Nolan, who allowed it to happen. Still, no doubt he was wondering what his coaches were thinking. Nolan seemed to distance himself from the offensive woes, dancing around the Where-Was-Gore question and failing to offer anything resembling a detailed response.

"I thought we were moving the ball well the entire game," said Nolan, speaking rapidly. "I thought we had a good mix. I thought we kept them off balance. I thought it was a good plan. … "

Did he really? Sounds like pollution to me.

(sacbee.com)

Nolan took his lumps about his defense Monday and Tuesday but he wasn't shy about mentioning the lopsided time of possession and the lack of action for Frank Gore. Nolan talked about this at his Monday news conference and more stridently on his radio stint Tuesday on KNBR's Morning Show with Murph and Mac.

Along with saying his defense had to stop the opposition on third down, Nolan also said, "The offense needs to stay on the field longer. We were able to run the ball better than we thought we would be able to going into the game. If we had had more opportunity we would have been able to show it."

He's right. I don't see the Patriots enough to know if they use their goofy two-lineman, three-linebacker and six defensive-back alignment all the time. They used it a lot against the 49ers, even against the 49ers' two-receivers looks. This defense is basically begging the 49ers to run. It would be interesting to see if Miami's "wildcat" formation was used against this defense two weeks ago when the Dolphins upset New England. The wildcat puts three (or four receivers out there if you count the quarterback) with a direct shotgun hike to the running back who then takes off. The 49ers used the wildcat once against the Patriots 2-3-6, and Frank Gore gained an easy 7 yards. Why not keep using it until the Patriots prove they can stop it?

(sfgate.com)

The Press Democrat reports 49ers HC Mike Nolan reiterated on Monday the importance of getting the ball in the hands of RB Frank Gore. Up until the 49ers fell behind by two scores and ended the game with 10 consecutive passes, the 49ers called 25 pass plays in the huddle,compared to 12 Gore runs. Gore had just 16 touches in the game, including four pass receptions.

(ffmastermind.com)

FOXBOROUGH - Vince Wilfork and Frank Gore are friends, former University of Miami teammates now playing at a high level in the NFL.

Wilfork said there will be no conversation between the two during this week, what with Wilfork's New England Patriots and Gore's San Francisco 49ers set to meet Sunday on the West Coast.

Wilfork will certainly see his share of Gore come Sunday. But the more significant question is will the nose tackle and his teammates simply catch glimpses of the running back or will they be able to wrap him up - in bear hugs, if you will - more times than not?

The 5-foot-9, 217-pound Gore is averaging 19 carries per game and 4.9 yards per carry for the 49ers, and he also is tied for the team lead with 15 receptions. He has surpassed 1,000 yards rushing in each of the last two seasons.

The fourth-year pro is an incredibly helpful weapon for young quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan not only because he can produce big plays on his own but also because he can help his QB open up the downfield passing game which has been the trademark of offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

"We just need to make sure we wrap him up," Wilfork said. "There are times (on film) when you think they have him, but he pops out. We've just got to be really good about wrapping up people, especially him.

"It starts with stopping the run," he added, "that puts you in good situations."

The Patriots are coming off a dismal defensive performance against the Miami Dolphins, a 38-13 loss. Opponents are converting at a crisp 48 percent on third down, and they are averaging 140 rushing yards per game.

At this point, the 2-1 Patriots are simply a defensive unit coming off a bad performance. If the 49ers are able to find holes and those numbers on third down and in the run game persist another week, however, then the Patriots could start to look like a team with more signficant flaws.

Gore has much more of a track record than O'Sullivan, so the Patriots will undoubtedly try to attack a quarterback who has been sacked 19 times through a 2-2 start.

New England coach Bill Belichick pointed out that O'Sullivan, who spent a short time on the Patriots' practice squad in 2006, is more mobile but less experienced than other quarterbacks such as Kurt Warner and Jon Kitna who have directed offenses for Martz in the past. The former UC Davis QB has completed 61 percent of his passes this season with four touchdowns and three interceptions.

"Athletic, good arm, live arm, can make all the throws, quick feet, can stay alive in the pocket, improvise, make some plays scrambling around," Belichick said when asked about the 6-foot-2, 227-pound O'Sullivan.

"I don't think it was a question of talent or anything else. For us, it was more about opportunity and reps and how many quarterbacks you can work with. He got into a good competitive situation in San Francisco and made the most of it. I think he deserves credit for perseverance."

O'Sullivan, a sixth-year pro with no starts prior to this season, does not look forward to facing a 3-4 defense - three down linemen and four linebackers - and this is one which has stifled many a young quarterback. A 3-4 means there is an extra linebacker in the game, a defender who might rush or might drop into coverage.

"Most quarterbacks will tell you that they don't love the 3-4 because there is extra guy standing up," O'Sullivan said. "Once you've seen it, you understand they are trying to do certain things with their front. We're trying to stuff with our routes and protections. You get a little more comfortable with it, but I think you would rather see seven guys standing up than eight."

(masslive.com)

SAN FRANCISCO - Frank Gore moved into seventh place on the 49ers' all-time rushing list over the weekend.

That's nice, he said.

But hold the champagne.

"I want to be No. 1, you know?'' Gore said. "That would be great."

Anything seemed possible to the running back Monday, a day after another productive game under offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

Gore rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 32 yards.

That helped the 49ers beat the Detroit Lions 31-13 and top 30 points and 300 yards for a second consecutive game.

"It just seems so easy,'' Gore said.

A year ago, it seemed so hard. Gore fell woefully short after publicly declaring his goal was to break Eric Dickerson's single-season NFL rushing record of 2,105 yards.

He avoided similar proclamations this season - until Monday. In the span of a few minutes, Gore said he wanted the franchise's all-time rushing record, the NFL rushing title and the league lead in total yardage.

Oh, and he wants to be the NFL's best blocking running back, too. Gore managed to say these things without a hint of brashness. He's soft-spoken by nature.

He was just trying to give a sense of how the universe has opened up with the arrival of a new offensive coordinator.

When I talk to Coach Martz, I tell him that,

'Coach, I want to be all I got.' I even asked him if he can help me be the best back in this league,'' Gore said.

He is also delivering as a blocker. Gore and tight end Vernon Davis were called upon to pass protect against the Lions' blitz late in the second quarter. They bought quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan enough time to hit tight end Delanie Walker for a 24-yard touchdown.

"Whoever you're playing against, you have to do all three things - run, catch and block,'' Gore said.

He said he checks the league leaders weekly to see how he stacks up against the NFL's top threats. He noticed, for example, the Dallas Cowboys' Marion Barber rushed for 142 yards Sunday night.

"I thought, 'OK, next week I have to do this,' " Gore said.

(sltrib.com)

Frank Gore moved into seventh place on the 49ers' all-time rushing list over the weekend.

That's nice, he said.

But hold the champagne.

"I want to be No. 1, you know?'' Gore said. "That would be great."

Anything seemed possible to the running back Monday, a day after another productive game under offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

Gore rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 32 yards.

That helped the 49ers beat the Detroit Lions 31-13 and top 30 points and 300 yards for a second consecutive game.

"It just seems so easy,'' Gore said.

A year ago, it seemed so hard. Gore fell woefully short after publicly declaring his goal was to break Eric Dickerson's single-season NFL rushing record of 2,105 yards.

He avoided similar proclamations this season — until Monday. In the span of a few minutes, Gore said he wanted the franchise's all-time rushing record, the NFL rushing title and the league lead in total yardage.

Oh, and he wants to be the NFL's best blocking running back, too. Gore managed to say these things without a hint of brashness. He's soft-spoken by nature.

He was just trying to give a sense of how the universe has opened up with the arrival of a new offensive coordinator.

"When I talked to Martz before the season, I asked, 'Can you help me be the best back in the league?' '' Gore said.

Heading into play Monday night, Gore led the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 412. (He has 287 rushing yards and 125 receiving yards.)

He is also delivering as a blocker. Gore and tight end Vernon Davis were called upon to pass protect against the Lions' blitz late in the second quarter. They bought quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan enough time to hit tight end Delanie Walker for a 24-yard touchdown.

"Whoever you're playing against, you have to do all three things — run, catch and block,'' Gore said.

He said he checks the league leaders every week to see how he stacks up against the NFL's other top threats. He noticed, for example, that the Dallas Cowboys' Marion Barber rushed for 142 yards Sunday night.

"I thought, 'OK, next week I have to do this,' '' Gore said.

(mercurynews.com)

SANTA CLARA — Offensive coordinator Mike Martz has a number in his mind.

He would like to get the ball in the hands of his playmakers, such as tight end Vernon Davis and receiver Isaac Bruce. But he believes he must get the ball repeatedly to one player, in particular: running back Frank Gore.

Bruce was shut out in his 49ers debut on Sunday, a 23-13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Meanwhile, Davis caught three passes for 51 yards, including a 37-yard reception, which is longer than any play in which he was involved last season.

“How much he gets the ball will be predicated on what’s happening offensively in terms of the defensive structures and match-ups,” Martz said Thursday. “If we have the opportunity for him to make a play then we’ll do that, but don’t worry about anybody but Frank on how many touches they get.

“Frank has to touch the ball, He’s got to be one of the very, very elite in this league. We know we have to feature him and find ways of getting him the ball. Isaac and Vernon and all the other guys, they’re all good players and they’ll have their opportunities. But (Gore is) the only guy that you go into a game and say, ‘You know what? This guys needs to touch the ball X amount of times.’ ”

When asked if Martz has a number of plays he wants his running back’s hands on the ball for every game, he answered, “Yes, I do, (but it’s) nothing that I would ever share with you guys.”

Gore figures to be play an integral role against the Seattle Seahawks when the teams meet on Sunday at Qwest Field. Gore has enjoyed two of his top four rushing games against the Seahawks, including a club-record 212-yard performance in 2006.

He opened the season in a big way, rushing for 80 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries in the first half against the Cardinals. But in the second half, when Gore usually gets stronger, the 49ers were held to just 14 offensive plays. Gore carried just three times in the second half for 16 yards.

“It was frustrating, coming back out we went over everything we had to do,” Gore said. “It was so frustrating that we couldn’t get back out there. The passing game was starting to open up.”

There should be more opportunities for the passing game to open up against the Seahawks, as clearly their No. 1 goal is to slow down Gore.
“In my mind, if they bring eight men in the box, we’re going to throw the ball,” 49ers quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan said. “That’s the way the majority of offenses would work. I’m all for it.”

Martz generally liked the way the 49ers’ offense worked in the opener, though he did notice that the receivers were lacking some crispness — a possible result of Bryant Johnson, Arnaz Battle and Bruce being held out of so many practices during training camp.

“With our starters together, that was their first outing together and we weren’t always on the same page,” Martz said. “That will get a lot better each week. Having those guys all together, is a big deal.”

Martz said some routes weren’t run properly, as they did not get the proper depth on some of their patterns. Martz said O’Sullivan had a strong game, and shows a good command of the offense. In fact, he said O’Sullivan was not to blame for his interception on a pass intended for Battle.

“We had a broken route,” Martz said. “We didn’t run the right route. The ball was thrown where it needed to be thrown. So obviously that wasn’t his fault.”

Said Battle, “We have to be able to make adjustments on the move. We have to play fast, and everybody has to be thinking the same thing that the quarterback is thinking.”

(pressdemocrat.com)

Last weekend, the San Francisco 49ers opened up the regular season against NFC West rival Arizona Cardinals for the third consecutive year. Unfortunately for San Francisco, for the second time, it's 0-1 to start the season. And again, much like last season, the offense is to blame; this time, the unit didn't do enough during a 23-13 defeat.

Quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan’s first NFL start was nothing to write home about. He completed 70 percent of his passes but turned the ball over three times (two fumbles), was sacked four times, and never seemed comfortable. The 49ers’ offense, under the direction of new coordinator Mike Martz, only mustered 13 points against a Cardinals defense which finished 27th in the NFL last season.

At times, the offense was able to move the ball, but turnovers ultimately killed any momentum it had built up. Remarkably, the Cardinals only scored seven points off five 49er giveaways, four of which the offense was responsible for.

On the bright side for the Niners, third-year linebacker Parys Haralson -- who racked up four tackles and 2 1/2 sacks -- was all over the field. Defensive end Justin Smith, who signed a big-money contract with San Francisco in the offseason, applied constant pressure on Cards QB Kurt Warner; what's more, he was terrific against the run in racking up a game-high seven tackles, including a half-sack.

The one positive on offense was running back Frank Gore. As usual, No. 21 punished the opposing defense, giving 49er fans and coaches alike something good to take from the loss.

Midway through the first quarter, Gore gave the 49ers their only lead of the game, 7-3, when he dashed 41 yards for a touchdown. He finished the game with 151 total yards (96 rushing); unfortunately, most of his teammates didn't join the party.

(realfootball365.com)

Coach Ken Whisenhunt admitted Wednesday that he didn't know much about 49ers running back Frank Gore before the Cardinals played the 49ers last year.

Whisenhunt was in his first season with the Cardinals, and Gore didn't play much last preseason because of a broken hand.

Gore didn't do a lot in the teams' first meeting, which came in the season opener, but he exploded for 116 yards rushing and 98 yards receiving in the second game. He also scored two touchdowns.

"He kind of ripped us up pretty good," Whisenhunt said, "so I said, 'Wow this is why they talk about him the way they do.'

"He's an outstanding football player. The more I see him, the more I understand what a dynamic player he is. He is really somebody you'd better account for, or he's going to really hurt you, whether it's catching the ball out of the backfield or even on the run game."

(azcentral.com)

(08-30) 16:35 PDT -- Frank Gore is as giddy as a kid with a new 160-gig PlayStation 3 with DualShock 3 controller.

He's talking about the new playbook devised by offensive coordinator Mike Martz and an offense that he thinks will take maximum advantage of the 49ers' options.

"I love it, man," he said. "I've got a great feeling about it."

No longer, he feels, will opponents stack the box with everybody but the quality-control guy in their fever to stop the 5-foot-9, 217-pound running back. Last year, the 49ers' passing game worried nobody except the 49ers.

"You can't do that now," he said. "When we played Chicago, you saw guys you never heard of getting open and making good plays. Our second group was going against their best defense and doing what they wanted to to them."

