For Gore, the numbers speak volumes.
Forget about Frank Gore’s statistics over the past couple of years and ignore the lack of production you see from him on the field in 2019–even though he’s averaging 3.8 yards-per-carry.
There’s a reason why Gore still has a starting job in the NFL after 15 years of service. It’s because the man can still play ball and provide consistent production.
Frank Gore was a star at the University of Miami and was a draft day steal in 2005 as the San Francisco 49ers picked him up in the third round. Gore didn’t start right away, but he did produce immediately averaging 4.8 yards per rush in his rookie season. Gore backed up Kevin Barlow as a rookie but showed such great ability that he was awarded the starting job in his second season. A season in which he racked up 5.4 yards-per-carry and made the Pro Bowl.
The old Hurricane played for the 49ers for the first ten years of his professional career. Not many running backs start for the same team for that amount of time. He helped the Niners reach the Super Bowl in the 2012 season as he and Colin Kaepernick ran the RPO to perfection.
One of Gore’s greatest attributes is his durability. They say the best ability is availability, and he displayed that on a yearly basis. Do you know how hard it is for a running back to stay healthy and produce on the field for that long? Let me tell you it’s extremely difficult.
But Franky wasn’t done! He continued to play and start at RB when he left San Francisco. In 2015 Gore signed with the Indianapolis Colts and immediately became a vital part of the offense. He was the lead back on a perennial playoff team and was still hitting the 1,000-yard rushing mark on an offense led by Andrew Luck’s arm.
Frank Gore started every game at RB for the Colts during his three-year run with the team. Indianapolis began to bring in younger backs to take the load off an aging Frank Gore. Because of this, in 2018, Gore packed his bags and went home. To Miami, that is and started 14 games for the Dolphins while continuing to go under the radar averaging 4.6 yards-per-carry.
After a year at home and the Dolphins going in another direction at RB, Gore still wanted to play and had no problem finding a job. The Buffalo Bills were thrilled to bring in Gore’s talent and mentorship for the rookie he currently shares time with Devin Singletary. But when the ball is deep in opposing team’s territory, especially near the goal line, it’s Gore’s number that gets called to punch it in for the touchdown.
I’ve always trusted the eye test over statistics when it comes to sports. Especially football! Frank Gore was the type of back who always fell forward as he was being tackled to pick up an extra couple of yards. I rarely remember seeing Gore gets pushed back and lose yardage on a straight dive play. Nor can I often remember that Gore never got tackled by the first defender. He could through, around, and over you, if need be.
At the age of 36, you’d be hard-pressed to find a running back in NFL history who has been this productive for such a long period. Granted, he’s no longer a 1,000-yard rusher and may finish the season with four touchdowns at best. But again, you look at the man’s entire career, and you can’t deny that he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
The biggest thing going against Gore is that he put up great numbers, and nobody seemed to care. Maybe it’s because the 49ers were mostly a lousy team while he was there for a decade – aside from their Super Bowl Season in 2012.
Because Frank Gore wasn’t flashy and kept his mouth shut, he went mostly unnoticed as he put up big numbers every season.
Frank Gore is the definition of a football player. He comes to work every day and doesn’t say a word that would get him in trouble. Coming from “The U” that says a lot! Gore has become one of my favorite players in the game.
But if you need a reason other than all the above mentioned to put Gore in the Hall of Fame, how about this. He just became the 3rd all-time leading rusher in NFL history, only sitting behind two legends in Walter Payton and the man who broke his record, Emmitt Smith.
I don’t want to hear the word compiler. You can’t be a compiler in the NFL. Football is too physical of a game to hang around for 15 years and attempt to break records. It doesn’t work that way in this game. NFL teams don’t have time to hand out glorified awards when trying to put together a winning season.
I don’t know where we’d rank Frank Gore on the all-time greats list. But he’s in there, and he absolutely deserves to be. Gore epitomizes the word professional.
Here’s a shortlist of Frank Gore’s professional accomplishments.
3rd on all-time rushing list (15,300 yards)
Had nine years over 1,000 yards rushing
Career-high 1,695 yards
Most TD’s in a season (13)
Started every game for seven straight seasons except one (he played but didn’t start)
Career yards-per-carry (4.3)
Career touchdowns (97)
You be the judge.
