With Frank Gore’s long career winding down to an end, the Hall of Fame question is starting to pop up. The Indy Star’s Jim Ayello posed the question to the man himself.

Via The Indy Star:

“I think the way I play the game, they’d put me in,” Gore said.

Teammate Anthony Castonzo backed him up…

“No question,” Castonzo said. “I mean I’m playing with him now, and he’s still playing at a high level, and he was like on my Madden team back when I was in high school. Anybody who can do it at that high of a level for that long, yeah, I definitely think so.”

And that seems to be the main argument when discussion Gore’s Hall of Fame case: He’s been a good player for a very long time. It’s hard to deny that point. The 2017 season is Gore’s 12th as a starter. He’s topped the 1,000-yard mark in nine of those 12 seasons. That prolonged production has allowed him to rack up 13,636 rushing yards, seventh most in league history.

So, yeah, Gore has been a good player for a long time. But has he ever been a GREAT player? Has he ever been considered the best player at his position? Has he ever been considered a top-five player at his position? When you name the top running backs since the turn of the century, how many names do you rattle off before getting to Gore?

Let’s try it…

Adrian Peterson

LaDainian Tomlinson

Marshall Faulk

Edgerrin James

Jamaal Charles

Marshawn Lynch

LeSean McCoy

Shaun Alexander

Curtis Martin

Jerome Bettis

I could go on. Players like Tiki Barber, Steven Jackson and Arian Foster did not last as long as Gore, but at their peak, they were better players. Should a player who is fighting to break into the top-10 of his generation really be considered an all-time great?

Gore has never led the league in rushing, total yards or touchdowns. He’s finished in the top-five in rushing yards just once (all the way back in 2006) and higher than ninth only twice. He’s topped the 1,200-yard mark only three times. Barber did it five times. Jackson did it three times. Foster did it four times in eight seasons. None of these guys aren’t sniffing Canton. These are his peers.

Gore has made the Pro Bowl in five of his 11 seasons as a starter. It will be five of 12 after 2017 barring a late-season surge. Only three running backs have made the Hall since the merger with fewer than half of their seasons as a starter ending in Hawaii…

Tony Dorsett

John Riggins

Curtis Martin

Dorsett and Riggins had big moments on big stages, which boosted their Hall of Fame credentials. Gore has not had those moments. Martin finished under 1,200 yards rushing only two times in his career. Gore will have done it 10 times by the end of this season.

A Hall of Fame serves two purposes: Telling the story of the sport and celebrating its legends. If you were telling someone about the history of the NFL — even the modern history of the league — would Frank Gore’s name come up? Nope. If you were discussing the legends of the sport, would you mention Gore? Not a chance.

Gore’s career should be celebrated. He should be in the 49ers Hall of Fame. The team should retire his number. His name should be in the ring of honor. But that’s as far as we need to go.

If only there were a Hall of Very Good.