The 49ers scored 37 points that night, their highest total in a preseason game since 1989. That's a sharp contrast to last year when, under coordinator Jim Hostler, the 49ers were last in the NFL in yards per game - nearly 40 yards worse than the second-worst offense.

"It would take us a whole half to cross the 50-yard line," Gore said.

Martz has completely repainted the picture. According to Gore, his offense gives players more flexibility to change their assignments on the fly
depending on what the defense does. "This gives us more options," he said. "It makes the game easy again."

Of course, Martz also walked in the door with instant credibility, based on his track record in St. Louis and Detroit.

"You saw in the past with your own eyes what his offense could do," Gore said. "We've got a new leader on the ship. When he stands up in the room, you know he knows what he's talking about. Everything's going to change this year."

He appreciates that Martz is an equal-opportunity critic in meetings.

"No matter what you have done in this league, he makes you feel like you still have to prove yourself," he said. "If I mess up he's going to get on me. That's what I like about him. He treats everybody the same."

Martz might be able to unleash more options than the 49ers could last year, but the top one remains Gore.

"I haven't seen anything he can't do," Martz said. "He's what we thought he'd be and more. He doesn't make mental errors. ... He's the kind of player to build an offense around."

Gore is an excellent receiver as well as a runner, prompting comparisons to Marshall Faulk, the record-setting all-purpose back for Martz's Rams. Martz said last week it's unfair to compare them; he didn't want to slight either one by doing so.

Then he proceeded to compare them: "They can both catch the ball and they're outstanding runners, but they're just different. Frank is a more physical and powerful back inside, and Marshall is very elusive."

Gore has learned not to set goals based on the accomplishments of other elite players. Shortly after finishing the 2006 season with a franchise-record 1,695 yards, he announced he was taking aim at Eric Dickerson's NFL record of 2,105 yards in 1984.

He barely got halfway, with 1,102 in 2007. He broke his hand in preseason when he caught it in a teammate's pads during a blocking drill. An ankle injury against the Giants in the sixth week forced him to play at "80-85 percent" almost the rest of the season, he said.

The death of his mother, Liz, to kidney disease the second week of the season was an even more devastating and lasting setback.

"It was very tough," he said. "After practice I'd look at my phone and (wouldn't) see a phone call from her. ... I'll never get over it, but I'm getting better."

(sfgate.com)

For Frank Gore, the hardest part of a hard season was checking his cell phone on game days. That's when Mom used to call.

Liz Gore had always checked in with some last-minute coachin g. Remember to do this. You'd better not do that.

"You know, just little things,'' Gore said Monday.

Liz Gore died of kidney failure Sept. 12, 2007. She was 46.

Her son kept checking messages anyway. He couldn't stop. "Even after practice, I look at my phone,'' Gore said.

That was his heartbreak of 2007. There was also frustration: An injured ankle. A lousy offense. A losing season.

Gore made the Pro Bowl as an alternate, but it felt like a letdown.

And now?

Gore is smiling again. He's laughing easily and roaring around the practice field — a happy new year. Gore still misses his mom. "I'm dealing with it. I will never get over it,'' he said. But everything else has him revved up for '08.

Atop his list is new coordinator Mike Martz, who has the offense sing ing in 11-part harmony. The 49ers' 425 yards of total offense against the Chicago Bears last week marked their highest total in an exhibition game since 1996.

"We have a new leader, man, a new leader on the ship,'' Gore said of Martz. "When he stands up in the room, and you hear him talk, you know that he knows what he's talking about. Everything is going to change this year."

Gore said he likes this offense even better than the one Norv Turner ran— the one in which Gore set the 49ers' single-season record with 1,695 yards rushing.

If he prefers Martz's system to Turner's, you can imagine how much better he likes it than Jim Hostler's. Last season, the 49ers looked like they were trying to move a boulder uphill.

"It had to take the whole half to get across the 50-yard line,'' Gore recalled.

Hostler's schemes lacked imagination — but not common sense. At least Hostler was smart enough to get the ball to Gore as often as possible. Gore had 40.5 percent of the 49ers' net offensive yards, the highest percentage in the NFL, according to Stats LLC.

San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson was second at 38.6, and Philadelphia's Brian Westbrook was third at 36.7.

The problem for Gore was that his carries became too predictable. Defensive coordinators, as well as fans, reporters and beer vendors, knew when Gore was going to get the ball. Opponents lined up eight-man fronts and dared the 49ers to pass.

"They can't do that anymore,'' Gore said. "Even when we played Chicago, you saw other guys — guys you never heard of — getting open and making good plays. That's a big thing."

Gore noted that the 49ers racked up 37 points that night even without receivers Arnaz Battle and Bryant Johnson. Plus, he added, Josh Morgan is a rookie still learning how to play in the NFL.

"When everybody is on the same page,'' Gore said, "it's going to be crazy."

With the arrival of Martz, there are frequent comparisons of Gore to Marshall Faulk, the do-everything back who thrived with Martz and the rollicking St. Louis Rams.

Gore is honored by the talk, but said he and Faulk are "two different players, two different guys."

Martz, though, will probably use Gore the same way he used the 2000 MVP.

"Any time you can take somebody like Frank and put him out on the perimeter, or get him one-on-one with someone, that is what you want,'' Martz said. "You want to put Frank in an environment where he can get the ball away from the pack because his open-field running is pretty special."

Even after a so-called down year, Gore trails only Tomlinson and Westbrook in yards from scrimmage since 2006. Gore's 921 receiving yards during that span rank fifth among running backs and his 5.4 yards per touch rank sixth overall, according to Stats LLC.

Gore did all that as a marked man.

So imagine what he can do as a Martz man.

"No matter what you did in this league, Coach Martz can still make you feel like you have to prove yourself,'' Gore said. "That makes you want to play hard. I have a couple of great years in this league, but if I'm messing up, he's going to get on me. That's what I like about him.

"I'm going to be all over the place. I'm going to have fun."

(mercurynews.com)

Every now and then Frank Gore likes to switch roles with the media. If reporters are standing around the locker room, he'll come up and canvass us about what we think of how he played or how the offense is looking. He's interested in outside opinions. Sometimes, he'll stop me in the locker room and ask how he looks. By that, he wants me to say whether I think he looks lighter or heavier than last season. (Answer: lighter). This happened today when Gore walked up to me and Maiocco.

"What do you think?" he said. "About Frank Gore?" I said. "No, about the offense."

I told him that the first half against the Bears is just about as well as I've seen the offense play since I've been covering the team.
Gore asked me how long I've been covering the team and I said since 2003. In hindsight, there was a game in 2003 in which Jeff Garcia and the 49ers beat Arizona 50-14. And last year's game in Arizona was a pretty decent offensive showing, too. But I could tell that Gore agreed with my assessment. He's said in the past that he felt as if a "black cloud" was hanging over him and the 49ers last season. This summer - and today in particularly - he seemed carefree and bouyant, chatting with everyone he passed in the locker room. It sort of symbolized how the team as a whole is feeling right now -- relieved that the offense finally has come together and eager to show it off in the regular season.

I asked Gore whether he was excited about playing the Dolphins this year in his home town. He said he wasn't even thinking about that. I pressed him a little - "Come on, you have to have at least thought about it..." - but he insisted he's not looking ahead this season, a mistake he may have made before the 2007 campaign. Gore said he thought he might play a little Friday against San Diego. Mike Nolan might have another idea. Nolan speaks at 3:45 p.m. today ...

(sacbee.com)

It was a great trip to Chicago, especially going up there and getting a W. The offense moved the ball very well against what is supposed to be a very good defense, and I felt good about that.

My legs felt a bit tired in the game, a little heavy. I don’t know if it was the quick trip and all of the flying but I was a bit tired. I felt that my eyes were good. I was seeing things well and my linemen were blocking very well and I was getting the rock and getting some runs. I just want to get my legs fresh this week. I might have to get in the cold tub some this week.

We got to our hotel about 10 on Wednesday night. Vernon, Delanie, Moran, Thomas and I went a few blocks over to get something quick to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. On Thursday I slept in and then hit the Louis Vuitton store and picked out some shoes, got me a little nap, ate the pregame meal and got ready for the game. It was a quick trip.

I went straight to the hotel when we landed from Chicago. Coach cancelled the meetings we were going to have on Friday and since it was the day we got to break camp, some guys just went on home. Since we didn’t get there until after 4am, I figured I’d just go ahead and sleep there for a few hours because I was so tired. So, I got up around 11 and then went ahead and moved my stuff home at that point.

I am very happy to break camp. Camp is the same all the time, you go to work, come back to the hotel for lunch and a short break, go back to work, eat dinner, go to meetings and then maybe have an hour left before curfew. You get very small windows to be out in the real world, and other than that, it’s all football and all of your time is planned out for you. 

This training camp was a whole lot better for me, on the field and off the field. Last year I didn’t get to do anything because I broke my hand. That was frustrating, plus everything with my mom was so tough. So, this year was much better. I came in at a great weight, had a good camp, and am excited about the offense.

The highlight of camp for me was messing with Vernon. From his hair falling out to just messing with him if he got frustrated over making a mistake on the field, it was funny. You can get him mad to where he wants to fight you, but then you start laughing and he knows you are just giving him a hard time. That’s my boy right there. That dude is funny.

So it’s good to be out of camp, and to be back home. Plus, it means the season is almost here, which is the best part for me. I’m excited about the season, especially after the way we played the last two weeks. The offense has put up a lot of points and I’m excited about the way we have moved the ball up and down the field.

Friday afternoon I watched one of the football games – Dallas and Houston – and I saw it come across the ticker that J.T. O’Sullivan was our starter. I kind of figured that just because he had started all three preseason games, and the third game is always a key one. So, that’s when you pretty much knew who it was going to be. I felt like all three quarterbacks competed very hard, but I think J.T. had a little jump on them because he had been with Coach Martz the year before. So, whoever Martz and the coaches feel is the best guy, I’m with it. But I definitely think that with any of them, we’ve got a great chance to win because I think they can all do the job.

We came back in on Saturday for a walk-thru, meetings and then an afternoon practice. It was a good day and nice to have the quarterback situation settled. I decided to go out on Santana Row last night and cheat on my diet and eat whatever I wanted to eat, but it’s right back on today. I’ve got a chef who drops off healthy food for me, so that’s what I’ll eat on this day off.

I was hoping to get to watch the Raiders/Cardinals game but I guess it was blacked out. Hopefully they’ll have it on sometime today. Otherwise, I’m sure we’ll get the film soon so we can start checking out Arizona since that’s our first game.

We have today off, so I’m just going to relax most of the day and get ready for Monday and another week of preseason play. I don’t know how much they’ll let me play this last game against San Diego. I’ll work hard during the week and be ready and if they don’t let me go, I’ll run a bunch of sprints before the game and get some good work in. It’s always good to talk to LaDainian Tomlinson. I’m always competing against other guys in the league so I’m sure we’ll challenge each other this year to see who does the best. I think if you are a true competitor you should always do that. And, I believe I’m a true competitor.

Thanks for reading my camp diaries. I’ll have one more next week to wrap up the preseason, so check it out.

(49ers.com)

Backup tailback DeShaun Foster didn't make the trip with the 49ers. Instead, he flew to Los Angeles to be with his family following the death of his grandfather.

As a result, Frank Gore had more carries than normal (8 for 51 yards) in a couple of impressive early drives. He said he hasn't felt this good about the offense "in a long time."

(sfgate.com)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — These are supposed to be the dog days of NFL training camp, but San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore must not have received the memo.

Gore is having a blast in the summer heat, learning new offensive coordinator Mike Martz's high-voltage scheme. What's more, he's just happy that the 2007 season is behind him.

"It's very fun," Gore said after Wednesday morning's practice. "Last year was tough on the field and also off the field. I'm a stronger man, especially with accepting and dealing with the passing of my mom."

A year ago, Gore still had a cast on his right hand protecting a bone he broke on the second day of training camp. He didn't play a single down during the exhibition season.

Things only got worse.

Four days before the 49ers' Week 2 game against the St. Louis Rams, Gore's mother, Liz, died at 46 after a long battle with kidney disease. After watching her go to dialysis since his junior year in high school, her death hit Gore extremely hard.

On the field, there was more bad news.

A nagging ankle injury plagued Gore for most of the season and cost him one game. As the losses mounted and the 49ers offense continued to rank at the bottom of the NFL charts, Gore's frustration grew.

"It was a tough year, man, a very tough year," Gore said.

This year, though, could be a big turnaround for him. In Martz's scheme, Gore will play the multi-dimensional role that Marshall Faulk played when the Rams boasted the Greatest Show on Turf.

"I think it's going to exploit the versatility he has and the things he's able to do," 49ers wide receiver Arnaz Battle said. "Running the ball, trick plays, mismatch opportunities. He has a great opportunity in this offense to do a lot of the things Marshall Faulk did for a lot of years."

Gore had a breakout year in 2006, rushing for a team-record 1,695 yards and catching 61 passes for 485 yards. Last year he rushed for just 1,102 yards while catching 53 passes for 436 yards.

But with Martz calling the shots on offense, Gore's numbers should improve.

"When Coach Martz came in, he told me the more I understand what he's trying to do, the more I'll like it," Gore said. "I see it. I see it. It's going to be fun this year."

Gore should be better prepared to hit the ground running when the regular season begins. Unlike last year, Gore has been able to practice full-speed, and he's getting some game action, too.

According to coach Mike Nolan, Gore should play as much as a quarter Saturday night against the Green Bay Packers.

(honoluluadvertiser.com)

Last time I checked in had just gotten up to Napa. It was tough up there against the Raiders because you couldn’t really hit or take people to the ground, and you want to do that when it’s a different team.

I think they have a pretty good defense in Oakland but I think our offense is going to be very high powered. Coach Martz, just being around him the last couple of months, I like him a whole lot. I think he’s a great leader, and if I think we have a great leader, I’m willing to follow him.

Coach Nolan did give us a practice off when we got back from Napa. I think he knew we needed some time to get our bodies back, and feeling good. Even though we couldn’t hit full-go, it was two physical practices against them. So, he cancelled practice and we went to the movies, and I fell sleep before it even started. I woke up for one part when Batman and the Joker were falling off a building. I don’t know if one died or not because I went right back to sleep.

