Martz States the Obvious, Give Gore the Ball More

Shapecity · Sep 12, 2008

Isaac Bruce went without a catch in his first game with the 49ers. No big deal, said offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

Just don't mess with Frank Gore.

"Don't worry about anybody but Frank when it comes to how many touches they get,'' Martz said Thursday. "Frank has to touch the ball. He's got to be one of the very, very elite in this league. We know we have to feature him and find ways of getting him the ball."

The 49ers travel to Seattle on Sunday in hopes that Gore and Co. can spend more time on the field against the Seahawks than the 44 plays they had against the Arizona Cardinals.

On Thursday, Martz addressed the media for the first time since the frustrating season opener. He gave rave reviews to quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan, despite a three-turnover performance, and said bigger things are right around the corner.

For now, the zero on Bruce's stat sheet was the least of his concerns.

"Isaac and Vernon (Davis) and all the other guys, they're all good players and they'll have their opportunities,'' Martz said. "But the only guy that you go into a game saying 'This guys needs to touch the ball so many times" is Gore.

Against Arizona, Gore had 96 yards in 14 carries, including a 41-yard touchdown run for the 49ers' only touchdown.

The running back was also the team's leading receiver, with four catches for 55 yards.

All that came on a day when Bruce went without a catch for just the seventh time in his 15-year career.

Martz said there were "five or six plays" when Bruce was the first choice on a route. For example, on first down from the Cardinals' 20-yard line, O'Sullivan was supposed to get the ball to Bruce in the corner of the end zone.

Instead, defensive end Betrand Berry knocked the ball loose for a fumble. It was part of a three-turnover day for O'Sullivan, but Martz was unfazed.

"I thought he played exceptionally well for his first start,'' he said of O'Sullivan.

Martz said there were a few timing problems between quarterback and receiver stemming from a lack of experience together. Injuries kept 49ers receivers from playing much in the first three exhibition games. Caution prevented O'Sullivan from playing in the fourth.

"So that was their first outing together and we weren't always on the same page, so to speak,'' Martz said. "That will get a lot better each week. Having those guys all together is a big deal, but by and large there were a lot of good things in a game that we kind of need to build on."

O'Sullivan had two fumbles and an interception.

"Well, he had a strip. I'm not sure if you could credit him on that fumble,'' Martz said, referring to when Berry knocked the ball loose. "The interception, we had a broken route. We didn't run the right route, so the ball was thrown where it needed to be, so that obviously wasn't his fault."

Martz conceded that O'Sullivan could have done a better job on the first play after the two-minute warning, when the ball came loose on a sack by Travis LaBoy.

Overall, though, he thought the untested quarterback made good decisions. He said O'Sullivan knew when to tuck the ball rather than "put the game in jeopardy by trying to make a magic play."

"That's something he was doing earlier in the preseason, if you remember the Oakland game,'' Martz said. "That's disappeared. So those are the kind of things that the coaches are getting excited about."
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Source: SJ MercuryNews

The 49ers can give the ball to Gore all they want, but until the OLine learns how to block and keep defenders out of the backfield it won't matter.

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Martz States the Obvious, Give Gore the Ball More

Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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Martz States the Obvious, Give Gore the Ball More

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