Pivotal Player: Frank Gore

[Flash7]

I will do my best to tread lightly because I do not want to come off as negative, however, I do want to voice a little concern that I have.

 

First let me mention that I live in the S.F. Bay Area and watch the Forty-Niners closely as my wife is a Niner fan. I am well aware of how good Gore is and how valuable he can be for the Colts.

 

Here is my concern: This relates to the T-Rich situation. Trent was brought in to address or alleviate our problems in the run game. It became evident to most that he was largely ineffective, yet he played nearly every game, despite the fact that every other RB outproduced him. What if Frank Gore gets to the point where Father Time catches up with him? Frank Gore is healthy and a hard worker but Father Time is undefeated.  Will the Colts make the difficult choice of playing him less and giving others greater opportunities? I am not sure.

 

To me, this is a big deal because Gore is supposed to help the run game. I think he definitely can, but because of his veteran status and who he is in the league, if he's not productive, will he get the Trent Richardson or Reggie Wayne (last few games) treatment where they played regardless of their production?

[pgt_rob]

Hottest hand plays in my opinion. Although I'm sure Gore will be much more of a fighter than Trent ever was.

[ColtsLegacy]

Different situation entirely. Rotten Apples and Old Bananas.

[Mr.Debonair]

Frank ran for 1100 yrds behind what was considered below average line and and lack of vertical offense. I think he will have a very good yr for us

[NBColtsFanatic]

Except we have 100 times better receivers, tight ends you can make the case for since Vernon Davis was injured and ineffective and we have the Top 5 QB in the league compare to Kap who is bottom 10-15 probably. He won't produce amazing stats as before but is Colts fans will know how well he is playing when we look beyond the stats, anyways never compare trent to anything; there is now way Gore could be as bad as Trent. Trent Richardson was, is and always will be bad, he just isn't a hard worker or a good teammate.

[ProblChld32]

I will do my best to tread lightly because I do not want to come off as negative, however, I do want to voice a little concern that I have.

 

First let me mention that I live in the S.F. Bay Area and watch the Forty-Niners closely as my wife is a Niner fan. I am well aware of how good Gore is and how valuable he can be for the Colts.

 

Here is my concern: This relates to the T-Rich situation. Trent was brought in to address or alleviate our problems in the run game. It became evident to most that he was largely ineffective, yet he played nearly every game, despite the fact that every other RB outproduced him. What if Frank Gore gets to the point where Father Time catches up with him? Frank Gore is healthy and a hard worker but Father Time is undefeated.  Will the Colts make the difficult choice of playing him less and giving others greater opportunities? I am not sure.

 

To me, this is a big deal because Gore is supposed to help the run game. I think he definitely can, but because of his veteran status and who he is in the league, if he's not productive, will he get the Trent Richardson or Reggie Wayne (last few games) treatment where they played regardless of their production?

 

Im sure there will be a Dual back system in place, 1-2 punch ti keep his legs fresh. Also we are still a Pass first team IMO i think Gore will be relied on to take some of the pressure off of Luck and keep defenses true, but i don't think he will be relied upon to win games ultimately. 

[lollygagger8]

 

^ Oh, and that's Lance Briggs that Gore is Stonewall Jackson'ing ^ 

[Superman]

Frank Gore's 205th carry last season:

 

 

His last two games in 2014, he had 51 carries for 302 yards (5.9 yards/carry), and a TD. He probably had more 15+ yard carries in those two games than Richardson had in two seasons as a Colt. 

 

I think Frank Gore has enough tread on his tires, so to speak, to last a couple more seasons. 

[COLTS449]

Gore's going to give us a couple good years. Most backs slow down at his age. He hasn't slowed down one bit. He's just one of those guys who's going to leave the game still playing at a high level. Our run game is fixed IMO. Not only with the addition of Gore, but Todd Herremans is one of the better run blockers in the NFL.

[jseg18]

Gore has patience and vision in between the tackles. Trent had neither of two.

[Flash7]

Gore has patience and vision in between the tackles. Trent had neither of two.

