Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › Wagoner: Todd Gurley is already the Rams' offensive centerpiece
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October 12, 2015 at 12:03 pm #32222
znModeratorTodd Gurley is already the Rams’ offensive centerpiece
Nick Wagoner
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Despite his pregame protestations to St. Louis Rams head athletic trainer Reggie Scott, running back Todd Gurley finished Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers still wondering what he can do when he’s at full speed.
That’s because Scott refused to allow Gurley to play against the Packers without the brace that protects his surgically repaired left knee.
“I had the brace on today,” Gurley said. “Reggie, man. I just listen to what they say.”
No matter, Gurley followed up last week’s breakthrough with the type of workhorse performance that removed any remaining doubt about who the focal point of the Rams offense is. Just three games and two starts into his NFL career, the answer is Gurley.
On a day when offense was again mostly hard to come by, it was Gurley who gave the Rams hope. He carried 30 times for 159 yards, both career highs in his small three-game sample.
The 159 yards offered a modest improvement over the 146 he had against Arizona last week, but it was those 30 carries that were impossible to ignore. Gurley made his NFL debut in Week 3 against Pittsburgh, and the Rams eased him back into the mix with six carries. It looked like Gurley was right on schedule, getting a few touches before slowly ramping up heading into the Week 6 bye.
But the Rams got Gurley rolling in the fourth quarter against the Cardinals last week, and his carries rose to 19. But even if that was just a product of how the game went, Sunday’s game offered definitive proof that the Rams no longer have any doubts about Gurley’s health.
“You never know what to expect,” Gurley said. “If you are having a good game, Coach is going to keep feeding you. So I have just got to be prepared for that. These guys believe in me to run the ball. We are doing a great job. We just have got to put stuff together and finish.”
Over the last two weeks Gurley’s 49 carries are the most in the NFL (not including Monday night’s game). The same is true of his 305 rushing yards. For those keeping score at home, that’s a 6.22 yards per carry, which is fifth among running backs in that time. For the season, though Gurley hasn’t played in every game like the names on the list above him, he is tied for 12th in rushing yards with 314, and his 5.71 yards per carry on 55 attempts is tops in the league among running backs.
Perhaps more impressive is Gurley’s knack for big plays. He already has nine carries for 20-plus yards, which ties him for 10th in the NFL, but those nine runs have gone for a total of 225 yards, second only to Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin on such carries.
“He’s doing a great job,” tight end Lance Kendricks said. “He’s definitely giving us some big plays down the field and some explosives which are hard to come by, especially against a good defense like them. I think we’re on the right track. We have just got to get all the pieces together.”
For Gurley, the only remaining piece he is hoping to add to his game is finding the end zone. He narrowly missed a couple of scores against the Packers and found himself lamenting the fact he didn’t score his first NFL touchdown on the 55-yard run he broke late in the game.
Whether it’s Gurley or someone else doing the scoring, the Rams are well aware they must find the pieces to complement their burgeoning star back. The hope in the Rams locker room is now that Gurley is establishing himself, the rest will fall into place.
“Todd is doing a great job,” quarterback Nick Foles said. “Coming off an injury like he suffered and to be in the NFL, his second game really breaking through and once he hits that hole, he’s hitting it. So that’s going to help us open up a lot of things.
“We’ll keep working to be a complete offense. Our running game, that’s the start of it. You have got to have a great running game in the NFL because the clock keeps moving and it wears down the defense a little bit. We’ll build off that for sure.”
And around Gurley. Brace or no brace.
October 12, 2015 at 1:41 pm #32228InvaderRamModeratorcrazy that he’s still wearing the brace. imagine how he’ll be when they give him the green light to take it off.
they don’t mention his blocking which is already impressive and i still think they need to feature him more in the passing game. that’s a part of the offense that needs to be featured. i think there’s potential there. and not just on third downs.
i also think mason needs to be playing more. even if gurley is completely healthy. maybe just for another series or two in the second and third quarters.
October 12, 2015 at 3:59 pm #32235
NERamParticipantSome Gurley vids from Packers game.
October 12, 2015 at 11:44 pm #32284znModeratorfrom off the net
==
Rampage2K-
Gurley first Rams rookie to rush for 140+ in back to back games since …1983 when some guy named Eric Dickerson did it
October 13, 2015 at 11:30 am #32296InvaderRamModeratorcombined rushing yards of lynch, charles, and hyde against the packer defense the three games before facing gurley.
110 yards…
October 13, 2015 at 2:19 pm #32301
rflParticipantcombined rushing yards of lynch, charles, and hyde against the packer defense the three games before facing gurley.
110 yards…
This is a good point, and it bears on what I said elsewhere.
The most impressive thing about G is what he does on poorly blocked plays. He had a couple of splash plays, but he kept grinding out yards with little room there. In the 1st half, he had 1 10 yarder, if I recall, and then about 15 runs for short yards. But the overall result was not, say, 25 yards, but well on pace toward 100 for the game. (I’m bad at recalling numbers.)
He makes something out of very little. That’s a rare and treasured talent.
And he did it against a defense that had NOTHING ELSE to worry about! NOTHING! The Ram passing game is beyond pathetic. GB could swarm the LOS against Gurley. And he STILL gained yards. Amazing.
By virtue of the absurd ...
October 13, 2015 at 3:07 pm #32307znModeratorThe most impressive thing about G is what he does on poorly blocked plays.
Didn’t you say you haven’t seen the ARZ game yet? In the second half of that game he has huge holes to run through.
I think the fact that he did a lot of it on his own in the GB game is really only half the story.
…
October 13, 2015 at 4:03 pm #32308
wvParticipantI love the fact he’s doing this with a brace on.
Lookin forward to seeing him go full throttle
at some point. Probably next year.w
vOctober 13, 2015 at 8:03 pm #32317InvaderRamModeratorGurley added he specifically felt that way about a couple runs in the first quarter against the Packers.
“Just trying to get a feel for the game, I feel like a lot of times I might miss a couple reads at the beginning of the game,” Gurley said. “But I’ll get it together once you get to the end.”
this guy is still adjusting to the speed of the nfl game. the physicality.
but that’s to be expected this early in his career. man but imagine when he does adjust. and imagine when the offensive line starts to gel. or rather. hopefully it gels.
and he finally takes that knee brace off.
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