Player Spotlight: Frank Gore (1 Viewer)

[FreeBaGeL]

I think Gore is going to bust big time this year. This is a guy who had a great season last year but I'm not ready to put him in the top 5 due to one great year. I'm staying away from in every draft I'll be in this year.Not as sold on SF as much as others either I guess. I think the loss of Norv Turner will really set this offense back. Add in the fact that Gore has had some serious injury problems in the past and I'll just stay away.337 carries 1159 yards6 td's3.4 avg38 catches217 yards5.7 avg

Prior to last season, there had been 51 times when a RB had amassed 2000+ yards in a season. How did they do following season? Glad you asked . . .- 15 had another season with 2000+ yards- 20 had a season with at least 1800 yards- 28 had a season with at least 1600 yards- 30 had a season with at least 1500 yards- 35 had a season with at least 1375 yards (the numbers projected here)Of the rest, most of them did well when they played but got hurt. The projection of 1376 does not seem to have Gore missing any time, so essentially Gore's yardage per game would drop from 136.3 ypg to 86 ypg. That's 50 fewer yards per game and I have a hard time coming up with a scenario where that would happen. Gore may not match his totals from last season, but I would not expect him to fall off a cliff production wise.

GREAT POST!!!! gore is in the same situaiton as tomlinson was at the beginning of his career.Good back, bad team that only has him to focus around. alot of rushes and a lot of recieving yards. gore had only 9tds last year and for a guy as good as him that has to go up. his YPC will go down, but he will still be a great back to have this year. He will be top 6320 rushes,1450 yards, 75 receptions 500 yards, 12 combined tds

Not sure why people see those numbers as so in favor of Gore keeping up what he's doing or improving. So basically, there's about a 1/3rd chance that a back over 2000 yards will go for under 1375 the next year. That is in no means a sure thing. It also shows that a back over 2000 yards is more likely to go for under 1375 the next year than he is to return to 2000.Now granted, a lot of that is due to injury, but this is Frank Gore we're talking about here, a guy who would've been named Fragile Frank in college except that would have implied he was actually healthy enough at some point to be determined as "fragile" rather than just "broken".

 

[David Yudkin]

I think Gore is going to bust big time this year. This is a guy who had a great season last year but I'm not ready to put him in the top 5 due to one great year. I'm staying away from in every draft I'll be in this year.Not as sold on SF as much as others either I guess. I think the loss of Norv Turner will really set this offense back. Add in the fact that Gore has had some serious injury problems in the past and I'll just stay away.337 carries 1159 yards6 td's3.4 avg38 catches217 yards5.7 avg

Prior to last season, there had been 49 times when a RB had amassed 2000+ yards in a season. How did they do following season? Glad you asked . . .- 15 had another season with 2000+ yards- 20 had a season with at least 1800 yards- 28 had a season with at least 1600 yards- 30 had a season with at least 1500 yards- 35 had a season with at least 1375 yards (the numbers projected here)Of the rest, most of them did well when they played but got hurt. The projection of 1376 does not seem to have Gore missing any time, so essentially Gore's yardage per game would drop from 136.3 ypg to 86 ypg. That's 50 fewer yards per game and I have a hard time coming up with a scenario where that would happen. Gore may not match his totals from last season, but I would not expect him to fall off a cliff production wise.

GREAT POST!!!! gore is in the same situaiton as tomlinson was at the beginning of his career.Good back, bad team that only has him to focus around. alot of rushes and a lot of recieving yards. gore had only 9tds last year and for a guy as good as him that has to go up. his YPC will go down, but he will still be a great back to have this year. He will be top 6320 rushes,1450 yards, 75 receptions 500 yards, 12 combined tds

Not sure why people see those numbers as so in favor of Gore keeping up what he's doing or improving. So basically, there's about a 1/3rd chance that a back over 2000 yards will go for under 1375 the next year. That is in no means a sure thing. It also shows that a back over 2000 yards is more likely to go for under 1375 the next year than he is to return to 2000.Now granted, a lot of that is due to injury, but this is Frank Gore we're talking about here, a guy who would've been named Fragile Frank in college except that would have implied he was actually healthy enough at some point to be determined as "fragile" rather than just "broken".

