Frank Gore admitted that he wasn't a fan of the pistol offense when Greg Roman started using it this season. It took time for him to adjust to it compared to being under center. He was used to a traditional pro-style offense when coming out of Miami.
“I just felt like that [it's] not real football at first," said Gore. "But like I say, it’s helping us, helping us get to where we want to go and I’m with it.”
With the recent success and coming off his best career season since 2006, his perception has changed since then. He saw the read-option style of offense excel at Oregon which changed his mind. Colin Kaepernick's 56-yard touchdown run when keeping the ball from the read-option in the pistol formation was a sign to him that this type of offense is working.
Last season, health was concern for Gore when fighting injuries. This time, there isn't a worry and the team is right where they were last year in the NFC Championship game.
"Frank [Gore] has mentioned that a few times this week, a few times last week, that he feels great, his body feels great, his mind feels good,” said Jim Harbaugh. “He has a great attitude. So, that’s a real positive for us.”
In two playoff games last season, Gore had 29 rushing attempts for 163 yards and no touchdowns. On Saturday night against the Green Bay Packers, Gore rushed for 119 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries.
Gore said his secret for this year is hard work and learning about the game of football. This season, he hasn't suffered any setbacks that have slowed him down like last year. The 49ers didn't change the amount of work load for Gore in trying to limit him, but instead gave him a more bruising style of running. Harbaugh noted that Gore is good at making quick decisions and has a vision for holes up the field.
For the regular season and playoffs combined, Gore has 1,333 rushing yards to go with nine touchdowns.
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