Frank Gore was carted off the field on Sunday with a high ankle sprain. That type of injury is never good, all early indications are he is out for at least 3 weeks, but probably closer to 6-8 Weeks. Now Glen Coffee gets to be the first legit back up to get some serious playing time. San Francisco has become a run first team. They have played very well to date and are trying to control the clock by pounding the rock, with some passes sprinkled in to keep opposing defenses honest. A side note right here. QB Shaun Hill is looking more and more comfortable throwing the ball, the receivers and tight end are finding holes all over the opposing defense’s coverage because of the success in the run game.
Coffee was selected in the 3rd Round out of Alabama. Coffee was drafted to back up Frank Gore and shore up some running back depth which the 49ers were sorely lacking. He is a long 6’1″ and a light 200 pounds. He is fast, but doesn’t run with much power. I’ll be honest I didn’t like him coming out of school, and I went as far as calling him a potential bust. The former Tide running back seemed to answer some of the concerns I had about him: Like would he run hard?, Shy away from contact?, Would he dance too much before hitting the hole? To my surprise he played very well, but then again it was only the pre-season. Entering the start of the regular season, rumors flew out of Niners camp with promises of a ton of playing time and spelling Gore often. He ended up being drafted way too high in most fantasy drafts. Panicky owners began to release him in their leagues and rightfully so with his lack of playing time through the first two games. His year to date stats (35 carries 64 yards, 2 receptions 16 yards no touchdowns) have been less than impressive with a down right embarrassing 1.8 yards per carry. In his defense though the majority of his carries came against the run stopping Vikings after Gore was carted off.
The good news is the rookie is not exactly going to be facing tough run defenses in the upcoming weeks. The sieve like defense of the St. Louis Rams will play host to Coffee’s coming out party. The Rams run defense is currently ranked 27th and is allowing an average of over 400 yards total offense. Then the Falcons who come off a bye week. Atlanta’s defense has struggled against the run and has allowed more run yards with each of the first three games. San Francisco then has a bye during week 6. Then on to face the Texans week 7 and their worst in the league defense. None of these run defense strike fear into the heart of opposing defenses allowing Coffee more than an opportunity to become a part of the offense when Gore returns. Coffee is a must pick up if he is still available on your league’s waiver wire. He will be a perfect bye week fill in, and will get some lucky owners into the playoffs due to their patience, or waiver wire savy. I would understand hesitating to put him in your starting line up since his body of work to date has been less than stellar but a few things work in his favor. He will get 20+ carries, and will be playing poor run defenses. That sounds like a winning combination in todays fantasy landscape, where split carries, and bust running backs are killing teams. Forte and Slaton say hello.