I suppose perception comes into play here. If roughly 60% of these guys hit 1500 yards the following year, the question then becomes is that a higher percentage to get that than guys that were under 1500 yards. I'm pretty sure that the guys in the "not 1500 total yards" bucket would have a lower % than 60% for acutally eclipsing 1500 total yards the next season. Here is the rough math . . .From 1960-2005, there were 600 times where a RB had 1000-1499 total yards in a season. And there 254 seasons when a RB had 1500+ total yards in a season. There were also 49 times a guy had 2000+ total yards from scrimmage.So . . .254 - 49 = 205 remaining RB600 - 49 = 551 remaining RB205/551 = 37%By my math, 37% is lower than 61% (which was the % for the 2000 yard guys). I'm sure I may have faulty logic in here somewhere and my math may not be 100%, but that's how I read it.

 

[cowpie]

I think Gore is going to bust big time this year. This is a guy who had a great season last year but I'm not ready to put him in the top 5 due to one great year. I'm staying away from in every draft I'll be in this year.Not as sold on SF as much as others either I guess. I think the loss of Norv Turner will really set this offense back. Add in the fact that Gore has had some serious injury problems in the past and I'll just stay away.337 carries 1159 yards6 td's3.4 avg38 catches217 yards5.7 avg

Prior to last season, there had been 49 times when a RB had amassed 2000+ yards in a season. How did they do following season? Glad you asked . . .- 15 had another season with 2000+ yards- 20 had a season with at least 1800 yards- 28 had a season with at least 1600 yards- 30 had a season with at least 1500 yards- 35 had a season with at least 1375 yards (the numbers projected here)Of the rest, most of them did well when they played but got hurt. The projection of 1376 does not seem to have Gore missing any time, so essentially Gore's yardage per game would drop from 136.3 ypg to 86 ypg. That's 50 fewer yards per game and I have a hard time coming up with a scenario where that would happen. Gore may not match his totals from last season, but I would not expect him to fall off a cliff production wise.

GREAT POST!!!! gore is in the same situaiton as tomlinson was at the beginning of his career.Good back, bad team that only has him to focus around. alot of rushes and a lot of recieving yards. gore had only 9tds last year and for a guy as good as him that has to go up. his YPC will go down, but he will still be a great back to have this year. He will be top 6320 rushes,1450 yards, 75 receptions 500 yards, 12 combined tds

Not sure why people see those numbers as so in favor of Gore keeping up what he's doing or improving. So basically, there's about a 1/3rd chance that a back over 2000 yards will go for under 1375 the next year. That is in no means a sure thing. It also shows that a back over 2000 yards is more likely to go for under 1375 the next year than he is to return to 2000.Now granted, a lot of that is due to injury, but this is Frank Gore we're talking about here, a guy who would've been named Fragile Frank in college except that would have implied he was actually healthy enough at some point to be determined as "fragile" rather than just "broken".

I suppose perception comes into play here. If roughly 60% of these guys hit 1500 yards the following year, the question then becomes is that a higher percentage to get that than guys that were under 1500 yards. I'm pretty sure that the guys in the "not 1500 total yards" bucket would have a lower % than 60% for acutally eclipsing 1500 total yards the next season. Here is the rough math . . .From 1960-2005, there were 600 times where a RB had 1000-1499 total yards in a season. And there 254 seasons when a RB had 1500+ total yards in a season. There were also 49 times a guy had 2000+ total yards from scrimmage.So . . .254 - 49 = 205 remaining RB600 - 49 = 551 remaining RB205/551 = 37%By my math, 37% is lower than 61% (which was the % for the 2000 yard guys). I'm sure I may have faulty logic in here somewhere and my math may not be 100%, but that's how I read it.

another great post. what this guy above is basically saying is that he would rather take a guy that either has never had 2000 yards, as the 3rd or 4th overall, or someone in the downside of their career who is coming off a bad/injury prone year. nice. i wish they were in my leaguesIf you were to take every player out that has ever been hurt, then you would be taking rudy johnson as the 4th overall. that is fine, but there is absolutely 0 upside to what he has done and you might as well trade down

 

[FreeBaGeL]

I think Gore is going to bust big time this year. This is a guy who had a great season last year but I'm not ready to put him in the top 5 due to one great year. I'm staying away from in every draft I'll be in this year.Not as sold on SF as much as others either I guess. I think the loss of Norv Turner will really set this offense back. Add in the fact that Gore has had some serious injury problems in the past and I'll just stay away.337 carries 1159 yards6 td's3.4 avg38 catches217 yards5.7 avg

