Niners Keep Young On His Feet As Offense Changes, Concussion-Prone Qb Keeps His Head Together

See Steve Young pass. See Steve run. See Steve stop running because he was knocked silly in the first game of the season.

See San Francisco’s offensive philosophy change. See Steve return and remain upright.

Pretty elementary, isn’t it?

Coach Steve Mariucci is in his first year, but he’s an authority on 49ers’ history. He recited a pivotal statistic as he described the reasons why Young-friendly alterations were made to the offense back in September.

“Over the last two years, he missed all or part of 14 games,” said Mariucci, whose 49ers call on Seattle tonight at 5. “Knowing that, what we’ve got to do is keep Steve playing each week. And the best thing I know to do that is to keep him from the quarterback draws and keepers and putting him back in the pocket 45 times. That all equated to hits on the quarterback.

“You can’t eliminate that entirely, but our aim was to lessen hits on Steve.”

It worked. Young sat out the second game with a concussion. He regained his wits by the third game and has been healthy and productive since - if a little underutilized.

Young has attempted 25 passes or less in nine of the last 13 games. Running plays designed for Young were restricted. When he did scramble, he avoided tackles with uncharacteristic hook slides.

The running game became the first option. That’s not how the 49ers have won five Super Bowl rings.

“Around here the Niners’ offense was explosive and entertaining,” Mariucci said. “At San Francisco, the running game is boring for the fans.”

But it bored Young right into good health.

“Maybe he just got tired of us harping at him. He likes to play a certain way and every game he’s going to run for some first downs,” Mariucci said. “Improvising has been very productive for Steve and you don’t want to eliminate that completely. We just keep emphasizing that he throw it away when he can, slide when he can, be conservative.”

Really, Mariucci had few alternatives. Jerry Rice also was injured in the season opener, leaving fresh-faced Terrell Owens and J.J. Stokes to do the catching. Tight end Brent Jones missed three games at midseason because of injury.

The high-flying West Coast offense became… . well, “vanilla,” Mariucci said.

“It’s not very flavorful,” Young admitted, “but I think he’s overstating it. It’s more than vanilla. We’ve done a nice job of spreading it around. When we drop back to throw we’ve made things happen. We lead the league in yards per attempt, so the passing game is healthy.”

And just in time for the playoffs, the passing game is back as the centerpiece. Garrison Hearst’s broken collarbone has left the ground game at a standstill.

So, Young pitched a season-high 34 passes in Monday’s convincing win over Denver. Even though Rice’s return was curtailed by a cracked kneecap, the younger receivers have proven capable replacements.

“I would assume in the playoffs we’ll take on a more flavorful taste,” said Young, who is expected to see limited duty today.

San Francisco was written off by many as a playoff team after losing the season opener to Tampa Bay. Rice originally was injured in that game, as was Young.

The 49ers appeared vulnerable. The rebuilt offensive line consisted of nobody drafted above the sixth round. The receivers were young and Terry Kirby was starting at running back. Mariucci, meanwhile, had coached exactly one NFL game.

“I remember reading that the dynasty was over and the world had come to an end,” Young said.

San Francisco’s defense read otherwise. With the exception of a 44-9 drubbing administered by Kansas City, the defense has been brilliant.

“The first thing we started to do was play great defense and that allowed our offense to get our feet under us,” Young said. “Then we started to get going.

“We scored 35 points per game for (most of the) months of September and October. It’s just funny. September first there was a lot of talk outside and inside the building that the sky was falling, and now we’re here and I’m not surprised at all. Looking back, yeah (I’m) surprised.”

Young’s concussion, though, caused significant concern, particularly among his relatives.

“It’s always going to be there,” he said. “If you get hit by lightning it’s a freak. If you get hit a couple times you wonder if somebody’s looking for you. I’m in that category of susceptible. I should probably have a card I carry.”

While he’s at it, Young should probably write a card to Mariucci: Thanks for keeping me healthy.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo