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http://www.espn.com/blog/st-louis-r...et-for-first-preseason-game-big-second-season
Alden Gonzalez
IRVINE, Calif. -- Rams general manager Les Snead stood on the sideline at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, on the night of Nov. 15, 2014. He was there as a distinguished alumnus of Auburn University but he was acting as a scout, on hand to watch Georgia's Todd Gurley, the best amateur running back in the country despite coming off a four-game suspension.
Snead felt his Rams -- then in St. Louis -- would be drafting somewhere in the middle of the upcoming first round. But he thought about how devalued the running back position had become in recent years, and he legitimately believed Gurley would somehow fall in their laps.
So Snead watched with purpose. He sneered when Gurley's first play, a 105-yard kickoff return on Georgia's opening possession, was wiped away by a penalty. He marveled at how easily Gurley made Auburn defenders miss in open space, how consistently he broke tackles. And then, with a little more than five minutes left in a game that Georgia led by 20, he watched as Gurley clutched his left knee after a 6-yard run.
Snead immediately texted Kevin Demoff, the Rams' vice president of football operations:
I think Gurley just blew his ACL out.
Then he began to look ahead.
"I left there thinking, 'Are you kidding me? The Seahawks are going to end up with this guy,'" Snead recalled. "'We're going to have to play against that guy twice a year.'"
The Seahawks, bitter NFC West rivals, were starting to build momentum again, on their way to what eventually became a second straight Super Bowl appearance. Snead believed Gurley's ill-fated injury would cause him to slip enough for the Seahawks to take him. Then the season ended, and Gurely's rehab progressed quickly, and Snead worried about the Arizona Cardinals drafting him at No. 24. The knee became even healthier, and Snead fretted over the San Francisco 49ers plucking Gurley in the middle of the first round.
"Look," Demoff finally told Snead, "if you're worried about all this, we should just take him."
And so it went. On a Saturday in late March, three to four weeks before the 2015 draft, Snead and Rams coach Jeff Fisher watched video of Gurley and decided they would take him with their pick, No. 10 overall -- even though he was coming off an ACL tear, and even though the last thing the Rams needed was a running back.
"Every now and then, when a special player comes along, and you can nab him, get him," Snead said. "Because no matter what, he’s probably going to become one of the core foundations of your team for the next decade."
Gurley, 22, is poised for that. Even though he played in just 13 of the Rams' 16 games last season, he rushed for more yards than all but two NFL players, was selected to the Pro Bowl, was named Offensive Rookie of the Year and is now the face of the franchise. On Saturday, when the Chiefs visit Los Angeles Coliseum, Gurley is expected to take a handful of snaps in what will be his first NFL preseason game.
He never had that opportunity last year while recovering from his knee injury, which didn't allow him to get significant carries until Week 4 of the regular season. That's why Gurley -- 6-foot-1, 227 pounds and, as tight end Cory Harkey put it, "sneaky fast" -- is widely expected to be even better in Year 2.
Fair?
"It's very fair," Demoff said. "You have to look at knowing the offense, having played in the NFL, being healthy. It's certainly fair to expect that."
LaDainian Tomlinson, only bigger.
"How he hits the hole, his acceleration," Dickerson said of what sets Gurley apart. "That's big for running backs. I don't think people put enough emphasis on it, but those holes open and close very fast. So you have to be just as fast. That's one thing that I like about his game -- his decisiveness."
Dickerson was decisive about Gurley. He spent a long time hoping his beloved Rams would draft him, even after the injury. Friends called Gurley Dickerson's "guy." And every time they brought up the injury, Dickerson noted how young Gurley was, and how he could afford to lose a step because he was already so far ahead of everybody else
"To me he was an easy pick," Dickerson said. "I mean, he looked like a pro back in college."
Dickerson and Gurley have grown close. They attended Kobe Bryant's final game against LeBron James at Staples Center together in March, chatting with Bryant in the trainer's room after he was finished. In late June, Dickerson hosted Rams rookies at his home in Calabasas, California, and Gurley stopped by.
"It's cool, just to have him around," Gurley said. "I always feel free to contact him whenever. He's always around. Great guy. I'm just happy to have him as a Ram."
Gurley rushed for 1,106 yards last season, but nearly half -- 566 -- came in his first four full weeks. Over his last eight, Gurley broke 100 yards once and rushed for fewer than 50 on four occasions, largely because the Rams' heinous passing game prompted opposing defenses to stack the box and limit Gurley's opportunities.
The Rams' offense, which figures to be led by rookie quarterback Jared Goff, needs to demonstrate enough of a passing threat to keep defenses honest. If it does, Gurley could establish himself as the game's best running back.
The Rams' running back coach, Skip Peete, believes Gurley might already be there.
"He's a very talented young man," Peete said. "You put that combination of size, speed, balance, change of direction -- it's hard to beat somebody like that."