Yup, I fully agree. But my concern isn't necessarily the comparison of how good Gore is vs. Richardson, rather, it's that despite how poorly Richardson played, he still got a lot of playing time. If for some unforeseen reason Gore's production drops, I am afraid that he will still get the majority of the snaps even if we have better options available.

[Restored]

Yup, I fully agree. But my concern isn't necessarily the comparison of how good Gore is vs. Richardson, rather, it's that despite how poorly Richardson played, he still got a lot of playing time. If for some unforeseen reason Gore's production drops, I am afraid that he will still get the majority of the snaps even if we have better options available.

 

To be fair, the Colts had a LOT more invested in Trent Richardson compared to what they have in Frank Gore. Now it took longer than a lot of people liked for them to remove Trent from the equation, but it wasn't without reason.

[Superman]

Yup, I fully agree. But my concern isn't necessarily the comparison of how good Gore is vs. Richardson, rather, it's that despite how poorly Richardson played, he still got a lot of playing time. If for some unforeseen reason Gore's production drops, I am afraid that he will still get the majority of the snaps even if we have better options available.

What better options did we have? If Boom hadn't fumbled a few times, I think he would have gotten more reps sooner.

[Flash7]

What better options did we have? If Boom hadn't fumbled a few times, I think he would have gotten more reps sooner.

Bradshaw was arguably our best RB last year. When he was injured, Boom Herron became the best option at RB. Both of them shared carries with Richardson as the second string running back. I guess I would argue that the roles should have been reversed. 

 

Just as a side note: I think Boom Herron finished the year with 2 fumbles, as did T-Rich, while Bradshaw had 3. As far as fumbles are concerned, there may not have been an ideal choice for the coaches.

[Superman]

Bradshaw was arguably our best RB last year. When he was injured, Boom Herron became the best option at RB. Both of them shared carries with Richardson as the second string running back. I guess I would argue that the roles should have been reversed. 

 

Just as a side note: I think Boom Herron finished the year with 2 fumbles, as did T-Rich, while Bradshaw had 3. As far as fumbles are concerned, there may not have been an ideal choice for the coaches.

 

Boom had four fumbles in 99 touches. Richardson had two fumbles in 186 touches. And Boom's fumbles seemed to come really close together. I'll look again, but I think he had three fumbles in two weeks. He could have been putting the ball on the ground all day in practice, too..

 

Richardson wasn't playing poorly before Bradshaw got hurt. He wasn't great, but he was okay. The timeshare was working well, regardless of who was getting the most touches (and I think Bradshaw was getting more work than Richardson anyways). Boom would have been a great fill-in for him if not for the fumbles. Boom also had some issues in protection.

[ColtStronger]

I will do my best to tread lightly because I do not want to come off as negative, however, I do want to voice a little concern that I have.

 

First let me mention that I live in the S.F. Bay Area and watch the Forty-Niners closely as my wife is a Niner fan. I am well aware of how good Gore is and how valuable he can be for the Colts.

 

Here is my concern: This relates to the T-Rich situation. Trent was brought in to address or alleviate our problems in the run game. It became evident to most that he was largely ineffective, yet he played nearly every game, despite the fact that every other RB outproduced him. What if Frank Gore gets to the point where Father Time catches up with him? Frank Gore is healthy and a hard worker but Father Time is undefeated.  Will the Colts make the difficult choice of playing him less and giving others greater opportunities? I am not sure.

 

To me, this is a big deal because Gore is supposed to help the run game. I think he definitely can, but because of his veteran status and who he is in the league, if he's not productive, will he get the Trent Richardson or Reggie Wayne (last few games) treatment where they played regardless of their production?

If Father Time is catching up with Gore then we will bring in Mother Nature to have them produce a "Spring Chicken"!

[Flash7]

Boom had four fumbles in 99 touches. Richardson had two fumbles in 186 touches. And Boom's fumbles seemed to come really close together. I'll look again, but I think he had three fumbles in two weeks. He could have been putting the ball on the ground all day in practice, too..

