Consigliere
All-American
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2012
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Still, there were other backs in his time that I'd consider better backs, minus the longevity part that won't sniff the HOF.
So you're saying Gore is a compiler?
All time rushing leaders (8-15), all in the HOF but Edge (he will be soon):
8. Frank Gore: 13,004 Yards, 179 Games, 12 Seasons and 2949 Carries (4.41 YPC)
9. Tony Dorsett: 12,739 Yards, 173 Games, 12 Seasons and 2936 Carries (4.33 YPC)
10. Jim Brown: 12,312 Yards, 118 Games, 9 Seasons and 2359 Carries (5.24 YPC)
11. Marshall Faulk: 12,279 Yards, 176 Games, 12 Seasons and 2836 Carries (4.33 YPC)
12. Edgerrin James: 12,246 Yards, 148 Games, 11 Seasons and 3028 Carries (4.04 YPC)
13. Marcus Allen: 12,243 Yards, 222 Games, 16 Seasons and 3022 Carries (4.05 YPC)
14. Franco Harris: 12,120 Yards, 173 Games, 13 Seasons and 2949 Carries (4.11 YPC)
15. Thurman Thomas: 12,074 Yards, 182 Games, 13 Seasons and 2877 Carries (4.20 YPC)
I am leaving out Jim Brown from this analysis because he is an outlier among outliers.
- Frank Gore has the highest YPC on the list
- Frank Gore when he passed #11 , #12 , #13 , #14 and #15 , he did it in less carries than the person he passed
On that list, Frank is ahead of all of them and I feel the only back he's better than is Thomas.
The YPC is interesting and I have one question about that without looking at stats. To me, it seems like a running back is helped out more so than they were in the past by a rise in the passing game. Thoughts?
I think you should look closer at the stats. Frank isn't a compiler.
What you should see, if you follow football, is it is harder than ever to put up these stats. The rushing stats aren't being touched, the passing stats on the other hand are being replaced by newer guys.
As for passing stats (all time passing yards), 6 of 15 are active players. 4 of the top 10 are active too. In addition, Manning (#1) retired after last season.
As for rushing stats, Frank Gore is the only active player.
The rushing stats are difficult to touch. Also, the league, via penalties, protects QBs and makes being DB very difficult. Passing is king now and Frank isn't a compiler.