Can Niners tread water without Gore?
For the second season in a row, the NFC West appears to be the worst division in football, up for grabs to everyone but the Rams. The San Francisco 49ers should have a two-game lead in the division right now, but they somehow blew Sunday’s game in Minnesota when Brett Favre made one of the best throws of his career in the final seconds.
That crushing loss for San Francisco was multiplied by the injury to star running back Frank Gore, who is the Niner offense. Gore was injured early against Minnesota, and an MRI revealed a right ankle strain and a right hind foot sprain that will keep him out of action for approximately three weeks.
If it is indeed three weeks, it means Gore will miss Sunday’s game against St. Louis – bet on it at WagerWeb.com — and the Oct. 11 game against Atlanta, both at Candlestick Park. The 49ers have their bye on Oct. 18, so he should be able to return Oct. 25 at Houston.
Gore, who has a history of ankle problems, went into the Minnesota game with a sprained right ankle from the Seattle game the week before. He was injured on his first carry in the Metrodome on San Francisco’s second offensive series. Gore limped to the sideline and was carted to the locker room. He was third in the NFL rushing with 237 yards after two weeks and is still eighth after getting just 4 yards against the Vikes.
Rookie Glen Coffee will take over the workload in Gore’s absence and gets to face two struggling run defenses in St. Louis and Atlanta. Coffee had a strong preseason but has struggled during the season: He had 25 carries for 54 yards in relief of Gore at Minnesota, with long runs of 12 and 13 yards.
“As a professional you always have to be ready when you’re number is called. That’s just the way I look at it,” Coffee said. “I just have to step in for Frank and I can’t let there be any slide in execution or production.”
This injury shouldn’t matter this week against the Rams, but beating the Falcons, even at home, will be tough now. I would have favored the Niners with Gore, but now I would call that game a pick’em.
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