Was Todd Gurley that much of a problem?

[Legatron4]

I was thinking about this bit from Colin Cowherd lately:

View: https://youtu.be/pd34jscuPpk


The first two games of the 2020 season leads me to believe he was correct. So far, we’ve seen more explosive runs from all three of our RBs. Not to mention, we went from ranking 26th in rushing last year, to third this year with 172 ypg. The common dominator? Todd Gurley. I think he held us back, a lot.

As Colin stated, Sean felt forced to feed him the ball to make up for how much the Rams were paying him. I believe it was the same thing with Brandin Cooks. They ended up being a addition by subtraction.

I appreciate everything Todd did for us, but he clearly doesn’t have it anymore. He had a pretty typical game yesterday. 21 carries 61 yards 2.9 ypc. And while an Oline does matter, we rushed for 150 yards vs Dallas. Which tells me everything I need to know, Todd Gurley was a problem.

What do y’all think?

 

[MaxQ28]

I was thinking about this bit from Colin Cowherd lately:

View: https://youtu.be/pd34jscuPpk


The first two games of the 2020 season leads me to believe he was correct. So far, we’ve seen more explosive runs from all three of our RBs. Not to mention, we went from ranking 26th in rushing last year, to third this year with 172 ypg. The common dominator? Todd Gurley. I think he held us back, a lot.

As Colin stated, Sean felt forced to feed him the ball to make up for how much the Rams were paying him. I believe it was the same thing with Brandin Cooks. They ended up being a addition by subtraction.

I appreciate everything Todd did for us, but he clearly doesn’t have it anymore. He had a pretty typical game yesterday. 21 carries 61 yards 2.9 ypc. And while an Oline does matter, we rushed for 150 yards vs Dallas. Which tells me everything I need to know, Todd Gurley was a problem.

What do y’all think?

When the Rams let Gurley go I was shocked. I believed that Gurley would go to Atlanta and have a renascence. But at this point it looks like the Rams new something that the rest of us suspected. Maybe Gurley’s knee is as bad as some people have suggested. I also appreciate Gurley’s time with the Rams. I was in Nashville at the game when Gurley had the 80 yard screen for a TD. He had some awesome years for us. GO RAMS!

 

[den-the-coach]

Now first of all (there was a time people wrote that instead of first and foremost) I liked that the Rams paid Gurley, I know some were against it and even some who enjoy bringing up the fact of his injury at Georgia, but that's fine, the Rams were a new attraction to Southern California and Gurley was the face of the franchise.

Now IMO, Gurley's attitude changed, and I don't know why. Maybe he had trouble coming to the realization that he was not the same or maybe he truly believed he was fine and wasn't being given the time to find his rhythm, however, you should never let that carry over in the locker room, McVay didn't let that happen, but Gurley did.

Similar to, you should never disagree in front of the children, although some people still have trouble heeding that advice, Gurley seem to pout and all of the sudden, he was affecting the locker room and once that happens regardless of the cap hit, the Los Angeles Rams had to part ways. Seems like it was best for both parties, similar to @Selassie I divorces (not sure if it's more than one) but overall, Gurley and the Rams are both better off as the Rams have a nice stable of running backs under a rising assistant coach in Thomas Brown and Todd Gurley III took that midnight train to Georgia and is back home playing for the Atlanta Falcons.

 

[IBruce80]

Big Todd Gurley fan and i was one on this board that mostly defended him last season and was willing to blame it on the OL.
We 've got Brown who is solid and now Henderson has finally had a big game.
A lot of hype behind Akers.
We probably won't have a 1200-yards a season back for a while because of the shared workload, but i'm fine with that.
The OL has started really well.
There's plenty to sing about.

It may be easy to remember/blame Gurley for poor performance for last season.
However, we should just move on and remember that Gurley was an amazing RB for us and leave it at that.

 

[Ram_Rally]

Offense looks much freer without Gurley. Rams offense went through a bad breakup with him, reinvented themselves, and realized that the Rams offense didn't need to be dependent on no man. Stella got her groove back baby

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

Now first of all (there was a time people wrote that instead of first and foremost) I liked that the Rams paid Gurley, I know some were against it and even some who enjoy bringing up the fact of his injury at Georgia, but that's fine, the Rams were a new attraction to Southern California and Gurley was the face of the franchise.

