If you're a fan of power football, then this is the perfect weekend for you. On Saturday, the annual Army/Navy battle will take place in Philadelphia, and to say Navy likes to run the ball a little bit would be like saying an aircraft carrier is "kinda big." On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers will travel into the Big Easy to square off against the New Orleans Saints, and rest assured, there will be quite a bit of running in that contest as well. Or, at least there will be if the 49ers expect to leave town with a victory.Here's an interesting fact that you may not know: When Frank Gore 2010 pro bowl Vikings 4 Brett Favre jersey
carries the ball 19 or more times a game, the 49ers are 5-1. Any less than 19 and the Niners are 0-5. Against the Saints, handing the ball to No. 21 and letting him perform his magic is especially important. You see, the Saints' run defense is comparable to a sieve. Through 11 games, the Saints are giving up 140 yards per game at a rate of five yards per carry. In those two categories, they rank 29th and 31st in the league, respectively. Meanwhile, Gore is playing the best football of his young professional career. In the past three games, he has rushed for an astounding 505 yards on 65 carries. For those of you who didn't bother to pay attention in third grade math class, that's 7.7 yards per carry, and it's going to open up all sorts of possibilities for the San Francisco offense.The Saints' defensive ends (Will Smith and Charles Grant) like to speed rush up the field to pressure the quarterback. Between them they have 13 ? sacks, and they are both very effective on the edges. The problem with that is, if they speed rush to the outside against the 49ers, Gore is going to run between them for five or six yards a pop. If they crash inside, Gore will bounce outside for 15-plus. If they stunt (ie: end-tackle twists), they'll likely get caught in a trap play by the Niners' offensive line and Gore will break off a 40-plus-yard run. In order for the Saints to contain the Niners' running game, their defensive ends are going to have to play straight-up, assignment football, meaning the two DEs will most likely not be crashing outside. Instead, they'll try to play face up against the offensive line and plug holes rather than create them. When they do rush, the Saints will be forced to bring a safety or two up to help fill the gaps in the line. All of this means two things: 1. On most plays, Smith is going to have time to stand in the pocket and throw the football.2. The probability of catching a safety peeking into the backfield on a running play will be much higher than normal. Here's a little something to think about: In the Ohio State-Michigan game a few weeks ago, the Buckeyes faced a second and short play from inside the 50-yard line. They broke the huddle, sprinted to the line, and lined up in a goal-line/short-yardage formation as if they were trying to get off a quick running play to pick up the first down. The Michigan defense had very little time to react thanks to the speed in which the Buckeyes sprinted to the line, and the Wolverines did not notice that Ted Ginn, Jr., arguably the fastest player in college football, was lined up on the line as a tight end. Quarterback Troy Smith took the snap, faked a handoff to the running back and the defense took a step forward. At that point, all it took was a decent pass from Smith for an easy touchdown. You don't have to be a fan of Dallas Cowboys jersey
either team to appreciate the nuances of this play. Then again, you don't have to be an NCAA team to run something like this either. Norv Turner is a fantastic offensive coordinator. He spots defensive tendencies quickly, and is excellent at anticipating when to call a play to catch the defense out of position. Also, with Vernon Davis finally back at 100 percent the playbook is suddenly much deeper, and a play like the one Ohio State ran is something that could work against New Orleans.Question? Comment? Gripe? E-mail Thomas at tsorrell .
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