I think we had one night off from meetings last week too, but I don’t remember when it was. I used my time to stop by and check on things at my house and that was it.

The Raiders game on Friday night was okay.

They told me the most I was going to get was 8 plays, and at least 3. It was three and out, so I had to get off the field after only three plays.

The first carry was a pretty good run. I almost came out of there, and I wish I would have because then I would have felt better about getting out of the game. The 3rd and 1 ticked me off because you always want to get those short yards and move the chains. Plus, if I had gotten the first down we could have kept going and I probably could have gotten more reps.

I was kind of upset because I wanted to play more. When you are in uniform and your team is going against an opponent, you are hyped up and you want to play. It’s fun and I love the game so it was tough not to be out there longer, but I understand it is just preseason and we have a long year.

I thought with the ones we did pretty good. I really believe it’s going to be a great year and we are going to have fun. We just have to see who our quarterback is going to be and then get ready to roll for what I truly believe is going to be a great year.

I won’t put my personal goals out there anymore, but I do hope to have a big year. Usually if I do well I reward myself with something nice. After my Pro Bowl year, I bought myself a Bentley. Last year, I didn’t do anything because it was a tough year, very rough.

It was good to have the day off on Saturday, but yet I was bored. I went to sleep, watched some of the Bills preseason game against the Redskins and then Moran Norris and I went to grab Applebees since it was close by. I have been on this real health kick for a while now so I’m very careful about what I eat. I don’t eat much bad food these days and since I feel so good from this diet, I think it’s important to just stick with it.

After dinner we went back to the room and I just fell asleep. I thought about going home, but I was afraid I’d fall asleep there and I wasn’t going to make my teammates have to run because of me. If you miss curfew, everyone has to run.

I also caught some of the Cardinals game the other night, but it wasn’t the one’s. I don’t watch as much preseason or check out the stats too much because guys aren’t really playing right now. When the real deal gets going, I track everything and I like to know how guys and teams around the league are doing.

I just want to keep learning this offense. I keep saying the more comfortable you are with the offense, the more productive you’ll be. I’m getting to the point where I hear the quarterback call the play and I just know it. I don’t have to think too much.

One of the funny things about training camp is that Vernon Davis has been losing at least one dred every day at practice. We keep finding them out on the field so we’re trying to get him to go on and cut them off. Zak Keasey has them too, but his are alright. They are thick and strong and he’ll have to cut them off eventually, but Vernon’s are just coming out. It’s crazy and we are really trying to get him to just get rid of them.

We’ve got practice this afternoon and I’m ready to go now. My body didn’t take too many hits the other night, but my calves were stiff yesterday from jumping up on my toes during the game. Anytime I get excited, I jump up and down on my tip-toes and man I was a little stiff.

But, I like to study my plays and then go practice them right away. That’s how I learn the best. Since I’ve been studying the last day and a half, I’m really to check my progress by getting outside on the field later this afternoon.

(49ers.com)

Not much going on in Santa Clara Tuesday, just a single special teams practice in the late afternoon. So, with all the negativity surrounding the 49ers' offense and their passing game, we thought we might try to lift some spirits and turn to Frank Gore.

This is the the best shape I've seen him in. He said he dropped 10 pounds and he said he weighs about 214. He's never had the cut physique of a Vernon Davis, but gone is last year's baby fat. I don't blame him for that. Last year was one of the toughest of his life. He lost his mother, Liz, in September and then good friend Sean Taylor later in the season. He wanted to gain over 2,000 yards and he barely made half of that with 1,102 yards. He also saw his yards per carry drop from 5.4 in 2006 to 4.2 last year. He battled through a sprained ankle for most of the season and had to watch opportunities disappear while the offense put together the most three-and-outs of any team in the league.

Gore has the type of personality where he blames much of last year's offensive woes upon himself. So this year he decided to take a different approach. He's doing everything future Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk is telling him to do.

"I talked to him three of four times," Gore said. "Before training camp he told me some things."

The first was to get down to 212 pounds, the same weight Faulk was when he was the centerpiece of the Rams' offense under Mike Martz. He told Gore to run after practice every day. Gore does that. And he said to pepper Martz with questions and Gore is complying there too.

The mimick of Faulk is going well. Gore looks like a more polished receiver and he's darting into holes with razor-like cuts.

Martz is likely to use Gore differently than Faulk - more running and less pass receiving. Martz is also likely to do everything he can to get defenses from loading up against Gore by using three- and four-receiver sets and lots of motion.

Maybe Gore does rush for 2,000 yards, just a year later than he anticipated.

(sfgate.com)

SANTA CLARA – Step aside, Jenny Craig. Frank Gore has a weight-loss routine that's guaranteed to shed the pounds.

If it doesn't kill you first.

The 49ers tailback, who weighed about 225 pounds during June practices, returned a month later 10 pounds lighter and looking far more fluid. His secret? It involves a truck tire, a length of rope, a steep hill and a murderous Miami summer during which the heat index sometimes soars past 110 degrees.

Kyle Wright, the 49ers' No. 4 quarterback and a former teammate of Gore's at Miami, said he and other Hurricane players would run the same hill in that city's Tropical Park to prepare for the college season.

"It's probably the tallest hill in Miami, and it's not very tall," Wright said. "But it's long and gradual. It's about 180 yards. It levels off and gets a little steeper at the end. It's tough."

While the Miami players might run the hill 14 times in a day and always run up the gradual side, Gore runs it from the opposite – and steeper – side. And he does it 25 times per session … while dragging a truck tire … that's progressively filled with weights.

He has had the same grueling summer routine since high school, and he still commandeers some of his former high school coaches to help him train.

What some people might consider torture, Gore, 25, finds therapeutic. Indeed, everything associated with football – from weight training to watching film – is welcome routine for Gore. Football is his sanctuary.

And that was the problem last season. Gore had no escape.

His terrible year began on the second day of training camp when he broke a bone in his hand. In Week 7, he twisted his ankle, an injury that slowed him for most of the remainder. In between came the hardest jolt, the death of his mother, Liz, who had been everything to him – best friend, inspiration, confidante.

Even on the football field, there was no safe haven.

Runs that Gore routinely ripped for 25-yard gains in 2006 were bottled up in 2007. The 49ers' offense was dull and unimaginative. If the 49ers needed a crucial yard, everyone – the fans, the media and especially the opponent – knew they would try to get them by sending Gore off the left guard.

He finished the season with a respectable 1,102 rushing yards. But his average run dropped to 4.2 yards from 5.4 the year before. His rushing touchdowns fell from eight to five, and he crossed the goal line only twice after Week 2.

"It was tough because, one, the situation with my mom," Gore said. "Then nothing was going right on the field. We kept losing, losing, losing. We couldn't get in a zone running the ball or passing the ball. It was like a black cloud was over us. Nothing would go right. Especially for me."

Coach Mike Nolan, who lost his father last season, sometimes would be working late at his office and find his running back at his door.

Said Nolan: "He was frustrated with his injuries, and he was frustrated with us losing as I would expect any good player to be."

This summer, there's a sense that the black cloud has lifted.

The plodding offense from 2007 is being replaced with a more wide-open attack that offensive coordinator Mike Martz is building around Gore in the same way he built his Rams offenses around Marshall Faulk.

Said Martz: "We use him everywhere we can in the running game, of course, and in the passing game, we'll use him everywhere possible – as a deep threat, as a short threat, as a crossing threat."

Perhaps the best way to illustrate the change is to look at who's leading the way for Gore.

Last year, his lead blocker was fullback Moran Norris, a 252-pounder with boulder-like shoulders who is most effective smashing things straight on. This summer, Zak Keasey – who weighs 15 pounds less than Norris – has gotten most of the first-team repetitions. Martz said Keasey is better at working his way through traffic to deliver blocks. And he's also able to stay ahead of Gore on running plays that stretch wide to the right or left.

"It's tough," Keasey said of blocking for Gore. "You've got to get out there and get off the ball quick. You definitely have to be moving out there when he's behind you."

Gore also wants to answer Martz's challenge.

He said he reported to training camp seven pounds lighter – 215 – than he did last season. And aside from the hill work, which is designed to build power and explosion, he spent hours weaving in and out of cones to improve his quickness.

He also worked on his hands.

While in Miami, he grabbed former Jaguars and Falcons quarterback Byron Leftwich, who also was working out in South Florida, and ran as many routes as he could. When that session ended, he went home and had a younger cousin throw him more passes until the sun went down.

"I've got moves. I've got power," Gore said. "I feel I have the whole package. Whatever they want me to do, I can do it. I just have to keep working."

(sacbee.com)

Veteran running back Frank Gore will check in throughout the 2008 Training Camp with his Camp Diary. Enjoy finding out how things of gone for the 49ers starting back in his first entry!

We started camp on Friday and for that first practice, I was very tired, but since then, it’s been good. I feel the more you learn and the more you know, the better camp is for you.
We are all still learning this offense, but I think it's coming along and I feel that I’m picking it up pretty good so far. We just have to keep working at it and following the captain of our boat in Mike Martz. I think if we do just what he says and keep studying and staying in the books, we’ll be one of the best teams in the league.

The first couple of days everybody is always happy and flying around and that’s good to see. For me, I’m very happy this year just to be out there with my guys. Last year I was frustrated because I broke my hand and then my mom was in the hospital. It was a frustrating year for everyone, but for me it was that way from the start because of the injury in camp and everything else.

I try not to think too much about last year though. I trained very hard this off-season and I’m at my fighting weight, and just happy to be out there with my guys, and happy that my body feels good.

I’ve made mistakes here and there but so far I feel like I’m coming along and that I’m doing what I need to so that I’ll be ready for the season. The line is doing a good job for me. Everybody is learning, but they’re pretty good.

I am doing new things this year, but one play that is my favorite is where I’m running a route out of the slot. I usually have a linebacker who comes over top on me and then I just read off what they do to figure out which way I want to go. Sometimes it’s Patrick Willis, sometimes it’s Jeff Ulbrich covering me, it all depends on the defense, and I feel like I should be able to beat a linebacker every time. That’s just me.

If I do mess up in practice, I try to figure out how to do better the next time. I’ll talk to Coach Nate (Tony Nathan) and find out what he thinks I should do. I’m more familiar with him now, and so I am starting to ask him more questions. I also go ask DeShaun Foster to see what he thought I should have done because he’s been in this league for a while. We’ve got a bunch of great guys in our room and they all help out.

Speaking of my guys, MRob went down in practice today and he’s a big player on our team, so of course you worry for a minute. We need him. In the NFL, the healthier teams are, the better they are. I think he was just more scared when it happened, but I think he’ll be alright.

I think I’m a bit different than some guys when it comes to camp. A lot of guys rush home to sleep, but I can’t ever take naps between practices. I don’t know why, but I just can’t. It works for me though because I always feel better in the afternoon practice than I do in the morning for some reason. By the afternoon I always have more of that “I’m ready to go.”

The fans also help give me that excitement about practice when they are here watching, because they really make you want to go out there and practice hard. I think about all of the struggles since I’ve been here, and they’ve still been true fans. So, when they call your name during practice I try to nod and wave at them to let them know I hear them and I appreciate it. It’s been three rough years since I have been here with the losing and they have still been here with us. You’ve got to try and give things back to them.

I don’t really like to get in the cold tub much either. I haven’t gotten in at all yet, although I did get in the hot tub this morning finally. I kind of wait until I feel that my legs aren’t fresh at all. That’s when I get in the cold tub. But, I’ve been feeling good so far. You know, I’m a young guy.

My routine usually after the morning practice is to take a shower here, weigh myself, go home, look over the plays, come back and watch film up until the second practice. After the second practice I run on the treadmill. Coach Carlisle has me doing a bunch of different  things in there to get some extra cardio. I talked to Marshall Faulk and that’s one of the things he told me – just to stay in the best shape so that I can be ready for this offense and do more.

It’s a lot of longs day during training camp. We start early and don’t usually wrap up our meetings until about 9:45 at night. After that I study my playbook back in my room, watch television until it’s time to go to bed, usually by midnight.

My television habits are basically ESPN only. It’s all basically been about Brett Favre lately, and that’s about it. But I like to know what’s going on in the NFL.

Coach cancelled practice this afternoon which took us by surprise. We signed autographs instead, which was another chance to give back to the fans.

We’ve got meetings now tonight and then tomorrow morning we’ll be in pads. As long as I touch the rock and get my reads down pat and get the feel with my o-linemen, I will be alright for the season, and with pads on, you get a better read for running the ball out there. So, I’ll be looking forward to it in the morning.

6. Willis McGahee, Baltimore Ravens. On an offense that can only run the ball, McGahee was the runner. He is a versatile rusher who can attack the edges as well as take on defenders between the tackles.

7. Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers. Gore has carried his team in recent seasons and established himself as one of the league's premier backs with little help. With Mike Martz in the fold as the Niners' offensive coordinator, look for Gore to become a force once again as a dual threat runner and receiver.

12. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins. Another back who is a tremendous fit for the zone-blocking scheme. Portis is a power runner with the vision and cutback ability to find daylight and get to and through linebackers.

14. Edgerrin James, Arizona Cardinals. Although James is on the downside of his career, he is still a productive runner who will benefit from the run-first mentality in Arizona.

Click here to see the rest of the rankings.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the 49ers intend to give running back Frank Gore 25 touches a game: at least 20 carries and five receptions.





(fantasyfootballchamps.com)

Here is more of the Mike Martz interview I have been s ... t ... r ... e ... t ... c ... h ... i ... n ... g out over the past week. And yes, I've noticed that when Martz talks about his new offensive players he sounds like a proud papa reaching for his wallet to show you his beautiful babies. And yes, Martz had many gushing things to say two years ago about his offensive weapons on the Detroit Lions. But I think the bottom line is that over spring practices Martz was pleasantly and genuinely surprised by what he has to work with in San Francisco. The talent level here certainly is better than No. 32, which is where the offense ranked last season.

The key in this segment is what Martz says about Frank Gore's ability to learn his system. Remember, Gore had a low-low Wonderlic score entering the draft, and teams worried about his dyslexia almost as much as they did his surgically repaired knees. Learning the playbook, however, never has been an issue for Gore since joining the 49ers.

