Frank Gore took another step towards the Hall of Fame earlier in the week, when the league named him to its All-Decade team. But I don’t think they got it right. When I look at the numbers, I don’t see him as even one of the top 10 backs of the just-completed decade.
Gore competed in the most games at least – 153 out of a possible 160. That’s somewhat notable, I guess. But the All-Decade team should be more about greatness rather than a participation award. And Gore is getting on this list for longevity rather than anything he did on the field.
Looking at his last 10 seasons, he ranked in the top 10 statistically among running backs only once. That was back in 2012, when he put the 10th-best numbers (that’s using PPR scoring, but you can use total yards or whatever – the results will be similar). Gore ranked in the top 16 in only two other seasons.
The 49ers, recall, decided after the 2014 season – six years ago – that they were ready to move on from Gore. He was able to latch on with the Colts for three years, then they decided he was done. One year with the Dolphins, who didn’t want him back after the 2018 season. And one year with the Bills – literally the only team of the 32 last year who had any interest in giving him a roster spot.
When I’m compiling my own list of the best backs of the decade, I’m more interested in impact. Guys like Arian Foster, Todd Gurley, LeVeon Bell and Ezekiel Elliott, for example, all put together multiple seasons that were far above anything Gore did.
And I will also bring Darren Sproles into the conservation. He got the “flex” spot. As Andy was pointing out, voters are allowed to use the flex to list a running back, wide receiver or tight end that they feel is deserving. If that’s the case, Sproles is essentially the fifth running back, and he’s another guy who shouldn’t be on there.
I poked around with the numbers some, and Matt Forte is the player to me who looks like the biggest omission. He was a productive runner for the Bears and also was dynamite as a pass catcher. He caught 434 passes in the decade (only 32 fewer than Sproles).
Consider the following stab at a list of the top running backs on the decade. On this one, I’m using PPR scoring. If a running back finished a season as the No. 1 running back in the league, he gets 20 points. If he finished 2nd, he gets 19, and so on, right down to the 20th-best running back each year getting 1 point. You total up the points for the 10 seasons and see who bubbles to the top.
Three of the top six are players who wound up on the team: LeSean McCoy, Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch. I have no problem with those guys. Forte finishes 2nd, and Foster and Bell make the top 5.
Gore and Sproles are well down the list. (And note that this is PPR scoring, which favors a player with Sproles’ playing style.)
RUNNING BACKS OF THE DECADE | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rk | Player | G | Run | Rec | Total | TD | PPR/G | Pts |
1. | • LeSean McCoy | 144 | 10,434 | 3,489 | 13,923 | 85 | 16.5 | 104 |
2. | Matt Forte | 114 | 7,629 | 3,724 | 11,353 | 59 | 17.0 | 82 |
3. | • Adrian Peterson | 118 | 9,732 | 1,536 | 11,268 | 76 | 15.2 | 74 |
4. | Arian Foster | 74 | 6,270 | 2,253 | 8,523 | 65 | 20.2 | 72 |
5. | LeVeon Bell | 77 | 6,125 | 3,121 | 9,246 | 46 | 20.6 | 68 |
6. | • Marshawn Lynch | 108 | 7,812 | 1,551 | 9,363 | 76 | 14.7 | 64 |
7. | Jamaal Charles | 88 | 6,086 | 2,024 | 8,110 | 55 | 15.7 | 63 |
8. | Todd Gurley | 73 | 5,404 | 2,090 | 7,494 | 70 | 19.1 | 63 |
9. | Ezekiel Elliott | 56 | 5,405 | 1,619 | 7,024 | 48 | 21.1 | 62 |
10. | DeMarco Murray | 99 | 7,174 | 2,165 | 9,339 | 55 | 15.9 | 56 |
11. | Mark Ingram | 121 | 7,025 | 1,845 | 8,870 | 70 | 13.0 | 54 |
12. | Christian McCaffrey | 48 | 2,920 | 2,523 | 5,443 | 39 | 22.7 | 52 |
13. | Ray Rice | 63 | 4,387 | 2,059 | 6,446 | 35 | 17.8 | 51 |
14. | Chris Johnson | 99 | 6,417 | 1,492 | 7,909 | 38 | 12.5 | 48 |
