Ex-49er Frank Gore will continue his assault on the all-time rushing list against his former team with No. 7 in sight.
Colts running back likely to become NFL’s No. 7 all-time rusher vs. the 49ers
Frank Gore’s stealth run up the NFL all-time rushing list is nearing its crescendo.
All those Hall of Fame names. All those thousands of yards. And all he needs is a 4-yard carry Sunday against his former team, the 49ers, to surpass Eric Dickerson for No. 7 all-time. Gore even could reach No. 4 by year’s end.
Sunday’s upcoming yards will be among the most fascinating of his overachieving, 13year career.
When he dons a still-oddlooking Indianapolis Colts jersey, Gore finally will face a 49ers franchise he still adores. “I’d been there 10 years. That’s what I bleed,” Gore said Wednesday.
No one-on-one matchup is more enticing than Gore vs. linebacker NaVorro Bowman. Gore, 34, and Bowman, 29, rarely went one-on-one in the 49ers practice drills, and, if so, it wasn’t at the full force that’s defined their careers.
“That’ll be a good challenge, two players that are very savvy over the years,” said Tom Rathman, who developed a fatherly kinship with Gore as the 49ers former running backs coach.
Gore and Bowman played integral roles leading the 49ers to NFC Championship games
“I’D BEEN THERE 10 YEARS. THAT’S WHAT I BLEED.” — Frank Gore, former 49ers running back
from 2011-14. They tested opponents, not each other.
“Me and Frank had a brother-in-law type of deal going on during practice,” Bowman said. “Anytime we went together in team practices, he always knew I’d give him the best look.”
Sunday, their respective teams are desperate to win. The 49ers are 0-4, the Colts 1-3, and the Gore-Bowman matchup is a long-awaited, game-within-the-game.
“Harbaugh kept us away from each other, because we knew what we had and could do,” Gore said on a conference call, referring to ex-49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. “But I know what Bo brings to the table.” Bo knows Frank, too. “He’s smart, and he understands how I play the position, so he’ll try to act like he’s going in one gap and try to bounce to another,” Bowman said. “He’s over there probably trying to get his offensive line riled up to handle our defense and talking about Bo. ‘Bo! Got to get Bo!’ ”
Bowman, speaking for all 49ers fans, says he misses Gore. The franchise’s alltime leading rusher arrived as a 2005 third-round draft gamble because of surgically repaired knees, and he left in 2014 as a free agent amid a mass exodus from the team.
Carlos Hyde, Gore’s successor, is the NFL’s sixthleading rusher, producing 321 yards and averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Gore ranks 21st with 191 yards and a 3.1 yards-per-carry mark.
“He’s still a tough SOB,” 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said of Gore. “He’ll still run downhill. He’ll still put his face right on you. He’s still pretty good out of the backfield. He’s still a dynamic running back and he’s still able to create when there’s nothing there.”
Still, still, still.
Why is Gore still playing? Because he still hasn’t won a Lombardi Trophy. Five seasons ago, his 33-yard run got the 49ers to the 7-yard line in a last-gasp attempt to win the Super Bowl.
“I always want to get back and get that trophy,” Gore said. “It hasn’t happened yet but I feel I can still play, still feel good and still train with young guys in the offseason. My body feels good, I still love it.” Still, still, still.
With 13,256 yards, Gore is closing in on No. 7 Dickerson (13,259), No. 6 Jerome Bettis (13,662), No. 5 LaDainian Tomlinson (13,684) and No. 4 Curtis Martin (14,101).
“It’s not like he’s thriving on climbing the charts, so to speak,” Rathman said. “He just wants to be a good football player, play in, play out.”
When Gore entered the NFL in 2005, he was consumed with the names of other running backs, the five drafted ahead of him: Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson, Cadillac Williams, J.J. Arrington and Eric Shelton.
“I’m the last one now, so I’ve won that case,” Gore said.
Used now as a two-down player, he’s not summoned as much to pass protect, even though that role defined his grit with the 49ers.
He’s blocked on only 13 pass snaps this season and allowed just one hurry, ranking 12th out of the league’s 36 running backs, according to ProFootballFocus.com. He ranked 59th out of 61 last season, a far cry from the 2013 season when he was No. 2 in PFF’s pass-protector rating.
Rathman recalled Gore’s multiple blitz pickups in the 2012 team’s epic playoff win over New Orleans.
Center Daniel Kilgore added: “The great thing about Frank was pass protection. He wasn’t afraid to put his hands on anybody.”
Gore was so good at blitz pick-up drills with the 49ers that, as Rathman said: “I don’t think too many people were willing to step up and try Frank, to be honest with you.”
Stories about Gore’s past deeds are plentiful. They’ll be rehashed best as he heads to the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction stage in, say, six or sevens summers.
“He made our guys look great,” Kilgore added. “Some of those holes, I don’t think you could have slipped a dollar bill through them.”
Gore is “the most underrated running back of our generation,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said.
Saleh heaped a proper dosing of praise on Gore as an “unbelievable pass protector” while also sticking up for his troops. “We’ll still take our linebackers over him,” Saleh said.
If Bowman or fellow linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong or a defensive back blitzes, Gore will know where they’re coming. He will be ready for the double cross inside, or the bubble blitzes.
As for Bowman, he is battling for consistency in his comeback from last October’s Achilles tear. He ranks 60th out of 83 linebackers in PFF’s analysis, with a dismal 43.1 pass-coverage grade.
“I’m happy that he’s healthy,” Gore added. “I’m happy that he’s still playing good ball. I’m looking forward to seeing him Sunday.”
Rathman still talks to Gore before and after games. Beforehand, Rathman reminds his prized pupil to take care of the football and not play so bad that it taints his legacy. Afterward, Gore tells Rathman what went right, that, “You’d be proud of me. I knocked the (heck) out of guys and was crushing them.”
Gore vs. Bowman. Colts vs. 49ers. Who crushes who?