Phil The Thrill Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 In looking back on the 2019 season I’m continually perplexed how bad Frank Gore was running the ball. He was completely ineffective and it seemed like every time he carried the ball he ran straight into a brick wall. It was terrible - and yes way worse than Mike Tolbert running the ball in 2017. I have never been more frustrated with a player than I have with Frank Gore running the ball toward the end of the 2019 season. I’ll stand by the fact that I think keeping him active hurt the team and that I get the team would have been better off with Yeldon on the field. He should have not been active....period. But his season didn’t start bad by any means. He was the main RB after Singletary’s injury in Week 2 and he performed well. I split his season up roughly based on the number of carries. These are his numbers in Weeks 1-6: 86 carries for 388 yards 4.5 yards per carry 14.3 carries per game 2 rushing TD’s Weeks 7-16 91 carries for 211 yards 2.3 yards per carry 9.1 carries per game 0 rushing TD’s What inflates these numbers badly is a 27 yard run versus Denver. If you take that out of the mix, Gore was 90 carries for 184 and a whopping 2 yards per carry. So the question is, why did his production drop off? Did they run Gore too hard when Singletary was hurt as opposed to spreading his carries out over the year? Did he get burned out carrying the load early in? Or was Gore so limited that it became predictable when he was in the backfield? Teams knew his limitations and just run blitzed the house to stop him? I do respect what Gore has done and am glad he was a good mentor to Singletary but unless you can turn back the clock 10 years, I never....NEVER want to see him carry the ball for the Bills again. It was just too tragic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFT Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Because he’s 184... 7 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Just now, DFT said: Because he’s 184... 185 actually. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Firebaugh Kid Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Old bro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFT Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 2 minutes ago, GunnerBill said: 185 actually. Agh... forgot to carry the one. Damn pinky finger and tenth decimal point! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Murica Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Because he is old af Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyjj Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Gore was seldom used in the 11 formation they used in back half of season. When he went on field we lined up in heavy formations more often. As a result lots of 8 or 9 man boxes. He was in when they knew we were running (short yardage, goal line or 4 minute drill). Not a lot of lanes to run through and he was too slow to run outside by design. That's why there will be a new compliment to Motor in 2020. 6 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Otreply Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Really? Phill, he’s old... Go Bills!!! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Pretty simple. Singletary's injury forced them to use Gore much more than they expected. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Junction Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 5 minutes ago, freddyjj said: Gore was seldom used in the 11 formation they used in back half of season. When he went on field we lined up in heavy formations more often. As a result lots of 8 or 9 man boxes. He was in when they knew we were running (short yardage, goal line or 4 minute drill). Not a lot of lanes to run through and he was too slow to run outside by design. That's why there will be a new compliment to Motor in 2020. He’s also too slow and not elusive enough at this point to break off a few long gainers against a stacked box. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJB Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 (edited) Well Edited March 20, 2020 by DJB 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimer1960 Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Ultimately, I think his age slowed him down, but I also think play selection got very predictable when he was on the field. It seemed like they felt obligated to get him a number of snaps per game in deference to his career stature and leadership. When he was on the field they almost always gave him the ball. Since he had slowed down, those handoffs were pretty much always between the tackles. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuvian Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 as our passing game woes became known to opponents down the stretch, Gore being on the field was a tell for a run play IMO 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 1 minute ago, stuvian said: as our passing game woes became known to opponents down the stretch, Gore being on the field was a tell for a run play IMO Not actually true. He was on the field on passing downs pretty often to pass protect because it was the one thing he still did a lot better than motor. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUNCH OF MULARKEY Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 1 13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroutDog Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 6 minutes ago, BUNCH OF MULARKEY said: Sign him! He’s a gamer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil The Thrill Posted March 20, 2020 Author Share Posted March 20, 2020 19 minutes ago, OldTimer1960 said: Ultimately, I think his age slowed him down, but I also think play selection got very predictable when he was on the field. It seemed like they felt obligated to get him a number of snaps per game in deference to his career stature and leadership. When he was on the field they almost always gave him the ball. Since he had slowed down, those handoffs were pretty much always between the tackles. Makes sense. To me, it’s still frustrating how bad he was towards the end of the season. It’s like every time he touched the ball he gained a yard. Every time. I think I have NFL PTSD from watching Gore run the ball over the last few weeks. It’s was disgusting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 40 minutes ago, Phil The Thrill said: In looking back on the 2019 season I’m continually perplexed how bad Frank Gore was running the ball.... ...I do respect what Gore has done and am glad he was a good mentor to Singletary but unless you can turn back the clock 10 years, I never....NEVER want to see him carry the ball for the Bills again. It was just too tragic. Not as tragic as not having a blog, or not hosting the 7-9 p.m. slot on GR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil The Thrill Posted March 20, 2020 Author Share Posted March 20, 2020 30 minutes ago, GG said: Pretty simple. Singletary's injury forced them to use Gore much more than they expected. So you’re saying he got burned out and ran out of gas? Some would believe that it was playcalling that doomed Gore. Either way it was ugly 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 I don't think it was age - I think it was playcalling and personnel formations plus the fact that the Bills run blocking talent ain't that great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
