Gurley & workload issues coming up again

Los Angeles Rams Head Coach Sean McVay continues to confuse with answers on RB Todd Gurley on Rich Eisen Show

Confusing. Interesting, but confusing.

https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2019/4/12/18308437/los-angeles-rams-head-coach-sean-mcvay-todd-gurley-rich-eisen-show

Los Angeles Rams Head Coach Sean McVay went on the Rich Eisen Show today and spoke about a variety of topics.

Of course, one of the major lines of questioning pertained to RB Todd Gurley, the status of his knee and how much it impacted the Rams’ postseason.

McVay’s responses were…confusing.

Eisen: Was that kid hurt during the playoffs?

McVay: He was obviously banged up at the end of the year. And I think to his credit, he did everything to get himself ready to go. Had a great game against Dallas in the playoffs where you see the explosiveness for the 35-yard touchdown run. The New Orleans game really was more of a result of how the game played out, kind of the flow of the game. We weren’t able to get the run game going much and didn’t start out great. Couldn’t have been more impressed with what a stud and what a pro he was and how he handled that.

And then in the Super Bowl, he made some big time runs. Really when you look at the way that that second half started, Rich, he made a couple big time runs. Pops a wide zone that he levels it off, and then he breaks one out on the left sideline where [New England Patriots S Patrick] Chung ended up hurting his arm. There’s a couple plays here and there where it’s 3-3 in the fourth quarter. He breaks a run that ends up getting called back on holding that you just never know.

Really offensively as a whole because Todd has been so successful and done such a great job, people have the tendency to think something was wrong. Really it was more of I didn’t give ourselves a chance to get anything going. So, our offense didn’t produce. It wasn’t really Todd, and the opportunities were so limited. That’s where I’ve gotta do a better job of putting our players in situations to make those plays.

Eisen: Because this could be coming from a fantasy football lens of the world. He was so integral, it just seemed he touched the ball way much more in the first 13, 14 weeks and I know he got hurt toward the end of the year. And in the playoffs, he’s on a bike. He’s standing and his helmet underneath his arm.

It was just strange, to be very honest with you.

McVay: It was. And it was a weird deal where he’s so tough. He’s pushing through different things.

Eisen: Is he trying to get through…is he in your ear?

McVay: Oh no, Todd is a pro’s pro. And really, he is such a mentally and physically tough guy that he would never be like that at all.

It was unique, because C.J. [Anderson] comes in. Did such a good job those last couple weeks. And really, it’s, “Ok. How can we find a way to make sure that we’re smartly putting together gameplans and utilizing the guys?” Because he did miss those last couple of games. In an ideal scenario, it plays out like Dallas.

You can expect Todd to be the focal part of our offense again as we move forward. He’s feeling good. He’s in a good place. I just think the natural ebbs and flows when you play 19 games, and I know he missed a couple with the amount of work that he got, it just worked out that way at the end of the year.

He got a very similar workload in ‘17. The anticipation for us is he’s in a good place. He’s feeling good. He’s going to continue to be a central part of our offense going into the ‘19 season, and I don’t see that changing.

Eisen: Is there a possibility you put him on a little bit more of a limit in the first 12 weeks of the season?

McVay: You know, I wouldn’t say that.

I think we’ve just got to do a good job of monitoring how he’s feeling throughout the season. And again, it’s football. And things can occur in a game that maybe make you wake up more sore than you were before.

He’s always been so good about being able to communicate to us. I think what you really saw was a warrior pushing through the Philadelphia [Eagles] game, and then that led to missing a couple of games.

He’s the only one that can tell you exactly how he was feeling, but I know the way that guy goes about his business and I have all the confidence in the world that he’s gonna do a great job physically, mentally getting himself ready to go so that he’s peaking at the right time when our first game opens up.

Look. A lot of that simply doesn’t make sense. But it’s not necessarily new. It’s just strange to claim Todd Gurley had four carries against the Saints because the Rams “weren’t able to get the run game going much” in the same game that C.J. Anderson had 16 carries. And it’s confusing to now acknowledge that Gurley was “banged up at the end of the year” when back on February 1, McVay claimed Gurley was “100%.”

I totally understand the impetus to try to not play up the injury throughout the playoffs. There’s a professionalism to putting your head down and doing your job even with nagging injuries that won’t prevent you from playing regardless of whether you’re the highest-paid running back in the league or if you’re the 46th guy on the 46-man gameday active roster. And I certainly appreciate the gamesmanship that goes on with not disclosing the variety of issues guys are carrying physically throughout the season that don’t get reported until we learn they had surgery in the offseason.

But this was an injury that (a) clearly affected the Rams’ gameplay and (b) clearly affected Gurley’s availability. I don’t think it’s unfair to ask if either are going to continue to be the case even though the Rams opted not to bring back the guy that was so crucial to their plans that it left Gurley, as Eisen put it, standing on the sidelines holding his helmet in his hands. Instead, they decided to bring back a complement for Gurley that has never been anywhere near that crucial to their gameplans. Maybe Malcolm Brown will have a huge year. But it sure sounds like McVay’s not necessarily planning on it. And that’s just confusing if we’re taking him at his word.

As a fan, I understand the adherence to the competitive nature of the story.

