Frank Gore was among a small group of San Francisco 49ers to stick around during the entire bye week.
He was looking forward to working hard with rookie receiver and top draft pick Michael Crabtree, who finally signed Oct. 7 and is set to make his NFL debut next Sunday at Houston.
“Me and Crabtree are going to get it done,” Gore said.
Mike Singletary planned to spend the off week evaluating talent, perhaps making some changes to his starting rotation and finding the best 53 players.
Getting Gore back will be a big part of that process.
The 49ers’ star running back has missed the last two games because of a right ankle he injured on his only carry during a 27-24 loss at Minnesota on Sept. 27.
Gore returned to practice this week and is expected to play for San Francisco (3-2) against the Texans.
Singletary has called out his offensive line several times already, saying the unit needs to do a better job blocking and protecting quarterback Shaun Hill. The 49ers want to be a power-running offense.
together. I like that (Singletary) is challenging these guys. We just need to get the MEs – the mental errors – out of the way.”
There were many of them in a 45-10 home loss to Atlanta last week. It was the Niners’ worst loss ever at Candlestick Park and largest at home in 42 years since the team played at Kezar Stadium.
Singletary said it’s up to him and the coaches to do a better job preparing the team.
“It’s a situation in where you kind of sit back and go ‘Wow, I didn’t really know that could happen again,”’ Singletary said. “And the thing I will say is this, this team will be a special team, this year will be a special year.”
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HELPING THEIR HOMELAND: Bengals players with ties to American Samoa are raising money to help rebuild their devastated homeland.
Defensive linemen Jonathan Fanene and Domata Peko and rookie linebacker Rey Maualuga have relatives in Samoa who survived a tsunami that destroyed parts of the South Pacific islands last month. They’ve organized a fundraiser for next Friday on Cincinnati’s downtown square.
Peko said about a dozen players will sign autographs for donations. Autographed jerseys and footballs will be given away to raise money.
“If we can keep winning until that Friday, I’m pretty sure we’ll get a lot of fans to show up,” Maualuga said.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.3 generated a tsunami that killed more than 180 people on Samoa, American Samoa and nearby islands on Sept. 29. The players’ relatives came through it, but a lot of damage was done. Peko has talked to his family by phone and seen video of the aftermath.
“It was real tough,” he said. “That’s where I grew up. I used to hang out in some of those places. When I saw the destruction, it really hit home. It was saddening. We want to help as much as we can.”
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MAKE IT STOP: One season after their entire starting offensive line and seven wide receivers got hurt, the Seahawks are again enduring pain.
A dozen starters have missed at least a game this season due to injury. At least four more will miss Sunday’s game against Arizona. That includes three-fifths of the starting offensive line: Walter Jones, Rob Sims and Sean Locklear. Seattle is already on its fourth left tackle this season, Kyle Williams. He was running Jacksonville’s plays last week on the scout team, until Brandon Frye was lost for the season with a neck injury.
Matt Hasselbeck is back after missing 2 1/2 games with broken ribs, but only with the aid of painkilling injections. The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback may not be healed even after next week’s bye. Marcus Trufant, a Pro Bowl cornerback two seasons ago, is like Jones in that he’s yet to play this season. He had a disk injury in his back.
You get the idea.
People around Seattle are getting the idea there is a systemic problem, perhaps with how the Seahawks train or treat injuries. Coach Jim Mora isn’t buying it.
“Well, high-ankle sprains (which have knocked out Locklear and others) have nothing do with conditioning. Neck injuries have nothing to do with conditioning. Low backs have nothing to do with conditioning. Broken ribs have nothing to do with conditioning,” Mora said.
“They have to do with this is a violent physical game that these guys play. I think it just happens sometimes. Unfortunately, we’ve had our fair share, or our unfair share, the last two years, but it’s not something that we’re dwelling on.”
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BORROWED BOUNCE: Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown says he borrowed his jiggly new end-zone celebration from a high school team.
Brown scored twice in Monday’s win over the New York Jets and celebrated by bouncing up and down in one place.
“That’s my Northwestern salute,” Brown said.
Brown attended a recent game involving powerhouse Miami Northwestern with several teammates, including tackle Vernon Carey, who played for the school.
stands started jumping up going, ‘Whoo hooo,”’ Brown said. “I was like, ‘That’s kind of cool.’ So we played around with it for the next couple of days.”
Brown said he’s not worried about being cited for excess celebrating.
“I do it real quick and run off before you get a $10,000 fine,” he said. “I don’t need any of those.”
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Sports Writers Janie McCauley in San Francisco, Joe Kay in Cincinnati, Gregg Bell in Seattle and Steve Wine in Miami contributed to this story.
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