947 Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 The playcalling didn't help. Running 2-3 sweeps per game which averaged -3 yards certainly affects the bottom line... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 (edited) I think it was more from the way they used him after Singletary came back. He was given a lot of short yardage/goal line carries and the Bills were NOT good at Power Run Blocking, ranking near the bottom of the NFL at success rate for those... Prior to that, he was used in a more full feature role. 2 minutes ago, dave mcbride said: I don't think it was age - I think it was playcalling and personnel formations plus the fact that the Bills run blocking talent ain't that great. The Bills run blocking was not good in Power formations. However by all other metrics, it was good to excellent in other situations...Singletary did lead the NFL in yards per carry as an RB, he didn't do that by himself. Edited March 20, 2020 by matter2003 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 47 minutes ago, freddyjj said: Gore was seldom used in the 11 formation they used in back half of season. When he went on field we lined up in heavy formations more often. As a result lots of 8 or 9 man boxes. He was in when they knew we were running (short yardage, goal line or 4 minute drill). Not a lot of lanes to run through and he was too slow to run outside by design. That's why there will be a new compliment to Motor in 2020. This, for part time fans like Phil who have to ask.. Washington game is where his wonderful career hit the concrete wall because that’s when Motor became the focal point of the running game. After that, when Gore came in, it meant he was getting the ball on short yardage plays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Defense Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 (edited) This post is tongue in cheek, correct? Not a real question or concern, correct? Shocking, almost disturbing, if not! Gore is 36 years old, has carried the ball over three thousand five hundred times, and rushed for over fifteen thousand yards. In addition, he has almost five hundred receptions for almost four thousand more yards. You don't need to know all the specifics, of course, to know this is the reason. This is a joke, right? Edited March 20, 2020 by Mister Defense 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boater Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 2 minutes ago, Mister Defense said: rushed for over fifteen thousand yards For perspective 15000 yards equals approx. 8.5 miles. 8.5 miles of people trying to pound the tar out of you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoBills Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Devin helping Frank on locker clean out day last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34-78-83 Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 strange that it was asked, but it was a combo of factors very clearly. Age - He's certainly lost any burst to the edge he might have had. He's still very strong but there is no acceleration. Scheme - As mentioned by others, he played in a lot of 2 back/2 TE sets where we were trying to gain one yard, and other similar situations. For anyone to say it was not a combination of both, you are missing the big picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALLEN1QB Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 He became third leading rusher. Goal complete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locomark Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 (edited) a. He wasn't used in 11 formation b. he had pretty nominal receiving skills so teams didn't need to account for him in the passing game meaning they guessed run most times he was in there c. we used him between the tackles so teams didn't worry about setting the edge d. we always seems to run on 1st and 2nd down with him in there Edited March 20, 2020 by Locomark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextmanup Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 1 hour ago, DFT said: Because he’s 184... Not much more complicated than that. He's old and his tank ran dry during the season. By the end, he didn't belong on an NFL field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 1 hour ago, BUNCH OF MULARKEY said: 1 hour ago, TroutDog said: Sign him! He’s a gamer! I'd need to see him take a few big hits before I'm completely convinced. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artful Dodger Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Older than Methusalah, who couldn't accelerate through the hole either after he turned 600. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBillsFanSince1973 Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 I wont criticize franks production. I believe the more important role was mentoring to singletary and I respect that more then his production. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Mister Defense said: This is a joke, right? In more ways than you might think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freak-O Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 2 hours ago, Phil The Thrill said: Makes sense. To me, it’s still frustrating how bad he was towards the end of the season. It’s like every time he touched the ball he gained a yard. Every time. I think I have NFL PTSD from watching Gore run the ball over the last few weeks. It’s was disgusting. I thought it was more like every time he touched the ball they went backwards, at least towards the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julio Hopkins Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Bad offensive line, old running back = no good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Toll Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Too predictable when he was in. Teams knew what to expect and rendered him useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Almighty Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 I think the sweeps and runs outside the tackles that seemed to be called for him alot added to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerJ Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 3 hours ago, GG said: Pretty simple. Singletary's injury forced them to use Gore much more than they expected. Fail. His touches went down after game 6. Instead of an average of 14+ touches per game, he was betting just over 9 touches down the stretch. Chandler's explanation is the simplest. As Singletary became the feature back, Gore had to transition to a short yardage specialist. Unfortunately, he often failed in that role. On a number of occasions, he failed to convert on third and short or fourth and short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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