Frank Gore: 110 Yards From Passing Roger Craig
by David Fucillo on Oct 26, 2011 9:00 AM PDT
in San Francisco 49ers News
Email
Print
Win, lose or draw, this weekend's game could have historical significance for the 49ers. Running back Frank Gore currently has 6,955 yards, which puts him 110 yards from passing Roger Craig (7,064) for second place on the franchise's career rushing yards list. Joe Perry is in first place with 7,344 NFL yards. Perry has 8,689 if you count his seasons before the 49ers joined the NFL. As it stands, Gore could become the 49ers NFL franchise rushing king before the end of this season.
It's a bit difficult to make comparisons to Joe Perry given how the game has changed over the last 50 years. In reality, there is a divide somewhere along the way between the modern era and the earlier era of football. I don't know where that dividing line is, but it's there somewhere. Joe Perry is an all-time great in 49ers and NFL history, but having not been around during Perry's career, it's hard for me to make a comparison. What do some of our older readers think in comparing Gore and Perry
In comparing Frank Gore and Roger Craig, it is an interesting comparison. Gore would appear to be the better pure running back, but Roger Craig remains one of the all-time great receiving backs. Craig was Marshall Faulk and Ladanian Tomlinson long before either of them came around. Frank Gore is a solid receiving back, but I'm not sure he is quite at the level of Roger Craig at this point.
How do you compare the two running backs? Please specify the type of comparison you are making, whether it be as pure rushers, receiving backs, overall, or something else entirely.
31 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Both have a knack for fumbling
ZING!
Frank Gore is what you’d expect out of RB in terms of receiving. Roger Craig was the gold standard. I’m not saying Craig is the greatest receiving back of all-time, but he’s certainly up there. You can never make an argument for Gore being on the best receiving of his time. With Craig, you can, and it’s not much of an argument.
From a pure rusher standpoint, I don’t think it’s close either. Except, in this skill set, the advantage is easily Gore’s. How often did Craig ever run against 8-9 men in the box? How often was Craig the team’s only offensive weapon? Frank Gore’s rushing ability is why he has averaged 4.7 ypc up to this point in his career.
Craig’s 4.1 is nothing to cry about, and in general yards per carry aren’t necessarily that much of a telling difference. Gore’s explosiveness to rip off a big play is what separates him. Much like Craig’s soft hands and route running made him a better receiving threat.
by Andrew Davidson on Oct 26, 2011 9:33 AM PDT reply actions
For the most part I think that you're right on ...
I would point out that in evaluating Craig’s YPC, remember that for the first several years of his career he played fullback rather than tailback … the point being that, as a fullback, he was used mostly as a blocker and receiver and his rushing opportunities were short-yardage situations for the most part … thus his YPC weren’t significant until he was moved to tailback. I expect that if you removed Craig’s rushes as a fullback his YPC would be virtually the same as Frank’s.
Also, while Frank is more elusive and has more breakaway runs, Craig ran with more power. Perhaps the thing that I remember most about Craig’s efforts as a tailback is the fact that he almost never lost yardage on a play, whereas Frank gets caught behind the LOS much more ofter. Obviously this point doesn’t speak to the effectiveness of their respective OLs.
by 49erFanSince1950 on Oct 26, 2011 9:49 AM PDT up reply actions
Yep those high knee's. Even as a youth I always loved to watch him run.
Californa is world PVP at it's finest.
Craig's YPC was better as a FB
4.3 YPC over the first four years of his career, 4.0 afterwards. But that masks the aging effect, Craig’s violent running style aged him faster and the last half of his career he had a few years under 4 YPC.
Gore is a much better runner IMO and a little better overall back.
by hammystyle on Oct 26, 2011 10:27 AM PDT via iPhone app up reply actions
Really?
