also need to see if bailey and austin can make some strides. does greg robinson make strides. can brian quick come back healthy.

so many things need to happen… but the potential is there. i don’t think it was before.

great post isiah. and might i add.

gurley is not just a potentially special player. he’s a potentially special player who fits fisher’s vision. his style of football.

his offenses have been defined by the likes of eddie george, chris johnson, and to a lesser extent steven jackson. dare i say. gurley might bring elements of all three of those running backs to the table.

i’m dreaming of gurley in the backfield.

yeah. at this point a lot of it is about development. that’s the best way they can catch up to seattle, san francisco, and arizona besides adding more talent. a lot of young players who aren’t close to reaching their potential.

contrast that to seattle and san francisco who seem to have reached a peak. not sure about arizona.

yeah, they talk a lot about the little things that gurley does. how he varies the frequency of steps when a defender comes. they talk about his receiving skills. they talk about his flexibility when running in traffic. good stuff.

and he seems to run with good pad level when he has to.

the one question waldman has is how gurley will do when those running lanes will inevitably be tighter in the pros. he had some pretty wide open creases in college. but he seems pretty sold on him.

zn wrote:

InvaderRam wrote:

after all this offense is going to be built around the running game.

Ah but.

To me, running game or not, if the qb ain’t clutch, you don;t get that much.

The classic Oakland Raiders were a running team too, but, Kenny “The Carnivorous Reptile of the Suborder Serpentes” Stabler was clutch, and that was all the difference.

Me? I keep whoever is clutch. Even if he’s a klutz for the other 3 1/2 quarters.

..

that sounds good. but my point still holds. the rams weren’t likely to know the answer to that question with a guy like hundley by the end of this season. they’ll likely have a better idea with a guy like mannion who played in a pro-style system.

InvaderRam wrote:

just want to add one more thing. people talk about how gurley is a once in a decade type running back…

well. gurley had a teammate at georgia – freshman running back nick chubb.

some were whispering last year that he might be BETTER than gurley.

so… take that for what it’s worth. he put up some mighty impressive numbers behind the same line. early heisman candidate.

What do you (and others too) like about Gurley? I have my own opinions (I liked the pick instantly)…it’s just fun to hear.

..

i’ll leave film analysis to mack and others. mine is more of a cheerleader type response.

i always go back to steven jackson. he was the unquestioned talisman for the offense. he set a physical tone from the start. he was going to punish the defense. he was going to get up and he was going to do it again. he was relentless. but more than that he was also an explosive playmaker at his prime. he could bust long runs. he didn’t just grind out the tough yards. he made plays that could change the game in an instant.

even in his last year here. even when he was a shell of his former self. we all saw it. we saw that physicality. even if he could no longer produce the explosive plays. he provided that physicality.

but more than that. he was versatile. he was a very good receiver of the ball. he could go inside. he could go outside. there were so many ways steven could attack you. and an underrated skill of his was pass pro. he did the dirty work to help out his teammates. he realized the importance of giving up yourself for the team.

that’s what i believe gurley will bring to the table. he’s got it all. he can run inside. he can run outside. he can break a defenses will by churning out first downs. but equally by taking it to the house. his receiving skills are said to be top notch. he’s got big soft hands. he can run routes. he’s great after the catch.

and like mack said, i was pleased to hear him say pass protection was the first thing he needed to work on as a professional. he knows he can run. he knows he can catch. but he also recognizes that the nfl is a different game. it’s a passing league. and he needs to do his part to keep his qb clean.

he also protects the ball. everyone should watch the waldman piece on gurley. one of the first things he harps on is gurley’s fundamentals. how he holds the ball high and tight. the one thing that worries me about mason is his tendency to fumble the football. not with gurley. he’s got 10″ mitts. he takes care of the ball. he pays attention to the small things.

again. fixing the offensive line was important. not trying to minimize that. but maybe more important than that was establishing an identity. they not only got a blue chip playmaker. they established an identity for this offense in much the same way jackson did when he was here.

does he get caught from behind? gurley that is.

i read somewhere that he beat chris conley in a 40 yard dash. conley ran a 4.35 at this combine. no idea what it is post surgery.

as far as style he reminds me of edgerrin james. similar body type. edgerrin was a little smaller. but yeah. watching the both of them run. very similar. that comparison came from a charlie casserly interview on nfl network.

in the post-draft interview i think he said that he admires cj spiller. don’t know if he tries to emulate him.

i wanted hundley instead of mannion. but perhaps a risk the rams were unwilling to take.

i hated the havenstein pick the moment it was made. i prefer linemen with versatility. this guy is a one position pony. but the more i read about him the more excited i get. character seems through the roof. a naturally big guy. hard worker. nasty. i keep thinking jon runyan. a nice complement to robinson on the other side. we got some mean nasty bookends now. i like it.

i like the brown pick too. i think he sounds like an excellent guard prospect although i think he’s a year away at least.

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2010/2/12/1307175/torn-acl-success-stories

i also want to note that jamal lewis tore his lateral collateral ligament in college.

also. with willis mcgahee. he tore the acl, pcl, and mcl his last game in college. a much more serious injury.

i’ll be wondering/worrying about gurley’s knee for the next eight years… and that’s the BEST case scenario…

more

http://mattwaldmanrsp.com/2015/02/05/todd-gurley/

this was posted awhile back. but i thought i’d repost it considering he is now a RAM!

i really do think gurley is the risk.

i had posted about it a couple months ago. hoping that it would happen but telling myself that the smart play was drafting an olineman. but when scherff went off the board. and with what la’el collins is going through. it suddenly looked like a real possibility.

i think he’s got the potential to be better than steven jackson was. i really do. and i loved steven. he’s got to learn pass pro from what i’ve read. but he’s got everything else. he can run for power. he can get the tough yards. but then he can bust the big plays. he can catch the ball. he’s potentially a guy that defenses have to scheme against. and the rams did not have that before this draft. i think tre mason can be a very good back. but i don’t see him as a guy who can make his teammates look better. i know that phrase is tossed around a lot. but i believe it to be true about gurley. he’ll make that offensive line look better. he’ll make his qb and wrs look better. imagine this guy as a safety valve. with his speed and his power?

and most importantly with a dominant running game. that defense is gonna be fresh and rested. the dline is gonna get after those qbs. williams will be coming up with schemes to get turnovers.

well. that’s the idea anyway.