15. | Alvin Kamara | 45 | 2,408 | 2,068 | 4,476 | 38 | 20.6 | 47 |
16. | David Johnson | 62 | 3,128 | 2,219 | 5,347 | 49 | 16.8 | 46 |
17. | Devonta Freeman | 77 | 3,972 | 2,015 | 5,987 | 43 | 14.5 | 44 |
18. | Melvin Gordon | 67 | 4,240 | 1,873 | 6,113 | 47 | 16.7 | 43 |
19. | • Frank Gore | 153 | 9,786 | 2,065 | 11,851 | 59 | 11.7 | 39 |
20. | Doug Martin | 84 | 5,356 | 1,207 | 6,563 | 32 | 11.9 | 36 |
21. | Lamar Miller | 105 | 5,864 | 1,565 | 7,429 | 40 | 11.4 | 34 |
22. | Reggie Bush | 82 | 3,550 | 1,664 | 5,214 | 26 | 10.9 | 29 |
23. | Saquon Barkley | 29 | 2,310 | 1,159 | 3,469 | 23 | 21.7 | 29 |
24. | Eddie Lacy | 60 | 3,614 | 947 | 4,561 | 29 | 12.3 | 28 |
25. | Danny Woodhead | 91 | 2,174 | 2,611 | 4,785 | 32 | 10.6 | 27 |
26. | Maurice Jones-Drew | 63 | 4,243 | 1,162 | 5,405 | 25 | 13.3 | 27 |
27. | Kareem Hunt | 35 | 2,330 | 1,118 | 3,448 | 28 | 18.0 | 26 |
28. | Leonard Fournette | 36 | 2,631 | 1,009 | 3,640 | 19 | 17.0 | 25 |
29. | • Darren Sproles | 121 | 2,665 | 3,960 | 6,625 | 45 | 11.6 | 24 |
30. | Steven Jackson | 76 | 4,731 | 1,396 | 6,127 | 30 | 12.8 | 24 |
31. | Fred Jackson | 82 | 3,813 | 2,019 | 5,832 | 32 | 12.5 | 22 |
32. | Darren McFadden | 78 | 4,565 | 1,584 | 6,149 | 28 | 12.7 | 21 |
33. | Derrick Henry | 62 | 3,833 | 578 | 4,411 | 41 | 12.0 | 21 |
34. | Knowshon Moreno | 47 | 2,669 | 1,196 | 3,865 | 27 | 14.4 | 20 |
35. | Michael Turner | 48 | 3,511 | 381 | 3,892 | 34 | 13.4 | 20 |
36. | Latavius Murray | 93 | 4,335 | 1,118 | 5,453 | 40 | 10.2 | 19 |
37. | Alfred Morris | 105 | 5,935 | 494 | 6,429 | 34 | 8.7 | 19 |
38. | Joe Mixon | 44 | 2,931 | 870 | 3,801 | 21 | 14.0 | 19 |
39. | Aaron Jones | 40 | 2,260 | 702 | 2,962 | 32 | 14.3 | 19 |
40. | Peyton Hillis | 55 | 2,435 | 852 | 3,287 | 19 | 10.2 | 19 |
Consider also Forte against Gore and Sproles. If you look at the top 8 seasons of these running backs, Forte has all but two of them. The NFL missed badly on this one. Forte should have been on the team, and it isn’t really even close.
FORTE vs. GORE vs. SPROLES | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Run | Rec | Total | TD | PPR | Rk |
2014 | Matt Forte, Chi. | 1,038 | 808 | 1,846 | 10 | 350.6 | 3 |
2013 | Matt Forte, Chi. | 1,339 | 594 | 1,933 | 12 | 341.3 | 2 |
2011 | Darren Sproles, N.O. | 603 | 710 | 1,313 | 10 | 277.3 | 5 |
2010 | Matt Forte, Chi. | 1,069 | 547 | 1,616 | 9 | 268.6 | 9 |
2012 | Frank Gore, S.F. | 1,214 | 234 | 1,448 | 10 | 232.8 | 10 |
2011 | Matt Forte, Chi. | 997 | 490 | 1,487 | 4 | 224.7 | 11 |
2012 | Matt Forte, Chi. | 1,094 | 340 | 1,434 | 6 | 223.4 | 11 |
2015 | Matt Forte, Chi. | 898 | 389 | 1,287 | 7 | 216.7 | 8 |
2016 | Frank Gore, Ind. | 1,025 | 277 | 1,302 | 8 | 216.2 | 12 |
2012 | Darren Sproles, N.O. | 244 | 667 | 911 | 8 | 216.1 | 13 |
2010 | Frank Gore, S.F. | 853 | 452 | 1,305 | 5 | 206.5 | 17 |
2015 | Frank Gore, Ind. | 967 | 267 | 1,234 | 7 | 199.4 | 14 |
2011 | Frank Gore, S.F. | 1,211 | 114 | 1,325 | 8 | 197.5 | 17 |
2013 | Frank Gore, S.F. | 1,128 | 141 | 1,269 | 9 | 196.9 | 18 |
2016 | Matt Forte, NYJ | 813 | 263 | 1,076 | 8 | 185.6 | 21 |
2013 | Darren Sproles, N.O. | 220 | 604 | 824 | 4 | 177.4 | 23 |
2017 | Frank Gore, Ind. | 961 | 245 | 1,206 | 4 | 173.6 | 20 |
2014 | Frank Gore, S.F. | 1,106 | 111 | 1,217 | 5 | 162.7 | 21 |
2016 | Darren Sproles, Phil. | 438 | 427 | 865 | 4 | 162.5 | 24 |
2015 | Darren Sproles, Phil. | 317 | 388 | 705 | 6 | 161.5 | 26 |
2014 | Darren Sproles, Phil. | 329 | 387 | 716 | 8 | 159.6 | 22 |
2010 | Darren Sproles, S.D. | 267 | 520 | 787 | 2 | 149.7 | 29 |
2017 | Matt Forte, NYJ | 381 | 293 | 674 | 3 | 122.4 | 42 |
2018 | Frank Gore, Mia. | 722 | 124 | 846 | 1 | 102.6 | 47 |
2019 | Frank Gore, Buff. | 599 | 100 | 699 | 2 | 94.9 | 50 |
2018 | Darren Sproles, Phil. | 120 | 160 | 280 | 3 | 61.0 | 76 |
2017 | Darren Sproles, Phil. | 61 | 73 | 134 | 0 | 20.4 | 101 |
2019 | Darren Sproles, Phil. | 66 | 24 | 90 | 0 | 17.0 | 103 |
—Ian Allan