Hill not being asked to do more without Gore

SAN FRANCISCO — Given an opportunity to run out the clock with a first down a week ago against the Minnesota Vikings, the 49ers decided to run, all right.

Coach Mike Singletary and offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye made no apologies for the decision to take the ball out of quarterback Shaun Hill's hands on a third-and-6 situation with 1:41 remaining that, if converted, would have provided the 49ers with a victory.

Hill ranks in the NFL's top five in two applicable passing categories: third downs and fourth downs. But Raye said part of the reason Hill has experienced success in those situations is because of the 49ers' stubborn approach to running the football.

“The ability that he's had to complete 60 or 70 percent of his passes (actually, 76.7 percent) in the fourth quarter is because of our stick-to-itiveness in terms of running the football,” Raye said.

“We will take advantage of the opportunities that the defense presents us within the realm and scope of what it is as the game unfolds.”

Today is a new day, but memories of the 49ers' punch-to-the-gut last-second loss to Brett Favre and the Vikings are still fresh.

Running back Frank Gore, the central figure in the team's offense, is out of action for at least two games with a bum right ankle. Rookie Glen Coffee takes over as the featured back today against the St. Louis Rams, who come to Candlestick Park with a league-worst 13-game losing streak.

But Singletary said the absence of Gore will not have an impact on the 49ers' offensive approach.

“We are not going to alter it one bit,” Singletary said.

But, clearly, the results might be different. Gore leaves the lineup with 241 yards rushing and a 6.2 average per carry. Coffee, a third-round draft pick from Alabama, has just four fewer carries than Gore but has 64 yards rushing with a 1.8 average.

“Glen Coffee is not Frank Gore,” Singletary said, “but at the same time, we have every bit of confidence in Glen Coffee to go out and do a very good job and be very effective.”

The 49ers seem reluctant to ask much of Hill, who ranks 11th in the league with a passer rating of 89.9. Hill is 24th in the league in attempts (82) and passing yards (548).

Raye stated in the lead-up to the regular season that he wanted the 49ers to run the ball 60 percent of the time this season. While the 49ers have attempted more passes than runs thus far, Raye is calling run plays 58-percent of the time on first and 10.

Even with Gore out of the lineup, Singletary said he is not looking for Hill to do anything special to compensate.

“There will be no, ‘Shaun, you have to take it and put it on you,'” Singletary said. “No, we are going to run our offense.”

And that seems to be just fine with Hill, who has compartmentalization down to a science.

“I'm not a play-caller, I'm a quarterback,” Hill said. “I don't think about those things, either. I don't dwell on them. It's not my area. Jimmy has a wealth of knowledge, far more than I'll ever have in this game, and there's no way in the world that I would ever second-guess anything.”

Raye said the defense will dictate what the 49ers try on offense. But with the constant eight-man fronts the 49ers have faced this season, haven't the defenses dictated the 49ers try to attack the outside in the passing game?

“I think it's a matter of visual interpretation,” Raye said. “Because they stack the box, we have an ability to add on and block the eighth element if we so desire. The perception that you've got to throw it because there are eight people in the box would be, in my opinion, disingenuous to the philosophy that we have and the way we play.”

The 49ers' rather stodgy offensive approach has earned Singletary a label that, he says, he does not mind one bit.

“If you were to say I'm a conservative guy, that's great,” Singletary said. “I have no problems with exotic. If you were to say I am an exotic coach, that's fine. I have no problems with any other adjective you use. But if you say that I am not a winning coach then, I have a problem.

“To me, the most important thing that you judge a coach by, ‘Is he winning?' That's it.”

For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco via e-mail at matt.maiocco@pressdemocrat.com.