Maybe Frank Gore just sucks in this game.

[AgustusM]

pre patch my running game was non-existent. post patch it is there, but still sup par. (I went from about 1.5 years a carry to about 2.5)

I know and have applied all the suggestions (play knowledge, good lineman, fatigue, etc) I have tried calling the plays myslef, tried letting the OC call them and on and on. Nothing I have done has produced anything better than 50 yards rushing.

Just yesterday Gore got injured and I had to go with my backup Deuce McAllister and rookie Jamal Charles. All of a sudden I can run the ball. McAllister had 70 yards on 18 carries and Charles had 67 on 17. Not huge numbers by any means, but overall about 150 yards rusing and a 3.8 avg. Since I have been getting about 50 and 2.5 - this was a huge improvement.

I didn't do anything differently and the team I played (Jaquars) should have been tough against the run (allthough the opp never seemed to matter before)

All of this leads me to beleive one of the only common factors in my running problems has been Gore. Maybe Gore just sucks and I need to replace him. Would be a shame since he is the best player on the real team.

anyone else playing with Gore having any success with him?

[SFNiners816]

In my first season, he had 899 yards on 221 carries before he got hurt with 3 games to go. Not bad, but really not that great (4.0 ypc.) Really the only runs I had great success with was out of goalline behind Staley. I run a WCO based on Holmgren's PB with my created plays being 90% Split back and Near/Far forms.

Honestly though, I think Frank is underated. I know that he had 1100 yard last year which was down from near 1700 the year before, but last years Niners O was so bad that it is shocking that he was able to get that much with out a threat of a passing game.

[adembroski]

Gore is severely underrated. He's right up there with Tomlinson in terms of pure running ability.

[slingblade73]

Frank Gore had the highest yards per play from scrimmage in the league. He needs a bump. I have done the same thing, I guess I have to draft and sign some linemen.

[sixtydashone]

yeah I agree. The Niners running game in Head Coach is a joke compared to what it is in real life. I coached the Niners for 5 years and didn't have any success whatsoever running the ball until my 3rd year, presumably because of all the skill points I had put into the O line coach and RB coach by that point.

I think another problem is the Martz playbook (if I recall correctly) only has one running play that utilizes a fullback lead blocker, and that's their goal line lead dive. Pretty much everything else is run out of the Singleback or Shotgun. In real life the Niners are running the I formation quite a bit and having success running the ball with it.

I think you're probably right about Gore being the main problem though. Now that I think about it, I did consistently have more success running with his backups than I did with him, even when the backups had a considerably lower OVR rating.

[BenjiA]

same story here.

[colino]

With the running, I was having the same problem as everyone else, 90's linemen, and a 90 rb but 1.5-2.5 ypc. I found that my guards were 90+, but had 80 or lower run block strength. I swapped them out for a couple back-ups (83, 79) that happened to be 90+ run block strength. I`ve been consistantly breaking bigger gains, 3-4 ypc, and when set-up well, 7-12 yard gains.

The RBS seems to overide play knowledge and even awareness.

You guys may want to try this. If its the solution, it would certainly add much more depth to player selection and the process behind building an effective run game.

[AgustusM]

Quote: Originally Posted by colino

With the running, I was having the same problem as everyone else, 90's linemen, and a 90 rb but 1.5-2.5 ypc. I found that my guards were 90+, but had 80 or lower run block strength. I swapped them out for a couple back-ups (83, 79) that happened to be 90+ run block strength. I`ve been consistantly breaking bigger gains, 3-4 ypc, and when set-up well, 7-12 yard gains. The RBS seems to overide play knowledge and even awareness. You guys may want to try this. If its the solution, it would certainly add much more depth to player selection and the process behind building an effective run game.

that has not been my experience.

at LG I have Alan Faneca the #1 rated LG RBS with a 99
at C I have Nick Hardwick #3 rated C RBS with a 94
at RG I have Vince Manuwai #4 rated RG RBS with a 93

my LT and RT (Staley and Synder) are not great, but still overall my line is way above average.

In my experience I believe it is Gore and my RB coach (Rathman) although rathman is getting better and I am seeing some improvement as his ratings improve.

I also think Gore's health is a factor as both of his legs have injury ratings in the 50's. I even held him out one game and numerous practices, but he never seems to improve. It is all but a foregone conclusion I will be drafting a first round RB in my next offseason.