Frank Gore – November 20, 2018
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Tuesday, November 20, 2018
RB Frank Gore
(How different are the Colts when QB Andrew Luck has got it going like he has it going?) – “He’s on fire. He’s healthy. You can tell watching from the beginning to now that he’s back to himself. Once the quarterback is going, your team gets that much better.”
(Does QB Ryan Tannehill give you that spark?) – “Yeah. Tannehill is very smart. He’s tough. He can throw; he can run. When it’s third down, he can get out of some stuff and run and get the first down. They have to be aware of that.”
(What does it mean to you that QB Ryan Tannehill said he’s going to be in pain for the rest of the year either way? What does it mean to you that he’s going to come back and play through that anyway?) – “He knows how much we need him. It’s football, though. Everybody is going to be in pain from here on out. Me talking to him when he wasn’t playing, he wanted to be out there. He knows that he’s going to be in pain, but you can tell that he wants to play, so that’s a plus for us.”
(When you look back at your time in Indy, what stands out in your mind?) – “That’s tough. I went there … The year I came, they just lost against the Patriots – the year before they lost against the Patriots for the AFC Championship, so I thought me and Andre (Johnson) will be the guys to help them get over the top; but our quarterback got hurt. (Andrew) Luck got hurt and it was rough. The o-line was banged up. We (were) having different guys in and out. It just didn’t go the way I planned it; but I had fun. The organization was great. (They have) great people there. We fought.”
(How are you looking at Sunday’s game?) – “Sunday, they’re 5-5 (and) we’re 5-5. We’re both playing for the same thing. Win the next one and Indy is on the board. I want to try to get a win so we can keep our hopes alive.”
(Is it any extra umph going against your old team?) – “I want to win. I’m going to go out there and try be me and try to do whatever it takes to help my team be successful on Sunday.”
(Refresh my memory, did you play against the 49ers?) – “Last year. Last year or two years ago, I think. Last year.”
(Was that a weird feeling?) – “I was there for 10 years. The way I left and the GM who was there, he had just gotten fired, so it was like, ‘Okay, well, Trent Baalke didn’t try to bring me back.’ I was wishing he was there so I could really show him I was supposed to be on that team still. He wasn’t there anymore. I would say after my first year when I left San Fran, after that first year I was okay with it. I got comfortable in Indy and the organization was great to me and I had fun. But when I played against San Fran, it was pretty big.”
(You ran well in Indy. I assume that they would’ve liked you to stay. Did you feel like you weren’t going to get a chance to start there and you wanted a chance where you could’ve fought for a starting job?) – “I feel like as long as I’m healthy and blessed and feeling good and know I can still play, I’m going to play and I’m going to do whatever it takes to get on the field. The GM, (Chirs) Ballard, we’re very cool. (He’s a) good dude, great dude. He wanted to start going his own direction and he was real with me. That’s the big thing as a man, as long as he’s straight up with me.”
(So you knew they weren’t going to give you that opportunity, but you felt like they were straight up with you and they told you?) – “Yeah, they were straight up with me. (Chris Ballard is) a great dude. He was surprised. He told me he was surprised the way I was playing. (It) goes back to my age. I told him as long as I love the game and (am) still having fun and I know I can play and train in the offseason, I’m going to be fine.”
(When are you going to be surprised? Do you have to be 40? You never seem surprised. We are always surprised with you.) – “I know how I train. I know how I go out every day in practice. I know (in) the offseason how big I get myself ready to come and compete with the younger guys. Even in the offseason, competing with guys younger than me at my position, being around them every day, that helps me. I just take it one day at a time and one year at a time. I try to finish and play hard and put good film out there. I’ll evaluate myself at the end, my body, and see if I still want to go out in the offseason and train to get ready for another year. That’s when I’ll make my decision.”
(Are you trying to wait for your son, so you guys can play together?) – “No. (laughter) It’s not basketball or baseball.”
(You still look like a baby compared to K Adam Vinatieri. What was it like last year playing with a 45-year old?) – “It made me feel better. (laughter) It tripped me out when we’re in a team meeting and you see all the young guys and you see a guy over there with a lot of gray hair. ‘Vinny’ is a real good dude and he still loves it, too. I remember talking to him and he was like he hopes they bring me back. It was good there. I had a good time my three years there.”
(If I told you the Dolphins would be 5-5 with all the injuries you guys have endured and still in the playoff hunt, what would you say is the reason?) – “The reason is because … I would say when I first got here in offseason workouts, how everybody was one. I’ve been on some great teams, but I never saw how … In San Fran, we were tight too, but how everybody was pushing each other and we were working hard. No one thought they were better than the next man. We all worked hard together. That’s what I would say. Even in training camp, that was a rough training camp. We were banging out there. I was like, ‘Oh, man. I have to match this stuff out here.’ Just the way we’re working. I would say we’re one.”
(What’s it going to take for this team to get hot at the right time which is now?) – “We’ve got to get better on offense, especially in the red zone. We’ve got to try to put points on the board, try to score and the defense has to come. Special teams, offense, defense – we’ve just got to play hard for each other and go out there. We’re tough. We’re a tough team, now. And don’t even think about the injuries we’ve got and just go out there and believe in each other and try to do whatever it takes to win.”
(Was it good to get back to practice after the bye?) – “The bye is good and bad sometimes, especially when … I hate when I have to sit down and I see other running backs getting big yards. (laughter) But it was good. I’m happy to get back going, to get the season back started and try to make this last push, try to hopefully get ourselves in the playoffs.”
