San Francisco 49ers Frank Gore

The 2-11 San Francisco 49ers have absolutely nothing to lose these days. That is exactly why they should turn to rookie running back Frank Gore. In 11 games Gore has carried the ball 73 times for 353 yards. If you do the math that equates to a solid 4.8 yards per carry average. Stats like those make you wonder how the heck Gore is still cooped up behind the incumbent, Kevan Barlow, on the 49ers' depth chart.In twelve starts Barlow has rushed 176 times for just 581 yards. His yards per carry? 3.3. That is currently 1.5 less than Gore. 4 Brett Favre White jersey
Barlow has surpassed 100 yards only once in his 2005 campaign, and managed to eclipse the 60-yard mark only four times.After seeing those numbers it's hard to determine why 49ers head coach Mike Nolan doesn't pull the trigger and give Gore an equal opportunity. Maybe the rookie head coach doesn't want to alienate the veteran Barlow. Well, perhaps the five-year veteran needs to be demoted to motivate him to do better on the field. After all, Barlow might be auditioning for other teams since the team may very well draft USC's star running back, Reggie Bush, with the first or second pick in April's draft. That's another story for another day.After Barlow's 2003 breakout season, everyone expected him to have an elite, Pro Bowl caliber year in 2004. Instead he averaged just 3.4 yards per carry and totaled just 822 rushing yards. Of course, it wasn't all Barlow's fault. He had to deal with defenses that stacked seven and eight in the box because the team had no passing game, as well as a banged-up, inexperienced offensive line.It's clear that Barlow isn't experiencing the kind of success that most expected him to. Meanwhile, Gore, a third-round pick from the University of Miami, has waited patiently behind the struggling Barlow all season. Last week, in the 49ers' embarrassing 38-point loss to the Seahawks, Gore was given just two hand-offs for 5 yards. Barlow was given the ball 11 times for a measly 33 yards. Why not flip it and give Gore the 11 carries next time? Isn't it worth giving the rookie a look so you know what you have? Why spend a third-round draft choice on a player that you're not going to use? It fails to add up.The 49ers' next game is a Sunday matchup with the 10-3 Jacksonville Jaguars. If they at least give Gore Jets 6 Sanchez AFL50th jersey
some more carries they might be surprised with their result. The Jags clearly aren't as good as their record as they continuously eek out wins against teams with lesser records. Last week the 4-9 Cleveland Browns gave Jacksonville all they could handle in a 20-14 loss. If Gore can keep the Jags' defense off the field and give his team a nice change of pace, San Francisco might put up a fight in this game instead of facing another week of humiliation. Connor Byrne can be reached at . (0)