Frank Gore calls Colts' 2015 season "the toughest season of my career"

The Colts' 2015 didn't go the way that anybody associated with the organization wanted it to.  Andrew Luck missed nine games due to injury and the Colts finished 8-8, coming in second place in the AFC South and missing the playoffs.

One of the team's new additions in the offseason was running back Frank Gore, who signed with the Colts to compete for a Super Bowl and to have stability at quarterback with Luck.  Gore actually had a good season, but it was understandably a very frustrating one for him.  After the team's season finale, a 30-24 win over the Titans, Gore let that frustration show.

Frank Gore following the loss: "This was the toughest season of my career. A lot of f***** up stuff." To summarize: he was very unhappy.

— Tricia Whitaker (@TriciaWhitaker) January 3, 2016

Frank Gore was very, very frustrated this season. Asked him about next year. His response: "I'm under contract. What can I do?"

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) January 3, 2016

Gore played in all 16 games this season (the fifth straight year he has done so!) and rushed for 967 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 3.7 yards per carry and adding 34 catches for 267 yards and a touchdown in the receiving game.  He fell just 33 yards shy of his ninth 1,000 yard season, but he provided a run threat for the Colts that they had been missing recently.  With the injuries at quarterback, however, Gore faced a number of stacked boxes and defenses who focused on taking away the run, meaning that he often didn't have lanes to run through.  Entering the season, he thought that wasn't going to happen in Indy, but it did.

It's especially interesting that he called this 8-8 season the most frustrating year of his career because he finished with the same or worse record in seven of his ten seasons with the 49ers.  It was his third-fewest rushing yardage total in a season, however, and finished with a yards per carry average below 4.0 for the first season in his career.  He also averaged 59.4 yards rushing per game, his lowest in a year since his rookie season.  He became just the fourth player in league history to rush for at least 20 but fewer than 100 yards in all 16 games of a season, according to Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith.  For Gore, he just hasn't had the running lanes and, for a running back, that's not ideal.

It's understandable why Gore is frustrated with this season, but he had a good season for the Colts in the midst of the mess.  Hopefully next season will be better for all associated with the team, including Gore, as hopefully he will finally be able to be on a contender and play with Andrew Luck - like he thought would happen when he signed with the Colts last offseason.