Q: Did anything surprise you about Frank Gore during minicamp and OTAs? MM: "He's a one-time guy. You tell him once and he has it. That's really a remarkable quality. He really learns fast. He's a very sharp guy. So that means you can use him in a variety of ways, if you will. So, no, he's been outstanding with that. Usually guys who have been featured runners with a limited exposure, it's hard for them. He's not been that way at all. We've been able to put him out there has a wideout, we've motioned him outside, we've used him in a variety of ways. He's retained it, done an exceptional job with it and just really learns quick. The other thing I didn't realize until I saw him in person is how explosive he is when he runs the football. He has a gear he gets to - you blink and he's in it. He's a special player, there's no question about it. He's an elite player in this league. I'm just so excited to have him."

Q: A lot of people think he's going to be Marshall Faulk. Is that accurate? MM: "I don't think that's right to say. I think Marshall's Marshall, Frank is Frank. Frank has his own skill set. Frank is Frank. There are things that we'll play to that are really strengths of his."

Q: Running between the tackles? MM: "Well, anywhere. He's got that speed and explosiveness. He does it all. He really does. He's a physical guy that you can hammer or you can use him as a perimeter guy. So, I don't think I'd put a limitation on what he can do, really. It will be kind of fun to see."

(sacbee.com)

In his three seasons in the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers’ Frank Gore has established himself as one of the premier all-around running backs in the league. Gore is equally adept at catching passes out of the backfield as he is breaking free for long runs.

Gore may not have had the numbers in 2007 that backs like LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, Willie Parker and Brian Westbrook amassed, but he is definitely one of the game's top offensive threats out of the backfield. A testament to his versatility lies in the fact that Gore led the 49ers in receptions and rushing yards last season.

That’s why what Gore did on Monday is even more impressive. He went to one of the most prolific running backs in the history of the NFL and asked for advice on how to be a more productive member of Mike Martz’s offense.

Gore asked all-everything Marshall Faulk for some pointers on how he can more quickly adjust to Martz’s offensive schemes. After all, who better to solicit advice from than a man who is a future Hall of Famer and who had some of his best success under Martz in St. Louis? Faulk is a guy who won a Super Bowl, won the league’s MVP award, was a three-time league offensive MVP and set the NFL single-season record for most yards from scrimmage with 2,429.

Here are some of the things Faulk told Gore:

• Always work on things you don’t understand. Don’t just take people’s evaluation, but try to understand why you may not be as good at certain aspects of the game. If someone says that you aren’t as strong of an inside runner, try to understand why you aren’t and work on improving that part of your game.
• I always looked at myself as a football player -- not a running back, not a receiver, but a football player. So when Martz would ask me if I could do something, I would say, ‘I don’t know, but I’ll try.’ Whatever he asks you to do, try your best to get it done.
• Be there for your quarterback. Be the bail-out guy. You’re the last line of defense for your quarterback in the passing game. You can either be the key block that protects him or get open out of the backfield.

Meanwhile, Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis heaped praise on Gore.

“Between myself, Edgerrin, Willis and Frank, I always thought Frank was the best of all of us,” Portis, Gore's former University of Miami teammate, admitted. “I’m big on myself, but I always loved Frank’s attitude and willingness to learn. If you look at Frank’s freshman year and my junior year, Frank and I kind of latched onto each other. Anytime Frank got in a game as a freshman, he would go in there and have a spectacular run.”

That is pretty strong praise when you are talking about backs like McGahee. But Gore was in line to be the starter at tailback for Miami in the spring of 2002 ahead of McGahee before he tore his ACL. James has also done pretty well for himself in his NFL career. Portis has established himself as the go-to offensive weapon with the Redskins.

Portis said that Gore’s willingness to listen to Faulk is a testament to his work ethic and positive attitude. If he takes that advice from Faulk and applies it to his already established positive attributes, 2008 might be a special season for Gore in San Francisco.

(realfootball365.com)

SANTA CLARA - Marshall Faulk was at 49ers practice Tuesday in his new role with the NFL Network. But the former St. Louis Rams running back was treated more like a visiting coach than a reporter.

Several 49ers, including running back Frank Gore, drifted to Faulk's side during the morning practice, and Faulk was not stingy about with advice for his former division rival.

"I don't call it tutoring," Faulk said of his relationship with Gore. "We just talk football. Frank's a polished athlete. We talk football, and I try to have conversations with him just about the game in general."

Gore's ability to learn to protect the quarterback in new coordinator Mike Martz's offense - which sends many receivers downfield, leaving the quarterback exposed - is the most critical factor for him, Faulk said. Martz's Detroit Lions team, for example, allowed 54 sacks last year and 63 in 2006.

Faulk said Gore's experience in pass protection is nothing like the responsibility he will shoulder this season under Martz, St. Louis' former coach and offensive coordinator.

"Whether (a sack) was his fault or not, you wouldn't know," Faulk said. "In this offense, you're going to know when Frank's guy is the guy and he missed him."

He also predicted Gore wouldn't be featured as prominently as a receiver as Faulk was when he joined the Rams in 1999. Faulk already had had plenty of experience in that role with his first team, the Indianapolis Colts.

"I know a lot of people, including myself, are wondering ... how is that going to work? Because Frank seems like a one-dimensional back," Faulk said. "But I think he hasn't been used in that way, and Mike is going to bring him along slowly."

(sacbee.com)

He'll be working for his fourth offensive coordinator in four years, but what's that mean for Frank Gore? Gore became the first rookie in 15 years to lead the 49ers in rushing under Mike McCarthy in 2005, became a Pro Bowl starter the next year under Norv Turner, then had another productive season last year under Jim Hostler. But now that Mike Martz is in charge, Gore says the best is yet to come.

Gore admitted this spring that it's not the optimum situation for a running back of his pedigree and skill to have to start over again and learn a new offensive system with a new coordinator, which is something Gore has had to do in each of his four seasons since entering the NFL with the 49ers.

But there is starting over, and then there is starting over with a guy such as Martz running the show.

"It's tough," Gore said. "But working with a guy who's had a lot of success in this league, that's been a head coach in this league, it make you really want to work for him and listen to him. Because you know that he really knows what's going on."

Gore, like most of San Francisco's offensive players, never had that feeling last year with Hostler, who was unable to build upon - or even maintain, for that matter - the momentum the offense carried into 2007 after a year of rising promise under Turner's direction. Instead, the San Francisco attack took a nosedive south, finishing last in the NFL in eight offensive categories with historically bad numbers.

But while the 49ers were finishing last in the NFL in total offense, last in scoring and last in the eyes of analysts everywhere, Gore was quietly fighting through an ankle injury that forced him to miss one game and hampered him in others to assemble a fine season - particularly considering he was the only thing the offense really had going right for it the entire year and truly was a marked man every time he stepped on the field.

Gore doesn't see that happening now that Martz is at the controls.

"I mean, this is going to be a fun offense," Gore said. "We're going to be spreading the ball around. We have a lot of sets, doing two backs, motion everybody out, we go empty (backfield). This year, we won't see eight, nine men in the box no more. I like it like that, you know?

Yes, Frank, we know.

Even with defenses stacked to stop him with multiple defenders crowding the line because they had absolutely no respect for San Francisco's anemic passing game, Gore still finished fifth in the NFC with 1,102 yards rushing last year, averaging a respectable 4.2 yards a pop. He also led the 49ers in receptions with 53 and produced 1,538 yards from scrimmage.

This came a year after Gore had captured the attention of defensive coordinators throughout the NFL with a breakout 2006 season during which he led the NFC with a franchise-record 1,695 yards rushing and led the 49ers with a career-high 61 receptions.

With the progress both he and the offense made during Turner's one season as 49ers offensive coordinator - Turner left the team in February of last year to become head coach of the San Diego Chargers - Gore boldly stated goals of challenging for NFL records and breaking the 2,000-yard rushing barrier in 2007.

After the humbling experience of last season in Hostler's extremely rocky debut as a NFL coordinator, Gore uses no numbers in talking about his goals this season. But that's not to say his goals aren't big.

"I don' t want to put no numbers out there," Gore said. "I just want to go out there, have fun, play hard and try to win some games, hopefully go back to the Pro Bowl. And that's what this offense is about. It's going to be a fun offense."

And, just like he has been in the past two incarnations of San Francisco's offense, Gore will be the main man in that attack.

"The potential to build that offense around Frank Gore is pretty exciting," Martz said. "He's really a complete player, and that's hard to find in this league anymore. I think you can put him as the centerpiece and build around that."

Gore looked like the centerpiece during the 49ers' spring minicamp earlier this month, lining up as the single back in a variety of formation and slashing through the line with the ball cradled in his chest.

But that was just the half of it. Gore also could be seen going in motion to leave an empty backfield, lining up in the slot and in wing positions along the line, and even splitting out wide in some formations.

In other words, he's not just going to be a running back in the Martz offense. He's also going to be a pass-catcher.

And Gore, for one, is all for that.

"I'm touching the ball more in the passing game and getting out in the slot running routes and showing people I can run routes, showing them I can catch the ball very well running routes out of the backfield," Gore said. "People don't know I can do that. It's going to be a surprise to a lot of people."

The natural comparison observers make is that Gore is Martz's new version of Marshall Faulk, and naturally that's all right with Gore. Gore already has spoken with Faulk several times, with Faulk offering Gore help any time he needs it, even saying he was willing to meet up with Gore when Gore is training at the 49ers facility in California or at his home in Miami.

Gore is soaking up whatever tips he can get from Faulk, because that's the prototype for the position he's now playing.

"(Martz) will use me in the same way," Gore said. "All the success that he's had with other guys, like Marshall … I want to be a guy that one day (Martz) can go tell other people that he once coached Frank Gore."

(sfo.scout.com)

The Sacramento Bee reports San Francisco 49ers RB Frank Gore went through the minicamp weighing 224 pounds, about 12 pounds above his playing weight. Gore said he plans on losing that weight over the next month in his hometown of Miami, where his workout regimen includes sprinting up hills while pulling a truck tire.

(ffmastermind.com)

The Associated Press reports San Francisco 49ers RB Frank Gore is excited about the look of the new offense led by offensive coordinator Mike Martz. "We're spreading the ball around, and hopefully this year we won't see eight, nine men in the box every play. I think I'll get used in the passing game, too. I want to show I can do it all - run, catch, block. People think I'm just a running back," Gore said.

(kffl.com)

SANTA CLARA -- When Mike Martz was hired as 49ers offensive coordinator, many believed the hiring would be bad news for running back Frank Gore.

Gore heard the same things. But all it took was a conversation with Marshall Faulk to convince him otherwise.

Gore said he is excited about the possibilities in the new offense. After all, Martz has already proclaimed Gore will be the centerpiece of the offense -- just like Faulk was during Martz's time with the St. Louis Rams.

"I think I'll touch the ball more in the passing game," Gore said Saturday during the 49ers' mandatory three-day minicamp. "I just want to show that I can do it all, that I'm a complete running back."

Gore has done a pretty good job of displaying his versatility in his two seasons as the 49ers' full-time starter. In addition to rushing for 2,797 yards, Gore also led the team in receptions the past two seasons with 61 and 53 catches.

Faulk told Gore that playing for Martz will be a challenge. Running backs have to learn everything about the offense -- from all the reads on pass routes to the detailed blocking assignments. Gore said he expects to line up in the slot as a receiver on occasion, something he has rarely done in his career.

Faulk, who works as an analyst on the NFL Network in Southern California, gave Gore his cell phone number and offered to travel to the Bay Area -- or Southern Florida -- to help Gore with the offense.

Gore said he stayed in the Bay Area for the past two months to get a head start on learning Martz's offense. After the minicamp concludes today, Gore plans to return to his home in Miami to resume his training.

After rushing for 1,695 yards in his first season as the starter, Gore stated his goal last season was to rush for more than 2,000 yards. Although he ranked sixth in the NFL in yards from scrimmage, Gore was stopped well short of his goal with 1,102 rushing yards.

This season, his sights are set to a more realistic level.

"My goal is to have fun and play as best I can," Gore said. "I want to play hard and try to win some games."

While the competition at quarterback continues between Alex Smith, Shaun Hill and J.T. O'Sullivan, Gore seems certain of one thing: Whoever wins the job will be capable of preventing offenses from keying on the run game.

"I like that we'll be spreading the ball around," Gore said. "We're going to be more of a passing team, so I won't be facing eight or nine guys in the box."

Q: How is Frank Gore going to play a factor in you style of offense? Can he be as effective out of the back field as Marshal Faulk was for you in St. Louis and do you plan on using the running game as much as it has been in the past years?

A: We just have to make sure that Frank has a lot of touches in every game, whether we throw it to him or hand it to him. Some weeks he might have more carries, and some weeks he might get more catches. To compare anyone to Marshall is almost unfair. Frank has his own style, and I wouldn’t compare Frank to anybody. He has his own way of receiving and running. He’s very unselfish. He’s a very violent and physical runner and yet he has the jump cut and quickness that Marshall has. The difference between Marshall and Frank is that Frank can carry the load 25-30 times a game. Marshall can too, but Frank is a very stout and physical player. Marshall was a lot more slight and he could take those amount of carries, but we would have exposed him to potential injuries. I’m just excited for the competitiveness and the ability that Frank has. When I first met him, I was taken aback by what an engaging personality he has and I can see why this team has so much respect for him as a man and a player.

(sf49ers.com)

Much like last season, this off-season started off a little rocky for 49ers running back Frank Gore. Going home to Miami when the season ended has always brought an ear to ear grin for Gore, but returning back to Florida this year is when it finally hit home that his beloved mother Liz, who had succumbed to a long and hard fought kidney disease prior to the 49ers week two game last year against St. Louis was truly gone.

“The season kept my mind busy last year, but it was really tough once I was staying back at the house and I’d sit there remembering so much stuff,” said Gore. “When she was sick, I’d lay in the bed with her and we’d just talk about everything. I just miss being with her and talking to her and seeing her be so happy just because I was home. So, that was really tough, but I just have to stay strong and try to get better at dealing with it.”

Gore has also been dealing with recovery from last year’s high ankle sprain, one that likely would have shelved most players, but the 2006 NFC leading rusher had already missed training camp and the preseason with a broken hand. He allowed himself to rest the ankle only one game in 2007, and then gutted it out and became only the fifth player in team history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons with 1,102 rushing yards.

