Frank Gore on return to Bay Area: “I wish we were playing the Niners”

Like many ex-49ers, Frank Gore has continued to find success following his career in San Francisco. He is just 109 yards shy of achieving his ninth career 1,000-yard rushing season.

Gore's Indianapolis Colts are headed to the Bay Area this weekend. However, it's not to play the 49ers in Santa Clara. They will be headed to the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum to face the AFC West leading Raiders. What does the former 49ers starting running back thing about the matchup? "I wish we were playing the Niners," Gore told the media today while smiling.

We have to assume the comment was not made because Gore would love to see some of his former teammates. And it is definitely not to see some of his former coaches (well, maybe Tom Rathman). The coaching staff he was familiar with is long gone. The Raiders are 11-3 and are one of just two teams in the AFC that have already clinched a playoff birth. The 49ers have won 10 fewer games than the Raiders and sit at 1-13. Obviously, the Colts' matchup this weekend is a bigger challenge than had a trip to Levi's Stadium been on the schedule instead.

Gore remains passionate about the team that drafted him in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Last week, another former 49ers great shared what Gore had to say to him about the current situation in Santa Clara during a Monday Night Football game earlier this season. "Frank Gore grabbed me and he wanted to just scream and yell about it," Steve Young said (as transcribed by Kevin Jones of KNBR). "Here he is, what, three years out from the NFC (championship) and he (has) so much emotion, negative emotion, about what's going on and who's in…And I will not break that confidence, but clearly, the guy is still super upset. Just grabbed me out of nowhere and wanted to talk about it."

During his career with the 49ers, Gore rushed for a franchise record 11,073 yards through 10 seasons. No 49ers running back in franchise history has had more 1,000-yard rushing seasons than Gore, who had eight. Meanwhile, his former team is on pace for possibly their worst season ever. No 49ers team in franchise history has finished a season with just a single win. That could happen this year. No 49ers defense had allowed more than 2,363 yards rushing, a record previously set in 1978. This year's 49ers defense has eclipsed that and still have two games remaining.