Prior to last season, there had been 49 times when a RB had amassed 2000+ yards in a season. How did they do following season? Glad you asked . . .- 15 had another season with 2000+ yards- 20 had a season with at least 1800 yards- 28 had a season with at least 1600 yards- 30 had a season with at least 1500 yards- 35 had a season with at least 1375 yards (the numbers projected here)Of the rest, most of them did well when they played but got hurt. The projection of 1376 does not seem to have Gore missing any time, so essentially Gore's yardage per game would drop from 136.3 ypg to 86 ypg. That's 50 fewer yards per game and I have a hard time coming up with a scenario where that would happen. Gore may not match his totals from last season, but I would not expect him to fall off a cliff production wise.

GREAT POST!!!! gore is in the same situaiton as tomlinson was at the beginning of his career.Good back, bad team that only has him to focus around. alot of rushes and a lot of recieving yards. gore had only 9tds last year and for a guy as good as him that has to go up. his YPC will go down, but he will still be a great back to have this year. He will be top 6320 rushes,1450 yards, 75 receptions 500 yards, 12 combined tds

Not sure why people see those numbers as so in favor of Gore keeping up what he's doing or improving. So basically, there's about a 1/3rd chance that a back over 2000 yards will go for under 1375 the next year. That is in no means a sure thing. It also shows that a back over 2000 yards is more likely to go for under 1375 the next year than he is to return to 2000.Now granted, a lot of that is due to injury, but this is Frank Gore we're talking about here, a guy who would've been named Fragile Frank in college except that would have implied he was actually healthy enough at some point to be determined as "fragile" rather than just "broken".

I suppose perception comes into play here. If roughly 60% of these guys hit 1500 yards the following year, the question then becomes is that a higher percentage to get that than guys that were under 1500 yards. I'm pretty sure that the guys in the "not 1500 total yards" bucket would have a lower % than 60% for acutally eclipsing 1500 total yards the next season. Here is the rough math . . .From 1960-2005, there were 600 times where a RB had 1000-1499 total yards in a season. And there 254 seasons when a RB had 1500+ total yards in a season. There were also 49 times a guy had 2000+ total yards from scrimmage.So . . .254 - 49 = 205 remaining RB600 - 49 = 551 remaining RB205/551 = 37%By my math, 37% is lower than 61% (which was the % for the 2000 yard guys). I'm sure I may have faulty logic in here somewhere and my math may not be 100%, but that's how I read it.

another great post. what this guy above is basically saying is that he would rather take a guy that either has never had 2000 yards, as the 3rd or 4th overall, or someone in the downside of their career who is coming off a bad/injury prone year. nice. i wish they were in my leaguesIf you were to take every player out that has ever been hurt, then you would be taking rudy johnson as the 4th overall. that is fine, but there is absolutely 0 upside to what he has done and you might as well trade down

Well, from now I'll just make a blank post and give you edit priviledges on it so cowpie can continue to speak for me.Please, show me where I ever said that you should take player X over Gore? My only point is that people are refuting low-end Gore numbers by saying it's highly unlikely to happen because historically 2000 yard backs have had great success the next year, and then posted numbers that are far from impossible, and actually quite weak in terms of that argument.Anytime someone posts numbers below that 1375 mark everyone jumps down their throat because ONLY 4 out of every 10 guys that go for 2000 drop below that number the next year. Meanwhile, 6 out of 10 go above that number next year (holy cow 6 out of 10 that's basically 100%!!!! ).Meanwhile, people are posting 2k+ from Gore left and right without anyone mentioning the statistics behind that while the numbers posted by a Gore-backer tell us that historically a player is more likely to drop below 1375 than he is to eclipse 2000 again.Now, I'm not saying that any player is more likely to eclipse that number, or that you should treat Gore like he's going to go for 1200 total yards or anything along those lines. All I'm saying is that it's absurd that people can post stats to show how unlikely it is for him to drop below 1375yds while a dozen people quote it with "Great Post!", and at the same time those same people post projections around 2000yds which according to the SAME set of statistics is even LESS likely to happen than the thing they just quoted as a great study while no one calls them out on doing the SAME thing they're chastizing someone else for (whew, quite a run-on there).You can't call someone out for something being improbable because it only happened 16/51 times (especially with the zest that people keep applying to that) while at the same time projecting something that has happened only 15/51 times itself.Either the historical data influences your projections or it doesn't. You can't have it both ways and use it against someone else's projections while ignoring it in your own. What's being done here is analogous to me saying one of the reasons you should draft Reggie Bush over Joseph Addai is because Addai might end up in a RBBC

