There has been a lot of talk this week about what's wrong with the 49ers. Where's their running game? What happened to the team that crushed Green Bay offensively? Where's the Colin Kaepernick magic?
The 49ers' biggest problem is an identity crisis. They don't know who they are anymore.
They built their success with the type of football that deserved the blue work shirts that Jim Harbaugh handed out in 2012. Bruising defense. Solid running game. Efficient passing game.
When the 49ers made the change last year at quarterback, Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman seemed to change their philosophy. They appear to have forgotten who they are.
This isn't a debate about Alex Smith against Kaepernick. That issue is already settled. Kaepernick is a tremendous athlete with phenomenal upside and already has had an extraordinary career in only 13 starts. But his coaches aren't doing him any favors with their identity crisis.
It's as though Roman and Harbaugh have become so enamored of Kaepernick's vast talents - with his "Swiss army knife" array of offensive abilities - that they're flummoxed in game planning. This problem started last year. Kaepernick's abilities led the 49ers to forget about the soul of the team, Frank Gore. They largely forgot about him in Atlanta in the NFC Championship Game, but Kaepernick directed an amazing comeback. They forgot about Gore in the Super Bowl and lost the game because of it.
Gore looked like the old "bell cow" in the 49ers' touchdown drive Sunday against Indianapolis and then the 49ers forgot about him again. Gore makes the 49ers go. The 49ers have dwindling options at receiver. Gore would be happy to carry some of the burden that Roman and Harbaugh have unfairly piled on Kaepernick.
In Kansas City, Smith is 3-0. He's still not going to wow anyone with his legs or his arm. He's an efficient leader who doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He was mocked here for being only a "game manager," a tag his buffoonish head coaches made sound like a negative. But the 49ers knew who they were with Smith behind center.
Right about now, a well-managed game would be very welcome.
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