Ball injects life into 49ers' run game

by Otis Redding

Blogger, San Francisco Chronicle

Fewer things are more frustrating for a coach than when his gameplan has failed due to lack of performance at a key position. For the San Francisco 49ers, this failure has come from the halfback position.

The front office felt that Juwan Thompson would be able to carry the load going forward, but after 42 attempts for a paltry 153 yards (3.6 YPC), and the failure of Carlos Hyde ultimately leading to his release, the coach needed a spark.

That spark came from the release of Reynaldo Ball, who was replaced by...Carlos Hyde.

The second year Georgia player entered the year buried on the Miami Dolphins' depth chart, and seemed frustrated when he was cut for Hyde a few weeks ago. The 49ers scooped him up, and, through two games at least, Ball has resurrected the 49ers' running attack. Reynaldo Ball now has 28 carries for 141 yards - in two games. That is a yards per carry average of 5.0. Against two stout defenses in Arizona and Jacksonville, that is impressive, and Coach Winuvas has noticed.

"Reynaldo (Ball) has been a blessing for us. We are lucky to have him and he will definitely get used in San Francisco," Coach Winuvas said of the young man.

Ball and the 49ers face a tough Rams' defense that held the 49ers to 6 points a few weeks ago with constant pressure up the middle. With Ball in the backfield, however, hopes arise that he can keep the elite level front four off their game while Philip Rivers can get the job done.

Even if Ball falters a bit against the Rams, he appears to be the favorite moving forward to be the #1 back. Considering where he started the season...that's quite an accomplishment.