 

Richardson wasn't playing poorly before Bradshaw got hurt. He wasn't great, but he was okay. The timeshare was working well, regardless of who was getting the most touches (and I think Bradshaw was getting more work than Richardson anyways). Boom would have been a great fill-in for him if not for the fumbles. Boom also had some issues in protection.

Yes, you are right, Boom did have 4 fumbles. I was looking at the regular season stats since neither T-Rich nor Bradshaw played in the post season. Regardless, Boom did have 4 fumbles.

 

You may be right, the coaches may not have had a better option. I would've still argued for more playing time for Bradshaw, but that was beginning to happen anyway since Richardson was getting worse as the season wore on.

 

There are other cases however, such as Reggie Wayne later in the season. He was largely ineffective and better options were available in Moncrief and Nicks (who stepped up late in the year), yet Reggie still got the majority of playing time. Or an ineffective DHB the previous year, who received several starts when better options existed. Let's not get started on the O-line with Satele, or the replacement of Shipley for Harrison, etc... There could be valid reasons for all of these moves, but as a fan I worry.

 

Getting back on topic, I think how Frank Gore performs this year will be pivotal for our run game.

[BluHorzhu]

Though Frank Gore CAN do it all, he won't be asked to consistently.  There is an entire stable (Herron, Tipton, Ballard, Robinson) of young blood who will get their chances and "change of pace" snaps.  Someone in an earlier post mentioned a hot hand approach, which is likely to happen, especially if one RB seems to be doing well in an individual matchup against the opposing defense. 

 

They can keep Frank's mileage proportional so he'll still be knocking people over when we're 20 games deep.  For the price tag, he's a pretty cheap date so there isn't much to worry about.  Two-deep safety looks from the threat of the pass won't hurt either.

 

Frank is still has the best "between the tackles" vision in the league and I really look forward to seeing him play for the blue and white this year. 

[csmopar]

 

^ Oh, and that's Lance Briggs that Gore is Stonewall Jackson'ing ^ 

 

 

I cant wait to see him in a colts uniform....i don't care if he only gets a 1.1 yard average....if he could do that to say JJ watt, that would be epic..

[Coffeedrinker]

I like Gore, I like his running style, he passion for the game and from everything I've read and heard he has his head on straight and is an asset in the locker room as well.

 

That being said, he had 6 games last season in which he averaged 2.8 ypc or less and 8 games where he average 3.5 ypc or less.

 

I think Gore is a better RB than Richardson but if the Colts still continue to run the ball only 3 or 4 times in the first half it will not matter who the running back is, the Colts will not have a good, consistent running game.

[crazycolt1]

Yup, I fully agree. But my concern isn't necessarily the comparison of how good Gore is vs. Richardson, rather, it's that despite how poorly Richardson played, he still got a lot of playing time. If for some unforeseen reason Gore's production drops, I am afraid that he will still get the majority of the snaps even if we have better options available.

Richardson was over used because of the injury to Bradshaw. We are pretty deep at this point and I don't see us over using Gore. With Ballard, Boom, Robinson, Toure and Varga on the roster right now I think we are in good shape. I know Ballard is a big question mark but the others look pretty good IMO. Robinson may be a bigger impact than some think. I know he was running against collage players but he still looked very strong.

[crazycolt1]

I like Gore, I like his running style, he passion for the game and from everything I've read and heard he has his head on straight and is an asset in the locker room as well.

 

That being said, he had 6 games last season in which he averaged 2.8 ypc or less and 8 games where he average 3.5 ypc or less.

 

I think Gore is a better RB than Richardson but if the Colts still continue to run the ball only 3 or 4 times in the first half it will not matter who the running back is, the Colts will not have a good, consistent running game.

As always it all depends on the offensive line and how well they run block. With all the different starting lineups last year we just never got the running game going. All of out RBs were hit entirely to many times in the backfield before they even had a chance.

[C0lts088]

As always it all depends on the offensive line and how well they run block. With all the different starting lineups last year we just never got the running game going. All of out RBs were hit entirely to many times in the backfield before they even had a chance.

Bradshaw and Herron both averaged 4.5ypc and Gore is a more complete in between the tackles RB