National Football League

Two big parts of San Francisco 49ers' game are missing in action

Published Oct. 14, 2010 10:16 a.m. ET

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While the hullabaloo surrounding the quarterback has commanded the spotlight, Alex Smith is hardly the only culprit during the 49ers' 0-5 start.

The team heads into Sunday's game against the Raiders ranked 30th in the league rushing yards and 17th in total defense, an affront to an offense built around running back Frank Gore and a defense built around linebacker Patrick Willis.

Gore's pedestrian 3.5-yards per carry average ranks last among the NFL's top 20 rushers. A year ago, he broke off the occasional long gainer -- including a pair of 80-yard touchdown runs against Seattle -- but there has been no such breakthrough this year.

His longest rush went for 20 yards, back in Week 2. Against the Eagles' lowly run defense last Sunday, Gore averaged only 2.9 yards per carry.

"I had a down game. I wasn't myself. I've got to get back, and I will get back,'' Gore said Wednesday. "I promise that. I will get back."

The 49ers used both their first-round draft picks this season on big men up front, selecting right tackle Anthony Davis at No. 11 and left guard Mike Iupati at No. 17. Adding two behemoths to the lineup was supposed to give the 49ers a mauling offensive line. Instead, it has produced yet another unit in search of cohesion.

"I think when you start the season with a couple of young guys and a new center, that plays into it,'' coach Mike Singletary said Wednesday. "You just have to continue to move forward. Those guys are making progress, and we just have to allow their maturity to continue to get there."

Eric Heitmann, the team's mainstay at center, sustained a broken leg early in training camp and was replaced by David Baas. Heitmann is healthy again, but there is no indication he will be moved back into the lineup.

There is also no sign that erratic right guard Chilo Rachal will be replaced. "Chilo will just have to be consistent with his technique, particularly when he pulls down the line,'' Singletary said. "I think that is the biggest factor right now that he has to do. He's done it before. He did it the week of Atlanta. And I just think he has to continue to go forward and do that."

Singletary dreams of an offensive line that can impose its will on opponents, even when the defense knows what's coming. Until then, the 49ers might consider more variation. The 49ers run the ball up the middle on 66 percent of their rushing plays, which ties Tampa Bay for the second-highest percentage in the NFL, according to FootballOutsiders.com . (Jacksonville runs up the middle on a league-high 70 percent of its rushing plays.)

Singletary said that left tackle Joe Staley has been the team's best offensive lineman, but the Football Outsiders' numbers show that the 49ers run around left end only 6 percent of the time -- half the NFL average.

That helps explain why opponents corral Gore so easily. Gore and the Colts' Joseph Addai are the only two runners from the top 25 without a rush longer than 20 yards.

But Gore isn't the only 49ers star enduring a trying time.

Willis, who has wrapped up every ball carrier in sight since entering the league 2007, has been relatively quiet in 2010. He led the NFL in tackles in 2007, was second in '08 and led the league again in 2009.

This season? He's tied for 16th. (All tackling stats are from NFL.com ).

"Teams have made a decision that, 'If we're going to run the ball, we have to get a hat on No. 52,' " Singletary said. "I think teams are really concentrating on doing whatever they can, whether it's the fullback or the tight end or the tackle or the receiver. They figure out a way to get to Patrick Willis."

Singletary also suggested that Willis isn't getting as much support from nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin, who skipped training camp after the 49ers designated him with the franchise tag. When Franklin is at his best, he holds the point of attack, which allows Willis to swoop in to make the tackle.

"Sometimes when a guy doesn't go through training camp, it shows," Singletary said.

The 49ers rank 18th in the NFL against the rush this season, and the Eagles' LeSean McCoy gashed them for 92 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown run right through the heart of the defense. Neither Franklin nor Willis got a hand on him.

Franklin disputed his coach's suggestion that he's still playing catch-up after missing training camp.

"Nah. I feel that my play is the same where it picked off last year,'' he said. "I don't think there's a drop-off or anything. ... I think I'm right where I should be."

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