Gore, Rogers, Lee react to Pro Bowl honors

Running back Frank Gore worked hard to return from a broken hip that sidelined him for the final five games of last season.He received a new contract. He broke the 49ers' all-time rushing record on the same day the 49ers clinched the NFC West title for the first time in his career. And, on Tuesday, he was named to the Pro Bowl for the third time in his seven-year career.
"It's a blessing, especially coming back from missing five games and coming back this year to have a lot of success with team and myself, it's a blessing," Gore said."Coming off my injury. I was hungry to show people I can play this game like I did before."Gore has already rushed for 1,202 yards with one game remaining. It's the second-largest single-season total of his career.
Gore said he always believed the 49ers had the talent. This season, they also had the coaching with Jim Harbaugh and his staff."I got to give it up to our coaches. We have a great coach, Coach Harbaugh, and great guys around him on the coaching staff," Gore said. "We always had the talent and now we have the right people in front of us to lead us. We believe in the coaches and we believe in ourselves. We're going out and having fun and it's paying off."Carlos Rogers didn't have many options after he watched as other cornerback secured big contracts after the lockout. He landed with the 49ers on a one-year contract.And, now, he would like to cash that into a multi-year deal to remain with the 49ers. After all, he is having the most fun of his NFL career he said. But business is business."It's up to the general managers, the owners and my agent to get that done," Rogers said.Rogers is not likely to sign a new contract with the 49ers before the start of free agency in the spring. And it's possible that he priced himself out of the 49ers' market with his best NFL season.Rogers said he always considered himself a good cover man. He always considered himself a smart player who studied the opposition and knew the game. But what the difference this season has been Rogers' hands.Rogers has six interceptions on the season. In his previous six NFL seasons (all with the Washington Redskins), Rogers had just eight interceptions."Any time you catch the ball, that takes points off the board or you can put your team in a situation to get points," Rogers said. "That's big. That adds a lot to game. I've always covered and been a guy to recognize what's going on. I always tackled pretty good. But I dropped interceptions. And that separates you from being an average corner or a good cover guy."Punter Andy Lee was selected to make his third trip to the Pro Bowl. And he'll be going there with a bunch of teammates.Well, or maybe not . . ."Hopefully, we won't be there," Lee said. "Hopefully, we'll be in the Super Bowl."The Pro Bowl is being played the Sunday before the Super Bowl. So teams who advance to the Super Bowl will not send any representatives to the all-star game."It's an honor," Lee said. "It's definitely not something you can expect. It's not something that honors just myself, it honors my punt team. I can't get this just on average, but on net average and the whole team contributes to that. The coverage guys and Brian (Jennings), the long-snapper."When asked if this has been his best season, Lee answered, "I've had good years before, but we can categorize it as the best because of the numbers and it's best season I've had. We're going to the playoffs, so I'd say so."