 

[David Yudkin]

I think Gore is going to bust big time this year. This is a guy who had a great season last year but I'm not ready to put him in the top 5 due to one great year. I'm staying away from in every draft I'll be in this year.Not as sold on SF as much as others either I guess. I think the loss of Norv Turner will really set this offense back. Add in the fact that Gore has had some serious injury problems in the past and I'll just stay away.337 carries 1159 yards6 td's3.4 avg38 catches217 yards5.7 avg

Prior to last season, there had been 49 times when a RB had amassed 2000+ yards in a season. How did they do following season? Glad you asked . . .- 15 had another season with 2000+ yards- 20 had a season with at least 1800 yards- 28 had a season with at least 1600 yards- 30 had a season with at least 1500 yards- 35 had a season with at least 1375 yards (the numbers projected here)Of the rest, most of them did well when they played but got hurt. The projection of 1376 does not seem to have Gore missing any time, so essentially Gore's yardage per game would drop from 136.3 ypg to 86 ypg. That's 50 fewer yards per game and I have a hard time coming up with a scenario where that would happen. Gore may not match his totals from last season, but I would not expect him to fall off a cliff production wise.

GREAT POST!!!! gore is in the same situaiton as tomlinson was at the beginning of his career.Good back, bad team that only has him to focus around. alot of rushes and a lot of recieving yards. gore had only 9tds last year and for a guy as good as him that has to go up. his YPC will go down, but he will still be a great back to have this year. He will be top 6320 rushes,1450 yards, 75 receptions 500 yards, 12 combined tds

Not sure why people see those numbers as so in favor of Gore keeping up what he's doing or improving. So basically, there's about a 1/3rd chance that a back over 2000 yards will go for under 1375 the next year. That is in no means a sure thing. It also shows that a back over 2000 yards is more likely to go for under 1375 the next year than he is to return to 2000.Now granted, a lot of that is due to injury, but this is Frank Gore we're talking about here, a guy who would've been named Fragile Frank in college except that would have implied he was actually healthy enough at some point to be determined as "fragile" rather than just "broken".

I suppose perception comes into play here. If roughly 60% of these guys hit 1500 yards the following year, the question then becomes is that a higher percentage to get that than guys that were under 1500 yards. I'm pretty sure that the guys in the "not 1500 total yards" bucket would have a lower % than 60% for acutally eclipsing 1500 total yards the next season. Here is the rough math . . .From 1960-2005, there were 600 times where a RB had 1000-1499 total yards in a season. And there 254 seasons when a RB had 1500+ total yards in a season. There were also 49 times a guy had 2000+ total yards from scrimmage.So . . .254 - 49 = 205 remaining RB600 - 49 = 551 remaining RB205/551 = 37%By my math, 37% is lower than 61% (which was the % for the 2000 yard guys). I'm sure I may have faulty logic in here somewhere and my math may not be 100%, but that's how I read it.

another great post. what this guy above is basically saying is that he would rather take a guy that either has never had 2000 yards, as the 3rd or 4th overall, or someone in the downside of their career who is coming off a bad/injury prone year. nice. i wish they were in my leaguesIf you were to take every player out that has ever been hurt, then you would be taking rudy johnson as the 4th overall. that is fine, but there is absolutely 0 upside to what he has done and you might as well trade down

