Mike Singletary referred to the Niners new backfield duo as Thunder and Lightning.
Here’s a more fitting tag: The Odd Couple.
In the wake of Frank Gore’s broken hip, the 49ers will turn to Brian Westbrook and Anthony Dixon to fill the void.
Westbrook, 31, is the crafty and cool nine-year veteran, a quiet
two-time Pro Bowler who didn’t complain after he had five carries in the
season’s first 10 games.
Dixon, 23, is the raw rookie, a sixth-round draft pick who is so
excitable that the coaching staff has tried to temper his boundless
energy.
The 203-Westbrook is shifty.
The 233-pound Dixon is more powerful.
Westbrook is from the East Coast.
Dixon is from the South.
Here’s Westbrook on his temperament during his career, “I’ve
been even-keeled. I don’t go into games blowing snot bubbles and
spittin’ and yelling.”
And here’s Dixon, the poster boy for snot-bubble blowers: “Coach, you
know, he kind of tells me to tone it down a little bit. I get so
excited.”
These guys are clearly different, but the Niners hope their new
backfield can combine to produce at a level similar to Gore, who ranks
fifth in the NFL with 1,305 yards from scrimmage.
In order to so, Dixon will have to become a better decision-maker. That
is, he needs to know when to lower his shoulder and plow ahead for a few
yards and, also, when to make a few moves and hit a big play. For a big
back, Dixon showed plenty of shiftiness when he led the NFL in rushing
with 300 yards during the preseason.
But he’s also shown a penchant for dancing too much in the backfield, a
habit Singletary has been trying to eliminate since training camp.
“That’s every day. (Singletary) wants me to be power, you know,” Dixon
said. “I tell him all the time ‘I’m power, coach, but I dance well. I’ve
got good hips, coach. I’ve got good feet, too.’ I know what he wants me
to do and I’m going to be there for the team.”
While Dixon is still receiving his education, Westbrook knows most of
the tricks of the trade. Rookie right tackle Anthony Davis said
Westbrook kept pulling on the back of his jersey — using it to
sling-shot through holes — en route to rushing for 136 yards on 23
carries Monday night.
“It’s just one of those things as we go through the hole together — I
haven’t had a lot of experience playing with those guys,” Westbrook
said. “So, I’m trying to read them and get a feel for what they’re
trying to do as we go through the hole together throughout the game …
maybe you give them a little push here and there trying to get them to
go exactly where you need them to go.”
Singletary said Tuesday that the Niners would have to limit Westbrook’s workload in
the future — his 23 carries were the fourth-highest total of his career.
Westbrook, who said he was a little sore Tuesday, said he’s just happy
to be playing again.
“I think the coaches, they’ll do a good job of whatever they do, as long
as we win I don’t really care,” he said. “Whatever they do to help this
team win, that’s what they should do.”
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