network analysts & others on Gurley (the Gurley-fest thread)

from BEST PLAYERS AT EVERY POSITION FOR WEEK 7

Running back: Todd Gurley, Rams (+4.2)

This might not be the last time we see Gurley on this team. He was incredible in forcing 11 missed tackles, looking like the kind of weapon the Rams have desperately needed.

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TODD GURLEY LOOKS LIKE HE’S GOING TO BE A STAR

Rams rookie RB Todd Gurley was PFF’s top-graded running back this week.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/10/26/todd-gurley-looks-like-hes-going-to-be-a-star/

Welcome to the Todd Gurley Show. The St Louis Rams selected Gurley with the No. 10 overall pick in the draft despite a significant knee injury he suffered at Georgia that they knew would likely leave him still recovering by opening day. In Week 3 the Rams unleashed Gurley on the league, and since that game they have been intent on seeing a return on their investment.

In three starts he has carried the ball 68 times and gained 435 yards, notching his first two touchdowns this week against the Browns.

His production has been consistently impressive, but the percentage of that production Gurley alone is responsible for has been on the rise each week. Against the Cardinals and Packers Gurley gained between 43 and 48 percent of his yards after contact, but against the Browns a ridiculous 86.7 percent of his yardage came after contact with Cleveland defenders.

In his first two starts combined he broke seven tackles – two against Arizona and then five against Green Bay – but he broke 11 against Cleveland on just 19 carries.

He already leads all rookies in rushing yards and yards after contact and is just four behind San Diego’s Melvin Gordon – the No. 15 overall pick — when it comes to broken tackles.

His 6.0 yards per carry average also leads all rookies (and is tied for second among all running backs), and the 3.5 yards per carry he is averaging after first contact is again the best among rookies, and trailing only Lamar Miller and Le’Veon Bell among all running backs.

The Rams wanted a work-horse running back that they could load up and ride to glory the way Jeff Fisher did to Eddie George back in the day with the Oilers/Titans. Gurley already looks uniquely qualified from this draft class to excel with that kind of responsibility and workload, and we are beginning to see why some saw him as head and shoulders above any other runner in this rookie class.

He was the highest-graded running back in the league this week, and his score was the third-highest figure of the season among running backs.

Gurley is clearly a special talent and the scary thing is, so soon into his comeback, there may be plenty more to come from him.

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NFL Network: Gurley is One of the NFL’s Top RBs

The NFL Network’s Fantasy Live crew takes a closer look at rookie Todd Gurley and compares him to some of the NFL’s top running backs.

http://www.stlouisrams.com/videos/videos/NFL_Network_Gurley_is_One_of_the_NFLs_Top_RBs/8c4e75f9-dcf4-426b-8d00-54877e0b9939

NFL Network: Todd Gurley’s Transition to the NFL

Former NFL running back LaDainian Tomlinson on the Rams rookie running back: “the amazing thing is how quickly he has made this transition (to the NFL).”

http://www.stlouisrams.com/videos/videos/NFL_Network_Todd_Gurleys_Transition_to_the_NFL/196f7dc2-45b3-4b15-a4ad-909ae1027c26

Credit the Rams’ O-Line for Gelling in Gurley’s Big Game

Anthony Stalter

http://www.101sports.com/2015/10/06/credit-the-rams-o-line-for-gelling-in-gurleys-big-game/

The Rams’ offensive line has been a lighting rod for criticism since the start of the preseason. Last week in the team’s loss to Pittsburgh, the O-line did its part to suffocate the offense by failing to open up holes in the running game and taking pressure off quarterback Nick Foles.

Some argued that the line held up fine in pass protection, but when defenses shut down a running game they can sit back in coverage in third-and-long and force quarterbacks to make difficult throws in clogged passing windows. Unless we’re talking about the truly elite, QBs can only do so much with no running game and no passing game playmakers.

But something clicked in the desert last Sunday. Suddenly a much maligned offensive line started executing and when you have a back like Gurley, who is capable of breaking tackles and gaining yards after contact, a 5-yard run turns into a 10-yard run.

Or a 52-yard run.

Take that play early in the fourth quarter as example. Out of an Off-set I, the Rams ran a stretch play to their left. At the snap, the offensive line stepped to their left in unison, which is a staple of the new zone-blocking scheme put in place by offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti this spring.

Left guard Jamon Brown and center Tim Barnes executed a perfect double team on Calais Campbell, who winds up being pancaked by Brown. Barnes then slipped off the double team and worked to the second level (another staple of the zone-blocking scheme), where he walled off safety Tony Jefferson (who had lined up in the box for run support).

Also play-side was left tackle Greg Robinson, who put Josh Mauro on skates and wiped him out of the play. Backside, Rodger Saffold blocked down and tossed Ed Stinson like a rag doll, which, along with the work that Barnes, Brown and Robinson put in, created a massive running lane for Gurley.

Gurley did the rest, bursting up field while slipping a tackle and out-running Rashad Johnson before Tyrann Mathieu finally pushed him out of bounds 52 yards later.

Some fans were enraged when the Rams selected Gurley with the 10th overall pick back in April. They asked why, after Zac Stacy showed promise as a rookie, would the Rams draft Gurley when, “they already had running backs on the roster?”

That’s why. That same run may have only netted 12 yards instead of 52 had it been Stacy. Gurley’s combination of size and speed make him special – a playmaker. A difference maker.

But the Rams didn’t receive that type of blocking in the first three games. Even in the win over Seattle, the initial double-team that Brown and Barnes executed was non-existent. Running backs were being met in gaps because the Rams’ O-line wasn’t getting to the second level of the defense. And even when linemen did, they were whiffing on blocks.

That wasn’t Gurley’s only explosive run and that wasn’t the only time the Rams’ offensive linemen executed in the second half. You don’t gain 7.7 yards per carry as a back if you don’t have multiple explosive runs created by your own talents and the ability of your offensive line to create running lanes.

The Arizona game is how teams draw it up. It’s how the Rams envisioned their running game would look back in April.

Now, as with anything else as it pertains to the Rams, we need to see consistency out of the O-line moving forward. It’s time for that group to build off it’s performance in the second half so that the Rams can stay in contention all season.