San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore is off to a slow start in 2013, and that is due in large part to his team’s overall poor play. The Niners have been forced to abandon the run over the past two weeks after digging themselves into an early hole, resulting in just 20 touches in two games for Gore. After Sunday’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the veteran running back was reportedly angry with Jim Harbaugh.
“When things are not going right you get frustrated,” Gore said after the game, via Eric Branch of SFGate.com. “But I think the game got kind of different in the second half and we had to do what we had to do, just throw the ball.”
Last week, the Niners found themselves trailing just 5-0 at halftime and 12-3 after three quarters. On Sunday, they were only down 10-7 at the half. The deficit was not large enough that San Francisco had to stop running the football, but Gore received only four touches in the second half. According to Kevin Lynch of the San Francisco Chronicle, Gore had “choice words” for Harbaugh after the game.
San Francisco pounded the ball on the ground all season last year, and the end result was an NFC Championship. Harbaugh may be getting overly confident with Colin Kaepernick and abandoning what the team does best, which is controlling the clock and keeping the ball on the ground. Look for the Niners’ attack to become more balanced going for, starting with a matchup against the St. Louis Rams on Thursday night.
