Gurley the receiver

[jrry32]

gotta disagree with ya on that,particularly on screen plays

Strongly disagree with you. Benny has been outstanding this year when we've put the ball in his hands on 3rd down.

and Cunningham ain't Gurly.which brings me back to the original point

Irrelevant. You're not running the ball on 3rd and medium or long (except in rare situations). The HB is in there primarily as a pass protector. His secondary role is as a pass catcher. Benny is a better pass protector. And a better pass catcher. Although, Gurley might catch up to him as a pass catcher soon.

next year Gurly will be a better option on third down.You don't take your
premier player off the field on third down.It happened this year for a couple
of reasons:coming off acl and being a rookie.Won't be the case next year.

I don't agree with you. Cunningham's pass protection skills are huge for us. That is the HB's primary role on 3rd down. Cunningham is great at it. His blitz recognition skills are outstanding and he consistently picks up his man and sustains the block.

And when we do throw him the ball, he typically does a great job of creating yards after the catch.

 

[Dodgersrf]

Nah. Benny is a great 3rd down HB. Outstanding pass blocker and a good pass catcher. Plus, it gives Gurley a breather.

It gives the opposing teams defence a breather as well.
I like Benny. He's a good player, but he's not Gurley.
Gurley passed the los is deadly.
Leave a TE for an extra blocker if needed.

 

[Merlin]

No offense to Cunningham but I hope to see Gurley not come off the field
on 3rd down next year.His hands are too good.Guess he just needs a year of NFL seasoning to contribute more in the passing game.

I'm with you on that Tavian. Gurley can get a blow after a big play, and putting him on the field on third down makes this team better.

If they put him occasionally in the pattern like the Rams did with Faulk he would be the same type of impact player with that ability to take any one to the house with the slightest misstep in coverage by the defense.

Gonna be interesting to see if Boras starts doing just that in these last two games.

 

[jrry32]

It gives the opposing teams defence a breather as well.
I like Benny. He's a good player, but he's not Gurley.
Gurley passed the los is deadly.
Leave a TE for an extra blocker if needed.

No, it doesn't. It's a passing play. They're busy defending that while Gurley is getting a breather on his sideline.

Unless you're putting that TE in the back-field, you're not getting the same use out of him. The value of a good pass protecting HB is that he can pick the blitzer up no matter where he comes from. A TE has to align on one side of the LOS. He can't cross the formation to pick a guy up.

Plus, I'd rather have a quality TE catching passes over Gurley. I know Cook isn't that...but Cook isn't going to help our QB as an extra blocker either. Which is why he should be replaced.(and we should add a good pass catcher)

Look, I think the world of Gurley but he's not the best option on 3rd down right now. Which is fine. Adrian Peterson was pulled off the field on 3rd down most of his career. A great 3rd down HB is worth a lot to NFL teams. They're a very important role player. Because of how important the HB is to picking up blitzes and as a checkdown option.

But since they're rarely the primary receiver on 3rd downs, you don't need the greater weapon. You need the guy who offers more value to your team on that particular down...which is the guy that is the better pass protector and more reliable pass catcher. That's Benny RIGHT NOW.

 

[tavian]

more reliable pass catcher

not true.check the stats.
http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/drops/2015/

Rank Player Pos Team Receptions Drops Targets Targets % Drop %

Todd Gurley RB STL 20 0 25 80.0% 0.0%
Benny Cunningham RB STL 20 3 30 66.7% 10.0%

 

[jrry32]

not true.check the stats.
http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/drops/2015/

Rank Player Pos Team Receptions Drops Targets Targets % Drop %

Todd Gurley RB STL 20 0 25 80.0% 0.0%
Benny Cunningham RB STL 20 3 30 66.7% 10.0%

Yes, it is. Reliability goes beyond just drops. Running the correct routes and making the right reads are more important.

Why do you think Gurley isn't currently more involved in the passing game?

 

[tavian]

Why do you think Gurley isn't currently more involved in the passing game?

dont they both have 20 receptions?

 

[Dodgersrf]

No, it doesn't. It's a passing play. They're busy defending that while Gurley is getting a breather on his sideline.

Unless you're putting that TE in the back-field, you're not getting the same use out of him. The value of a good pass protecting HB is that he can pick the blitzer up no matter where he comes from. A TE has to align on one side of the LOS. He can't cross the formation to pick a guy up.

Plus, I'd rather have a quality TE catching passes over Gurley. I know Cook isn't that...but Cook isn't going to help our QB as an extra blocker either. Which is why he should be replaced.(and we should add a good pass catcher)

Look, I think the world of Gurley but he's not the best option on 3rd down right now. Which is fine. Adrian Peterson was pulled off the field on 3rd down most of his career. A great 3rd down HB is worth a lot to NFL teams. They're a very important role player. Because of how important the HB is to picking up blitzes and as a checkdown option.

But since they're rarely the primary receiver on 3rd downs, you don't need the greater weapon. You need the guy who offers more value to your team on that particular down...which is the guy that is the better pass protector and more reliable pass catcher. That's Benny RIGHT NOW.

