Frank Gore and the Spread Offense (Steve Young article) | Page 8

MRNINESEVEN · 2009-11-27T13:55:54-08:00

If this has already been posted then my bad. I haven't seen anything yet. here's the article from ESPN NFL Insider today from a KNBR interview: Steve Young's most recent KNBR interview is a must-listen for anyone hoping to master the issues facing Alex Smith and the 49ers' offense heading into the final six games. Alex Smith's numbers are much better out of the shotgun this season.Listening to the Hall of Fame quarterback's thoughts helped crystallize my own. All the focus on whether the 49ers should embrace more of a spread offense obscures a key point: Smith must become more proficient operating from under center if he hopes to become a winning quarterback for the 49ers or any other NFL team. Just as a scrambling quarterback must learn how to succeed as a pocket passer, Smith must learn to operate a conventional offense. As I have noted several times, Smith isn't Peyton Manning, so the 49ers can forget about asking him to carry the offense from the shotgun play after play. They can use the shotgun more frequently, but probably not predominantly. "If he is really only able to thrive in the spread, then that might not be the dilemma of the week, but it is the dilemma of the year and onto next year as to exactly how they are going to do that," Young said. "Now, I can't believe that if you can play competent quarterback in the spread that you can't transition to understand how to play quarterback in the I (formation). I did it and all of the above and it just doesn't seem like that is all that hard to do." This is where offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye's recent comments come into play. While supportive of Smith, Raye said game situations were far more significant than formations in the team's second-half offensive successes against the Texans and Packers. The 49ers trailed both games by wide margins. Lots of teams rack up yardage while playing from behind. "The quantity of the yards and quality of the yards has to be measured by the score and the time in the game," Raye said. "I don’t think the formation per se had a whole lot to do with it. The fact that we were in a semi-rally mode because we were down by four scores had something to do with it." If Smith cannot play well across personnel groups and formations, the 49ers cannot win with him over the long term. Young drove home that point. "They are stuck with an All-Pro running back (Frank Gore) that needs a certain formation and then up-and-coming stars that need another formation," Young said. "And they have no way to meld the two because they really aren't compatible." The way to meld the two is for Smith to adapt. He needs to do that over the final six games. "There is no reason why we can't get Alex to get under center," Young said. "It is a matter of time, if we can withstand the growing pains of doing that. But there is no reason he cannot get somebody under center in the offseason and really work it out." I think he's nailed it. We do have a mixture of talent that usually doesn't mold together or takes time. Can Smith adapt? How about Raye. Can he adapt? How's about bringing in Young for some 1 on 1 with Johnny Utah!

Dec 7, 2009 at 7:10 AM

#106

nickbradley
Member
Posts: 3,755

Steve Young has Opined that Frank Gore does not fit the spread and, since he is our best player, we should not run the spread or we should trade Gore. Agree?

Well, based on the rest of the talent on our offense, we should run the spread and trade Gore. Sproles and Reggie Bush will both be FAs in 2010, and both would be amazing spread/shotgun/single back playmakers.

Dec 7, 2009 at 7:30 AM

#107

titan
Veteran
Posts: 8,292

Yes! the requirement is to be a good pass catcher and a blocker. Gore is above average on both categories, he just happened to have a bad game on the most important game of our season. He dropped a screen pass that would've gone for a big gain and he fumbled. Two mistakes that will have him be put on blast.

Dec 7, 2009 at 7:30 AM

#108

nickbradley
Member
Posts: 3,755

Originally posted by nickbradley:
Steve Young has Opined that Frank Gore does not fit the spread and, since he is our best player, we should not run the spread or we should trade Gore. Agree?

Well, based on the rest of the talent on our offense, we should run the spread and trade Gore. Sproles and Reggie Bush will both be FAs in 2010, and both would be amazing spread/shotgun/single back playmakers.

I'd like to add that Gore would be a great fit in Philly, New England, or Houston. I'll take a 2nd and a 4th.

Dec 7, 2009 at 7:42 AM

#109

DarthNiner
Veteran
Posts: 8,625

Originally posted by nickbradley:
Originally posted by nickbradley:
Steve Young has Opined that Frank Gore does not fit the spread and, since he is our best player, we should not run the spread or we should trade Gore. Agree?