I almost never see Gore lose yards unless a lineman totally whiffs…
Plus, he hits holes you couldn’t find with a microscope… I think Craig was better in open space though…
20 year later---still too soon
That fumble by Craig in the waning minutes of the 1990 (91) NFC Championship Game at home against the Giants still pains me to this day! The shot at being the first team to be a “Three-peat” Super Bowl Champion gone on the ensuing FG by the Giants.
Craig was taller than Gore, but like Gore he was indeed a violent runner. He kept his pad level low, his knees high, and his legs constantly driving, which led to many broken tackles and extra yardage. Though, I don’t think Craig was as explosive as Gore in terms of being able to break off some long runs.
by kailuakid9er on Oct 26, 2011 10:08 AM PDT up reply actions
Agreed but what about their blocking skills?
I think of Craig as more difficult to tackle than Gore bc of his high knee motion but Gore somehow has these amazing 40+ yard breakaways. Craig gets a better receiver over Gore.
But what about blocking? Are they equal?
And a big strike against Gore is the injury bug – been years since he ran a whole season.
Blocking skills? Gore.
I’m fuzzy on this one, but I remember Craig being a decent blocker. I don’t think he lit up some guys like Gore has, but if memory serves he was consistently decent.
by kailuakid9er on Oct 26, 2011 11:13 AM PDT up reply actions
LOVE Gore though
Just wish his prime hadn’t been wasted by the incompetance of Nolan/Singletary.
by kailuakid9er on Oct 26, 2011 10:10 AM PDT up reply actions
Interesting Study on Coaching Score
Hey Fooch maybe one of you guys would like to relate something similar to this article.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/kerry_byrne/10/26/49ers.coaching/index.html?sct=nfl_t11_a1
It shares a nice look into our teams proficiency with offense and defense.
Neat article although I think it pumps up JH too much at this point
Every game there seem to be the questionable calls or red flags thrown or timing. Of course that will improve in coming years but I’d not hestitate to put JH in the top 10 coaches today.
JH penalties
Personally I did a double take when asked during the post game interview after Detroit when they said " So Jim did you know that it was a penalty to challenge a scoring play" (short time to contemplate result) Jim: “Yes I did” Reporter:“And you challenged it anyway” Jim “Yes”…….. I laughed and chalked it up to Jim being ticked that every time there is a play we may or may not want to challenge it seems to take significantly longer to get the replay loaded if it ever does at all. So he challenges the play and says that he wanted to give them some extra time to make sure they do their job and personally I think the refs may generally be in need of that time. I have really been disappointed with the level of officiating this season.
by Jokersrwild on Oct 26, 2011 10:44 AM PDT up reply actions
Agreed on the incompetence of the ref staffs for this year...however...
It seems much improved during contest with SF in comparison to the last 4-5 years. I can remember soo many bad calls in past years by refs on SF. This year, it seems as if they arent as bad or at least not in pivitol situations….
by Hesperia9er on Oct 26, 2011 10:51 AM PDT up reply actions
their stats
seem bogus to me. Or rather, it’s not clear at all what the predictive value of Points/Yard measures are.
Brian Sabean: Sing His Praises To The Heavens!
-------
PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game that seems to have resurrected itself in my absence...
The stats
Seems the basis is reflective of this type of analysis.
http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Category/2_Quality_Stats.html
However I do not see the figures for 2011 noted here the writer for SI is also retained by the site that noted the previous season stats so maybe he has had access to the stats for this season. Granted he doesn’t note the individual stats in the article but it may have made it less appealing to the general reader. I’m inclined to believe the writer until I see figures that prove otherwise.
by Jokersrwild on Oct 26, 2011 11:07 AM PDT up reply actions
still doesn't answer the questions
points/yard obviously will correlate with past winning. So does point differential – in fact, it’s not clear why these stats are better than points differential. But that’s OK – Niners playing well, we know that.
But how well does it predict FUTURE wins? And what does it have to do with “Coaching” (other than well coached teams score more points and allow fewer)
Brian Sabean: Sing His Praises To The Heavens!