RIGHT NOW, I won't disagree.
Next year? I'd be surprised.
Gurley has proven himself more than a talented ball carrier. He has great hands and is incredibly smart for a first year player.
As good as Benny is, it's going to be tough to keep Gurley off the field on 3rd downs. He is the most talented offensive weapon on the team and it would be foolish to take him off the field when your trying to keep the offense on the field.

 

[jrry32]

dont they both have 20 receptions?

Yep. But how many snaps does Benny play compared to Gurley? Plus, Benny hasn't been as involved either on 3rd downs because we've needed him as a blocker.

However, Benny had 45 catches last year as a 3rd down HB.

RIGHT NOW, I won't disagree.
Next year? I'd be surprised.
Gurley has proven himself more than a talented ball carrier. He has great hands and is incredibly smart for a first year player.
As good as Benny is, it's going to be tough to keep Gurley off the field on 3rd downs. He is the most talented offensive weapon on the team and it would be foolish to take him off the field when your trying to keep the offense on the field.

If Gurley can match Cunningham as a pass protector, I agree. Put him on the field. Until then, it makes sense for Benny to play that role.

 

[tavian]

Until then, it makes sense for Benny to play that role.

and that will be next year.just like I said in the original post.

 

[Dodgersrf]

Yep. But how many snaps does Benny play compared to Gurley? Plus, Benny hasn't been as involved either on 3rd downs because we've needed him as a blocker.

However, Benny had 45 catches last year as a 3rd down HB.



If Gurley can match Cunningham as a pass protector, I agree. Put him on the field. Until then, it makes sense for Benny to play that role.

I think it's more of a matter of when, than if.

 

[jrry32]

I think it's more of a matter of when, than if.

and that will be next year.just like I said in the original post.

I think that's far from a lock. Benny is an outrageously good pass blocker.

 

[Dodgersrf]

I think that's far from a lock. Benny is an outrageously good pass blocker.

I'm not taking anything from Benny. I also get the point on bltz pickup.
Faulk was one of the best I've ever seen at it.
It's just that when I watch Gurley, I see an incredibly rare talent in both mind and body.

 

[RamzFanz]

Todd Gurley isn't Marshall Faulk.

Benny is a better pass protector.

Both are true, as you say, "right now."

I have to say though, if any Ram has the talent to exceed MF, it's Gurley. Dude IS a pass catcher, they just haven't worked him in to that yet. MF showed up here NFL trained and experienced. Blocking? I have no idea.

Love me some Cunningham though. Dude is solid. The Tampa game where Gurley couldn't get in from the 2? Shit, Harkey leads Cunningham, in every time with the 3 downs they gave Gurley. I don't get why the Rams discard what works.

3rd and 2 anywhere I trust Cunningham over anyone on the team. 3rd and 5, I think there are better options, but dude can block as you say.

 

[Lurker]

Not really relevant to 3rd down situations, but I would like to see the Rams move Benny to fullback. I think he's actually one of our most versatile players and would like them to find a way to get him on the field more. I can see him being a Tim Lester type player at the position, and it would allow us to move Harkey to a regular TE position. Overall I think it would improve our run blocking, allow us to use either Benny or Gurley in the passing game while still keeping one in to block and I like the idea of using Gurley as a decoy and running Benny right up the middle occasionally.
It'll probably never happen....but that's what I would like to see....

 

[-X-]

Not really relevant to 3rd down situations, but I would like to see the Rams move Benny to fullback. I think he's actually one of our most versatile players and would like them to find a way to get him on the field more. I can see him being a Tim Lester type player at the position, and it would allow us to move Harkey to a regular TE position. Overall I think it would improve our run blocking, allow us to use either Benny or Gurley in the passing game while still keeping one in to block and I like the idea of using Gurley as a decoy and running Benny right up the middle occasionally.
It'll probably never happen....but that's what I would like to see....

If I were Benny, I would demand a trade if they tried to stick me at fullback.
You know, kinda like Bettis did when Brooks wanted to make him a fullback.

 

[Lurker]

If I were Benny, I would demand a trade if they tried to stick me at fullback.
You know, kinda like Bettis did when Brooks wanted to make him a fullback.

If Benny was a future HOF RB I would agree with you, but I think Benny knows he's not going to replace Gurley, and would embrace the opportunity to get more playing time.

 

[-X-]

If Benny was a future HOF RB I would agree with you, but I think Benny knows he's not going to replace Gurley, and would embrace the opportunity to get more playing time.

It's not a matter of replacing Gurley, it's a matter of being able to keep playing the position he wants to play. And being traded would afford him the best opportunity to do that. Now if you're talking about the Rams running some 2-back sets and not trying to turn him into a lead blocker, then he might not mind that at all.

 

[JonRam99]

Sounds like we just have a great backfield at the moment, eh? Having both RBs available as 3rd down backs will keep opposing d's guessing.
But Gurley IS a receiving threat, check his highlights. Plus, don't forget, he is both a receiving threat AND a passing threat, again check his highlights. Talk about having a RB be like an extra QB on the field, TG2 CAN be the QB. Gurley is just that talented. I'd like to see them split 3rd down duties next yr with TG2 in wildcat.