I don’t understand why the Rams, McVay and Gurley himself opted to mislead instead of simply avoid the issue at all.

Todd Gurley might be ‘feeling pretty good’ right now, but what does that mean?

Vincent Bonsignore

https://theathletic.com/926723/2019/04/15/todd-gurley-might-be-feeling-pretty-good-right-now-but-what-does-that-mean/

THOUSAND​ OAKS, Calif. —​ As Todd Gurley​ strolled​ to a waiting​ podium​ at the​ Rams’​ practice​ facility​ on Monday, it​ was immediately​​ apparent: He wasn’t walking with a limp and he didn’t need the help of crutches or a cane.

Whew.

Given everything everyone thinks they know about the condition of Gurley’s left knee — officially or (mostly) otherwise — the sigh of relief from Rams fans could be felt from the Santa Monica Pier all the way to Santa Barbara.

In the two-month aftermath of the confusing use of Gurley during the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots after his return from a late-season knee injury, speculation about his knee has ranged from a career-crippling arthritic condition to him recently leaving a Los Angeles nightclub with a limp so severe he basically had to drag his left leg around like a ball and chain.

Yikes.

Gurley, it seemed, was severely damaged goods. And the timing could not be worse given how the Rams gave him a record-breaking contract extension last summer.

So just to see him walk around without impediment or assistance was a pretty big deal.

On the other hand, if you were hoping Gurley would put to rest all the worst-case speculation — or even confirm it — by laying out a clear and concise diagnosis of what he actually dealt with at the tail end of last season and what he faces moving forward, then consider his talk with reporters on Monday a huge letdown.

And that’s probably not a good thing if you’re hoping that the six months between the 2018 and 2019 seasons will be sufficient for Gurley to permanently move past the issues he dealt with last December and January.

Only time will tell.

But if you listened close enough, you sadly get the feeling Gurley is entering a phase in his career in which his left knee will have to be handled with care in order to get him through future seasons at maximum level. Whatever the issue was, it didn’t require offseason surgery to correct it. That means it’s more of an issue that requires management rather than repair.

And it sounds like Gurley is as anxious as anyone to figure out what the future holds.

“Taking it day by day,” Gurley said when asked about the status of the knee. “Feeling pretty good.”

It’s been 71 days since the Super Bowl. You would hope pretty good would be good by now, right?

When asked if his knee will need continual attention and management, he said:

“All I can worry about is how I’m feeling right now. I don’t know how I’m gonna be feeling six months from now. So like I said, just keep working hard and doing what I’ve been doing these last couple years and communicating with (the training staff) and really just taking it day by day and then just trying to make sure that I feel the best once the season comes.”

That doesn’t exactly sound like a guy who is completely confident his late-season knee injury is a thing of the past.

Meanwhile, head coach Sean McVay hinted he was keeping a close eye on his Pro Bowl running back.

“Our goal is over the elongated period of time, really until the first game. That’s really the timetable that we’re operating with,” McVay said. “How does that specifically affect his workload through OTAs, into training camp. Those are things that we’re going to continue to monitor his progress, see how he’s feeling – communication from both sides.

“He’s in a good place right now. He’s feeling good. I know it was good (for him) to get back in the building. He’s been here doing some things. That’s really something that, as the offseason progresses and then as we get into training camp, he’s a guy that we will continue to monitor, but it’s like that with all of our players.”

Fair enough.

But the truth is, we have no better idea today than we did two months ago what Gurley’s future truly holds. And we probably won’t until the end of the 2019 season.

Will Gurley show up to training camp in late July completely fine? And will the knee present no negative issues over the course of the season? If not, can the issue be managed or mitigated with a detailed practice, treatment and usage plan?

Or are Gurley and the Rams at the continual whim of what the knee feels like when he wakes up each morning? Or after one half of play? Or one quarter? Or every series?

As much as we’d all like answers to those questions — the Rams and Gurley included — it’s unrealistic to expect them.

This one is going to take awhile.

Elvis

If i understand Gurley correctly, he’s treating his knee with rest.

Let’s compare Gurley to Donald.

Donald didn’t miss any games. Donald didn’t have a reduced workload at the end of the season. Donald didn’t take 2 1/2 months off after the SB to rest.

I just don’t think the “nothing to see here” scenario is all that plausible.

I also don’t think all the Rams beat reporters are headline seeking, pot stirring yellow journalists.

Time will tell but of the possible explanations of what’s going on here, the nothing is going on explanation is pretty low on my list…

Snead, McVay and Gurley have all been asked directly about the report of Gurley having arthritis. None of them have answered. Not one has said said, “yes the report is accurate,” or “no that’s not true.” They’ve all responded with non-answers.

Here’s one article with some McVay and Snead quotes:

Snead, McVay dodge questions about whether Todd Gurley has arthritis

Demoff also was directly asked about the arthritis report and declined to answer. Here’s Demoff on ESPN:

http://www.espn.com/espnradio/losangeles/play?id=26266509

The entire Rams press core thinks the Rams are being evasive. I think they’re being evasive. I’m not gonna jump to any broad conclusions. But i’m not gonna not notice either. I can’t tell you what it means but i definitely find it noteworthy… I’ll wait and see how it plays out…