Frank Gore revives 49ers offense

WELCOME back, Frank Gore.

Oh, sure, the 49ers defense did the heavy lifting, forcing seven turnovers in Monday night's 24-9 victory over the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals.

But Gore sure showed up, too. Remember him, the bell cow? Isn't this how coach Mike Singletary's originally designed it: Physical defense complemented by a run-oriented offense?

For one game, it worked wonderfully, in a game the 49ers desperately wanted to win in front of a national audience to show they're not the frauds they've been labeled over the past two months.

While the defense offered up many heroes (see: three turnovers forced by safety Dashon Goldson, three sacks by pet-project linebacker Ahmad Brooks, solid effort by linebacker Patrick Willis), it was a welcome sight to see Gore as the offense's savior.

He had 25 carries for 167 yards, making him the NFL's Week 14 rushing leader, whatever that crown is worth when skimpy playoff hopes are still on the mind.

"I was in the zone. They let me get in the zone," Gore said. "Every back should be in the zone when they get the rock and can't be stopped. I told myself to be patient and let it happen."

Singletary told him similar words during a meeting in the coach's office this week.

"We talk a lot. He wanted me to stay focused, keep working," Gore said. "I went up to his office and he told me it would happen."

It's been awhile since something like this happened, that the 49ers could turn to Gore to boost a stagnant offense.

In the previous three games — while they transitioned into that trendy land of the spread offense — Gore vanished. He had 32 carries for 117 yards in those three games combined. He hadn't scored a touchdown since the 49ers' last prime-time game, another turnover-aided victory at home, on Nov. 12 vs. the Chicago Bears.

Needing a fourth-quarter touchdown to ice their third straight home win, the 49ers turned to Gore, over and over again. The Cardinals' sixth turnover gave the 49ers the ball at the Arizona 16-yard line, and it took four consecutive carries by Gore to reach the end zone, that coming on a 2-yard run with 9 minutes, 22 seconds remaining.

Singletary understandably glowed about his defense's effort, especially that of Brooks. So what did he think of Gore?

"He didn't get loose like he wanted to, but he was very effective," Singletary responded. "He got yards when he needed to get yards.

"It was good to see him smiling about the way he contributed."

Gore did break loose for two long runs in the first half, charging up the middle for 36 and 31 yards. He had 13 carries and 104 yards at halftime, and the 49ers had a 17-0 lead.

You'd think the 49ers should have had more than just a 17-0 lead at halftime. But they've never scored more than 17 points in a first half this season, and they'd never led by 17 at halftime, either.

Reflect back to that win over the Bears and you'll see the 49ers won 10-6 after intercepting Jay Cutler five times. It should be no surprise then, that the 49ers offense still isn't a high-scoring, fast-paced machine. Nor is the defense always going to produce a zillion turnovers.

In a perfect 49ers world, quarterback Alex Smith would have capitalized more on the Cardinals' generosity and lit up the scoreboard with touchdown passes to Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree.

Oh, wait, Davis and Crabtree did catch touchdown passes. But Smith certainly wasn't in any so-called zone. He was 19-of-35 (54 percent) for 144 yards with those two touchdown passes offset by two interceptions and too many wild throws.

These remaining three games still are more about Smith's development than Gore's renaissance.

Then again, for those huge optimists, these final games could be about debating whether the 49ers can win out (gulp, next stop: Philadelphia). And whether the Cardinals have the capacity to lose two games, including one to either the Detroit Lions or St. Louis Rams. And whether the Dallas Cowboys or New York Giants or whoever can fade fast from the wild-card hunt.

When playoff elimination does come, the talk again will return to how to end the 49ers' seven-year postseason drought.

As team president/owner Jed York said before the game, "You need a quarterback to win. (Smith) is playing well. The quarterback drives it, but you need to have the pieces around him. We're starting to get some of those pieces, like 85 (Davis), 15 (Crabtree) and 21 (Gore)."

Ah yes, No. 21. They do still have him.

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(mercurynews.com)