“It was tough every week with people grabbing it,” said Gore. “After the games, the painkillers went away and I could barely walk, but it was a tough year for everybody. I love the game and my team, and I just wanted to keep fighting with them.”

Even after a month of rest, the ankle was still sore when he began his off-season training at Perfect Competition. Eventually the soreness wore off and Gore was able to benefit from working with other top NFL athletes including Anquan Boldin, Plaxico Burress and Fred Taylor. Click here to continue reading...

Frank Gore's broken right hand, although not a big deal as far as injuries go, probably will keep the running back out of the 49ers' first three exhibition games.

"I'd like to see him at least in the last week," coach Mike Nolan said. "I don't want to downgrade the importance of the preseason. It's important. It's to get your timing down. You have to get the feel of things."

Gore broke a bone in the hand in a noncontact drill Monday morning. He will have a cast put on the hand this coming Monday to allow him to practice. He will not practice until then.

In his stead, the 49ers will take a long look at Maurice Hicks, Michael Robinson and rookie Thomas Clayton. The club will probably keep two of three once final cuts are made.

"We know a lot about Michael. We know a lot about Mo," Nolan said. "Thomas Clayton, we'll find out about him. Michael is still developing as a running back (after playing quarterback at Penn State). There's a lot to be gained by giving those guys work."

Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore could miss all four of the 49ers' exhibition games after breaking his right hand Monday during the team's first padded practice of training camp.

Gore was involved in a non-contact ball-handling drill in the first of the team's two practices when he was injured. Gore left practice to have the hand checked and initially the 49ers believed the injury was only a bruise. But X-rays revealed the fracture, which team doctors expect will take about a month to heal.

The 49ers play their first exhibition Aug. 13 against Denver and open the regular season Sept. 10 against Arizona.

Gore, the NFC's leading rusher last season with a team-record 1,695 yards, will be held out of practice for the rest of this week, Coach Mike Nolan said. A cast will be put on the hand and Gore could resume practicing next Monday, Nolan added.

To ensure his health and readiness for the start of the season, Gore might be held out of all the exhibitions, Nolan said.

"We'll wait and see," Nolan said. "It's a little too early to tell on that. At the same time, we expect him back, but we're not going to do anything with him for the rest of the week. Next week, we'll re-evaluate him and hope to get him out on the field, but he'll probably have a cast on him."

SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers have a monthlong vacation before training camp begins, but don't expect to see Frank Gore, a Miami native, sipping piña coladas on South Beach this July.

Instead, Gore will be a few miles to the west of the Miami beachfront, laboring up and down one of the highest hills in South Florida while tethered to a truck tire. It's a grueling regimen Gore has performed since high school, and no amount of fame or money -- the Pro Bowler signed a $28 million deal in March -- will change that.

"You've got to sweat if you're going to be successful in this sport," Gore said this week.

And sweat he will. The average high temperature in Miami in July is 89.5 degrees, which ought to aid Gore in shedding a few pounds before the start of the season.

SANTA CLARA -- Frank Gore snatched the ball and quickly burst down field with the type of passion and purpose reminiscent of Jerry Rice's days on the 49ers practice field.

'Twas a sight for sore eyes.

Too bad you, Mr. and Mrs. NFL Fan, couldn't see the 49ers' offseason workouts, which conclude today.

Instead, you've been bombarded with dire news about concussions, dog fighting, strip-club escapades, roadway accidents and other off-field fumbles.

Here's a revelation easy on the eyes: Gore, the 49ers' current-and-future franchise player, has had an exemplary offseason.

It didn't start until after he started for the NFC in the Pro Bowl, a worthy reward for his 1,695-yard, franchise-record rushing output.

The 49ers took Frank Gore in the third round of the 2005 draft because he had two major knee surgeries during his four-year University of Miami career. Well, two NFL seasons and 2,303 rushing yards later, Gore seems fine, and San Francisco has already restructured his rookie deal so that he's now scheduled to make $28 million.

So now what? For starters, Gore is taking care of his immediate family. It wasn't long ago that Gore's mom was raising three kids on welfare; now, she "doesn't even know what a bill looks like," and thanks to Frank, has a new four-bedroom home in South Florida, and a shiny, new "baby blue-colored Lexus RX-350."

Gore's next purchases, he said, will be a home for him in San Francisco and a car for Shemika, who works as an after-school teacher in the West Grove and drives their mother to weekly dialysis treatments.

If you want another reason to never believe the legitimacy of NFL draft grades issued hours after the draft concludes, here ya go: Sports Illustrated once dubbed the 2005 NFL Draft's most overrated running back.Gore has had to prove himself at every level, and he uses that as motivation:

...[h]e watches his high school highlight tape before every game he plays because it reminds him how simple the game is, said he is targeting Eric Dickerson's NFL season rushing record (2,105). But that is goal No. 2.

I love the idea of him popping in the Briscoe High highlights, and while I would normally just dismiss the Eric Dickerson talk, Gore has a knack for proving people wrong. If he's going for the record, though, I'd recommend the jheri curl and Chris Sabo's to make it seem as realistic as possible.

(aolsportsblog.com)

Inside the kitchen of her luxurious, four-bedroom home in West Kendall, a smiling Lizzie Gore opens the door to her deep freezer and points to a collection of frozen ribs, steaks and chicken.

''The only thing we used to have in our refrigerator was a carton of eggs, some bologna and a loaf of bread,'' she says, reminiscing of the days not long ago when she and her three children lived on welfare and shared a tiny, two-bedroom home in Coconut Grove about half the size of her current 1,000-square foot living room.

``I used to have bills come to my name. Now, I don't know what a bill looks like. Frank takes care of everything.''

Mike Nolan has said he wants to limit Frank Gore's carries to fewer than 300. Last season, Gore carried 312 times, which is a franchise record. He also made it through a season without a significant injury for the first time since his senior year of high school.

With Gore signed through 2011, it only seems reasonable that the 49ers would want to limit his touches. But Nolan mentioned this week that Gore could touch the ball 20 to 25 times a game.

"I'm going for quality, not quantity, so we'll see," Nolan said.

(49ers.pressdemocrat.com)

How you doing these days Eye on The U crew? Just wanted to check in during my three-week break -- Is it really vacation if I'm still working? -- to give you a place to pour your thoughts in regarding your beloved Canes. Among the topics of this entry: My visit to Frank Gore's mother's house, Denis Clemente's transfer to Kansas State, a Devin Ebanks update and a quick football recruiting update.

First, Gore. After signing his big contract extention in March, I spent months trying to hunt him down for an interview and finally did at the end of last week (a feature on him should be running in the paper soon). Anyway, he invited me to his mother's house brand new four bedroom home in West Kendall to shoot a photo of him and his mother together. Frank never showed up, but I got a chance to speak with him later on. I spent nearly an hour with his mother, who you all remember has to take weekly dialysis treatments for her diabetes and struggles simply to get out of bed.

Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore practically gushed on Sunday afternoon after the end of the team’s three day mini camp. His excitement wasn’t the addition of the talked about wide receivers or tackle Joe Staley, although those too bring a quick smile to the third-year back. But when it came to talking about the progress made this camp, Gore kept chatting up the defense.

“It’s just all around what I’m seeing - more competitiveness, more talent,” said Gore. “Watching Nate (Clements) out here making plays, even on film, you can tell a lot by his swagger. Michael Lewis, he’s a great safety. Tully Banta-Cain, all of those guys, even this new kid Patrick Willis. We’re just going to be good. I feel excited to put the cleats back on and go against this defense.”

Remember the days when Frank Gore actually had to sit backup to Kevan Barlow? After receiving a contract extension from the 49ers to the tune of $14 million guaranteed, those seem like a lifetime ago. But Gore wants the world to know that he's not one of those guys who plans on lazying it up with his new fortune.

"I always want to do better than I did the year before," Gore said. "I'm excited to do better than I did last year. The organization doesn't have to worry about me sloughing off."

Gore also plans on dropping from 215 to 210 pounds this offseason after LaDainian Tomlinson told him how much faster he got after dropping a couple of pounds.

Running back Frank Gore appeared miffed last week when he learned from a reporter that coach Mike Nolan wants to limit his carries in 2007. Gore's goal is to rush for over 2,000 yards and challenge former Ram Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105, set in 1984.

The 49ers, meanwhile, are looking for a return on their $14 million in guaranteed cash. The money was part of a four-year extension Gore signed last week.

Research reveals that running backs who top 370 carries in a given year are often rendered ineffective or are seriously injured within the span of the next two seasons. It took Gore 312 carries to gain a team-record 1,695 yards last season.

The 49ers have their own goals as a team, such as making the playoffs. A winning record could assure Gore more carries with the 49ers running the ball to protect leads late in games.

SANTA CLARA-Just days after signing the first lucrative contract of his career, 49ers tailback Frank Gore made it clear that the ferocious running style he's displayed in the past two seasons will not be diluted by his newfound wealth.

"It's not about the money with me," Gore said Tuesday. "I'm happy I have it and that I'm secure. I love the game. No one is going to have to worry about me slacking off. I love competing."

The five-year, $28 million contract he signed last week also hasn't changed his goals.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -Frank Gore has some big goals to go along with his big new contract with the San Francisco 49ers. The Pro Bowl running back hopes to improve on his breakout campaign last season and top 2,000 yards in 2007.

Gore finished 2006 as the NFC's leading rusher with a franchise-record 1,695 yards. Now he's looking at an even bigger goal, possibly even surpassing Eric Dickerson's NFL record of 2,105 yards set in 1984.

``That's my goal,'' Gore said Tuesday. ``I always want to do better than what I did last year. I know that's a big number. I'm going to try to get it. I will work hard this offseason. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't.''

Gore was due to earn $435,000 in his third season before agreeing to the four-year contract extension last week. He will be under contract to the 49ers through 2011 with a deal containing more than $14 million in guaranteed money, including a signing bonus worth a reported $6.5 million.

It is a beautiful thing in the NFL when player, agent and team come together to make a deal happen without any badmouthing, posturing, holdout threats or actions, me-first attitudes or even disregard for market value. This is exactly what has happened between the 49ers and running back Frank Gore. Although minor details still need to be arranged, the two sides came to terms earlier this week on what appears to be a reasonable contract for all parties.

Reportedly, the deal is worth approximately $27 million, about $14 million of which is guaranteed money. By all accounts, that money is a large payday for the next five years, but in a market where offensive linemen are getting bonuses of $17 million, it really seems like quite a reasonable contract for a player who rushed for nearly 1,700 yards last season.

Before heavy negotiations were underway, Gore's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, suggested that his client would only sign a contract that would make him the highest-paid back in the league. Admittedly, then, there was some minor posturing. But that was the last antagonistic remark from either party, likely because of Gore putting his foot down toward Rosenhaus, whom he had hired last year with the specific task of getting a good deal done. Not that Gore would have any problem with getting that kind of deal, but he had other priorities.

If the 49ers and Frank Gore had entered the 2007 season without a new contract, the team's best player would have also been one of its lowest-paid players. Clearly, something had to be done, and coach Mike Nolan said the timing was right for the 49ers to sign Gore to a five-year, $28 million extension that was a good deal for both the team and its star performer.

"It was a little early because Frank just finished his second year," Nolan said, "but if you identify somebody you want to have that is a good player - that you want to have around for awhile - it's good to get it done early because the longer you wait, the more expensive it gets and the closer it gets to them seeing that window for free agency."

The 49ers essentially controlled Gore's rights for the next three seasons. He was signed through 2007, but the team could have given him a high tender next year as a restricted free agent, then made him their franchise player in 2009.

But the 49ers and agent Drew Rosenhaus worked out a contract that makes Gore one of the top-10 paid running backs in the league.

The extension of Frank Gore's contract assures that he won't end up as the Ryan Howard of football.

This winter, after he won the NL MVP and hit 58 home runs for them, the Phillies said they tried to reach a long-term agreement with Howard. But we have to wonder how hard they really tried, knowing that he was ineligible for both arbitration and free agency.

They gave him $900,000 for this year, a big raise over the $355,000 he made last year, but nowhere near what his numbers on the field should command. Even if the Phillies truly couldn't justify a long-term deal, there nothing stopping them from giving him closer to $2 million. OK, in arbitration, the past salary could come back to bite them, but come on. The man hit 58 home runs. He shouldn't be making less than Barry Zito will earn less than two weeks into the season.

By reportedly guaranteeing Gore close to $14 million over the next five years, the 49ers avoid an even bigger absurdity. Can you imagine the NFC rsuhing champion, who rushed for 1,695 yards last year, earning only $450,000 this season while his quarterback pocketed another portion of a $49.5 million rookie deal? And while the new cornerback in town, Nate Clements, started collecting his $22 million in guaranteed money?

When the San Francisco 49ers selected tailback Frank Gore in the second round of the 2005 draft, the former University of Miami star proved to be one of the biggest steals in the last several seasons. On Tuesday evening, the 49ers opened up their coffers to Gore, the NFC rushing leader in 2006.

ESPN.com has learned that the 49ers reached agreement with Gore on a four-year contract extension through 2011, with the deal averaging just shy of $7 million in terms of so-called "new money."

Gore will receive an initial signing bonus of $6.5 million and total guarantees of nearly $14 million. The contract will pay Gore $13.862 million in its first two seasons and $18.212 million in the first three years. Because Gore had one season remaining on his original rookie contract, the four-year extension creates a five-year deal, and the total value over the course of the five seasons is $28.012 million.

After negotiating lucrative contracts for running backs Willis McGahee and Thomas Jones after trades, agent Drew Rosenhaus might feel that the market has been set for Frank Gore. However, the 49ers are in a position in which they don't have to touch Gore's contract and they can still keep him around for the next three seasons. But the 49ers also want to take care of Gore, a 2005 third-round pick.

Gore set the 49ers record last season while leading the NFC with 1,695 yards rushing. Gore is entering the final season of the original three-year deal he signed as a rookie. He is scheduled to earn $435,000 this season, making him tied for the 36th-highest paid player on the team.

But if Rosenhaus is looking for a deal that will make Gore one of the highest-paid players in the game, he is not likely to get it.

