Does Scotty think the first 49ers team that won the Super Bowl had a great running game? I believe their top back was the great Ricky Patton. That was the year an offense called the "west coast offense" rose to the fame where short passes can take the place of traditional running.
San Diego, behind Dan Fouts, never made the bowl but was constantly a threat while passing a ton more than running.
After 4 games, the Packers used a one-dimensional offense to be 4-0. The balanced Packer attack is 0-1. The reason Brett couldn't throw deep is because we stopped throwing on first down.
(Sigh). Okay... I've got to give you credit for digging back to 1982 to find a team that fits the pass-wacky football fan's wildest dreams, Montana and his aerial attack.. From the numbers I just found, they ranked 2nd in passing offense, and 28th in rushing. But even with that said, they still rushed for over 100 yards in the superbowl to seal the win.
So are we the 1982 Niners? Do you want to roll the dice and throw on every down? Our receivers might get banged up, every defensive team will study game tape and be ready for us, secondaries will start to cheat on us.. Favre will start running for his life when our wideouts are covered and the pass rush starts to overwhelm the offensive line..
But hey! We were 4-0! That's only one-fourth of the season but it must surely mean that our gameplan would have carried us to 16-0 if we just stuck with it. I don't mean to make fun, I do see the point in not forcing a running game that's not working, but you do have to try to establish it, especially when holding a lead. A running game will grind the clock out whereas the passing attack actually starts to work against you. And it keeps defenses honest, they can't sit back in coverage if you threaten a run.
In this way, even a run for no-gain can sometimes have a positive effect if the defense thinks you might - *might* go to it again on second.. or third down. Going to the shotgun on every down just narrows that focus altogether.
jmho.