Full circle for Jets’ Gore with facing familiar foe in 49ers
NEWYORK(AP) » Frank Gore took his first snap as a pro in what seems like a lifetime ago. And in the physical, not-for-long nature of the NFL, it might as well have been.
Mike Nolan was the coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 2005, with Mike McCarthy the offensive coordinator. Tim Rattay was the starting quarterback, with No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith waiting in the wings. Gore was a wide-eyed third-round pick running up the depth chart.
Meanwhile, somewhere in South Florida, current 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa wasn’t even 8 and couldn’t have had any idea he’d someday need to tackle Gore — who’s still going strong at 37.
“He seems like an unbelievable dude, but he’s the enemy this week,” Bosa said. “So (we) have to get after him.”
It all comes full circle for the
ageless running back on Sunday when his New York Jets host the team with which he began his NFL career.
“I want to win, especially coming off a loss last week,” Gore said, referring to the Jets’ 27-17 defeat at Buffalo. “I want us to look a lot better as an offensive team and that’s doing whatever it takes to win.
“It could be the 49ers, it could be Seattle, whoever. I just want to get a win.”
So, no, it’s not a reunion tour for Gore, who isn’t exactly reminiscing about the old times. With Le’Veon Bell on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, Gore is being asked to lead a banged-up backfield against a 49ers squad that’s also 0-1 and looking to bounce back from a season- opening loss to Arizona.
Rookie La’Mical Perine could make his debut this week for the Jets after missing the past few weeks with an ankle injury. Newly signed Kalen Ballage might also be in the mix. But, it will likely be Gore who sets the tone for an offense that struggled mightily a week ago.
“I know that’s a big load
with Le’Veon not playing this week and being out for a couple weeks,” said Gore, who signed with the Jets in the offseason. “But even when Le’Veon was here, I was always preparing like I was the guy just because you never know what happens. That’s why every day I go out on the practice field and prepare like I do.
“If my number gets called, I want to be ready.”
That has been Gore in a nutshell throughout his now 16 NFL seasons.
Teammates, coaches, fans and media have marveled at howthe third-leading rusher in league history keeps himself in shape — physically and mentally — approaching the game with the enthusiasm and hunger of that 22-year-old kid in San Francisco all those years ago.
“I love Frank Gore,” said 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who remembers watching him at the University of Miami while serving as the offensive quality control coach at Tampa Bay from 2004- 05.
“I think he’s one of the best running backs to ever play,” Shanahan added. “I think he’s one of the more underrated running backs to ever play. His longevity and his numbers now have finally given him a little bit more attention that is past due.”
Last week Allen threw 33 completions for 312 yards, both career highs, and directed an offense that controlled the ball for more than 41 minutes, the Bills’ highest total since at least 2005.
“He has grown a lot,” said Dolphins defensive end Shaq Lawson, who was Allen’s teammate on the Bills in 2018-19. “He looks a lot better than he was last year — 10 times better.”
Flores said Allen is coming into his own in his third NFL season.
“He has made incredible growth from the time we first saw him until now — from an accuracy standpoint, just an overall presence,” Flores said. “He’s got command of the offense, and his leadership — that team rallies around him.” ON THE GROUND The Dolphins expected to be better at stopping the run this year, but in the opener, they couldn’t even stop quarterback keepers.
Cam Newton ran for 75
yards and two scores, and Miami gave up a leagueworst 217 yards rushing. There were no fans at the game, but the Dolphins still heard about the disappointing performance from their re-tooled defense.
“We gave up 217 yards rushing, so we should get criticized,” linebacker Kyle Van Noy said. “That’s not good enough.”
Allen is likely to test the Dolphins on the ground himself. He carried a career-high 14 times last week and led the Bills with 57 yards rushing.
FOUR-WIDE Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll didn’t take long to unveil several new wrinkles following the offseason addition of receiver Stefon Diggs, and they included playing five receivers at the same time.
“He’s themastermind,” said Diggs, who had a team-leading eight catches for 86 yards as Allen completed passes to eight players. “As far as getting me involved, I’m more than thankful, but more so from the standpoint of he got everybody involved. A lot of people touched the ball.”