Frank Gore not happy with San Francisco 49ers new approach

When the San Francisco 49ers traded for Stevie Johnson, drafted Bruce Ellington, and signed Brandon Lloyd, we knew we were in store for an offense that would feature star quarterback Colin Kaepernick more, and this was confirmed when Kaep officially signed his pay-as-you-go contract. There’s no doubt that Kaepernick has elite physical tools, and the depth of weapons in the 49ers passing attack has given him a chance to showcase that high level of play. When Michael Crabtree returned from an injury last year to actually give the 49ers some breadth in the passing game again, Kaep was once again one of the league’s most efficient passers.

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Although the 49ers lost to the rival Arizona Cardinals yesterday and scored just 14 points, Kaepernick looked very accurate with a 29-37 line in an offense that emphasized the passing game much more by using more wide receivers on the field. For the longest time, the 49ers offense ran through workhorse back Frank Gore, but he received just six carries, with talented rookie Carlos Hyde netting just three.

Kaepernick and others were pumped to see the 49ers throw the ball, but Gore wasn’t. According to the Sacramento Bee’s Matt Barrows, Gore “was too upset” with the change in approach to speak to reporters after the game. I’m sure Gore has some leverage here, because the 49ers lack of usage of their running backs didn’t yield a victory in a division rivalry game. The key is having good balance on offense, and the 49ers didn’t even take full advantage of their passing attack by averaging just 6.6 yards per attempt. They can stretch the field vertically with their attack, but an average of 8.4 yards per completion shows that they didn’t. If you are going to throw short passes, then you have to play a ball-control offense with the running game augmenting it. If you want to be pass-happy, then you have to be more aggressive.