Friday, June 21, 2024

Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #52: Frank Gore


Frank Gore

Teams

San Francisco 49ers (2005-2014)

Indianapolis Colts (2015-2017)

Miami Dolphins (2018)

Buffalo Bills (2019)

New York Jets (2020)


Playoffs

Appearances - 4 (2011,2012,2013,2019)

Conf Champ Games - 3 (2011,2012,2013)

Super Bowls - 1 (2012)

Championships - 0


Awards and Honors

All-Pro Second Team - 1 (2006)

Pro Bowl - 5 (2006,2009,2011,2012,2013)


All-Time Ranks

Rushing Yards - #3

Scrimmage Yards - #4

Rushing Touchdowns - #20

Total Touchdowns - #23

Rushing Yards per Game - #57

Yards per Rush - #86


League Leads

Rushing Yards (#3-2006, #6-2011, #9-2013,2014,2015, #10-2012)

Rushing Touchdowns (#6-2013, #9-2009)

Yards per Rush (#3-2006, #7-2005, #10-2012)

Rushing Yards per Game (#3-2006, #9-2009, #10-2010,2012,2014)

Total Touchdowns (#6-2009)

Scrimmage Yards (#4-2006, #6-2007, #7-2009)

Yards per Touch (#6-2006)


Frank Gore suffered 2 torn ACLs in college at Miami, and ended his college career with only 1975 total rushing yards, but was still selected in the 3rd round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

During his rookie season, he was slowed by injuries to his groin and both shoulders, which required surgery after the season, but he still played in 14 games and ended up with 608 rushing yards, which would be the lowest total he would gain in the next 14 years.

He returned from surgery stronger, won the starting job, and had the best season he would have in his career, rushing for 1695 yards and 8 touchdowns, and finishing with 2180 scrimmage yards. Both of those yardage marks broke Garrison Hearst's franchise records for a single season, and he also gained 5.4 yards per carry, which earned him a spot on the All-Pro Second Team.

Over the next several seasons, he was never able to replicate the performance of his second season, but he was always solid and dependable, gaining at least 1000 rushing yards in 7 of his 8 remaining seasons with the 49ers, though his high for that period was 1214. He was named to 4 more Pro Bowls during those years in San Francisco, as he was always good but never great.

Gore didn't experience the playoffs until the 7th season of his career, but in a three year run from 2011 to 2013, the 49ers reached at least the NFC title game each year, playing in the Super Bowl after the 2012 season. In that game, Gore ran for 110 yards and a touchdown, but the 49ers lost 34-31 against the Baltimore Ravens.

After 10 seasons with the 49ers, Gore left as a free agent to sign with the Indianapolis Colts. While with the Colts, he never reached 4 yards per carry in a season, a number he had surpassed in every year with San Francisco. After 3 mediocre years in Indy, he signed with his hometown Dolphins.

His lone season in Miami was the only one in his career in which he didn't score a rushing touchdown. After that season, he moved on to one season in Buffalo, followed by a final season with the Jets. After being unable to find a team for the 2021 season, he retired in 2022.

Gore had one of the longest careers of any running back in history, which enabled him to reach #3 on the all-time rushing yardage list, despite finishing in the top 5 in a season only once in his career. He had one star-level season and a couple of other very good years, but for the most part he was just a decent back who could be depended on to show up and gain his yardage every week, and that is what puts him among the greatest of all time.



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