Jacobs sits as 49ers feed ‘hot hand'

SANTA CLARA -- Frank Gore was out of the lineup late in the 49ers' Oct. 18 game against the Seattle Seahawks with bruised ribs. And for the first time this season, veteran running back Brandon Jacobs entered the huddle.But Jacobs had no sooner got on the field when second-year running back Kendall Hunter ran onto the field to replace him.
"I changed the play, I believe," 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman explained on Friday. " I don't think it's fair to have Brandon in that situation, running a play that he hadn't had necessarily as much work on."Hunter carried twice on plays that netted just 2 yards. On third down, quarterback Alex Smith managed 3 yards on a keeper, and the 49ers punted. The 49ers' defense held to preserve a 13-6 victory.
Jacobs has not played in a game in more than two months since he sustained a left knee sprain in an exhibition game against the Houston Texans. On Thursday, Jacobs was not listed on the 49ers' injury report for the first time this season.Only those who have seen Jacobs on the practice field have seen him this season."Brandon is doing a great job," Roman reported.Does that mean that he will get some touches in the 49ers' game Monday night against the Arizona Cardinals?"That remains to be seen," Roman said. "Ninety minutes before the game, we'll release our inactives."Of course, Jacobs was active for the 49ers' victory over the Seahawks, too. But he did not see any action in the game behind Gore and Hunter, the backup."When somebody has the hot hand, you keep going with him, don't you?" Roman said. "And Frank's been running pretty darn well. We've been very effective. I think we've had 43 runs of over 10 yards at this point in the season. He and Kendall are doing a great job. We believe in all our backs and at some point they will all impact our team."Gore, whose ribs did not prevent him from a full practice Thursday, entered the week No. 5 in the NFL with 601 yards rushing. Hunter has 258 yards rushing with a 5.2 average.If there's one place where the 49ers could use Jacobs it's in short-yardage situations. Gore has converted just two of six third-and-1 rushing chances.