It was only a matter of time, I guess. San Francisco running back Frank Gore is coming off a monster season, and now he's looking to get paid. Next year will be his third in the league, and the former third-round pick is still on his rookie contract (it's a five-year deal). But after rushing for 1,695 yards in 2006 (5.4 ypc), including eight TDs, his agent thinks it's time to renegotiate. So, who is Gore's agent (like you have to ask)?

Drew Rosenhaus said he expects talks with the San Francisco 49ers over a new contract for running back Frank Gore to "heat up" in the next few days. Those sentiments came shortly after Rosenhaus negotiated a six-year deal worth in excess of $32 million for running back Willis McGahee.

According to Yahoo.com's Jason Cole, McGahee was Rosenhaus' third running back client to get a hefty raise in the past week: Fred Taylor (Jags) and Thomas Jones (Jets) also made out okay for themselves recently.

It sounds like Rosenhaus is looking for at least $20 million guaranteed, based on the McGahee, Taylor and Jones deals. No mention on how the 49ers feel about this, but the club still has some salary-cap room despite breaking the bank on Nate Clements last week. If there was ever a good time to give somebody $20 million, it's probably this off-season.

(aolsportsblog.com)

Larry Allen, the NFL knows all about. But Frank Gore and Walt Harris? One was a second-year running back coming off multiple shoulder surgeries, and the other was an 11th-year veteran who entered the 2006 season closer to journeyman status than star status. But now here they are, on stage with Allen in Hawaii as the first position players to represent the 49ers in the Pro Bowl since 2003.

The youngster and the wily veteran both took divergent paths to get there.

Gore did it by flashing into the NFL consciousness and durably blasting through NFL defenses for a franchise-record 1,695 rushing yards in 2006, a figure that led the NFC and has him pegged as the conference's starting running back in today's game at Aloha Stadium.

Harris did it by turning back the clock and answering the naysayers who said he was finished as a productive NFL player. Harris wasn't just productive in his debut season with the 49ers, he was a difference-maker who had his best season while leading the NFC with eight interceptions.

MIAMI - As his last act of the season, Frank Gore vowed to break Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record next season. The 49ers running back made his vow on New Year's Day, proclaiming, ``Yeah, I'll get that.''

Dickerson, 46, had been unaware of that comment until Thursday. Upon hearing Gore's boast, the Hall of Fame running back delivered a surprising, diplomatic response: He laughed.

``I said the same thing to O.J.,'' Dickerson said.

MIAMI - Frank Gore tried calling Norv Turner last week but got his voice mail. That's understandable since Turner is a man in demand these days as a leading candidate to coach the Dallas Cowboys.

But Gore, who set a team rushing record, wants Turner to stick with the 49ers -- and called to tell him so. He doesn't want the 49ers to lose the offensive coordinator after just one promising season.

``It would hurt,'' Gore said Wednesday from Super Bowl headquarters, where he was part of an awards ceremony. ``We need him to stay. With the young team that we have, we could keep getting better and better. Last year from the first week to the last week we kept improving every game. You could see it.''

The Niners realize it would behoove them to give ace RB Frank Gore a healthy raise before his contract expires after the 2007 season. However, the way we hear it, negotiations with Gore's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, will hardly be cut and dried, since, regardless of Gore's great success, they still consider him a 24-year-old running back in a 30-year-old's body. Another valued young Niner with the same contract situation as Gore, starting ORG Justin Smiley, is a good bet to be re-signed first.

(pfw.com)

Sixteen-Hundred Ninety-Five: The number of rushing yards amassed this past season, enough to shatter the previous San Francisco 49ers team record of 1,570 set by Garrison Hearst in 1998.

Six: The number of fumbles Gore had in the regular season. He lost five of them. This is certainly an area of his game that leaves plenty of room for improvement. Maybe he should get together with Ahman Green and Tiki Barber in the offseason. Both also had fumbling issues early in their career, but were able to remedy the situations over time.

Sixty-one: That's how many passes Gore caught in 2006, making him arguably the most versatile back in all of football.

Nine: That's how many times the Miami native failed to reach the 20-carry plateau. Incidentally, the 49ers lost eight of those nine contests. Memo to Mike Nolan: Make sure to feed the ball to Gore early and often. As is the case with most elite running backs, the more he carries the football, the more likely his team will win the game.

Frank Gore's first season as the 49ers' starting tailback ended with him leading the NFC in rushing and owning every meaningful franchise record for a runner.

Hey, Frank, what will you do for an encore?

"I'm going for 2,200 (yards) next year," he said with a straight face. "That's the record, right?"

As a matter of fact, 2,200 yards would shatter the season rushing record -- 2,105 yards -- Eric Dickerson set in 1984. Baltimore tailback Jamal Lewis flirted with the mark in 2003, and Gore would need to tack 411 yards onto his total this season (1,695) to earn the record.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After far too many offseasons spent mostly in the hospital or the training room, Frank Gore has more welcoming destinations in mind this year.

The 49ers' record-setting running back will first head home to Miami, then jet off to Honolulu next month for his first Pro Bowl. After a little break, it's back to work making sure San Francisco can ride its suddenly sturdy running back to bigger things in 2007.

When the 49ers (7-9) packed their belongings and left their training complex Monday, Gore was entirely healthy and incredibly happy after a breakthrough season. With one last standout performance in San Francisco's dramatic win at Denver on Sunday, Gore finished as the NFC's leading rusher with a franchise-record 1,695 yards.

DENVER - For Frank Gore, it was a workmanlike finish to the single-most productive season by a 49ers running back.

He carried the ball a season-high 31 times for 153 yards and added two receptions for 32 yards in the 49ers' 26-23 overtime victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

In his first full season as a starter, Gore had an NFC-leading 1,695 yards rushing, the third most in the league behind San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson (1,815) and Kansas City's Larry Johnson (1,789).

Gore set a team record for yards rushing in a season, overtaking Garrison Hearst's 1,570 yards achieved in 1998. The team's leading receiver with 61 catches for 485 yards, Gore also eclipsed Hearst's team record for combined rushing and receiving yardage with 2,180 to Hearst's 2,105.

01-01) 04:00 PST Denver -- Frank Gore's game and attitude was personified by a small black box that stood in his locker after the 49ers' 26-23 win over the Broncos.

It was a lunch pail, given to him by running backs coach Bishop Harris with Gore's number 21 printed on the side. The rest of the running backs received the same gift.

"When you come to work, you bring your lunch," Gore said. "That's what we do every day, (and) we bring them to every road game."

Garrison Hearst's words of encouragement for 49ers running back Frank Gore included a dig at a common rival.

``He's the one who told me to hurry up and run Barlow out of here,'' Gore said with a smile, recalling a conversation during the former running back's visit to the 49ers' Santa Clara practice facility last season. ``He said he liked my style of running and keep working hard and get him out of here.''

As it turned out, Kevan Barlow, who competed with Hearst and Gore for playing time in five years with the 49ers, is with the New York Jets. His departure in August was hastened by a strong training camp from Gore that convinced team officials they could afford to trade Barlow.

Now Hearst, or more precisely, his 8-year-old team records for rushing yards (1,570) and all-purpose yards (2,105), are in jeopardy.

There was one person whom San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore needed to share the good news with right after coach Mike Nolan told the second-year running back he'd made his first Pro Bowl.

Lizzie Gore has inspired her son's remarkable return from two anterior cruciate ligament injuries and two shoulder surgeries during the last few years. Since her son was in the 11th grade, Lizzie Gore has had dialysis three days a week as she waits for a kidney transplant.

"My mom means everything to me," Gore says. "She's been on a waiting list for a kidney for a long time. I see her cramping after her dialysis treatments. Seeing her fight through that, she's my strength."

Gore bought his mom a house in South Florida last year. After gashing the Seattle Seahawks for a franchise-record 212 rushing yards in San Francisco's win on Nov. 19, he flew home to Florida to spend time with her.

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.

When Frank Gore wrecked his anterior cruciate ligament, Edgerrin James made sure he talked to his fellow Miami Hurricane often as support, since James knew all about coming back from such a devastating injury.

And when Gore blew out his other knee, James did it again.

So as the 49ers’ Gore approaches the end of this Pro Bowl season, already with 1,491 yards rushing and king of an impressive lineup of NFC West running backs, it’s no shock that James beams with pride. “I am super happy for him because of what he went through,” James said. Gore has been the biggest surprise in an NFL season with plenty of big rushing performances. Last season, there were 16 1,000-yard rushers in the league. This season, 13 players have already reached that plateau and another 10 are 128 yards or closer with two games left.

James is one of those players, needing 12 yards, although he knows he probably should have already reached that mark.

Frank Gore's spirited running has been the most surprising development for the 49ers this season. His selection to the Pro Bowl was not.

Gore, who leads the conference in rushing with 1,491 yards and is third in the NFL, was chosen Tuesday as a starter for the NFC in the Pro Bowl on Feb. 10 in Honolulu. Selected as NFC reserve running backs were Tiki Barber of the Giants and Steven Jackson of the Rams.

"I feel I deserve it,'' Gore said. "I worked hard all season. I worked hard all offseason. My offensive line worked hard. I'm just happy.''

SANTA CLARA-When San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson ran for a season-high 199 yards on national television Sunday night, no one was following more closely than Frank Gore.

The 49ers tailback, with 1,491 yards, trails Tomlinson for the league rushing lead by 135 yards and is 25 yards behind Sunday night's other featured running back, Kansas City's Larry Johnson. Despite how far he trails Tomlinson, Gore said Monday he believes he has a chance to wear the rushing crown at season's end.

"I'm going to play those last two games because we're still fighting and trying to get into the playoffs," he said.

Frank Gore used the word maturity repeatedly on Friday afternoon, yet he wore the glow of a man who had just witnessed the arrival of his first child. In a sense, he had seen a combination -- the birth of a grown-up 49ers team.

Gore raved about Alex Smith's poise in the final quarter of the Seattle game Thursday night and about all the possibilities tied up in those 15 minutes.

Then he said the sort of thing we've come to expect from Gore, taking his selflessness more and more for granted. "I think we're just young, and some of the mistakes I've been making and he's been making, it's just about maturity.''

SEATTLE - Frank Gore laughed off the question. No, he said, he wouldn't play every game against Seattle if it were up to him.

The results, though, appear to tell a different story.

For the first three quarters Thursday, the 49ers running back was mediocre. In the fourth quarter of the 49ers' 24-14 victory against the Seahawks, he was magnificent.

Gore finished with 144 yards in 29 carries, but 106 yards were earned in the fourth quarter. He also caught four passes for 34 yards. And in the Niners' season sweep of the NFC West-leading Seahawks, Gore rushed for 356 yards.

The 49ers still have a crown within their reach.

It's not the Vince Lombardi Trophy. It's the league's individual rushing title.

Frank Gore can win it, remarkably in only his second season since the 49ers drafted him out of the University of Miami.

The Kansas City Chiefs' Larry Johnson and the San Diego Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson are the only players with more rushing yards than Gore, and those two will meet Sunday night in an AFC West clash in San Diego with playoff implications on the line.

The 49ers' playoff hopes are shot, courtesy of a 5-8 record and three-game skid. But the team still can escort Gore to the NFL rushing throne.

SEATTLE - Mike Holmgren is hoping to get a better defensive effort against this time.

"I think we'd like to tackle him," the Seattle coach said. "We didn't do that in the first game."

Less than a month ago, Gore slashed through the Seahawks' questionable run defense for a San Francisco-record 212 yards rushing in the 49ers' 20-14 victory that made the defending NFC champion look anything but formidable.

Except for his seventh lost fumble of the season, which led to a gift field goal for the Packers, it was another good day for second-year running back Frank Gore, who set a team record with his seventh 100-yard rushing game of the season during the 49ers’ 30-19 loss. Here’s a rundown on some of Gore’s exploits from the game:

--- Gore’s 72-yard run in the first quarter ties his career long run. He had a 72-yard touchdown run at Washington on October 23, 2005.

--- Gore entered the game with an NFL-leading 13 rushes of 20 or more yards and increased the total to 14 with the 72-yard run. Gore now has five runs of 40 or more yards in 2006.

SAN FRANCISCO, Cali - The San Francisco 49ers have worked themselves into the N.F.C playoff hunt by grabbing a 20 to 0 lead in a 20 to 14 win over Seattle. Frank Gore ran for 212 yards on 24 carries, including a 51-yard scamper that set up Joe Nedney's 39-yard field goal in the first quarter. Alex Smith threw for a touchdown and ran for another in the Niners' third straight win, which leaves San Francisco just a game behind the first-place Seahawks in the N.F.C West. He tossed a nine-yard T-D pass to Arnaz Battle, then ran for a one-yard run that put the 49ers ahead 17 to 0 in the second quarter. Smith was 19 of 25 for 163 yards and no interceptions for the 5-5 Niners. Seneca Wallace passed for 252 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions for the 6-4 Seahawks. Seattle running back Shaun Alexander had 37 rushing yards on 17 carries in his first action since missing two months with a broken foot.

(kndo.com)

Q. How hard is it on you seeing Miami struggle?

A. It's tough, man. They brought in a lot of coaches. That kinda hurt us because we had a great staff.

Q. Now the head coach, Larry Coker, has been fired. What's your reaction?

A. He's a good dude. When I was there, he was a player's coach. He shouldn't have let go our old coaching staff.

Q. Is Florida out-recruiting Miami and Florida State?

A. Really, Miami doesn't have to go too far. They just need to stay in Dade County. That's good football there.

Q. Any thoughts on a new coach for the'Canes?

A. A coach like Randy Shannon, our defensive coordinator, is a straight-ahead guy. He won't take pity, and he'd make sure everyone is doing the right thing. He'd be a good head coach.

Frank Gore has become one of the most effective running backs in the NFL in just his second season. He's rushed for 1,217 yards and five touchdowns, which puts him behind only San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson and Kansas City's Larry Johnson.

Gore has rushed for more than 100 yards in a game six times, and the 49ers are 4-2 in those games. When he's held to fewer than 100 yards, the 49ers are 1-5. Gore's best game came against the Seattle Seahawks, when he rushed for 212 yards in an upset win. During the 49ers' 34-10 loss to the Saints last weekend, Gore was held to just 40 yards, which was a big reason why San Francisco couldn't get anything done on offense.

