Originally posted by NickSh49:
Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Frank ran more like Al Gore in 2008 than the Frank Gore of 2006. Unfortunately, he is probably on the down side of his career, and is surely falling below some of the younger guys in the league with fresh legs.
To me, the 2009 version of Gore is a middle of the road RB in the NFL. It is too bad. He's a great kid. But, playing RB is brutal in the NFL, and he doesn't have the same game as two years ago.
VERY OVERRATED BY THIS BOARD!!!
Ugh, MD. Just ugh.
He's still averaging over 4 yards a touch. He has at least 1,000 a season. When he ran for 1700 in 2006, he touched the ball 312 times, compared to last year when he only touched 240 times in a Martz offense and grabbed just over 1,000.
I have a hard time knocking Frank Gore when his last two coordinators were Hostler (UGH) and Martz, with guys like Barry Sims on the o-line and spotty QB play.
Hard to produce when the team, in general, isn't producing.
The numbers do not lie.
Gore tied for 13th in the NFL in Total Rushing Yards.
Gore ran for 4.3 yards/carry, which would also place him in the middle of the pack for starting NFL backs. He also ran for 4.2 yards in 2007, not coming close to his 5.4 average in 2006.
Gore was 2nd in fumbles for all RB's in the NFL, fumbling the ball 6 times.
Gore was 26th in the league in TD's for RB's, with 6.
Gore was tied for 13th in yards per game, with 74/game.
Gore had only one run for more than 40+ yards.
Gore's long run of the year, for 41 yards, placed him tied for 42nd in all RB's.
Gore was 22nd in creating first down runs.
Collectively, the stats above show a middle of the pack RB, not an elite back. It is difficult for Niners fans to have a picture of the 2008 version of Gore in their heads, since the 2006 version was spectacular. However, the bottom line is that the 2006 version is not coming back. Once RB's begin to decline, they almost always continue that decline until they retire.
What I have noticed from Frank this season was the inability to hit the hole at the right time, or not identify the correct hole in the line to run through. One of the beat writers made the same observation (I believe it was MM), and this certainly has been an issue with his productivity.
The bottom line is that Gore was phenomenal in 2006, but his elite status is gone. So, there is no way he is a top 5 running back anymore. He is also not a top 10 back either, as statistically, a couple of the rookie backs will also jump into the top 10 NFL RB's this season. He fits somewhere in the middle of the pack. Sorry, but that is the reality.
One note on the Martz offense: Many believe Gore's productivity dropped due to the Martz system. Statistically, this is negligible at best. Gore averaged 17.3 rushes/game in 2007, and 17.1 rushes in 2008. Even in 2006, when he ran like a mad man, he still averaged less than 20 carries/game, at 19.5. So, the issue is not opportunity, it is productivity.
[ Edited by MadDog49er on Jun 26, 2009 at 05:18:46 ]