Now IMO, Gurley's attitude changed, and I don't know why. Maybe he had trouble coming to the realization that he was not the same or maybe he truly believed he was fine and wasn't being given the time to find his rhythm, however, you should never let that carry over in the locker room, McVay didn't let that happen, but Gurley did.

Similar to, you should never disagree in front of the children, although some people still have trouble following that, Gurley seem to pout and all of the sudden, he was affecting the locker room and once that happen, regardless of the cap hit, the Los Angeles Rams had to part ways. Seems like it was best for both parties, similar to @Selassie I divorces (not sure if it's more than one) but overall, Gurley and the Rams are both better off as the Rams have a nice stable of running backs under a rising assistant coach in Thomas Brown and Todd Gurley III took that midnight train to Georgia and is back home playing for the Atlanta Falcons.

Here, here

Bravo Sir

 

[Selassie I]

Now first of all (there was a time people wrote that instead of first and foremost) I liked that the Rams paid Gurley, I know some were against it and even some who enjoy bringing up the fact of his injury at Georgia, but that's fine, the Rams were a new attraction to Southern California and Gurley was the face of the franchise.

Now IMO, Gurley's attitude changed, and I don't know why. Maybe he had trouble coming to the realization that he was not the same or maybe he truly believed he was fine and wasn't being given the time to find his rhythm, however, you should never let that carry over in the locker room, McVay didn't let that happen, but Gurley did.

Similar to, you should never disagree in front of the children, although some people still have trouble heeding that advice, Gurley seem to pout and all of the sudden, he was affecting the locker room and once that happens regardless of the cap hit, the Los Angeles Rams had to part ways. Seems like it was best for both parties, similar to @Selassie I divorces (not sure if it's more than one) but overall, Gurley and the Rams are both better off as the Rams have a nice stable of running backs under a rising assistant coach in Thomas Brown and Todd Gurley III took that midnight train to Georgia and is back home playing for the Atlanta Falcons.

There was only 1 Brudda. LOL

 

[LouisvilleRam]

I remember during Jalen Ramsey's first game with us he was sitting on the bench next to Gurley who had just scored and McVay came over and fist bumped Todd and as Sean walked off Gurley rolled his eyes. So there was definitely something there and I think it may go back to CJ Anderson's heavy workload during our Super Bowl run but who knows.

 

[Legatron4]

I remember during Jalen Ramsey's first game with us he was sitting on the bench next to Gurley who had just scored and McVay came over and fist bumped Todd and as Sean walked off Gurley rolled his eyes. So there was definitely something there and I think it may go back to CJ Anderson's heavy workload during our Super Bowl run but who knows.

I need that clip lol

 

[Psycho_X]

No idea what happened but it was clear Gurley was not a happy camper. We all saw the sulking last season, the refusal to acknowledge McVay as he walked off the field, and the side comments he made after he was released. There was obvious tension there. I'm impressed at how well McVay kept it all to himself though and never once made a negative comment about the situation. Whatever happened it doesn't matter because they are both free of each other. And we are definitely better for it this season compared to last.

Gurley, I don't know I guess its the knee. He's never been a RB who'll make multiple cuts and run all over the field doing magical stuff, he's always been a one cut and sprint past everyone type. But he barely did that last season. He just ran straight and spent little effort avoiding it seemed like. He still has the speed but if there wasn't an open hole for him he wasn't getting anything. This season I'm not sure we've had more than one negative run play. Always getting positive yards even when hit early. That's been a huge boon to this offense. Every offense struggles going into a 2nd or 3rd and 12. So far he's looked the same in Atlanta. Not doing much there either.

 

[Classic Rams]

Loved what he did for us, cheered him like crazy, but hated all the is he or isn't he and disappearing to the sidelines stuff later.

Thrilled to be where we are now. Happy for Hendo's game yesterday.

 

[BonifayRam]

Still glad the Cooks -Gurley drama boys have left the building even at the great cost to Salary Dead Cap Hit.

Drama Free is a good day!

 

[Noregar]

I really liked TG and cheered when they made the draft pick. He was an MVP caliber RB during his peak but that peak was just too short.

