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San Francisco 49ers: How will the ground game look in 2015?

By Brian Spaen

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The Frank Gore Era comes to a close with the San Francisco 49ers, and with it will come some changes to the running game. It won’t be a huge transition. Instead, it will be building on to what they already do. But what should we expect when Carlos Hyde and Reggie Bush get the rock in the backfield?

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Under Gore, the 49ers mostly ran a power-blocking attack. Initially, it just sounds like the team just uses their strength at the offensive line just to overpower their opponent and create gaps for Gore. That’s essentially what happened; the line was able to follow their assignments and the guards (especially on the left side of the line) were able to let Gore read off of their block and fly down the field.

It worked when the team implemented it and took the pressure off Colin Kaepernick. Power-blocking won’t go away, but expect more zone-blocking under offensive line coach Chris Foerster. That’s because he’s had success with it when he was with the Washington Redskins.

Nov 23, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde (28) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Washington Redskins in the fourth quarter at Levi

Back in 2012, the Redskins finished with the best running attack in the NFL, averaging close to 170 yards per game. Three years later, the 49ers may be set up to have that same success. In an article from Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, he explains the similarities between Redskins running back Alfred Morris back in 2012 and Hyde today.

"A better comparison might be the teams’ respective lead running backs. Washington’s Alfred Morris stands 5-10 and weighs 224 pounds. The 49ers’ Carlos Hyde goes 6-0 and this year is expected to play in the mid 220-pound range after being heavier as a rookie last year. Hyde ran his 40-yards dash before the draft in 4.66 seconds; Morris was clocked at 4.67 seconds."

Hyde may benefit from zone-stretch plays, the same kind of running attack Morris did with the Redskins. Morris explained in a former NFL Total Access segment that he would read the line of scrimmage instead of looking at the quarterback to decide on either going around the edge or cutting back.

On zone-read option plays, something the 49ers have done with Kapernick in the past, he’d let Robert Griffin III make the decision to give him the football or keep it. Morris would do this by keeping the rock available for Griffin III to pull back while Morris always went with the intent that he would have the football. 

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The obvious intrigue and concern is with Kaepernick. First, there’s going to have to be tremendous chemistry between the 49ers’ fourth-year starting quarterback and the sophomore running back. No disrespect to Bush, but the focus will probably be on that duo unless Hyde takes a step back in production and isn’t ready to be a starter.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Second, we all know what happened with Griffin III at the end of the 2012 season — he suffered an ACL and LCL injury. Kaepernick is stronger and wiser when it comes to getting hit, but it’s going to be interesting to see what the ratio is in running attack.

Expect to see a good balance of both. Yes, the 49ers look better when Kaepernick takes off with the ball like he’s done in the playoffs, but that won’t have long-term success. If he improves his decision making when passing the ball, he could become the 49ers’ dream dual-threat quarterback.

San Francisco will have a tough challenge ahead. If it is balanced, it’s going to be difficult for the offensive line to learn both formations and implement them at this level of football.

Will there be some struggles early on? Most likely, but the payoff could be great down the road. An offensive refresh for the 49ers may be what the team needs after the dismal numbers it produced last season.

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