Is it time to release Frank Gore?

Originally posted by DeUh:

Originally posted by crake49:
He's still arguably the best blitz blocker in the league. The very least that they should do is have him in there on passing downs. But, I suspect that the Niners understand something else about the way defenses play them as well. As long as they have no legitimate speedster on the outside to compliment their world-class speed tight end on the inside, defenses can play one deep safety and like Seattle loves to do, use their strong safety as a glorified extra linebacker up front. That has something to do with the inability to run.

Another thing is that we're mainly talking about playing what was one of the best defenses in NFL history. Give them the respect they deserve. But, let's remember that the Seahawk defense will have a lot less depth on their D-line next season. They won't have Red Bryant and who knows if they'll even be able to afford Bennett. That defense will go through some changes and it doesn't look like it will be for the better.

Not so sure. The reason they dont feel the urge to resign Red Bryant could be the forgotten man Jess Williams from Alabama. He was mocked by many people to the 49ers in the first round last year. They stole him in the 5th. Just sayin....

chronic knee issues was the word pre-draft and what did he miss the entire season with last year? yeah a knee injury. i think its silly to compare a red bryant run stuffing type to a guy who has legitimate health concerns.

Every year we have this thread, its a damn shame

Gore is like Curtis Martin and Emmitt Smith. They chose when to retire, because they can be serviceable till they are 100. As a Hawks fan I feel every year that Gore will be a top back. Much like Curtis Martin, people doubt him each year and each year he is quality. Will he be a top 3 back? at this stage chances are no, but if Gore is not a top 10 back based on the whole package then I dunno who is in the NFL anymore.

Originally posted by Brahn:
Gore is like Curtis Martin and Emmitt Smith. They chose when to retire, because they can be serviceable till they are 100. As a Hawks fan I feel every year that Gore will be a top back. Much like Curtis Martin, people doubt him each year and each year he is quality. Will he be a top 3 back? at this stage chances are no, but if Gore is not a top 10 back based on the whole package then I dunno who is in the NFL anymore.

thomas jones too

Originally posted by crabman82:

Originally posted by DeUh:

Not so sure. The reason they dont feel the urge to resign Red Bryant could be the forgotten man Jess Williams from Alabama. He was mocked by many people to the 49ers in the first round last year. They stole him in the 5th. Just sayin....

chronic knee issues was the word pre-draft and what did he miss the entire season with last year? yeah a knee injury. i think its silly to compare a red bryant run stuffing type to a guy who has legitimate health concerns.

Well "silly" is to expect that they wont have a dominat D-Line next year. All that Seahawks hate beside Williamson was a first round talent. I did not say in one sentence that he is as good as Bryant. But it definitely wont be much easier for us to run against them next season.

Originally posted by DeUh:
Not so sure. The reason they dont feel the urge to resign Red Bryant could be the forgotten man Jess Williams from Alabama. He was mocked by many people to the 49ers in the first round last year. They stole him in the 5th. Just sayin....

We'll see. I don't think Williams has Bryant's size and most Seahawk fans are not happy with losing Red because evidently he was a locker-room presence. All I know is that he has been one of those players who have made it very hard to run up the middle on the Seahawks.

Originally posted by DeUh:

Originally posted by crabman82:

Originally posted by DeUh:

Not so sure. The reason they dont feel the urge to resign Red Bryant could be the forgotten man Jess Williams from Alabama. He was mocked by many people to the 49ers in the first round last year. They stole him in the 5th. Just sayin....

chronic knee issues was the word pre-draft and what did he miss the entire season with last year? yeah a knee injury. i think its silly to compare a red bryant run stuffing type to a guy who has legitimate health concerns.

Well "silly" is to expect that they wont have a dominat D-Line next year. All that Seahawks hate beside Williamson was a first round talent. I did not say in one sentence that he is as good as Bryant. But it definitely wont be much easier for us to run against them next season.

