3 reasons why Frank Gore isn’t a Hall of Famer (and why they’re wrong)
By Peter Panacy
Why all these arguments against Frank Gore are wrong
Well, for starters, let’s just leave this here — the top-15 rushers of all time:
- Emmitt Smith: 18,355 yards
- Walter Peyton: 16,726 yards
- Frank Gore: 16,000 yards
- Barry Sanders: 15,269 yards
- Adrian Peterson: 14,918 yards
- Curtis Martin: 14,101 yards
- LaDanian Tomlinson: 13,684 yards
- Jerome Bettis: 13,662 yards
- Eric Dickerson: 13,259 yards
- Tony Dorsett: 12,739 yards
- Jim Brown: 12,312 yards
- Marshall Faulk: 12,279 yards
- Edgerrin James: 12,246 yards
- Marcus Allen: 12,243 yards
- Franco Harris: 12,240 yards
Aside from Gore (who just announced his plans for retirement) and Peterson, who is still active, each member of that top 15 is in the Hall of Fame. Considering how stat-happy the NFL is, along with the fact the league likely won’t shift back to run-first offenses for a very long, long time, the sheer volume is reason enough to induct Gore.
Peterson, too, if you were doubting. To counter the second reason on this list, it’s not as if voters can only choose between Gore and Peterson. In fact, one can safely argue Peterson enjoyed vastly better scenarios during the prime of his career with the Minnesota Vikings than Gore endured with the 49ers during his prime, as Football Outsiders’ Mike Tanier pointed out:
"Gore spent the first six years of his career on miserable 49ers teams. Think about it: the first six years of a running back’s career are typically his entire productive career. Todd Gurley just completed his sixth season and he’s ready to be put to pasture. If you like to argue about what would happen if Terry Bradshaw and Archie Manning switched places, well, hook Gore up with Tom Brady or Peyton Manning in the late 2000s, or put him behind the Seahawks, Chiefs, or Broncos offensive lines at the time. Even [Fred] Taylor’s Jaguars were typically much better teams than Gore’s 49ers at their peaks, to say nothing of the teams that [Curtis] Martin and Bettis (once he reached the Steelers) played for. Both Gore’s raw totals and DYAR/DVOA were both harmed by playing for an organization which was dysfunctional for years."
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Think about that for a second. For the overwhelming majority of Gore’s prime, he was the lone offensive weapon the Niners had. Defenses keyed in on him and likely him alone, yet he still managed four 1,000-yard rushing seasons between 2005 and 2010, including nearly 1,700 rush yards on a putrid 2006 San Francisco squad.
As for longevity, well, considering most running backs call it a career at age 30, the ability to contribute at a solid level well beyond that benchmark has to be worth just as much as any first-team All-Pro selection or MVP vote. In fact, looking at the sheer number of one- or two-time All-Pro running backs who aren’t in the Hall of Fame, that number is considerably greater than rushers who played well beyond 35 years of age.
So, yes, Gore is a hands-down bona fide Hall of Famer. Drop the mic on that one.