I was having a conversation on Twitter with George Kritkos of Dynasty League Football, one of the best around, and he threw out this stat which pretty much shocked me:

Frank Gore is on pace for his 10th season of 1200+ yards from scrimmage. Would join Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, & Curtis Martin and one season behind Jerry Rice.

Now, if you took a poll of football fans and media types about who the best running back in the National Football League is, I’m sure any number of names would be mentioned. You will probably here guys like Jamaal Charles, Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, Eddie Lacy, and more. I will guarantee you though, that Frank Gore’s name will never be mentioned in that conversation, and for that, I believe is a shame and why I think he is the most underrated back in the NFL.

After 10 games this season, Gore has 633 yards at four yards per carry, yet does it in such an understated and workmanlike matter, that people do not realize how good he is, or has been throughout his career. Not bad for a player that many thought was “over the hill” entering the season. Gore also has been one of the more durable backs in his NFL career.

In fact, he’s played in at least 14 games in all but one of his 10 seasons in the NFL. Assuming for a moment that Gore cracks the 1,000-yard mark this season, it will mark the NINTH time in his 11 year career that he has hit the 1,000 yard benchmark.

Lastly, for his career, he has average four and a half yards a game, another underrated stat that people do not realize about Gore.

In the end, when you look at the numbers, it will give you pause when you start to think about running backs in the NFL. Frank Gore deserves to be in the mix as one of those running backs that you want on your team, the guy that you know you can “feed the rock” to. He is one of the most underrated backs of our generation, possibly of all-time.

 

 

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.