Harbaugh seems committed to the run

Jim Harbaugh coaches more like an offensive linemen than a 15-year NFL quarterback and that's likely to continue as he takes the helm of the 49ers.

Harbaugh, along with new offensive coordinator Greg Roman will also be completely run orientated based on Roman's background and Stanford's recent history. Roman's background has been varied, including a two-year stint in Houston as a quarterbacks coach. Under Roman in 2004, David Carr had his best season, throwing for 3,531 yards and compiling a 83.1 passer rating.

However, most of Roman's experience, including his most recent, has been with the running game and the offensive line. With Roman as Stanford's running game coordinator the last two years, the Cardinal rushed for a school record 2,837 yards in 2009 behind Heisman candidate Toby Gerhardt.

But even when Gerhardt graduated and went to the Vikings, the Cardinal continued to run despite having the best passer in the country, Andrew Luck, at quarterback. Their commitment to the run and to sophisticated blocking schemes with lots of motion continued to be successful.

Without Gerhardt, the Cardinal still rushed for 2,779 yards and they handed it off far more than they passed it with 525 rushes to 379 passing attempts. That might be a function of blowing out a lot of teams. Nevertheless, Harbaugh, the former quarterback, seems fully committed to the run.

Emphasizing the run trapped both Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary. Their over emphasis led to boring football and ineffective offenses. Singletary's run obsession led to the hire of Jimmy Raye over Scott Linehan and Hue Jackson, coordinators who proved to be far more dynamic.

Certainly running makes the most sense. The 49ers don't have a quarterback, and if they retain Brian Westbrook, they will have a firm stable of runners with Westbrook, Frank Gore, and Anthony Dixon. Also, Mike Iupati and Anthony Davis proved to be effective run blockers last year as rookies.

Harbaugh is also invested coaching capital into the offensive line and the run game. Not only is he retaining reputed line coach Mike Solari, he's also adding Tim Drevno, a 41-year-old coach with 18 years of college experience, mainly as on the offensive line. Drevno followed Harbaugh as his offensive line coach at Stanford and at the University of San Diego.

The challenge for these coaches is do what Singletary, Nolan and their covey of offensive line coaches couldn't, and that's enliven the running game to point of controlling the clock and winning games.

BOWMAN TAKES PLUNGE: This is a press release from Congresswoman Donna Edwards - Edwards (D-MD) will take the 6th Annual Polar Bear Plunge on the Potomac River with Chesapeake Climate Action Network’s (CCAN) to raise awareness for climate change. Congresswoman Edwards will be joined by San Francisco 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman, a resident from Maryland’s 4th Congressional District.

Hey, the more you can do.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | January 20 2011 at 03:36 PM