As one of a boatload of veterans to bolt from San Francisco this offseason, Frank Gore couldn't be happier with his new home in Indianapolis.
The five-time Pro Bowl running back spent a decade with the Niners seeing nothing but eight- and nine-man defensive fronts, an approach that opponents can't take against a stocked Colts offense led by the game's best young quarterback in Andrew Luck.
"With these weapons and Luck, I think it should be a light box," Gore told reporters Tuesday, per NFL Media's Jeff Darlington. "I've never seen a six-man front. Hopefully, this year it happens. And hopefully, I can take advantage of it."
If he can stay fresh during his age 32 campaign, Gore gives the Colts one of the NFL's hardest-charging runners and a player who finished ninth, 11th and fifth in yards after contact over the past three seasons. His arrival fills an immediate need in Indy, where Colts backs have produced just one 100-yard game during Luck's 48 starts.
Luck already sees the benefit of having Gore in the huddle. He gushed to Darlington about the runner's pristine pass-protection and knowledge of the playbook, and told ESPN.com that Gore has "picked up on a bunch of stuff that guys who have been here three years haven't picked up."
Before last season, tight end Coby FleenerdefendedTrent Richardson's underwhelming play in Indy, telling Around The NFL that T-Rich joined "an offense that's probably one of the most complex in the NFL," adding that "it took me a year and a half to learn the offense."
Gore won't have those issues. At 32, he's nearing the end of his stellar career, but we don't doubt his ability to operate as a backfield fireball for at least one more season.
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