49ERS NOTEBOOKA little Frank talk
Gore says Dilfer helped get his mind off fumbles
- Kevin Lynch, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Frank Gore should feel mighty proud of two things today: He's tied for the league lead in rushing, and he didn't fumble -- a first this season -- in the 49ers' 34-20 victory over the Raiders on Sunday.
At this point, he's far more satisfied with the latter than the former.
"If I'm leading at the end of the year, that would be something," said Gore, who rushed for a career-high 134 yards on 27 carries, leaving him tied with the Rams' Steven Jackson atop the NFL with 465 yards.
Staying away from the turnover bug that led to fumbles in each of Gore's first four games this season would also be something. The second-year back finally feels like himself after shuffling around in a funk for the past two weeks because of the damage caused by his turnovers.
Gore partially credited Trent Dilfer, who functions as backup quarterback and team psychologist, for helping him with his mental approach.
"I've seen too many good football players not be as good as they can be because they believe that the funk is them," Dilfer said. "The message I was trying to get through was, 'Frank you are as good a player as you were four weeks ago.' "
Dilfer, who also counsels wide receiver Antonio Bryant, quarterback Alex Smith and anyone else who seeks his wisdom, told Gore that plenty of Hall of Fame-caliber players had slumps or problems.
"You've got to identify yourself with the great plays and there are tons of them," Dilfer told Gore. "We can turn on the tape right now and I can show you great run after great run, great block, great catch -- things that only a few backs can do."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2006/10/10/SPGEULLNB21.DTL
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