Well, from now I'll just make a blank post and give you edit priviledges on it so you can continue to speak for me.Please, show me where I ever said that you should take player X over Gore? My only point is that people are refuting low-end Gore numbers by saying it's highly unlikely to happen because historically 2000 yard backs have had great success the next year, and then posted numbers that are far from impossible, and actually quite weak in terms of that argument.Anytime someone posts numbers below that 1375 mark everyone jumps down their throat because ONLY 4 out of every 10 guys that go for 2000 drop below that number the next year. Meanwhile, 6 out of 10 go above that number next year (holy cow 6 out of 10 that's basically 100%!!!! ).Meanwhile, people are posting 2k+ from Gore left and right without anyone mentioning the statistics behind that while the numbers posted by a Gore-backer tell us that historically a player is more likely to drop below 1375 than he is to eclipse 2000 again.Now, I'm not saying that any player is more likely to eclipse that number, or that you should treat Gore like he's going to go for 1200 total yards or anything along those lines. All I'm saying is that it's absurd that people can post stats to show how unlikely it is for him to drop below 1375yds while a dozen people quote it with "Great Post!", and at the same time those same people post projections around 2000yds which according to the SAME set of statistics is even LESS likely to happen than the thing they just quoted as a great study while no one calls them out on doing the SAME thing they're chastizing someone else for (whew, quite a run-on there).You can't call someone out for something being improbable because it only happened 16/51 times (especially with the zest that people keep applying to that) while at the same time projecting something that has happened only 15/51 times itself.Either the historical data influences your projections or it doesn't. You can't have it both ways and use it against someone else's projections while ignoring it in your own. What's being done here is analogous to me saying one of the reasons you should draft Reggie Bush over Joseph Addai is because Addai might end up in a RBBC

The thing is, what holds true for Gore (as a 2000 yard club member) also has to hold true for the other guys from last year (LT, Jackson, and LJ). We already know Barber will not hit 2000, 1500, or any other yardage milestone. So in tehory we should be suggesting that there is a deent percentage chance that those other guys be far less productive as well.As I said, injuries played a key role in players finishing under 1375 yards. IIRC, 9 of 14 guys in the 1375 or under group got hurt. That leaves 5 of 49 that were major disappointsment or about 10%--unless you are going to blame a player for getting injured.And I clearly can't count because there were 54 guys total and 5 of them were last year leaving 49 players with 2000+ yards not 51 (not tht makes the percentages all that different).

 

[Sidewinder16]

Nolan says he wants Gore to have 25 touches/game.

Gore is leading: One aspect of the team that won't change is that it will run through Frank Gore. Coach Mike Nolan said he wants the running back getting 25 touches a game and Gore said he wants to gain 2,200 rushing yards.

Gore is also becoming more of a leader and involving himself with the entire team.

"If something is good on defense or offense, Frank has opinions on it," Nolan said. "Frank's not shy about coming up to me and saying, 'Coach, I think that guy is a baller.' "

If Gore doesn't like a player, he'll go to Nolan and just shake his head.

"There are some guys who have a pulse on the team and Frank is one of those guys," Nolan said.

 

[AnonymousBob]

Nolan says he wants Gore to have 25 touches/game.

Gore is leading: One aspect of the team that won't change is that it will run through Frank Gore. Coach Mike Nolan said he wants the running back getting 25 touches a game and Gore said he wants to gain 2,200 rushing yards.

Gore is also becoming more of a leader and involving himself with the entire team.

"If something is good on defense or offense, Frank has opinions on it," Nolan said. "Frank's not shy about coming up to me and saying, 'Coach, I think that guy is a baller.' "

If Gore doesn't like a player, he'll go to Nolan and just shake his head.

"There are some guys who have a pulse on the team and Frank is one of those guys," Nolan said.

Did he really say he wants to gain 2,200 yards rushing? Way to set your sights higher than those other guys who only want a mere 2k. It's only coachspeak but it's nice nonetheless.

 

[billymays]

sometimes people just need to watch a guy and see how he plays. i think there is a lot of paralysis by analysis that goes on here. if you watched the guy run in a few games last year you would realize that the guy looked as good as anyone and at times looked impossible to tackle. he is projected to go right where he should.

 

[Sidewinder16]

It's only coachspeak but it's nice nonetheless.

Are you saying Nolan is just blowing smoke, and there's no way he's going to give Gore an extra 1.7 touches/game over last season?

 

[AnonymousBob]

It's only coachspeak but it's nice nonetheless.

Are you saying Nolan is just blowing smoke, and there's no way he's going to give Gore an extra 1.7 touches/game over last season?

It's entirely possible. Nolan is a conservative coach and I expect he's going to want to run the ball a lot. I expect Gore to receive the bulk of those carries.I ALSO realize every coach says something along those lines at this time of year. Every player is in the best shape of their life, every coach wants to run the ball x number of times and so on and so forth.