As effective as Gore has been this season, he's scored only five touchdowns and has been fumble-prone. He's coughed up the ball five times, more than any running back in the NFL.

SANTA CLARA - Forty-niner running back Frank Gore has 1,217 rushing yards. With four games left, he could pass Garrison Hearst, whose 1,570 yards in 1998 is the franchise record.

Gore was such a find, the 49ers got rid of another No. 3 pick, running back Kevan Barlow, to make room for the 5-9, 215-pound second-year pro from the University of Miami (Fla).

Gore is a prime candidate for All-Pro and/or the Pro Bowl. On Thursday, he discussed his escalating career, the 49ers' bright future, and the depressing state of Miami football of late.

Q. What do you need to become a great running back?

A. I've just got to keep working, keep learning. Don't get relaxed. If I always try to better myself, I feel I can reach that level.

While the Niners still think very highly of rookie RB Michael Robinson, it appears his role as the team's short-yardage specialist was short-lived, with starter Frank Gore expected to fill that role the rest of the season. We hear that Robinson probably relied too much on his size and straight-ahead speed and would have been better-served taking a tad more time on occasion to pick holes laterally.

(profootballweekly.com)

A determined Saints defense stuffed 49ers running back Frank Gore in a box Sunday and shipped him back to San Francisco.

"They had a good game plan," 49ers right guard Justin Smiley said after the Saints' 34-10 victory at the Superdome. "Their defensive coordinator (Gary Gibbs), I can't say enough about that guy. I'm not so sure who he is, but whatever he did today worked. They stacked the box and pressured our receivers pretty good, and it was a long day."

Gore entered the game ranked second in the NFL with 1,117 rushing yards, including a franchise record-tying six 100-yard games this season. He exited with a season-low 40 yards on 13 carries. After the first quarter, he had 16 yards on five carries.

METAIRIE, La. - Frank Gore lacked the running back pedigree while he attended the University of Miami. His teammate Jarrett Payton had the genes of Hall-of-Famer Walter Payton.

Gore also lacked the luxury of healthy knees as he sustained two torn ACLs while playing for the Hurricanes. So of course there were numerous doubters when the San Francisco 49ers took the chance of drafting Gore last year.

The risk was well worth the reward as Gore leads the NFC in rushing with 1,177 yards and is second in the NFL in his second year in the league.

Spring get-togethers at the University of Miami can feature some of the NFL's best players, and some of the best runners. Naturally in an ego-driven profession, the barbs and brags go flying during those sessions. Trash-talking at Miami, after all, is an art form.

Frank Gore was part of those sessions last offseason, following his rookie season in the NFL. But the shy, quiet, introverted former 'Canes player really couldn't do much of the bragging.

In his first season with the San Francisco 49ers, he flashed some talent in 2005, but that was nothing compared to what fellow 'Canes runners Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee and Edgerrin James did last season.

"There wasn't a lot for me to say," Gore said.

SANTA CLARA-There was a collective sigh of relief at 49ers headquarters Monday with the news that the leg injury running back Frank Gore sustained in Sunday's 20-17 loss at St. Louis was not serious.

Gore, who left the game in the closing minutes, had X-rays taken at the stadium of his lower right leg. They turned out to be negative. A subsequent exam Monday disclosed nothing more than bruises above the ankle and below the shin.

"I'll be ready," Gore said of his status for Sunday's game at New Orleans.

(11-27) 04:00 PST St. Louis -- Which player can the 49ers least afford to lose?

Running back Frank Gore would seem to be a consensus answer, that's why Bay Area reporters waited until Gore finished treatment on his right ankle to talk to him, long after the 49ers' 20-17 loss to St. Louis.

Gore exited late in the game with the injury and didn't return. Stadium X-rays on his lower leg were negative and the team will know more today after further examination.

San Francisco running back Frank Gore is proud to be a stat watcher.

Instead of tracking a fantasy team, though, Gore keeps an eye on the top defenses in the NFL. He knows that Chicago is ranked first overall but that Minnesota has the stingiest rushing defense. He also tracks the rushing yardage of his college chums: Willis McGahee, Clinton Portis and Najeh Davenport.

Gore not only stacks up well with his former teammates at the University of Miami, he surpasses them. Gore was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his 212-yard rushing performance Sunday in the 49ers' 20-14 victory over the Seahawks. He has registered five 100-yard rushing games this season and is second in the NFL with 1,043 yards. Gore also leads the league in rushes of more than 20 yards, 12.

A year and a half later, 49ers vice president of player personnel Scot McCloughan doesn't have to justify his draft-day gamble on running back Frank Gore.

Churning the surgically reconstructed knees that raised questions throughout the league about his durability, Gore has gained an NFC-leading 1,043 yards.

His 12 runs of 20 or more yards are the most in the NFL this season. Four of them came last week as part of a franchise-record 212-yard performance against Seattle that helped the 49ers (5-5) get into the playoff hunt.

"I'm seeing what I expected," McCloughan said.

For an NFL player with incredible think-outside-the-blocks field vision, Frank Gore certainly has a narrow way of looking at things.

The San Francisco running back is constantly comparing himself with his old University of Miami teammates, and he can't seem to see past the eyes of the Hurricanes.

But it's time for Gore to think bigger. Buffalo's Willis McGahee and Washington's Clinton Portis, both far bigger stars in college, can't measure up to him this season. Nor can any of the running backs selected before Gore in the 2005 draft — among them, top-five picks Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams.

New York, NY (Sports Network) - San Francisco running back Frank Gore, Carolina Panthers defensive end Mike Rucker and Dallas punter Mat McBriar were named NFC Players of the Week for their efforts in Week 11.

In the 49ers' 20-14 win over NFC West rival Seattle, Gore rushed for a franchise-record 212 yards on 24 carries while catching four balls for 26 yards.

Gore ranks third in the league with 1,330 scrimmage yards for San Francisco, which won its third straight game to move one game behind the Seahawks for the division lead.

(ap)

SAN FRANCISCO - Frank Gore's lineman have no problem blocking for him.

And the 49ers running back has no problem running behind them, either.

That relationship might not have ever been more evident than during Sunday's 20-14 upset win over Seattle at Monster Park when Gore, with more than a little bit of help from his friends, rushed for a single-game team record 212 yards.

SAN FRANCISCO - For a few gut-wrenching moments, Frank Gore thought his fumble had ruined it all. The best game of his career, the 49ers’ biggest upset bid in years — it was all in the San Francisco defense’s hands against the defending conference champs.

Yet the defense didn’t drop the ball, stuffing the Seattle Seahawks over and over again in the final minutes of a watershed win for a long-suffering franchise that finally might be on the rise again.

Gore rushed for a team-record 212 yards, and San Francisco’s maligned defense stopped Shaun Alexander and the Seahawks three times in the final 4½ minutes of the 49ers’ third straight victory, 20-14 Sunday.

Edgerrin James turned into a star, as did Clinton Portis, as did Willis McGahee. Yet of all the great backs the 'Canes have provided, none has been more productive this season than ... San Francisco's Frank Gore.

Already this season, Gore has piled up 831 yards -- 247 more than James' 584, 252 more than McGahee's 579, and 318 more than Portis' 523.

Gore is now on pace to become the first 49ers running back since 2003 to post a 1,000-yard season. And even though he suffered a concussion during a victory against Detroit, San Francisco says Gore is probable for the Nov. 19 game against Seattle.

Coach Mike Nolan said he expects Frank Gore will play Sunday against Seattle, although the standout running back could miss some practice as a precaution.

Gore is coming off a big game -- and a concussion.

``He said he felt a little lightheaded, but I think he'll be fine,'' Nolan said Monday.

Gore rushed for 159 yards Sunday, including a 61-yard touchdown run that set the tone for the 49ers' 19-13 upset at Detroit. He rushed for only 11 yards in the second half, though, after suffering what Nolan called a mild concussion.

Gore, like the rest of the players, had the day off Monday and was unavailable for comment. A team spokesman said the running back went through a routine checkup as a precaution and that all indications are he will play Sunday against Seattle.

(mercurynews.com)

(11-13) 04:00 PST Detroit -- Frank Gore, who was battling the after-effects of a concussion, didn't speak to the media after the 49ers' 19-13 win over the Lions on Sunday. He let his play on the field speak for him, amassing a career-high 159 rushing yards and setting up his team for victory.

Gore and his offensive line dominated the first half, when he raced for 148 yards (a team record for a half) including a 61-yard touchdown on the opening drive. The 49ers controlled the first-half clock behind Gore for 21:19 compared with Detroit's 8:41 time of possession. If the 49ers had been anything but bumbling in the red zone, the game would have been over by halftime.

DETROIT - The draw play to Frank Gore began as a long-shot attempt to convert a third-and-16 play, but the 49ers running back turned it into a 61-yard touchdown Sunday.

The score was the first of the day in the 49ers' 19-13 victory over the Detroit Lions.

Gore burst through a hole opened by guard Larry Allen, who leveled defensive tackle Cory Redding. Gore emerged through safety Kenoy Kennedy's tackle and angled to the right while shaking off a couple of more defenders before breaking away for the 49ers' longest run of the season.

Super agent Drew Rosenhaus and 49ers running back Frank Gore cut contrasting images Sunday outside the 49ers' locker room in Chicago. The humble, self-effacing Gore wore jeans and a sweat top -- clothes so baggy they made him look like he wanted to disappear into the fabric. Beside him stood the bombastic Rosenhaus with his shades, slicked-back hair and cell phone.

Gore, who is signed with the 49ers through 2007, parted with agent David Dunn, who is about to serve a two-year suspension for tampering with the clients of his former partner, Leigh Steinberg. With both sides eager to extend Gore's contract, the running back needed new representation.

FRANK'S QUEST:@ Frank Gore spends his mornings in meetings and his afternoon at practice in the 49ers' training complex. Then he goes home to his apartment just down the street in Santa Clara - and he often ends up coming right back to the DeBartolo Sports Centre in the evening.

"Ain't nothing to do out here, so I can just come back," Gore said. "I can just focus on football. There's nothing to do around here - especially coming from Miami, because after practice, you can just do whatever (in South Florida)."

Gore is fifth in the NFL with 631 yards rushing, and his coaches attribute part of his effectiveness to his work ethic. He has rebounded solidly from offseason surgery on both shoulders, and his oft-discussed fumbling problems are just about the only negatives.

His outstanding start has inspired him to wonder if he can make history this season: On Thursday, he wanted to know the 49ers' single-season rushing record (1,570 yards by Garrison Hearst in 1998).

"So if I get 16 (1,600 yards), I'll be the top dog?" he asked with a sly smile. "That's one of my goals. It's tough, especially when you're playing against the best defenses."

(the-dispatch.com)

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers' new fiscal philosophy rests on signing their best players to contract extensions before they become free agents, and the new agent for running back Frank Gore said he plans to facilitate doing just that.

"One of the reasons he hired me is that I have had success getting players contract extensions early in their careers," Drew Rosenhaus said Tuesday. "We're definitely receptive to getting a deal done."

Gore signed with Miami-based Rosenhaus last week after his first agent, David Dunn, told Gore he could no longer represent him. Dunn is facing a two-year suspension from the National Football League Players Association.

CHICAGO - Never had three running backs been drafted so high as Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson and Cadillac Williams, who went 2-4-5 last year.

This season's leading rusher among that 2005 class? San Francisco's Frank Gore, selected No. 65. The third-rounder was the fifth running back chosen, behind J.J. Arrington, who went to Arizona in the second round.

Gore comes to Soldier Field on Sunday with 520 yards on 112 carries, putting him eighth in the league. He's ahead of the Dolphins' Brown (122-464) and the Buccaneers' Williams (104-394).

Frank Gore reaches back to his past for inspiration in what has become a weekly ritual for the 49ers running back.

A couple of days before every game, Gore watches a highlight tape from his senior season at Coral Gables High in Florida, when he ran for 2,953 yards and 34 touchdowns.

``It reminds me of what I'm capable of,'' Gore said. ``I know it's different here, that I'm at a higher level, but it challenges me to try to do the same thing. It gets me hyped up.''

(mercurynews.com)

Gloomy last week after losing yet another fumble, running back Frank Gore was at the other end of the emotional spectrum Wednesday after being named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Gore, who entered the game leading the league in fumbles, emerged as the NFL's co-leader in rushing yards. He had 27 carries for a career-high 134 yards against the Raiders and also caught three passes for 38 yards.

"I'm happy -- I had a rough week," Gore said. "Now I've just got to keep it up."

On a day when he was named the NFC offensive player of the week, 49ers running back Frank Gore let it be known Wednesday that he views San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson as the best running back in the league.

``I've watched him a lot,'' said Gore, who will get to see Tomlinson again Sunday when the Chargers play the 49ers. ``He's quick. He's explosive. He's got great vision. He can catch.''

Gore also said he thinks there are more similarities between him and Tomlinson than differences.

Frank Gore, Willis McGahee, Clinton Portis and Edgerrin James check the statistics every week. They all want to know where the University of Miami's former running backs rank among the NFL's best — and more importantly, among each other.

These days, all the Hurricanes are looking up at Gore.

The San Francisco 49ers' budding star and St. Louis' Steven Jackson are tied for the NFL rushing lead with 465 yards after five weeks. Gore got there with a career-best 134 yards in the Niners' win over Oakland, also moving into second in all-purpose yards behind Jackson.

Frank Gore should feel mighty proud of two things today: He's tied for the league lead in rushing, and he didn't fumble -- a first this season -- in the 49ers' 34-20 victory over the Raiders on Sunday.

At this point, he's far more satisfied with the latter than the former.

"If I'm leading at the end of the year, that would be something," said Gore, who rushed for a career-high 134 yards on 27 carries, leaving him tied with the Rams' Steven Jackson atop the NFL with 465 yards.

Frank Gore's first season as the San Francisco 49ers' starting running back is off to a rousing start — except for four plays.

Gore is second in the NFL with 460 yards from scrimmage — 331 rushing and 129 receiving — in the Niners' first four games. He has been speedy, durable and hard to tackle, erasing any doubts about his worthiness to take the job of Kevan Barlow, who was traded to the New York Jets.