Alden Gonzalez
IRVINE, Calif. -- Rams general manager Les Snead stood on the sideline at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, on the night of Nov. 15, 2014. He was there as a distinguished alumnus of Auburn University but he was acting as a scout, on hand to watch Georgia's Todd Gurley, the best amateur running back in the country despite coming off a four-game suspension.
Snead felt his Rams -- then in St. Louis -- would be drafting somewhere in the middle of the upcoming first round. But he thought about how devalued the running back position had become in recent years, and he legitimately believed Gurley would somehow fall in their laps.
So Snead watched with purpose. He sneered when Gurley's first play, a 105-yard kickoff return on Georgia's opening possession, was wiped away by a penalty. He marveled at how easily Gurley made Auburn defenders miss in open space, how consistently he broke tackles. And then, with a little more than five minutes left in a game that Georgia led by 20, he watched as Gurley clutched his left knee after a 6-yard run.
Snead immediately texted Kevin Demoff, the Rams' vice president of football operations:
I think Gurley just blew his ACL out.
Then he began to look ahead.
"I left there thinking, 'Are you kidding me? The Seahawks are going to end up with this guy,'" Snead recalled. "'We're going to have to play against that guy twice a year.'"
The Seahawks, bitter NFC West rivals, were starting to build momentum again, on their way to what eventually became a second straight Super Bowl appearance. Snead believed Gurley's ill-fated injury would cause him to slip enough for the Seahawks to take him. Then the season ended, and Gurely's rehab progressed quickly, and Snead worried about the Arizona Cardinals drafting him at No. 24. The knee became even healthier, and Snead fretted over the San Francisco 49ers plucking Gurley in the middle of the first round.
"Look," Demoff finally told Snead, "if you're worried about all this, we should just take him."
And so it went. On a Saturday in late March, three to four weeks before the 2015 draft, Snead and Rams coach Jeff Fisher watched video of Gurley and decided they would take him with their pick, No. 10 overall -- even though he was coming off an ACL tear, and even though the last thing the Rams needed was a running back.
"Every now and then, when a special player comes along, and you can nab him, get him," Snead said. "Because no matter what, he’s probably going to become one of the core foundations of your team for the next decade."
Gurley, 22, is poised for that. Even though he played in just 13 of the Rams' 16 games last season, he rushed for more yards than all but two NFL players, was selected to the Pro Bowl, was named Offensive Rookie of the Year and is now the face of the franchise. On Saturday, when the Chiefs visit Los Angeles Coliseum, Gurley is expected to take a handful of snaps in what will be his first NFL preseason game.
He never had that opportunity last year while recovering from his knee injury, which didn't allow him to get significant carries until Week 4 of the regular season. That's why Gurley -- 6-foot-1, 227 pounds and, as tight end Cory Harkey put it, "sneaky fast" -- is widely expected to be even better in Year 2.
Fair?
"It's very fair," Demoff said. "You have to look at knowing the offense, having played in the NFL, being healthy. It's certainly fair to expect that."
LaDainian Tomlinson, only bigger.
"How he hits the hole, his acceleration," Dickerson said of what sets Gurley apart. "That's big for running backs. I don't think people put enough emphasis on it, but those holes open and close very fast. So you have to be just as fast. That's one thing that I like about his game -- his decisiveness."
Dickerson was decisive about Gurley. He spent a long time hoping his beloved Rams would draft him, even after the injury. Friends called Gurley Dickerson's "guy." And every time they brought up the injury, Dickerson noted how young Gurley was, and how he could afford to lose a step because he was already so far ahead of everybody else
"To me he was an easy pick," Dickerson said. "I mean, he looked like a pro back in college."
Dickerson and Gurley have grown close. They attended Kobe Bryant's final game against LeBron James at Staples Center together in March, chatting with Bryant in the trainer's room after he was finished. In late June, Dickerson hosted Rams rookies at his home in Calabasas, California, and Gurley stopped by.
"It's cool, just to have him around," Gurley said. "I always feel free to contact him whenever. He's always around. Great guy. I'm just happy to have him as a Ram."
Gurley rushed for 1,106 yards last season, but nearly half -- 566 -- came in his first four full weeks. Over his last eight, Gurley broke 100 yards once and rushed for fewer than 50 on four occasions, largely because the Rams' heinous passing game prompted opposing defenses to stack the box and limit Gurley's opportunities.
The Rams' offense, which figures to be led by rookie quarterback Jared Goff, needs to demonstrate enough of a passing threat to keep defenses honest. If it does, Gurley could establish himself as the game's best running back.
The Rams' running back coach, Skip Peete, believes Gurley might already be there.
"He's a very talented young man," Peete said. "You put that combination of size, speed, balance, change of direction -- it's hard to beat somebody like that."