"they stole him in the 5th"......let him actually do something before we can say they got anything. thats my point.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by cciowa:
no. you release him , hoping other guys can do the job, hoping a guy who has zero carries in the nfl can do the job,,, you cut him hoping some guy with potential can do the job? i think the question has been answered. besides gore has done nothing to make you think he can not do the job anymore

Sadly, this is what many of the posters on this very board were saying about Kevin Barlow when Gore was drafted. And I know you remember those days. I'm not advocating we release Gore, but perspective is important.

i may be wrong fred but actually i think most of us thought barlow was a b***h and were glad to see him go

No I don't think Gore should ever be cut from the 9ers. ever!!.I do think he's slowed down quite a bit and we need a real compliment to Gore that will eventually take over the reigns from him...I don't believe in Hunter or LMJ at the moment.. just haven't seen enough of either of them and I don't think either one has "take the game on their backs and win" capabilities .I really like Lattimore from what I've seen of him but his run style makes him injury prone..so far anyway. That said,,I do hope Lattimore is successful for us and for himself and I'll be rooting for him to make it.
I'm not sure what the answer is but I do believe the 9ers have a good plan in place for Gore ..that he will always be a 9er and retire that way!!!

Originally posted by crabman82:
"they stole him in the 5th"......let him actually do something before we can say they got anything. thats my point.

Yet all you hear around here is how you guys stole Latimore and Tank. Of course they have yet to prove it, but they are a "steal" based on projections. Same applies to Williams.

Originally posted by buck:
If Gore had better production, we would have won the game.

I tend to think the loss is on the team. I hope your are not putting the loss on Gore.
Response: 11 carries for only 14 yards. No one else had as many opportunities as Gore to positively impact the game and did so little. Sure it is a team game, but if the 49ers had won, it would have been despite Gore's lack of production.

If Gore is on the team, Lattimore won't even be suiting up for games.

Barring catastrophic events, Gore will be on the team and Lattimore will not only suiting up but also playing.
Response: The 49ers aren't going to suit up 4 RB on game day. So that means either Lattimore is a bust, or a talented player is doing nothing for the team.

Now as for the unknown, neither Hunter nor LMJ are unknown. They have both shown that they are capable of moving the chains.

James played 30 snaps last year. He had 2 receptions for 16 yards. He rushed 12 times for 59 yards.
I think he is still somewhat unknown--at best.
Response: James played more extensively in 2012. He has done enough to show that he can move the chains for the 49ers. Granted, I would be worried if he was the only RB we had, but a Hunter/James combo would be quite good.

edit:

Stats are from PFF. By the way, PFF had Dixon rated higher than James in both the running and passing game.

We shouldn't release him because we don't have a reliable backup option yet, but if lattimore or someone else breaks out then he should be relegated to 3rd down snaps.

Originally posted by DeUh:
1. Seattle has one of if not the best D-Line in the game
Response: Their weakness is rush defense. We needed Gore to have a big game, and he did next to nothing.

2. The O-Line definitely did not play well. After Lupati went down they coudnt get a push. Most of the time Gore was tackled right at the line of scrimmage.
Response: Yes, it was a difficult environment for a RB. Hunter with just 3 carries did more than Gore did with 11.

3. Also it definitely didnt help that a 30 year old Gore had to be the workhorse all year long with a nonexistent pass offense.
Response: Put in younger guys, and this won't be an issue. I do agree that the 49ers overused Gore this past year. Hunter should have had a lot more carries.

How will it help their development ?
It would be cool to see more of Hunter i give you that. But i dont see how it will help Lattimores development. Also unless James shows significant improvement in his pass blocking he wont play. Simple as that.
Response: The backs need real game carries. That will help them a lot more than turning Gore into a player-coach that takes carries away from them. They also have Rathman as RB coach, so it isn't like the team will fall apart without Gore.

he is not going anywhere because the 49ers organization pays a great deal of respect to him, however I think we have a real good depth at RB and that its time for Gore to move on.. if we didn't have that depth no way..

If reports are saying Lattimore is 100%, then let's give him a real shot.