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.
Call The Bee's Ailene Voisin, (916) 321-1208.
