Is frank gore done?

Originally posted by seeking6th:
YES. He is completely done with playing behind a mediocre O-line and garbage for QB's.

The new HC will make Frank better than he ever was!

Umm assuming we get a quality coach.....for some reason i still have doubts

Originally posted by fanmusclecars:

Originally posted by Kolohe:
I read somewhere that his injury isn't gonna require surgery, so I'd say no he isn't. With that said, I'm not really sold on Dixon either, dances around like Barlow.

Cut the rookie some slack.

The o-line blocking was horrendous this year. I would say the worst o-line play since the 2004 season.

that and how about the 2007 season

yes he is done. In the sense that he no longer has the talent and durability to produce decent numbers on a terrible team. Individually speaking these terrible Niner teams have not really been able to hold him down....those days are over.

He could have been one of the greats....and 10 years from now, very few people will even remember his name

Originally posted by longtime49erfan:
If possible, package Gore with our first round and maybe another pick and move up to get Andrew Luck!

Yeah, because what the Panthers really need is a RB.

What? Deangelo who? Jonathan what? Its the only position they are strong?

Oh...Nevermind.

Originally posted by OX49er253:
Gore is far from done. That being said the 30 year old RB wall is fast approaching, history is against Gore on this front. I love the guy, he has become one of my all time favorite Niners. The thing is, he runs hard and he gets furious when he comes out of games in order to be "spelled". All reports are that it is his choices and campaigning as to why he doesn't get spelled more. He is old school. Now granted a good coach does things for a players own good, even when the player disagrees.

However Gore is a rhythm back, he is at his best when he is getting consistent touches and gets a feel and flow for the game. I honestly don't think he would be as effective as he is if he is spelled more. He is not like a home run back (Reggie Bush, Chris Johnson ect ect) where one touch is all it takes for him to go the distance. Gore needs to grind it.

So its a tough call how to use him from here on out. Do you lighten his load and his effectiveness? Or do you wear him out early? As cold as it sounds I say use him for the next two years as much as you can. Feature, bell cow him, run the hell out of him. Then when he hits his wall at 30, 31. Say we love you Frank, you'll always mean the world to us, better luck somewhere else.

Historically, running backs wear down.

Historically, "worn down" running backs have made huge impacts on new teams.

It all depends on the back and the situation.

We should make sure we have a back up plan in place.

We didn't have a plan at all this season.

I think worse case scenario is Gore can be a good third down back. He's a great pass blocker and can catch the check down pass. That's a great role for a team breaking in a young running back.

I think Frank is going to be fine. All he does is think about football while he's training to play football. He's got a freakish work ethic and could surprise some people with his longevity. It's all about keeping your body in shape. Look at LaDainian Tomlinson this year. He's 31 years old and he's looked pretty damn good this season after everyone wrote him off as being done.

It all depends on how well he recovers from this hip injury. I don't think it's as serious as many have made it sound. I'm not a doctor, but I read an article that asked an expert about the injury and they said it's a 6-8 week deal. He should be fine to continue his normal offseason routine, which is just insane training... he's more like Rice and Craig than the normal NFL player... he trains by himself and doesn't need to be told to keep in shape. That's why he's almost never tired and almost never comes out of games. Well, that and he does want the ball... not a bad quality, but one he'll have to let go of.

It'll wear on him still, but I'm sure that we're actually going to make it a priority to rotate him out at times next season. Especially after the hip injury... just to be safe, you don't want to over stress that bone because it can cause minor fractures that can heal wrong. Next season we have to start working him into a different role. If Dixon can't be the back that I think he can (I think he's struggled because he's a rookie from a spread option offense and is learning to run lower from Rathman, so it's all new to him.), then we have to find someone else. We'll likely have to replace Westbrook anyway, so there's sure to be competition.

Gore is a rare running back... people don't really get it because we're used to perfection around here. Most backs aren't as well rounded as he is. We need to preserve him as long as we can. He can be a weapon without being a "rhythm back" because he can come in on any play and you won't know what we're going to use him for. It makes a huge difference when you aren't predictable, don't you think? If we've learned one lesson this season....

Can anyone tell I'm a Gore fanboy?

Gore > All

Originally posted by danimal:
yes he is done. In the sense that he no longer has the talent and durability to produce decent numbers on a terrible team. Individually speaking these terrible Niner teams have not really been able to hold him down....those days are over.

He could have been one of the greats....and 10 years from now, very few people will even remember his name

You're gonna make me cry, dude. WTF?

FRANK GORE IS A TOP 5 ELITE RB IN THE NFL!!!!

I dont know about done, but he needs to learn he can't be so selfish with his carries. If I was the new head coach, I would make it very clear to Gore that we love him, think he's a great talent, but will probably only carry the ball between 50 to 70 percent of the time on run plays. If he can't handle that he's gettin traded to a team that needs a running back, period.