Unfortunately, Gore also has fumbled four times — once in each of the first four games for the 49ers (1-3), who host the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. Two of his fumbles occurred at their opponents' goal lines, and one was returned 98 yards for a touchdown by Philadelphia's Mike Patterson.

Throughout the week, 49ers running back Frank Gore urged his defensive teammates to take their best shots at him in practice and slap and rip at the ball.

It's part of an effort to put his fumbling problems behind him. Gore hopes that running the gauntlet will prepare him for Sunday's game against the Raiders, who will be out to pry the ball loose from a running back with four fumbles in four games.

``Everybody makes mistakes and I guess it was my time to have a rough time,'' Gore said Thursday. ``I've just got to forget about it, get it out of my head and just play ball and I'll be all right.''

If up-and-coming Niners RB Frank Gore has a shortcoming aside from his shaky injury history, it's his tendency to get very down on himself after making mistakes. Our sources tell us Gore has been beating himself up something awful because of his recent fumbling problems (four fumbles in the first four games).
(profootballweekly)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It didn't take long for Frank Gore's fumbling problems to resurface.

The 49ers running back fumbled for the fourth time in as many games during the team's opening series in Sunday's 41-0 loss at Kansas City. The ball squirted loose after he took a hit from Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson.

Gore said he made the mistake of letting the fumbling issue get inside his head.

"I was thinking about it too much. I was nervous," he said. "I just have to play football."

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers got good news about running back Frank Gore and confirmed bad news about tight end Vernon Davis on Monday.

Gore is expected to be in the 49ers` lineup at Kansas City on Sunday despite bruised ribs that sidelined him in the third quarter of their loss to Philadelphia. Davis, the sixth overall pick in the draft, will be out four weeks with a broken bone in his right leg.

Rookie running back Michael Robinson is being considered for short-yardage and goal-line situations because of Frank Gore's fumbling problems, 49ers Coach Mike Nolan said Monday. ``That's something we're discussing right now,'' Nolan said. ``It's something that could possibly happen.''

Gore has lost a goal-line fumble in each of the past two games. His fumble Sunday was returned 98 yards for a touchdown, a 14-point swing in a 38-24 loss to Philadelphia.

``In the field of play, Frank is a very secure ball carrier -- at least he has been,'' Nolan said. ``Down on the goal line both times, he was hit and turned around and they punched the ball out. That's correctable, but it also lends its way to giving another back an opportunity on the goal line and in short yardage to carry that ball.''

SAN FRANCISCO — It's hard to say why Frank Gore had such a hard time getting into the Philadelphia Eagles' end zone in goal-line situations Sunday afternoon.

Maybe it was because the 49ers offense was too predictable. Maybe it was because the Eagles defense was too physical.

Maybe it was because Gore was thinking a little too much about his fumbles in the season's first two games and was trying not to repeat the mistake, though if that's the case, he's really got a problem.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Who would have thought, besides Frank Gore of course, that of the five former University of Miami running backs in the NFL, he would have the most rushing yards two weeks into the season?

"I'm not surprised. No, not really. I've worked hard and I've gotten my opportunity," Gore insisted, without the slightest suggestion of arrogance.

He didn't arrive in the NFL with the first-round pedigree of Willis McGahee (2003) or Edgerrin James (1999), or even the second-round status of Clinton Portis (2002). Yet he sees himself as no less talented.

RB Frank Gore, 49ers -- Round 3 in 2005: It's rare that a guy who had a disappointing college career becomes an impact player in the NFL. Gore beat out Willis McGahee as a freshman at Miami before blowing out his ACL. He got the starting job back after McGahee left for the NFL -- only to blow out the other knee. As a rookie last season, he led the 49ers in rushing while splitting time with Kevan Barlow. With Barlow's trade to the Jets, Gore has excelled as the featured back. He is currently fourth in the NFL with 217 rushing yards, including a career-high 127 in a 20-13 victory against the Rams last week. More important, he is tied for the league lead with three touchdowns. At 5-foot-9 and 215 pounds, his durability always will be an issue, but, considering what he has overcome already, I wouldn't bet against him.

PR Devin Hester, Bears -- Round 2 in 2006: It didn't take long for Hester to make his mark on the NFL. In his pro debut, he returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown. Anyone who watched the Bears in the preseason knew it was only a matter of time until he broke one, and it won't be his last. Drafting a return man in Round 2 might have raised a few eyebrows around the league, but the Bears were plagued with fumbles by their punt returners last year. A cornerback by trade, his breakaway speed has the Bears coaching staff trying to figure out how to get him the ball on offense.
(nfl.com)

A few hours after last week’s game against St. Louis, 49ers running back Frank Gore called coach Mike Nolan to discuss the recently completed contest with him. "Like last week, he called me this week after the game to tell me how excited he was," Nolan said. Gore said he was eager to get some feedback on how he played and what he can do to get better and it could not wait until the next morning.

"I was thinking about my mistakes and asking him what he saw," Gore said. "And he told me he understands that I'm the type of runner always working for the extra yard. I got to be smarter and always remember there's another down."

Gore had another productive day for the 49ers in their 20-13 victory over the Rams, but he also fumbled for the second consecutive game. Gore fumbled

Running back Frank Gore was so concerned about his fumbling in the first two games that he phoned 49ers Coach Mike Nolan after each contest.

Gore rushed for a career-best 127 yards in 29 carries Sunday. Then he called Nolan to talk about his goal-line fumble in the second quarter.

``I wanted to know what he saw,'' Gore said. ``He told me he understands that the type of runner I am, I'm always trying for the extra yard. But he told me I've just got to be smarter and always remember that there is another down.''

Frank Gore rushed for 127 yards Sunday, scored a pivotal touchdown and churned out the tough fourth-quarter yards that ensured the 49ers' victory.

But first he screwed up royally.

Gore fumbled near the goal line on the first play of the second quarter, earning a one-way conversation on the sideline with running-backs coach Bishop Harris.

``He kind of got in my face,'' Gore said after a 20-13 home victory over the St. Louis Rams.

Antonio Bryant held court, and held service, for a good 35 minutes after the 49ers' win over St. Louis on Sunday. Which is fine for Mike Nolan, as long as his number is bigger than the other guy's number at the end of the game.

Ultimately, though, seeking out the diva's role in the wake of Terrell Owens here is pretty much gargling damp dynamite. At some point, probably sooner rather than later, Bryant will shoot his mouth clean off, and given the relative sizes of his and Alex Smith's paychecks, you may guess for yourselves how the tale will end.

On the other hand, there is Frank Gore, whose equally hefty role in the victory was typically under sung, both by him and those paid to do the singing. Twenty-nine carries, 127 yards, a touchdown, and a whole lot of time consumption counts for something as well. Not as much as "T.O.: The Musical," we suspect, but if Gore isn't going to be more temperamentally effervescent, he may still turn out to be more substantial.

SANTA CLARA -- Miami residents call it the "big hill" because in pancake-flat Florida, even a slight rise in elevation is considered a hill, and anything over two stories tall is considered big.

In the summer of 2000, the big hill in that city's Tropical Park was where you could find local boy Frank Gore. The young running back not only would brave the murderous South Florida sun, he would run up and down the hill 25 times each weekend.

And if that sounds punishing, get a load of this: Gore would make the sweltering ascents while tethered to a truck tire that was gradually filled with weights as the session went on.

While the daily drumbeat of professional sports is rife with stories about how a particular athlete's unique and rigorous training routine has him in the best shape of his life, hardly anything has been said about the flip side of all that grueling work.

To wit, the need to relax.

Perhaps no one on the 49ers is as good at relaxing as running back Frank Gore. Although he is praised for his ability to tote that barge and lift that bale, he is also a master at achieving inertia.

Part of Gore's daily routine appears to be conserving as much energy as possible during noontime lunch break. He can invariably be found slouched in front of his locker, if not stretched out on the floor entirely, either catching a snooze or talking on his cell phone. Either way, this is a man at rest.aaa

SANTA CLARA — Amid the rubble of the late stages of the 49ers' disaster two years ago, Kevan Barlow seemed to spend half his free time explaining himself.

He was joking, he insisted, when he said he wanted the team to use all its draft choices on offensive linemen. No, he didn't mean to offend the current linemen. Yes, he was speaking to fullback Fred Beasley. Yes, he was worthy of the big contract he had signed after the 2003 season. Yes, he would eventually prove it.

Barlow, of course, is gone now, traded last month to the New York Jets. Frank Gore is now the 49ers' starting running back. And unlike Barlow, there is no question where Gore stands with his teammates. There is no explaining necessary.

"They like me," Gore said this week. "They love me."

(Sports Network) - The San Francisco 49ers appeared to be down and out early against the Arizona Cardinals, falling behind 21-7 by the end of the first quarter.

But then a fresh new face in the backfield stepped up and didn't let his team quit, something the 49ers must have felt like doing during last year's 4-12 campaign.

Running back Frank Gore pulled the 49ers within a touchdown after first moving along a 79-yard drive with a 39-yard screen pass reception, before culminating the march with a four-yard TD run. After an Arizona field goal in the third, Gore again kept his team in the game when a Cardinal fumble eventually resulted in a two-yard TD burst by the Miami (FL) product.

Gore stepped right into his new starting role on Sunday, and registered 87 yards and a pair of scores in the 49ers' 34-27 season-opening defeat to the Arizona Cardinals.

Stud of the Week
Frank Gore, 49ers (16 carries, 87 yards, 2 TDs, 1 lost fumble; 6 catches, 83 yards): Not the name you'd expect to see for the first week, eh? With all the multi-threat backs around, Gore piled up yards left and right and scored twice. He was zooming up the fantasy charts after Kevan Barlow was dealt to the Jets, and he showed exactly why. It helped that he was playing the Cards, but get your stats any way you can. Also, Alex Smith is already vastly improved from his rookie years, which means there could be more of these games on the horizon.
(cnnsi)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The San Francisco 49ers are placing the hopes of their rushing game, and perhaps their entire offense, on the surgically repaired shoulders of second-year tailback Frank Gore.

The 49ers had the NFL's worst offense last season, which directly contributed to San Francisco also having the NFL's worst defense because the teams punchless attack couldn't sustain drives and remain on the field.

The 49ers have revamped their offense considerably since then and will send six new opening-day starters onto the field for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals. Gore might be the key addition to that lineup as coach Mike Nolan envisions a run-oriented attack.

After a round of operations on his shoulders and knees in recent years, Frank Gore heads into the 49ers' season opener Sunday at Arizona eager to put to rest any questions about his durability.

``I can't take back what has happened to me,'' said Gore, the 49ers' primary running back since the Aug. 20 trade of Kevan Barlow to the New York Jets. ``I don't even think about it. I'm good. I'm all right. I'm just looking forward to going out there and proving I can get the job done.''

The 49ers used a third-round pick on Gore in the April 2005 draft, gambling that his surgically reconstructed knees would hold up to the demands of the NFL.

Gore, who tore ligaments in each knee while at the University of Miami in 2002 and 2003, became the first rookie since Dexter Carter (1990) to lead the 49ers in rushing last season when he finished with 608 yards. His average of 4.8 yards per carry was the best among rookie runners with at least 50 attempts, including offensive rookie of the year Carnell ``Cadillac'' Williams (4.1).

Frank Gore -- the good and the good: No wonder Barlow's wearing the Jets' green. Gore played the equivalent of a full game in two exhibitions, gaining 91 yards in 17 rushes and another 32 yards on five receptions. If Gore stays true to that line throughout the season, his production could keep the 49ers in games.
And Gore hopes his throwback conditioning this offseason in Florida with his former high school coach, which included sprints while dragging a truck tire, will keep him out of the training room.
In fact the running game and the offensive-line play were the best developments of camp. The lack of a pass rush in the two exhibitions was the biggest disappointment.
The young and single will also be disappointed as they are turned out of their free hotel rooms and walk into the wilds of the Silicon Valley rental market.
"When I first got here (in 2004) you could rent a two-bedroom for $1,500'' a month, running back Maurice Hicks said. "Last year it went to $1,800, and now I hear it's higher."
(sfgate.com)

Frank Gore is the real deal. It's only been two exhibition games, but the 49ers' starting running back is improved, healthy, and looks like a legitimate ball carrier. The Miami Hurricanes product is running hard--north and south-- and has an offensive line opening up holes that a truck could drive through. Kevan Barlow is gone, so it's Gore's backfield to lead. The 23-year-old should get plenty of touches and will produce, unlike his predecessor.
(realfootball365.com)

If not for his history of serious knee injuries, he might have been a No. 1 overall pick coming out of Miami. Nevertheless, he led the 49ers in rushing last year with 608 yards and was impressive enough in the preseason to allow the team to trade last year's starter, Kevan Barlow, to the Jets. San Francisco added Larry Allen to the offensive line, which means Gore could see some huge holes.

Maybe it was a positional thing, but fellow back Frank Gore was one of the few other 49ers singled out for his individual performance against Oakland. His 42 yards on seven carries had to be especially encouraging since San Francisco traded veteran Kevan Barlow to the Jets for a likely fourth-round pick before the game.
"I didn't need reassurance, but Frank does a good job all the time," Nolan said. "I've got a lot of confidence in Frank, as I do the other guys – as I do in Kevan."
Gore, who was limited to less than 10 carries or no action in 11 of the first 13 games last season, still led the franchise with 608 rushing yards, averaging an impressive 4.8 yards per carry. With his workload certainly expected to increase, and with Robinson and veteran Maurice Hicks also competing for carries, someone figured to be expendable. But Barlow questioned whether depth was the determining factor, telling Bay Area newspapers that "other reasons" got him traded.

yahoosports.com

Despite playing last season with injuries that required postseason surgery on both shoulders, Frank Gore still led the 49ers in rushing. And now that San Francisco has dealt running back Kevan Barlow to the New York Jets for a fourth-round pick, Gore is going to lead the 49ers in rushing this season if he just stays healthy.
Gore has made a habit of popping out of a pileup at the line of scrimmage to gain extra yards. He also has demonstrated superb strength and balance.
But the Barlow trade is expected to provide him with an additional boost of confidence that the 49ers have conveyed the message to him that he is the back. The 49ers now will get the Jets' fourth-round pick and a more confident Gore.