49ers Run a Bit Behind Schedule : Pro football: But with San Francisco’s passing game and 10-0 record, its battle plan doesn’t call for much ground support.

John Robinson once figured the best way to win football games was have your tailback run for at least 100 yards per game. Control the tempo, control the ball, control the outcome.

This season, of course, the 3-7 Rams have been mostly out of control, thanks in large part to a very shaky defense, a passing attack that has faltered and an inconsistent running game.

Meanwhile, a few hundred miles to the north, the San Francisco 49ers have rolled to a 10-0 record without even the slightest semblance of a running attack. No 49er running back has gained more than 90 yards in a single game. Four times, the entire team has managed to rush for 66 or fewer yards. The 49ers racked up a total of 34 net rushing yards in a victory at Green Bay.

Forty-Niner Coach George Seifert said his team’s inability to run the ball is “definitely a concern,” but Robinson thinks the 49ers are right on a Super Bowl schedule.

“I don’t think they’re much different than last year,” Robinson said. “A year ago, they didn’t start running the football well until about Week 12. If you study their history, they’re playing about like they usually do.”

Actually, the 49ers’ running game--which is averaging only 91 yards per game this season--is lagging a bit behind its usual Super pace.

After 10 games last season, San Francisco was 9-1 and averaging 132 rushing yards per game. In 1988, the 49ers started 6-4 while averaging 176 yards rushing. In ‘84, the year they beat Miami in Super Bowl XIX, they jumped out to a 9-1 start and were averaging 143 yards. And in the 1981 season, when they won their first of four Super Bowls, the 49ers started 8-2 and averaged 118 yards rushing.

San Francisco rushed for a season-high 152 yards last week against Tampa Bay, however, so Seifert is gaining confidence.

“We feel as though we’ve made some strides the last couple of weeks,” he said. “It’s not as though we’re all of a sudden a dominant running team, because we’re not by any means. But we’ve showed some improvement.”

The 49ers spend so much time perfecting their precision passing game they tend to neglect their running attack, but so what? Forget all that talk about balance. The 49ers have Joe Montana and Jerry Rice--to name just two--and a battle plan that doesn’t call for much in the way of ground support.

“We do spend a lot of time with the pass,” Seifert said. “And there’s a learning factor for the coaches each year. You have to get a feel for your team. Even though you have some of the same players, you’re able to do some things you weren’t and you’re not able to do some things (running the ball) that you were.”

When it comes to throwing the ball, however, Montana’s magic is a constant. He seems able to fool almost all of the people almost all of the time.

“Our offensive line has blocked well for Joe, we have some good receivers, and Joe’s sense of timing and his understanding of defenses is good,” Seifert said.

Cornerback Darryl Henley, who missed the first seven games of the season with a hip injury he suffered during training camp, will be making his first professional start Sunday against the 49ers. He’ll replace Bobby Humphery at right cornerback.

Talk about a baptism of fire.

“I don’t think it really makes all that much difference who you’re playing against,” defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur said. “You go out there and focus on yourself and what you have to do.

“I don’t think you pick and choose. If a guy’s ready to play and contribute, then you put him in there. He’s a young player with tremendous potential. Our only problem with him was having him well enough to be in there.”

Charles Haley, the 49ers’ fifth-year linebacker-defensive lineman-havoc wrecker, has 12 sacks this season. He’s one of those designated pass rushers who lines up where he chooses, and recently he seems to have found a groove that leads right to the quarterback.

“He’s one of those speed guys, like (New Orleans’ Pat) Swilling and (New York’s Lawrence) Taylor, who come off that weakside corner,” Robinson said. “Usually, those guys sometimes make big plays and sometimes don’t. But I think Haley’s playing real hard on every play.