Not impressed.
That was Frank Gore’s initial reaction when he first took a look at the “Pistol’’ formation that has helped the 49ers advance to within one game of Super Bowl XLVII. Gore is a traditional, stick-the-ball-in-his-gut running back, someone who viewed deception as something in a magic act and saw an old-school ground game as the foundation for any credible offensive system.
So, when coach Jim Harbaugh made the decision to replace Alex Smith with Colin Kaepernick at quarterback this season, it was clear the Niners were moving in a different direction. A read-option attack was installed, with Kaepernick and his unique skill-set as a throwing and long-legged running terror the centerpiece.
“I didn’t like it at first,’’ Gore admitted, “but it’s working for us. So if it gets us to the Super Bowl, I’m with it.”
Why no love for the Pistol?
“I just felt like that’s not real football at first,’’ Gore said. “But like I say, it’s helping us, helping us get to where we want to go and I’m with it.”
No one can deny it is helping the 49ers get where they want to go. They face the Falcons Sunday in the NFC Championship at the Georgia Dome, and suddenly, Kaepernick is the man with the plan.
You have to forgive Gore his immediate skepticism. He grew up in football at the University of Miami, a true pro-style offense. The quarterback dropped back in the pocket and threw the ball or else handed it to a running back, with very few options in between. The quarterback was the facilitator and, in some cases, the star, but he was never the best athlete on the field. This might be a fad or it might be a harbinger of things to come, but Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson all carried their teams into the playoffs with no previous postseason experience, mainly because no one could lay a glove on them.
Kaepernick actually entered the postseason with less experience as a second-year player than rookies Griffin and Wilson. The door opened for Kaepernick in Week 11 when Smith was out of commission with a concussion, and Smith never got another bite. Kaepernick went 5-2 as a starter and then went wild in last week’s 45-31 playoff rout of the Packers, rushing for 181 yards — the most by any quarterback in any game in NFL history — and two touchdowns. He also threw for two touchdowns. So much for any playoff jitters.
The Packers showed they could not deal with Kaepernick and now it’s up to the Falcons — who didn’t exactly contain Wilson in last week’s 30-28 victory over the Seahawks — to prove they can lasso this new-age thoroughbred.
“Kaepernick did a great job last week,’’ Gore said. “He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast and they are going to have to look out for him. So hopefully they keep looking out for him and 21 will keep getting the ball and I just do what he did last week.”
Lest anyone forget, No. 21 is Gore and lost amid the gaga over Kaepernick was Gore’s first 100-yard playoff performance, a 23-carry, 119-yard, one-touchdown gem. The 49ers’ ascension last season came with Smith limiting mistakes and Gore as the focal point of the offense, but Kaepernick has changed all that. When Gore gets the ball in his hands he doesn’t always get to keep it, as the read-option allows Kaepernick to yank it back and take off around the edge.
“Yeah, I had to adjust because I don’t know if I’m going to get the ball or not,’’ Gore said. “So I just have to be patient and stay on my course and if I have it then I have to adjust to what I see.”
As recently as last season, Gore was No. 1 on the opposing defense’s Must Stop list. Now figuring out who has the ball and where Kaepernick is at all times is the top priority.
“It’s definitely different because the quarterback is athletic,” Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said. “He can run, so that’s something that you have to account for.”