Last season he was closer to a JAG on the field and possibly an negative influence within the clubhouse. I am ok saying goodbye even with the cap because it has helped the team

By no means is Gurley lighting it up this season. His season stat line is very pedestrian.
35 carries 117 yards 1 TD with 3.3 YPC along with 1 rec for 2 yards.
Against the same cowboys that the Rams ran well against TG put up just 61 yard on 21 attempts for with just 2.9 YPC

The team is much better off now with the RB Committee and in the future I do not expect the Rams to invest serious $$ into the RB spot.

 

[Ewe83]

Our house are HUGE Todd fans, I'm the only one who doesn't have a Gurley jersey. I was in big time denial about his knee and thought he'd be in horns forever. It's sad to admit he probably was holding us back last year but I will never speak ill of Todd and wish him nothing but the best

 

[OldSchool]

I really thought they would keep Gurley for one more year to lessen the dead cap hit a bit but they had their plans. His play this year is exactly what I thought it would be though. Love the guy but like the way our RB room looks right now best of luck TG3.

 

[SAK11]

We'll see where we go from here. We started last year 3-0. There was certainly an awkwardness in how Gurley was being used last year. He also was nowhere near his peak form from the previous two seasons. Biggest positive from these first two weeks for me is the balance in the offense. McVay sometimes gets too pass heavy. Run the ball, control the clock, wear down the defense, limit the hits Goff takes, help the play action become more effective, limit the turnovers. That Bucs game last year with the 68:11 pass to run ratio was tough to watch. 42:23 in that Steelers game with Gurley running well was ugly, too. So far, 58 passes, 79 runs- beautiful. I always feel that a commitment to the run game has the offensive line feeling good, too. Gives them a chance to push forward instead of backing up.

 

[LouisvilleRam]

The play that has me wondering as far as his injury goes is the long TD run he had against the Cowboys in the playoffs because he looked like TG from the previous couple of seasons on that run.

 

[TXRams86]

I know it's been stated here multiple times but I don't think that Todd's issues were physical, I think they were mental. We don't know what goes on behind the scenes but to me it was obvious that he was unhappy. He showed flashes of the old Gurley at times but was JAG for the vast majority of last year. The thing that NEVER changed was his passive demeanor on the sideline, in interviews and after his release. Part of me believes that McVay's desire for perfection may have rubbed Gurley the wrong way - he was used to being "the man" and maybe didn't respond well to McVay's critiques. Who really knows other than the coaching staff but I can't say that we've missed a beat with him gone. Appreciate what he did for our team and wish him well but I've moved on.

 

[Ants]

Now first of all (there was a time people wrote that instead of first and foremost) I liked that the Rams paid Gurley, I know some were against it and even some who enjoy bringing up the fact of his injury at Georgia, but that's fine, the Rams were a new attraction to Southern California and Gurley was the face of the franchise.

Now IMO, Gurley's attitude changed, and I don't know why. Maybe he had trouble coming to the realization that he was not the same or maybe he truly believed he was fine and wasn't being given the time to find his rhythm, however, you should never let that carry over in the locker room, McVay didn't let that happen, but Gurley did.

Similar to, you should never disagree in front of the children, although some people still have trouble heeding that advice, Gurley seem to pout and all of the sudden, he was affecting the locker room and once that happens regardless of the cap hit, the Los Angeles Rams had to part ways. Seems like it was best for both parties, similar to @Selassie I divorces (not sure if it's more than one) but overall, Gurley and the Rams are both better off as the Rams have a nice stable of running backs under a rising assistant coach in Thomas Brown and Todd Gurley III took that midnight train to Georgia and is back home playing for the Atlanta Falcons.

Good post - that pretty much sums it up for me.
I will add that I found it odd and discouraging that Gurley eventually found it difficult to even catch passes. I was a fan of his (the only jersey I own)...but I'm glad he's gone.

 

[gabriel18]

I saw it first hand in Pittsburgh last year , when he isolated himself from the rest of the team. He couldn’t even find his helmet when they called for him to enter the game in the second half. That’s probably why he didn’t take the field the entire 4th quarter. These young guys are playing hard so Todd is not missed