 

[Coeur de Lion]

Gore is a stud, plain and simple. The loss of Norv Turner doesn't worry me too much, as Gore produced well in 2005 before Turner was in SF (4.8 YPC), and the overall improvement of the offense will more than offset any impact of the coaching change. I do see Gore's reception total dipping a bit as Smith matures and learns to look downfield more, and as Vernon Davis takes on a larger role in the offense. A better offense should lead to more TD opportunities, though, and I don't see anyone vulturing Gore this year, provided that he keeps the fumbling issues in his past.

340 carries for 1600 yards, 40 catches for 340 yards, 13 total TDs

 

[hi1111]

380 - 2000 / 20 - 150 / 15 total TD's

 

[derek19]

Sacramento Bee - The 49ers have a monthlong vacation before training camp begins, but don't expect to see Frank Gore, a Miami native, sipping piña coladas on South Beach this July.

Instead, Gore will be a few miles to the west of the Miami beachfront, laboring up and down one of the highest hills in South Florida while tethered to a truck tire. It's a grueling regimen Gore has performed since high school, and no amount of fame or money -- the Pro Bowler signed a $28 million deal in March -- will change that.

"You've got to sweat if you're going to be successful in this sport," Gore said this week.

 

[benson_will_lead_the_way]

I'm calling another torn ACL this season.

 

[ThePittbully]

I watched the last few games of his rookie season when Barlow went down and he got quite a few carries. He lit it up and I knew then the guy was a stud then. I picked him up in an initial dynasty draft with the third pick of the seventh round, knowing he would be worth about 100 times the value of that pick. The guy is a beast, and I partially understand the hate on him because of injury worries. But you cannot predict and injury, and the guy is an absolute beast.

1450 yards rushing 8 td's

350 yards Receiving 2 td's

 

[Sabertooth]

Sacramento Bee - The 49ers have a monthlong vacation before training camp begins, but don't expect to see Frank Gore, a Miami native, sipping piña coladas on South Beach this July.Instead, Gore will be a few miles to the west of the Miami beachfront, laboring up and down one of the highest hills in South Florida while tethered to a truck tire. It's a grueling regimen Gore has performed since high school, and no amount of fame or money -- the Pro Bowler signed a $28 million deal in March -- will change that."You've got to sweat if you're going to be successful in this sport," Gore said this week.

Let's not forget this important bit of info. He got paid finally. He's had a long road to get that top money. Now he has the money and this has sent more than one player into a career spiral. Not saying it will happen, but let's face it, we don't know these players at all. We read what sports writers write and watch what sports show producers produce. We have no idea who the real workers are and who are in it for the money. Agents coach these guys to say the right things. The league has "bad guys" like TO who have never broken the law, and "good guys" like Peyton Manning who have never had to work at anything beside playing ball. All I am saying it the NFL we see is highly produced.Is Gore going to let up now that he's been paid up? I don't know....but it's something to consider.

 

[kurtrudder]

sometimes people just need to watch a guy and see how he plays. i think there is a lot of paralysis by analysis that goes on here. if you watched the guy run in a few games last year you would realize that the guy looked as good as anyone and at times looked impossible to tackle. he is projected to go right where he should.

If the guy is going to be running around before training camp tethered to a truck tire he doesn't sound like the type of person who is resting on his laurels and just counting his cash.

This is another article from April which everyone would have read but I feel again it shows that the guy wants to keep working hard and be the best he can be

April 4, 2007, 06:17

49ers :: RB

RB Gore Weighing In Five Pounds Less Than '06

Dennis Georgatos, Mercury News - [Full Article]

RB Frank Gore said on Tuesday that he plans to play next season at 210 pounds, about five pounds lighter than a season ago. Gore got the slim-down idea from San Diego's RB LaDainian Tomlinson. "When I went to the Pro Bowl, I asked L.T. how I could stay fresh during the year, because I told him when I watched film on him, he was always fresh," Gore said. "He told me he had played at 220 before, but he played at 215 this past year. He told me how he ate healthy all through the year, and I am going to try and do the same thing. I think I can probably finish my runs better at that weight."

330 carries 1550 yds, 60 catches 480 yds, 14 total TD's

 

[cscmtp]

Seems a lot of people are predicting 40 catches for Gore. I think he'll get at least 60-75 catches. Yes, V.Davis will be a major factor, and if D-Jax is on the field, I guess he'll get more balls too. But i think there is easily 60+ balls for Gore this year...in fact, his situation looks a lot like LTs the last few years. A young QB, one extremely talented TE, and not a whole lot of proven experience at wide out...