INDIANAPOLIS – By recent Colts running back standards, Frank Gore's 2015 season was a glowing success.
Don't tell that to Gore though.
"I felt like I had a down year," Gore says when asked about his first season in Indianapolis.
Gore's numbers last season were this: 260 carries for 967 rushing yards.
From a Colts' standpoint, the numbers were a bit foreign. The last time a Colt had reached those plateaus: 2007.
They were definitely foreign for Gore. In his nine healthy seasons before 2015, Gore had never come up short of the 1,000-yard mark in a single season (or finish a season without a 100-yard game).
"That was my first time never having 100 yards (in a game). I couldn't believe that," Gore says when reflecting back on his first season with the Colts. "That really hurts me.
"That just makes me go home and train and go even harder. This year hopefully we get better as a group and whenever I get that opportunity I take advantage of it."
The Colts will once again be giving Gore that opportunity.
Why wouldn't they after Gore gave the Colts exactly what they wanted from their bell cow back?
Gore was durable in 2015 (playing in every game) and still produced (despite key injuries to Andrew Luck and Anthony Castonzo hampering the run game numbers).
What last year showed is a healthy Gore, plus more offensive stability around him, will push the 11-year veteran running back to his normal output level.
If Gore does rush for 1,000 yards in 2016, he would be the NFL's first running back at least 33 years old to reach that mark since 1984.
In modern-day football, Gore's consistency rivals any other NFL running back.
That's why a soon-to-be 33-year-old running back has returned to work as the Colts' bonafide No. 1 ball career.
"As long as I train and work hard in camp, I'm going to be game ready," Gore says.
"I feel like (this year) I can just be me, don't have to press myself to show off and show my teammates I'm a great player. Now I can just go play football. I'd say last year, especially early on, I was trying to show that they got a great player. Now, me coming back in this second year, they know what I bring to the table."
Highlights from Gore's 2015 season!
