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The San Francisco 49ers made a loud statement on Saturday night by blowing out the Green Bay Packers in the second half of a 45-31 victory. Colin Kaepernick had a coming-out party, running for 181 yards along with two rushing and two passing touchdowns. Frank Gore had a day himself, with 119 yards rushing and a touchdown. The franchise’s rushing leader believes Kaepernick brings something special to the table and expects a tough game against Atlanta in the NFC Championship Game this Sunday.
Frank Gore joined The Dan Patrick Show to discuss going back to the NFC Championship Game for a second straight year, the 49ers’ run game being too much for the Packers, Colin Kaepernick being a special player, Alex Smith losing his starting position because of an injury, Kaepernick taking advantage of an opportunity, what he expects from the Atlanta Falcons and the Falcons stopping the run.
Congrats on the win over the Packers. How do you feel?
“I feel great. Going back to the NFC Championship Game and I feel good.”
What was the game plan against Green Bay? What did you take advantage of?
“Going into the week we knew we was going to play Green Bay, and our coaches and our offensive line and everybody on the offense knew we had to run the ball to win the game and that’s what we did.”
At what point did you realize that Colin Kaepernick was something different?
“When he first got here. We always knew when he got here that he was taking up the offense pretty fine, so he loves to compete and he just loves the game.”
In the case of Alex Smith, should you lose your job due to injury?
“Well, that was Coach Harbaugh’s decision. He made the decision to go with Colin Kaepernick. We had to roll with it. He makes the decisions for the team and that was his decision.”
Was Alex Smith’s injury a blessing in disguise for the team?
“I won’t say that, you know. I thought Alex did a great job also. It just went that way and Kaepernick got an opportunity and took advantage of it.”
What do you think about the Atlanta Falcons? What do you expect from them?
“They are a good team. They are a good team. They finally got over the hump. It’s going to be a close game. They’ve been successful and done a great job all year. They play well together and it’ll be a good game on Sunday.”
Do you expect the Falcons to stop the run?
“They did a great job [Sunday] with Marshawn Lynch. In a playoff game, everybody gets up. I know they’ll play extra hard and we’ll see.”
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