SANTA CLARA - One of the bright spots in the 49ers loss to the Green Bay Packers was the performance of running back Raheem Mostert.
Mostert had a tough go the week before when he fumbled the ball on his first carry facing the Arizona Cardinals. Coach Kyle Shanahan challenged the running back after the mishap and Mostert said he took it to heart.
“I need you to step up,” Mostert said Shanahan told him. “I need you to focus more on ball control. I know you don’t get many reps in practice but when you do, you have to make them count.”
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Mostert understood that as a physical challenge as well as a mental one. He took more reps in practice with the absence of Matt Breida, who was out due to an ankle injury. He asked defenders to go after the ball more aggressively while he was carrying the ball in practice.
He even stayed after practice for “extra credit” to work on ball security drills. Guess what? No one forced a fumble when he was carrying the ball in practice or in the game, even though they tried.
Mostert closed out the night at Lambeau Field as the game’s top rusher with 12 carries for 87 yards, giving him an average of 7.3 yards per carry. He still isn’t satisfied. He is his own toughest critic, he said.
“I left a lot of yards out on the field especially with my speed,” Mostert said. ”I felt like I could have gotten to the edge a little bit faster. I watched the film and I was really hard on myself even though I had some good runs. I also had mental busts in the game too, which I’m not proud of. That’s something I have to continue to work on, being mentally sharp and for that transition to be more effective in the pass game.”
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Mostert has been known as a special-teams star for most of his NFL career and has just been waiting for his number to get called as a running back. He said he believes he and Breida complement each other well with their similar styles of play.
When asked who of the two would be lightning and who would be thunder, Mostert replied, “Matt is always lightning.”
