Over at ESPN.com, Paul Gutierrez is following up on free agents who have left the 49ers and started playing for other teams by asking local beat writers to chime in on how the ex-49ers have been looking during the offseason. Naturally, Frank Gore gets top billing in the article, and he receives a fairly lengthy quotation for Indianapolis writing Mike Wells.
Wells lays out some basic points that most of us anticipated: Gore, since signing, has immediately become their top RB, especially considering the fact that Andrew Luck has basically never had a run game to work with. The combination of Luck's arm and Gore's ability means that defenses are going to be in a quandary about how to defend the Colts - stacking the box is no longer an option nor is sitting back in order to defend the pass. While Gore is definitely on the downturn of his career, he should still certainly bring enough to the table for the Colts. I think he makes that offense a lot better.
Wells finished his quotation thusly: "The best thing Gore has said so far is that he doesn't need to dominate the ball. He's fine if they throw the ball 50 times a game or if he has to carry it 30 times a game. He simply wants to win after missing out on the playoffs last season."
This is, I hope, what happens. I've made it no secret before that Frank Gore is my favorite 49er of all time. I certainly grew up idolizing some of the greats (I used to pretend to be Jerry Rice in the backyard all the time), but I really came into my football adulthood watching Frank Gore. For a long time, he was the reason to watch them play.
And now, with Gore being a bubble for the Hall of Fame, it's good for him to be on a team that opens up defenses for him to rack up some extra yardage and, potentially, a few more TDs. Moreover, if he could add a ring to his resume, his HOF candidacy starts to look much better. If Gore can continue to be the guy he was for the 49ers, even in these last few seasons, then he will certainly bring a new element to the team.
Check out the article to see how Michael Crabtree, Mike Iupati, and Stevie Johnson have been doing. Gutierrez also had an article about Chris Culliver, Dan Skuta, Perrish Cox, and Andy Lee too.