Gore plows over Seahawks again

The Frank Gore Express picked up Seahawks defenders like train passengers on one run late in the second quarter. He pulled at least three toward the 49ers' sideline, legs churning, high stepping, defenders draped like backpacks as he carried them downfield.

That's where Gore said his progress slowed to a standstill, where Seahawks safety Ken Hamlin smacked into the running back, a hit Gore deemed both late and unprofessional. Gore told Hamlin as much.

Players from both teams exchanged words and shoves and unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties, with officials whistling Gore for the 49ers' foul.

"I got tired of it," Gore said.

So, apparently, did Trent Dilfer. The former Seahawks quarterback, now a backup with the 49ers, watched Bryce Fisher stop Gore for no gain two plays later and mosey his way toward the 49ers' sideline. Fisher danced this way and that, shaking his head and his hand, and Dilfer ran out on the field to tell Fisher how he felt.

Dilfer laughed when recounting the incident, but maintained his earlier stance.

"I thought it was inappropriate," Dilfer said, "and I have no problem saying that. If [Fisher] wants to meet me out front, I'll tell him that, too.

"He was coming over to our bench, heckling us, doing this and that. It's fine. He's making some plays. So get back in your huddle and shut your mouth."

Gore kept his mouth shut, despite his assertion afterward that Seahawks defenders were hitting him late regularly. His talking? That came on the field, in the stat sheet. That came with 144 yards rushing on 29 carries, and that came on four receptions for 34 yards and a touchdown.

The Seahawks came into this game with no goal larger than stopping Gore, who gashed them for 212 rushing yards in a meeting earlier this season. And for the most part, especially early, they hit Gore hard and early and often. He gained most of his yards in the fourth quarter.

Nothing about the NFC's leading rusher surprises the 49ers anymore. They see a running back built low to the ground, with powerful legs and a will tailored for a football field.

"He's the most natural running back I've ever seen," Dilfer said. "His vision is unbelievable. His lower body strength. And he's all football. He doesn't care about anything in life but football."

Gore did everything against the Seahawks defense this season but invent the Internet, and games like these leave him salivating over the future of the 49ers' offense. Running behind that large offensive line — "my big homeys," Gore calls them — with another year experience prompts Gore to say the 49ers' offense will be "really scary," really soon.

When's the last time somebody said that?

Despite Gore's 106 yards in the fourth quarter on Thursday, the Seahawks weren't ready to give him as much credit as they did the first time the teams played. Fisher said the majority of Gore's yards came on the 49ers' last drive, while they were running out the clock. He added that Gore wasn't the difference in the game.

On his end, Gore said persistence wore down the Seahawks' defense. He also admitted finding Hamlin after the game and apologizing for the scrum. Gore said Hamlin apologized in return.

"I'm a target," Gore said. "People go at me. But I'm smart, and I don't let them get to me."

The Dilfer-Fisher reunion seemed far less likely. In fact, Dilfer cracked a rather large smile when asked about 49ers quarterback Alex Smith's block on Fisher later in the game.

"Defensive linemen don't want to get taken out by a quarterback," Dilfer said. "And he got taken out there."

Same as the Seahawks, by the Frank Gore Express for the second time this season.

Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@seattletimes.com