I dont care what the stats say, he hardly had any big plays this year. Competition is good for everyone, Gore included.

I hope not, but this is the kind of injury that permanently ended Bo Jackson's career.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
I dont know about done, but he needs to learn he can't be so selfish with his carries. If I was the new head coach, I would make it very clear to Gore that we love him, think he's a great talent, but will probably only carry the ball between 50 to 70 percent of the time on run plays. If he can't handle that he's gettin traded to a team that needs a running back, period.

I dont care what the stats say, he hardly had any big plays this year. Competition is good for everyone, Gore included.

P.S. It's sad, because I feel like the Niners took a high performance sports car (Gore) and used him for every day commuting.

I think Frank's best years are in the rearview mirror. Running backs just don't have a long shelf life in this league -- and we've ridden Frank the Tank into the ground.

He might come back and perform at a high level next season -- but I don't think he'll ever last a full season again. Something -- another injury -- will sideline him again next season.

It just happens.

Originally posted by aMikeNolanGuy:
Obviously we have more pressing issues, but do you think Frank Gore will be able to remain as our feature full time back? He runs hard but continues to have health issues, and he will be 28 next season.

I personally think we need to draft a speedster, even late in the draft, so we can have a dual threat.

Thoughts?

No, he's not done. I do agree we need to draft a speedster to someday have a two headed monster of Dixon and _________ but Gore is not anywhere near done yet.

Originally posted by billbird2111:
I think Frank's best years are in the rearview mirror. Running backs just don't have a long shelf life in this league -- and we've ridden Frank the Tank into the ground.

He might come back and perform at a high level next season -- but I don't think he'll ever last a full season again. Something -- another injury -- will sideline him again next season.

It just happens.

It's not normal for an NFL running back to last a full season without missing time anyways. Frank himself has only one season of 16 games. But until this season he's never played in less than 14 games (aside from his rookie season but that wasn't due to injury) which, for an NFL running back that gets the amount of snaps as Gore, isn't so bad at all.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
I dont know about done, but he needs to learn he can't be so selfish with his carries. If I was the new head coach, I would make it very clear to Gore that we love him, think he's a great talent, but will probably only carry the ball between 50 to 70 percent of the time on run plays. If he can't handle that he's gettin traded to a team that needs a running back, period.

I dont care what the stats say, he hardly had any big plays this year. Competition is good for everyone, Gore included.

I agree that he needs to know he's going to share the load next season. I think you've got the percentage right, too. It depends on how well he's running after he heals up.

Fanboy rant:

C'mon, man... give me a break with the trade talk. He's 28 coming off a broken hip. He's not going to have any value. If he complains, tell him to shut up. If he can't take it, bench him. If he causes problems, cut him. I doubt any of that happens, though. Gore isn't a selfish player, he just wants to help the team win and he thinks he's the best back on the team. Well, he was right. He'll listen to the coach, he's not a trouble maker.

He didn't have that many carries when he got injured, so it's not like we wore him down. More likely it's Singletary's idiotic philosophy that you should run the ball in the A gap every play and let a bunch of 300+ Lbs. men land on your running back. That might have stressed his hip enough to cause the fracture. I doubt we'll be using that philosophy again... ever.

That leads to the last part. What is your idea of a "big play"? He had 6 rushes over 20 yards and one over 40. Considering our offensive line play early in the year and our amazingly stupid dogmatic offensive philosophy of running "Power O" in the A gap every down, it's pretty impressive. He did just fine compared to other backs in the league. He also had clutch receptions that got us out of that 3rd and 30 or whatever it was against the Rams so we could tie the game. He averaged 9.8 yards a catch, the highest of his career. Go compare his explosive receiving plays to other backs around the league.

What do you want from him, man? Our offense stunk this season. It's not like it got better after he got injured. Well, I take that back... the blocking has been better. Too bad Gore got injured right when it started to improve. I can't even imagine what Gore would have done to the Cardinals if he hadn't been injured at the start of that game. He had 5 rushes for 52 yards before he left the game. He even had a 9 yard run after he fractured his hip.

So stop being mean!

/fanboy rant

Hehehe... being a fanboy is fun. Really, though... we need to cut down on his carries next season. I'm sure it'll be fine.

This is a legitamate topic here.

I say if we are in full rebuild mode...we need to let go of Frank. As a Niner fan, I love him. But I want him to succeed....not be stuck in another re build, that is if that is what we are doing again....I think getting rid of either Gore or Davis....to get a 1st round pick for either is doable. IF we are in rebuild mode.

Frank is gonna wear down eventually, and RB is much easier to replace. Now is the time while his stock is somewhat high. Although people still remember the Bo Jackson hip injury too....who knows how bad it really is. No one knew that Bo Jackson's was serious until the next year.