Colts Know Must Get Frank Gore More Involved

The Indianapolis Colts know that their offense has to get running back Frank Gore more carries. Despite averaging a healthy 4.6 yards per carry, Gore has oftentimes become an afterthought in the Colts offense.

Having signed for 3 years, $12 million this past offseason, Gore has so far lived up to his price-tag, even if he has been largely under-utilized by the Colts offense:

"“We all know that he’s a dynamic guy in our offense,” said head coach Chuck Pagano Wednesday. “He’s averaging 4.5 (yards) a carry. We all know that when he carries the ball, x amount of times, our win-loss record is what it is.”"

Oct 8, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Indianapolis Colts running back Frank Gore (23) runs with the ball against Houston Texans linebacker John Simon (51) at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Having rushed for 446 total rush yards on 98 carries, Gore is on pace to at least flirt with becoming the Colts first 1,000 yard rusher since Joseph Addai passed the millennium mark way back in 2007.

If he doesn’t, it likely won’t be through the fault of his own, as the Colts simply haven’t been giving him enough carries to realistically surpass 1,000 yards.

In the Colts past two games combined, Gore has only 22 total carries rushing for 121 total yards despite a ridiculous 5.5 yards per carry average.

He had 22 carries against Houston just 2 weeks prior in a Colts victory, which appears to be a greater recipe for success than the alternative of giving Gore limited touches.

It’s something that offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton already knows all too well, that his offense simply has to get Gore more involved:

"“So, we just have to find ways to continue to get him the football,” said Hamilton Thursday. “To get him touches. Hand the ball of to him. Throw him screens. Get him out in routes and let him do what he do and make plays with the ball in his hands.”"

Sep 13, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Indianapolis Colts running back Frank Gore (23) runs the ball against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

However, it’s not just that the Colts coaching staff forgets about Frank during the course of a game. The score of the game–namely falling behind big early, has forced the Colts to prematurely abandon the running game. Ideally, the Colts would like to ride Gore and ride him often, but so far, circumstances have often prevented that:

"“Well Frank has shown he provides us with consistent production,” said Hamilton. “There’s been times where the game has gotten to the point where we felt like we needed to try and score faster.”"

Still, the Colts have to maintain some resemblance of offensive balance to be consistently successful, as defenses won’t be able to purely hone in on their passing game. Even facing large deficits, the Colts can’t abandon the running game all together like the offense has often done in prior games:

"“So regardless of what the score is, we’ve got to stay with the run, and we can’t totally abandon the run game,” said Pagano. “I think everybody understands that.”"

If anything, Gore has shown he can make plays this season regardless of the particular score of each game. He’s one of the consistent playmakers for this Colts offense, and the team has to continue to find ways to get him creatively involved regardless of whether the team is winning or losing–big or both because it doesn’t matter:

"“But even so, there’s no point in the game where Frank is in there where he can’t be the guy that can make an explosive play for us,” added Hamilton."

One thing Hamilton believes the team can better do is to take care of business early, so that the offense isn’t faced with a large deficit and forced to go pass heavy the rest of the way. Therefore, limiting Gore’s role and adversely affecting the offense.

By keeping the game in-reach, the Colts can run Gore more and maintain better offensive balance for greater success:

"“What we can do is doing a better job of making sure that we do our part early and keep the games in the balance,” concluded Hamilton. “That way, we can maintain balance. So it goes back to, he’ll have opportunities when we have opportunities to maintain our balance.”"

Oct 8, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Indianapolis Colts running back Frank Gore (23) runs for a third quarter touchdown against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

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