-------
PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game that seems to have resurrected itself in my absence...
I have repeated these comments in the dedicated fan post.
Brian Sabean: Sing His Praises To The Heavens!
-------
PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game that seems to have resurrected itself in my absence...
Prediction: Frank Gore will lead the league in rushing this year
With the addition of Kendall Hunter and quality FB in Bruce Miller and Ice…Gore may very well lead the league…since he isnt running the ball every down and Dingleberry isnt there to tell the opposing D which play out of the two plays they ran, gore would be running. Gore is like 141 yards and one game less than tying Peterson (Min) for the league lead…Honestly, I cant see any other back beating him this year…except if he beats himself with injuries (hopefully not)
Gore rushing title = 13-3 to a 15-1 team W-L record
If he wins the rushing title, that means he’s consistently breaking long runs. He’ll be sharing more carries with Hunter, so the only way he gets the yards to lead the league in rushing is if he has games like he did against Detroit. If he consistently has games like he had against Detroit, then I don’t see the Niners losing many (or any?) games the rest of the season.
by kailuakid9er on Oct 26, 2011 11:17 AM PDT up reply actions
Run DMC will lead the league in rushing yards.
But Gore will be right behind him.
Clayton Kershaw, Giant Killer | KeMVP #BEASTMODE
"By now if u don't believe the Niners are for real ur probably not that good at what u do..." - Donte Whitner
Good read..
I hadn’t realized that Frank was that high on the Niner’s list of all time rushers… It is good to put Frank’s contribution to the team in perspective with other great RB’s in the team history… Just imagine what that contribution would have accomplished if he had a QB and coach of the same caliber that Roger had… In any case.. Thanks Frank good job and keep on making the big plays.
Frank "The Tank"
What do you get when you cross Frank Gore with Will Ferrell’s character from Old School?
“We’re going streaking!”, through the opponents defense! LOL
Fooch, you know what they say about great minds...
I just posted this last night…
For those who were unfortunate enough to never have the opportunity to watch Roger Craig (who deserves to be in the HOF) run:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_cOctUzgSY&feature=related
his third run in that tape, starting about 0:20, is my all-time favorite football play…
After all was said and done, a lot more got said than done.
No One Ran
like Catfish did! Gore is a very good back but isn’t even in the same zip code as Craig. Craig was the first man in the entire history of the NFL to get both 1000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. He did it as a fullback. Craig was a punishing blocker as well. Tyler enjoyed 1000 yard seasons following Craig.
Lastly, Craig had so much talent he could play halfback and did it extremely well. Roger Craig was a once in a generation football player. How the Hall of Fame has escaped him is beyond me.
With Gore's injury ending season last year...how nobody talking about him
being a candidate for “Come Back Player Of The Year” ?
Perry was on some
great O teams – joined with his buddy “The King” in the Million Dollar Backfield." He was the first man to have back to back 1,000 yard seasons – which tells you something about how the game has changed.
When Joe the Jet got in the open it was see ya later. He ran the 100 in 9.7 at a time when that was high praise.
But it’s kinda worthless to compare stats except by the standards of the day. The Babe hit something like 27 home runs one season – more than almost any of the other teams. That says a lot, even tho his stadium had a short porch.
Gore has thrived on bad teams – as the focus of defenses. Perry was on great teams that had middling defenses. Let’s say they are both exceptional & doff our hats.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Niners Nation
Related FanShots on Niners Nation
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
- Former high-school star Brian Banks does serious time on trumped-up charge, now hopes for an NFL shot
- Former ‘idiot kicker’ Mike Vanderjagt in trouble after accosting junior-high heckler
- Adrian Peterson blows teammates away in footraces; appears to be on the mend
- UPDATE: Charlie Sheen didn’t buy Lawrence Taylor’s Super Bowl ring
- Alex Smith gets blown up by Jon Beason over Cam Newton comments
