Frank Gore was among a small group of San Francisco 49ers to stick around during the entire bye week.
He was looking forward to working hard with rookie receiver and top draft pick Michael Crabtree, who finally signed Oct. 7 and is set to make his NFL debut next Sunday at Houston.
"Me and Crabtree are going to get it done," Gore said.
Mike Singletary planned to spend the off week evaluating talent, perhaps making some changes to his starting rotation and finding the best 53 players.
Getting Gore back will be a big part of that process.
The 49ers' star running back has missed the last two games because of a right ankle he injured on his only carry during a 27-24 loss at Minnesota on Sept. 27.
Gore returned to practice this week and is expected to play for San Francisco (3-2) against the Texans.
Singletary has called out his offensive line several times already, saying the unit needs to do a better job blocking and protecting quarterback Shaun Hill. The 49ers want to be a power-running offence.
"I feel that they'll be fine," Gore said of the O-line. "We just need to clean up the small things and just play together. I like that (Singletary) is challenging these guys. We just need to get the MEs - the mental errors - out of the way."
There were many of them in a 45-10 home loss to Atlanta last week. It was the Niners' worst loss ever at Candlestick Park and largest at home in 42 years since the team played at Kezar Stadium.
Singletary said it's up to him and the coaches to do a better job preparing the team.
"It's a situation in where you kind of sit back and go 'Wow, I didn't really know that could happen again,"' Singletary said. "And the thing I will say is this, this team will be a special team, this year will be a special year."
