Tag: Marcus Allen

Frank Gore’s first game with Jets will make NFL history

Jets running back Frank Gore will make NFL history in his first ever game with New York.

Frank Gore’s Jets debut will make NFL history.

Gore is currently tied with Emmitt Smith for the most regular season games played by a running back at 226. So when Gore plays in his first game for the Jets in 2020, he’ll no longer be tied with the Cowboys legend. Once Gore takes the field for Gang Green, no running back will have ever played in as many games.

Gore will also join running back Marcus Allen in the record books. This year will the 16th season of Gore’s career, making him just the second running back to play 16 NFL seasons along with Allen.

Gore has had a historic NFL career. He’s third on the all-time rushing list with 15,347 yards. He only trails Walter Payton and Smith. Gore is also a five-time Pro Bowler, all with the San Francisco 49ers.

What makes Gore special is his durability and ability to keep playing football at his age. In 15 seasons, Gore has only missed a total of 14 games. For a player of his size and the position he plays, that’s truly remarkable. Running backs typically don’t play far into their 30s, nonetheless late 30s.

Now Gore will continue his NFL journey in New York. He recently said he wanted to play for the Jets because of his close relationship with Adam Gase. Gore played under Gase in Miami in 2018.

Once inspired by Marcus Allen, Frank Gore could break his record in 2020

Jets running back Frank Gore will have the chance to accomplish what only one other NFL running back has accomplished this upcoming season.

Only one other running back in NFL history accomplished what Jets running back Frank Gore has the chance to achieve this upcoming season. As it turns out, that same player is a big reason why Gore is preparing for his 16th season.

In 1997, Marcus Allen rushed for 505 yards with the Kansas City Chiefs at age 37. Prior to that season, no player that old had rushed for that many yards in a season and no player has done so since. Twelve years after setting the mark, Gore met Allen at a football camp in North Carolina. The Hall of Famer allowed Gore to pick his brain and left him with a message that sits with him to this day.

“One thing he told me was, ‘Don’t worry about your age. Don’t let nobody define what you want to do in this league,'” Gore told NFL.com. “He told me they were trying to get him out of the league for a long time, but he said he was going to play until 37, and that’s what he did. I always kept that in my head.”

In 2020, Gore will have the opportunity to break Allen’s record. After taking on a large role early in the season due to an injury to starter Devin Singletary, Gore finished 2019 with a career-low 599 rushing yards. Considering Gore’s career-low is 94 yards more than what Allen put up in his final season, it is not unrealistic to believe that he can top Allen’s record.

Although Gore produced as the No. 2 running back in Buffalo a year ago, touches will not be as easy to come by with the Jets. Le’Veon Bell is entrenched as New York’s starter and he took over 200 carries last season. Bell’s backup, Bilal Powell, only carried the ball 59 times in 2019.

Bell will continue to take the majority of the touches out of the backfield for the Jets this upcoming season, but it looks like Gore will have some sort of role in Adam Gase’s offense. Gase indicated last week that he wanted to lighten Bell’s workload in 2020. That opens the door for Gore to see an increased amount of touches as the season progresses.

Don’t let Gore’s age fool you. There is a reason why the Jets pegged him to be Bell’s backup. The five-time Pro Bowler still has plenty left in the tank and is an ideal option to spell Bell whenever he needs it considering his versatile skill set and familiarity with Gase’s scheme.

The Jets have benefitted from adding veteran running backs to serve in complementary roles throughout the years. If all goes well in 2020, Gore will not only find himself a valuable piece in New York’s rushing attack, but he will also have the chance to make a little bit of history in the twilight of his career.

Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, the New England Patriots and 36 other legendary sports splits

Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots join a long lists of superstars splitting from teams.

Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have divorced after 20 seasons together with the New England Patriots. The quarterback is on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the coach remains in Foxboro. Sparked thoughts of other legendary sports marriages and couplings that wound up going through splitsville.

Phil Esposito and the Bruins

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Phil Esposito as a huge part of a great run by the Boston Bruins. Imagine the shock when the prolific scorer was dealt to the rival New York Rangers.

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The NFL’s 25 best postseason players from the Super Bowl era

The NFL’s 25 best postseason players from the Super Bowl era

 

The NFL’s 25 best postseason players from the Super Bowl era

Maybe one day Patrick Mahomes or, who knows who else (Joe Burrows even? Heh. Too soon? Too soon?) might join this list, but for now, let’s go with these 25. Some were clear choices while others you might dispute for someone else, but it’s obviously …

Maybe one day Patrick Mahomes or, who knows who else (Joe Burrows even? Heh. Too soon? Too soon?) might join this list, but for now, let’s go with these 25. Some were clear choices while others you might dispute for someone else, but it’s obviously a list full of Super Bowl MVP QBs, so guessing the top 10 or 12 should be easy. The rest are guys you sometimes forget about. With research, marginal recall and experts’ input, here’s the final call.

(Editor’s note: These are not ranked, although the first few are the ones that quickly became clear.)

Tom Brady

(Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

He’s at the top of the list for reasons: He’s guided the Patriots to nine (!) Super Bowls and six titles and he has four Super Bowl MVP trophies, all NFL records.

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Steelers release Kam Kelly, add Marcus Allen to roster

The Steelers have made some roster moves this week.

In the wake of recent events, the Pittsburgh Steelers have forced to make some roster moves. The first more was to release safety Kameron Kelly in light of his recent arrest. Kelly had been on the 53-man roster and so the Steelers had to make a corresponding roster move. According to multiple sources, the Steelers have promoted safety Marcus Allen to the roster to fill Kelly’s spot.

Allen has spent all of the 2019 season on the practice squad. Considering the depth Pittsburgh has at safety, don’t be shocked if Allen dresses and plays a fairly heavy role on special teams. This week the Steelers go on road to take on the New York Jets.

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Leonard Fournette ready to roll after encouraging chat with father and Hall-of-Famer Marcus Allen

Leonard Fournette talks about reaching out to a few encouraging people in the process of going through a rough patch in his career.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars have struggled offensively as of late and most would say it’s been because they’ve gotten away from running back Leonard Fournette. In their last two games, they’ve only given him 19 rushing attempts for 63 rushing yards, which clearly isn’t the recipe for success.

Needless to say, Fournette’s lack of touches hasn’t just been frustrating for the fanbase but him as well, however, the third-year tailback told the media he’s now refueled after speaking with the coaches, his father and Hall-of-Fame tailback Marcus Allen, who he’s known since high school.

Nothing like receiving advice from a top-15 rushing leader who has seen it all, right?

There were rumblings from the local media that Fournette left Sunday’s game  extremely frustrated, and quite frankly, it’s hard to blame him. After how their battle with the Houston Texans ended Week 9, most believed offensive coordinator John DeFilippo would get back to utilizing Fournette, who was the AFC’s top rusher not that long ago. However, that wasn’t the case against the Colts and the results may be proof of what the issue is.

Both DeFilippo and Marrone took full responsibility for the Jags’ game-planning as of late and it seems things may be hashed out now. With the Jags looking desperately for a playoff push, fans should look for their approach to change and expect Fournette to receive 20 carries or more Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.