"As an ex-NFL fullback, Daryl Johnston appreciates the power-run philosophy the 49ers have implemented this season.

Johnston said it bears little resemblance to the vaunted ground game in which he played with Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith and the Cowboys in the 1990s.

Then again, some of what the 49ers have done this season doesn't look like, well, anything other NFL teams are doing.

A formation with six offensive linemen and two fullbacks? How about three tight ends bunched to one side? Or a formation with four tight ends, one being an offensive lineman moonlighting at another position?"