Well, based on the rest of the talent on our offense, we should run the spread and trade Gore. Sproles and Reggie Bush will both be FAs in 2010, and both would be amazing spread/shotgun/single back playmakers.

I'd like to add that Gore would be a great fit in Philly, New England, or Houston. I'll take a 2nd and a 4th.

With all due respect, trading Gore is stupid. Who exactly are you going to replace him with? There's no RB in the roster (nor in the draft) that 'fits' your spread RB. Gore is a sure thing and although he is best suited to be running in between the tackles, is adaptable enough to be a spread RB. The 'new' RB has to be able to be shifty, fast, and be a willing blocker to engage with people 20-30 lbs heavier than him. We know Gore does all that. Spiller or Best are too small to even block a 240 lb linebacker.

Dec 7, 2009 at 7:49 AM

#110

nickbradley
Member
Posts: 3,755

Originally posted by DarthNiner:
Originally posted by nickbradley:
Originally posted by nickbradley:
Steve Young has Opined that Frank Gore does not fit the spread and, since he is our best player, we should not run the spread or we should trade Gore. Agree?

Well, based on the rest of the talent on our offense, we should run the spread and trade Gore. Sproles and Reggie Bush will both be FAs in 2010, and both would be amazing spread/shotgun/single back playmakers.

I'd like to add that Gore would be a great fit in Philly, New England, or Houston. I'll take a 2nd and a 4th.

With all due respect, trading Gore is stupid. Who exactly are you going to replace him with? There's no RB in the roster (nor in the draft) that 'fits' your spread RB. Gore is a sure thing and although he is best suited to be running in between the tackles, is adaptable enough to be a spread RB. The 'new' RB has to be able to be shifty, fast, and be a willing blocker to engage with people 20-30 lbs heavier than him. We know Gore does all that. Spiller or Best are too small to even block a 240 lb linebacker.

I'll replace him with Darren Sproles -- how 'bout that? Or Reggie Bush.

Dec 7, 2009 at 7:50 AM

#111

nickbradley
Member
Posts: 3,755

Originally posted by DarthNiner:
Originally posted by nickbradley:
Originally posted by nickbradley:
Steve Young has Opined that Frank Gore does not fit the spread and, since he is our best player, we should not run the spread or we should trade Gore. Agree?

Well, based on the rest of the talent on our offense, we should run the spread and trade Gore. Sproles and Reggie Bush will both be FAs in 2010, and both would be amazing spread/shotgun/single back playmakers.

I'd like to add that Gore would be a great fit in Philly, New England, or Houston. I'll take a 2nd and a 4th.

With all due respect, trading Gore is stupid. Who exactly are you going to replace him with? There's no RB in the roster (nor in the draft) that 'fits' your spread RB. Gore is a sure thing and although he is best suited to be running in between the tackles, is adaptable enough to be a spread RB. The 'new' RB has to be able to be shifty, fast, and be a willing blocker to engage with people 20-30 lbs heavier than him. We know Gore does all that. Spiller or Best are too small to even block a 240 lb linebacker.

If Westbrook retires in Philly, they may even give up a #1 for him.

Dec 7, 2009 at 7:52 AM

#112

DarthNiner
Veteran
Posts: 8,625

Originally posted by nickbradley:
Originally posted by DarthNiner:
Originally posted by nickbradley:
Originally posted by nickbradley:
Steve Young has Opined that Frank Gore does not fit the spread and, since he is our best player, we should not run the spread or we should trade Gore. Agree?

Well, based on the rest of the talent on our offense, we should run the spread and trade Gore. Sproles and Reggie Bush will both be FAs in 2010, and both would be amazing spread/shotgun/single back playmakers.

I'd like to add that Gore would be a great fit in Philly, New England, or Houston. I'll take a 2nd and a 4th.

With all due respect, trading Gore is stupid. Who exactly are you going to replace him with? There's no RB in the roster (nor in the draft) that 'fits' your spread RB. Gore is a sure thing and although he is best suited to be running in between the tackles, is adaptable enough to be a spread RB. The 'new' RB has to be able to be shifty, fast, and be a willing blocker to engage with people 20-30 lbs heavier than him. We know Gore does all that. Spiller or Best are too small to even block a 240 lb linebacker.

I'll replace him with Darren Sproles -- how 'bout that? Or Reggie Bush.

