Colts 2015 Player Preview: Running Back Frank Gore

One of the most notable and biggest moves of the offseason for the Indianapolis Colts was the signing of veteran running back Frank Gore.  The reasons are pretty evident, and they stem from both Gore's success running the football and the Colts' struggles running the football.

In Gore's ten-year career (all with the 49ers), he has rushed for 11,073 yards (20th-best all-time) and 64 touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards per carry, adding 342 receptions for 2,883 yards and 11 touchdowns in the receiving game.  He hasn't missed a single game in the last four years, and in eight of his ten seasons in the league he has topped 1,000 yards rushing (including each of the last four).  He's a five-time Pro Bowler and a player who will receive some consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame once his career is done.

For the Colts, they haven't been able to run the football well in recent years.  The last 1,000 yard rusher they had was Joseph Addai in 2007, meaning that in the last seven seasons the Colts have not had a player reach that mark.  The closest a player has come in the Andrew Luck era was Vick Ballard in 2012, as he rushed for 814 yards on the season.  With Trent Richardson at running back, clearly the rushing game was a weakness for the Colts, and it has been for several years.

Enter Frank Gore, who brings exactly what the Colts need at the running back position: good, consistent play.  He's projected to be the oldest starting running back in the NFL in 2015 and particularly at that position age can be a cause for concern, but he's clearly a massive upgrade over Trent Richardson and should help the team out.  In 2014, nobody in the league faced more 8+ man boxes than Gore, and in 2015 he's likely to face much less since he's playing in a passing offense led by Andrew Luck.  Putting a successful running back like Frank Gore in the Colts' system and with the players the Colts have is a recipe for success, and so despite concerns about age, Gore should be poised for a good season in 2015 and could very well become the first Colts' running back since 2007 to top 1,000 yards rushing.