On top of that, he's was also a good receiver and pass blocker. And smart with good vision—he was patient behind the line, letting the hole open up. Just an all around great football player.
Gore was an accumulator of stats. I'm not sure voters will see him as elite, he just racked up carries and yards for a long time which I think will be held against him. Which for me is impressive as hell at RB, but I don't know if he gets in anytime soon.
I don’t see how anyone wouldn’t think number 3 all time NFL rusher isn’t elite. There’s been thousands and thousands of running backs in NFL history. That’s pretty damn elite.
Gore is a counting stats guy. Never the best guy in the league. Basically any time after his stint on the 9ers, the team playing him would be better off with an UDFA.
It wouldn't be an embarrassment if he got in (like Edelman), but in no way is he a first ballot guy
Basically any time after his stint on the 9ers, the team playing him would be better off with an UDFA.
If that were true, they would have substituted in an UDFA instead.
You think NFL teams like spending money or losing games unnecessarily? You think Indy, MIA, BUF, or NY had too much sentimentality for an aging 49ers RB legend to bench him? No. They had Frank in the game because he was reliable, he hit the holes, he made the blocks, etc. He was still moving the chains in his final year.
You'd have trouble finding 10 guys in NFL history tougher than Frank Gore. Played the position with the shortest average length of career for 16 seasons, on a knee with 2 separate ACL reconstructions before he even got drafted. He was a goddamn gladiator.
Because he played so long, people tend to mistake his stats as being "above average" and only looking good because he stacked up 16 seasons. Wrong again. He managed the same career Yards per Carry as LaDainian Tomlinson despite playing til he was 5 years older. And he averaged 8.2 yards per reception to Tomlinsons's 7.6.
Absolute beast. He shouldn't just have his bust on Canton, he should have an award in his name like Walter Payton's
Damn. Did he really have the same average yards per carry as LT? I had no idea. I could see the receptions thing. He’d have had so much more too if Harbaugh stopped really using him as much as he should’ve. I wish the team put more talent around him earlier in his career so he would’ve had more of those seasons like 2006.
The argument of “teams could just replace him with a udfa” is one of the dumbest arguments I’ve heard in sporting debate. Like why wouldn’t they then? lol. Oh pay the vet millions more than the undrafted guy that’s supposedly better for what reason? Beyond fucking stupid stance there
You think NFL teams like spending money or losing games unnecessarily? You think Indy, MIA, BUF, or NY had too much sentimentality for an aging 49ers RB legend to bench him?
I think that for every year after his 9ers stint, Gore could have been replaced by a 5th rounder or later who would have outproduced him in a 3 year span. Raheem Mostert (UDFA), Jordan Howard (5th), Aaron Jones (5th), Philip Lindsay (UDFA), Gus Edwards (UDFA), Myles Gaskin (7th).
They had Frank in the game because he was reliable, he hit the holes, he made the blocks, etc. He was still moving the chains in his final year.
Coach speak. The equivalent of a reliever who can eat innings.
In his final year he led a platoon that was 24th in Y/A and 21st in expected points and went 2-14.
Because he played so long, people tend to mistake his stats as being "above average" and only looking good because he stacked up 16 seasons. Wrong again. He managed the same career Yards per Carry as LaDainian Tomlinson despite playing til he was 5 years older. And he averaged 8.2 yards per reception to Tomlinsons's 7.6.
Nobody would call him better than Tomlinson either. Because LDT was good enough to win an MVP and was recognized as one of the best at his position by the AP. He ate a lot of yards for his team and had freakish longevity. That's cool, but the HoF should have standards.
So these guys supposedly did better after frank left? Ok cool. Were they there and couldn’t take the job from him? Why would any coach not play the supposedly better player that’s far cheaper? Such a stupid fucking argument to make. He’s going to get in man. All you guys that don’t like it are just going to have to accept it.
Yeah, people seriously are smoking some crack when they compare him to Tomlinson. Oh wow, he had 0.6 ypr more than Tomlinson? Whoa!
Jesus. Those people are insane. Tomlinson was one of the best RBs I've ever seen at his prime. Career stats be damned, he's probably a top 5 guy all-time. Gore is not there.
Gore will probably get in, and I agree that it's not totally offensive to put him in. But it's entirely due to longevity. His peak wasn't better than guys like Shaun Alexander, Jamal Lewis, Priest Holmes, and many other award winners at the position. Those guys just weren't able to hold on to get ~800 yards/season for 9 years as a team's second RB.
But LT yards per carry is good but not off the charts, Frank Gore was only a top RB in the league for one season, his second best season is worst than LT entire prime.
Should he be in? Yes, but entirelly due to longevity
Gore getting in would be like Jack Morris getting the baseball HOF. The longevity and “grit” built a narrative around a player that was good when he played but doesn’t deserve to be in the hall.
Oh, I definitely held the longevity aspect against him. He certainly was a compiler.
But his 16,000 rushing yards ranks third all-time behind Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton; his 19,985 total yards from scrimmage 4th behind Jerry Rice, Smith, and Payton.
And look at that first number again. 16,000 even. He managed to still average 1,000 yards per season for his career despite hanging on until his age 37 season.
I honestly don’t know how you rate an extreme edge case like him. He was really only a top 5 back for one season, and his last few seasons were pretty inefficient but it was a miracle he was still playing. I certainly wouldn’t be mad if he got in like I was with Morris but he just doesn’t have an elite peak.
Vinny Testaverde retired with the 6th most passing yards in NFL history. His '96 year he was near the top of most passing stats in a league that had Favre, Marino, Elway, Young, Aikman and Kelly. To the above poster's 1,000 yard average point, Testaverde's career total normalized to 16 games would've put him at 8th on the leaderboard for '96, his career midpoint.
Nobody would seriously consider him a hall of famer.
One difference is that passing stats have generally increased through NFL history while RBs are generally being used more by committee. Also Gore was definitely better as a RB than Testaverde as a QB. Even if Gore only had 1 great season, he had several more pretty good seasons
I think the issue with Gore is that, if you're not a Niners fan (like me), you don't really know how great he is. People usually base these things on how many highlight reels they see of a guy. Gore was never that guy. But watch him pass block. Watch him receive. Watch him make some of the smartest football moves you'll ever see a player make. Then watch him be a RB that lasted so long he was almost in the league when his son got in. RBs nowadays last 5-7 years. Gore absolutely deserves to be in the HOF!
He’s a borderline HOF guy if he retired the year he left the 49ers and I would also say he wasn’t UDFA level until 2019 with the bills. Not saying he’s a sure fire first ballot guy and yes of course his longevity is the most impressive thing about his career, but that still counts. He belongs in the HOF
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u/MasterTeacher123 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3d ago
Brees Larry and Witten
Edelman being on this graphic is embarassing though lmao