Sproles and Bush will be run over by DEs and OLBs. Smith will constantly be underfire.

They're not big enough to be good blockers like Gore. Remember Kory Sheets? He would have been the RB you need. But the reason he couldn't stick around was he wasn't an effective blocker on passing downs.

Dec 7, 2009 at 7:53 AM

#113

cNiner
Veteran
Posts: 6,440

yes , he doese but we need to upgrade our OL !

Dec 7, 2009 at 7:58 AM

#114

JBatta49erfansince81
Veteran
Posts: 2,474

This team needs to get the players that can run a normal offense ie QB! When we play under center we run the ball well but cant throw. When we are in the gun we throw but cant run. Its so stupid that we changed the offense so that Alex can thow it. They need to stop pretending that he is an NFL QB and move on already. Frank will be fine as long as we run a normal offense.

Dec 7, 2009 at 8:01 AM

#115

DarthNiner
Veteran
Posts: 8,625

Originally posted by JBatta49erfansince81:
This team needs to get the players that can run a normal offense ie QB! When we play under center we run the ball well but cant throw. When we are in the gun we throw but cant run. Its so stupid that we changed the offense so that Alex can thow it. They need to stop pretending that he is an NFL QB and move on already. Frank will be fine as long as we run a normal offense.

Brady and Manning throw from the shotgun A LOT. Are they pretending to be QBs too?

Dec 7, 2009 at 8:02 AM

#116

BSofSF
Veteran
Posts: 2,369

Originally posted by nickbradley:
Steve Young has Opined that Frank Gore does not fit the spread and, since he is our best player, we should not run the spread or we should trade Gore. Agree?

Well, based on the rest of the talent on our offense, we should run the spread and trade Gore. Sproles and Reggie Bush will both be FAs in 2010, and both would be amazing spread/shotgun/single back playmakers.

The problem with running backs, imo, is that they have the shortest careers of any position because of the beating they take. I bet you Gore doesn't have as much trade value as we commonly assume since he's been in the league about 5 years. For the same reasons, I would be a little weary of a splashy FA RB acquisition. Probably better to go with fresh legs in the draft. Lastly, while I generally agree with your premise that Gore might not be a great spread offense back, he's good at picking up the blitz, and that's important when the QB is exposed and we're chucking it 40-50 times a game. I come back to the OL. I think that is the key to keeping Smith upright and making any RB look good. Get a kick ass line and we'll be a top 10 offense for the next 8-10 years.

Dec 7, 2009 at 8:05 AM

#117

LA9erFan
Veteran
Posts: 66,021

Originally posted by DarthNiner:
Originally posted by JBatta49erfansince81:
This team needs to get the players that can run a normal offense ie QB! When we play under center we run the ball well but cant throw. When we are in the gun we throw but cant run. Its so stupid that we changed the offense so that Alex can thow it. They need to stop pretending that he is an NFL QB and move on already. Frank will be fine as long as we run a normal offense.

Brady and Manning throw from the shotgun A LOT. Are they pretending to be QBs too?

But they're very capable under center as well. I think he makes a perfectly legitimate point that no one should be surprised that we're not able to run effectively out of the spread offense.

Dec 7, 2009 at 8:07 AM

#118

JBatta49erfansince81
Veteran
Posts: 2,474

Originally posted by DarthNiner:
Originally posted by JBatta49erfansince81:
This team needs to get the players that can run a normal offense ie QB! When we play under center we run the ball well but cant throw. When we are in the gun we throw but cant run. Its so stupid that we changed the offense so that Alex can thow it. They need to stop pretending that he is an NFL QB and move on already. Frank will be fine as long as we run a normal offense.

Brady and Manning throw from the shotgun A LOT. Are they pretending to be QBs too?

First of all they do it because they are both great and it takes advantage of their skill. They do not do it 90% of the game. They also win. Alex stinks. We only do it because he has to.

Dec 7, 2009 at 8:10 AM

#119

contrarios
Veteran
Posts: 950

Our offensive line is not built for "power running." The guys are big but they have a hard time getting a push, sustaining blocks and opening holes.

Dec 7, 2009 at 8:10 AM

#120

9erluv415
Veteran
Posts: 3,341

Doesn't fumble that ball and we win...this thread wouldn't even exist.

The guy is a fierce blocker, can catch and run. What else do you need in a RB for this offense?