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from The Eight Best Players of the 2018 NFL Season So Far
At this point in the schedule, the MVP race is far too close to call. So instead of trying to predict who’ll wind up taking home the hardware, we’re celebrating the players who have defined the first six weeks of the season.Todd Gurley, RB, Rams
The Case: As I mentioned in Monday’s Starting 11, Gurley is on pace for 2,320 yards from scrimmage and 29 touchdowns. If he pulls that off, he’d be just the second player to do it since the merger (the other being LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006, the year he won the MVP award). For the second straight season, Gurley has been the most dangerous player on arguably the league’s best offense.
Sean McVay has crafted an offensive identity centered around Gurley—he masks certain play designs, making them look identical to others. The play-action passes look like runs. The runs look like play-action passes.
McVay’s scheme is completely unpredictable, and it only functions that way because Gurley can do everything you could ask of a running back. His skills as a receiver and dominance on screen passes ensure that when he’s in the game, any play on McVay’s call sheet is on the table.
And the Rams have taken full advantage. Gurley faces eight or more rushers in the box on 10.08 percent of his carries, the seventh-lowest rate in the league. On the surface, that doesn’t make any sense. Why the hell would the league’s best running back face light boxes on nine out of every 10 runs?
The answer is that the Rams use 11 personnel on nearly 93 percent of their running plays, and opponents are forced to respond with sub-package defenses. Then Gurley responds in kind by gashing them all game.
Saying that McVay does all he can to accentuate Gurley’s talent isn’t meant to take anything away from what Gurley’s been doing this season. The only time a player should be dinged for the damage he does in a great system is when another player could come in and produce at the same level—which is certainly not the case with Gurley.
There might be one other back in the league who could destroy defenses under McVay the way that Gurley has, but that’s it. We’ve all seen the wrong coaching staff steal the joy of peak Todd Gurley by slamming him into the line on every play. Let’s all just be thankful McVay got to him when he did, because he’s turned Gurley into the MVP frontrunner.
The Clip:
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Former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz did a great job of breaking down this concept on Twitter earlier this week(see below). When the Rams use jet motion, it holds the opposing linebackers just long enough for L.A.’s linemen to execute blocks that wouldn’t be possible with a normal inside zone run. With Gurley carrying the ball and the big boys picking off players at the second level, just say goodnight.
The @RamsNFL have 170 rushing attempts (out of 183 total) from 11 personnel (3WR,TE,RB). They avg 153 y/g and 5.4 per attempt. That’s ridiculous… here’s an example of why it’s so successful. You have the C blocking the nickel. I love watching this run game. pic.twitter.com/11fsSFUDnM
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) October 16, 2018
Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk is impressed with Todd Gurley’s most valuable contributions to Rams offense
SAM FARMER
http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp-rams-sidebar-20181014-story.html
Todd Gurley was a devastating force against Denver on Sunday, running for 208 yards.
It was the first 200-yard rushing game for a Rams player since Marshall Faulk rolled up 202 for the St. Louis Rams against Carolina in 2001.
Reached by phone Sunday night, Faulk said Gurley is unquestionably playing like the NFL’s most valuable player at this point.
“There’s no doubt,” said Faulk, who won that award in 2000. “I know they love giving it to quarterbacks, and unless a running back does something that’s unbelievable that hasn’t been done before, it’s hard to get it from a quarterback.
“But, man … I think the second half of the season is going to be even better for him.”
Faulk, enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011, was regarded as the quintessential triple threat, someone who could not only run the ball, but also catch passes out of the backfield, and be a reliable blocker in pass protection. He sees the same in Gurley.
“The way that they use him, he’s going to last forever,” Faulk said. “He does a really good job of not just getting the tough yards, but also playing smart and not taking a lot of hits. When they need him to hit it up in there, he gets the tough yards. When he gets outside, he takes care of himself. And in the passing game, not just catching the ball but pass blocking as well.
“There was a huge play, and he stepped up in the middle — bam — cut a guy, which allowed Jared [Goff] to step up in the pocket and deliver a ball down the field. When you’re a triple threat like that, teams really don’t know what to do.”
Gurley, who scored twice Sunday, leads the NFL will 11 touchdowns from scrimmage and is the fifth player with at least 11 offensive touchdowns in his team’s first six games of the season, joining Shaun Alexander (12 in 2005), Emmitt Smith (11 in 1995), LaDainian Tomlinson (11 in 2005), and Priest Holmes (11 in both 2002 and ’04).
Faulk said the offensive creativity of Rams coach Sean McVay keeps Gurley mentally stimulated and engaged.
“It’s always fun when you look in the playbook and it’s like, ‘OK, what’s this play like? What are we going to do here?’ ” Faulk said. “A lot of the time, it’s the same plays, but it’s how you dress them up, and what you do to make it fun. I love it that Sean is making it fun for guys.
“I always prided myself on, ‘I’m going to out-think you.’ And I can see Todd’s game mentally understanding not just what he has to do in the run game and the pass game, but in pass protection, helping his guys, knowing when to chip, knowing when to knock a guy back, just understanding the little nuances.”
So far, those little nuances are translating into big yards.
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