San Francisco 49ers Offensive Line Streak In Jeopardy; Anthony Dixon (sigh) Goes Social

December 2, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; San Francisco 49ers guard Mike Iupati (77) defends against St. Louis Rams defensive end Eugene Sims (92) during the second half at the Edward Jones Dome. St. Louis defeated San Francisco 16-13 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Iupati came out of Sunday’s loss to the New Orleans Saints with a large brace on his left knee and the San Francisco 49ers came out of it with their streak of offensive line stability in jeopardy.

Iupati, an All-Pro guard, was hurt late in the third quarter when the back of his left leg was rolled up on by running back Frank Gore. (h/t San Francisco Chronicle)

The 49ers have depth, turning to veteran Adam Snyder—who has made 131 career starts. But San Francisco has rolled out the same front five for 26 consecutive games. Left tackle Joe Staley, Iupati, center Jonathan Goodwin, right guard Alex Boone and right tackle Anthony Davis have started every game for the 49ers since the beginning of last season, with Staley and Iupati earning All-Pro status last season as well as earning Pro Bowl nods.

Oct 27, 2013; London, United Kingdom; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Anthony Dixon (24) is tackled by Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Jos Scobee (10) on a 47-yard kickoff return in the NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Jaguars 42-10. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

In other news from the depths of the 49er depth chart, it appears it’s a case of another week, another unhappy running back goes to social media to vent about being unhappy.

In this case, it was Anthony Dixon who was not happy about his lack of playing time. Dixon had zero offensive snaps on Sunday and played 20 plays on special teams.

Dixon was a sixth-round pick by the 49ers out of Mississippi State in 2010 and has seen his workload in the backfield go down each season. Dixon ran for 237 yards and two touchdowns on 70 carries as a rookie, saw that reduced to 87 yards and two scores on 29 carries in 2011, 78 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries last season and so far this year, Dixon has only 15 carries for 35 yards and two touchdowns.

Dixon took over the kick return duties from Kyle Williams in the loss to Carolina on Nov. 10, but had just one return for 18 yards and was replaced Sunday by LaMichael James.

Dixon is not the first San Francisco running back to go social with his displeasure over his role. Last season, Brandon Jacobs was suspended for the final three games of the regular season after he vented via Twitter and Instagram about his role.

Earlier this season, it was James who tweeted about his lack of playing time.

Here’s the thing, though, and it’s just this simple: A player can’t win by going to social media and venting. He just can’t. While some fans may sympathize, the vast majority of them will respond with words to the effect of: “SHUT UP AND COUNT YOUR MONEY, YOU WHINING PIECE OF (insert favorite misspelled expletive here).”

And he will earn himself the ire of the coaching staff and the front office for taking inside matters outside of the locker room.

And it doesn’t matter how quickly the tweets are deleted, they’re going to be out there—just ask NBA player Matt Barnes about that $25,000 he “donated” to the NBA’s favorite charity last week.