Frank Gore HOF?

Barber was very good. But 55 career rushing TDs, 53 career fumbles.

 

Total dick, too.
Dick Allen > Albert Belle > Tiki Barber, on the universal cross-sport character scale.

 

It's interesting to see Gore get marked down for being durable and a compiler
When he was in college at Miami, he was plagued by injuries that killed his draft stock

 

He's the Harold Baines of RBs. Very good but obviously not going to, um, never mind.

Honestly, I don't think someone like Gore waters down the hall or opens the flood gates potentially as much as Baines. It's a helluva thing to be a good (not great) RB for that many years without sustaining injuries.

 

Compiling st running back is just not like compiling at WR or QB because of the physical risks inherent in the gig. Anyone who can still be productive as long as has Gore is one hell of an exceptional football player.

 

Gore needs 100 yards to pass Barry Sanders into third place in all-time rushing yards and is on pace for a 1,000-yard season at age 36.

 

He's in ESPECIALLY because he's a running back in a league that eats RBs for breakfast. The crazy thing is he's a bargain at $2m a year - he's still avg. 60 yds a game.

 

He's in his 15th season. Among the top 100 or so in rushing yards, the only ones I see that made it that long are Marcus Allen (16 years), Joe Perry (16) and Emmitt Smith (15).
Near as I can tell, the only running backs who have played more games than Gore's 217 are Lorenzo Neal (239), Smith (226) and Allen (222). He could tie Smith if he plays every game this season.
Gore has also started 202 of those, which is second among RBs to Emmitt's 219.

 

I have a hard time wrapping my head around Gore in the HOF. Aside from his second season, when I think he had 1,900 or 2,000 total yards, has he ever been an elite back? I don't think he's ever led the league in rushing yards, attempts or touchdowns.

 

Looking at his Pro-Football-Reference page, I don't see how he's an HOFer. His aforementioned 2006 season ranked third in rushing. He was sixth in 2012. Other than that, he never finished higher than ninth in rushing in the other 12 seasons. He only had two seasons in the top 10 in touchdowns. Only three seasons in the top 10 in total yards from scrimmage (4th, 6th and 7th).

He was a perfectly serviceable running back for a long time. I guess his longevity counts for something, but nobody ever had to gameplan for Frank Gore.

 

I think if you're a "big hall" guy, then Gore in makes sense. As others have now mentioned, man, he's been productive for a long time at a position that normally just spits people out. Even individually, I thought he was "done" like five times before this. Like if we're considering Phil Rivers, Eli Manning and others for the Hall, also throwing in Gore doesn't seem crazy to me. (If you're a "small hall" guy, then he definitely doesn't deserve to be in.)

 

I've always admired Gore for being so durable after overcoming two ACL blowouts in college.