high time Rams fans got more Gurley

With guessing game over, Todd Gurley could be in line for more work

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/21947/with-guessing-game-over-todd-gurley-could-be-in-line-for-more-work

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Now that the question of when St. Louis Rams rookie running back Todd Gurley will make his debut has been answered, the focus has shifted to when Gurley will be ready to take on an expanded role in the offense and offer the production that goes with it.

“There is a possibility he will get more reps (this week), yes,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “It’s a good possibility he plays this week.”

On the second part, Fisher was joking — there’s no doubt Gurley will play this week against the Arizona Cardinals barring some serious setback. The first part remains to be seen, but will be determined in part by how Gurley bounces back this week from his first game action since November of last year when he was at the University of Georgia.

If the first three days of the week are any indication, Gurley should be set for more opportunities in the desert. Gurley said Wednesday that he felt like he recovered well from his first NFL game — a game in which he played 14 snaps and got seven touches — and didn’t have anything beyond a little bit of the usual soreness that comes from playing.

Gurley even took to Twitter to espouse the virtues of something called “recovery boots.”

Gurley wears the boots every day for 20 to 30 minutes after practice and says they’re particularly useful on days like Wednesday when he’s just three days removed from a game, has gone through a fully padded practice and gone through a weight room workout.

Against the Steelers, Gurley clearly had some rust to knock off. He carried six times for 9 yards and had one catch for 5 yards. But when he went back and watched the tape, he saw the same things Fisher and coordinator Frank Cignetti saw. Which is to say Gurley saw two or three runs he believed were a block, a read or a combination of the two away from going for a big gain.

“About two or three runs like that,” Gurley said. “It’s football and like coach harps on, it’s the little details. That’s why we practice and hopefully we take that over to the game.”

Quarterback Nick Foles said those big runs will happen as Gurley gets more comfortable.

“That comes,” Foles said. “That’s a rookie first game. You get all of the anxiety out. He’s not a real rookie because I’m with him every day — he’s a mature kid. He doesn’t run like a rookie. He runs like a guy who is sure of himself and knows who he is as a player. He’s coming off of an injury as well and he’s playing his first game in the NFL, so I know there’s a lot of nerves, but each and every day he comes out to practice and works his butt off. He looks great in practice and I know he’s going to show it on the field.”

Like many rookies, Gurley took notice of the speed of NFL defenders. But he was more taken aback by their strength and ability to tackle more effectively than collegiate competition. For someone who averaged nearly 4 yards per carry after contact in his final season at Georgia, Gurley entered the league used to requiring a gang of defenders to bring him down.

“Yeah, my biggest thing was just not breaking tackles,” Gurley said. “It’s the NFL and all but for me, I have got that mindset whether it’s the NFL or not, I should not be letting one defender tackle me.”

While it’s unlikely the Rams will suddenly give it to Gurley 20-plus times this week, recent history shows that more work could be in the offing. Last year, rookie Tre Mason got six touches in his first game and got an uptick to 18 the following week, though that was partially dictated by how that game was going and Mason’s production.

Of course, Mason wasn’t coming off major knee surgery so the Rams could be a little more cautious with Gurley. Either way, the rookie doesn’t seem too concerned with how many times he touches the ball as he rounds back into form.

“However many reps (Fisher) gives me I am not going to complain,” Gurley said. “I’m just going to go out there and do what I’m told. I don’t know. I can have one carry for 80 yards, but like I said it doesn’t really matter how many touches I get as long as we win, honestly. I’ll let the coaches decide that, I don’t call the plays.”