Wait! There's a pattern here: Rams drafted RB's start off strong but continue to hit a wall?

[JKBOGEN]

Good stuff, Jake. There definitely is a pattern with RBs on this team, but have you looked into RB sophomore slumps in general? Maybe Pro Football Reference has a way to categorize runningbacks in their first two years with their Season Finder or Player Finder tools (good tools if you haven't used them). I remember Bettis having a similar drop-off as a Ram back in the day too. But that might have been an internal thing, because he was totally mishandled his third year and then traded. But that's going back a ways and has nothing to do with Fisher's teams. Didn't happen to Eddie George though. And it definitely didn't happen with Chris Johnson. Is it just a strange coincidence? Could be.

Also appreciate how you've walked back the negative rhetoric. That's gonna make your stuff much easier (and more pleasurable) to read.

Thank you man! I appreciate that! I have to start using PFR more in depth. The site is absolutely amazing it's my go-to for statistics to be honest. I hate to be that guy but I think Gurley and Austin are being affected by the Los Angeles hype

 

[JKBOGEN]

Not worried about Todd's future .He is way to talented to be compared to those other guys .This offensive line looks nothing like they did last year. Our running backs continue to run into "walls" because defenses adjust to us and we have not had the big time playmaker to stretch the defense. Hopefully after last week teams realize britt and quick can make plays , therefore giving gurley more room

We can only hope teams keep Keenum honest and it opens up more for Gurley.

 

[LumberTubs]

The prevailing opinion among sports writers that I follow is that the OL is letting Gurley down with poor blocking which bears out when watching the games live in my view.

 

[JKBOGEN]

Nice article Jake, yes it is difficult to ignore the pattern. I too believe there is just to much size and talent to hit the panic button. Gurley's combination of speed and athleticism seem to great to fail but he is not completely risk free.
Some great athletes have lost their way after early successes and no on is completely immune. Todd is having some difficulties with the combination of vision, decision making and running with instinct. A couple good games should put that behind him I just hope they come sooner than later. If he continues to have difficulties his confidence will become an issue also and that can be a larger mountain to climb. He has improved but 50+ and 4+ yards are far from his potential or what he should be producing. I look for him to break out sooner than later.

I agree and thank you as always! Gurley is way too physically gifted to bust. I think it's just a rough year for him, it happens and eventually he is going to turn the corner and analysts will stop riding Elliott

 

[JKBOGEN]

Insightful piece. Thanks for providing this perspective.I just think Todd is trying to do too much, resulting in overthinking and the fumbles. Also, Is it me or does Todd look a lot faster on turf?

Thank you! I honestly never thought about that but you know what I think you might be on to something haha.

 

[JKBOGEN]

I think he's distracted.

He needs to just focus on the play and BE in the moment. He can't think about being the focus of the offense or having to carry anything other than the ball when that's what the play calls for.

When he was recovering, I think his mindset was much simpler and he was able to be more himself. RB is almost the antithesis of QB in that regard.

For someone with such a high football IQ to get plays wrong... To run to the wrong hole, to be in the wrong place... Something ELSE is going on. I actually have every faith that he'll get it worked out.

Some guys slump because they get figured out. Gurley is among the few at the position with transcendent talent, so I don't think that's it.

Doesn't mean he doesn't have some things to get straightened out. Clearly he does.

Yeah I agree there must be something else going on

 

[JKBOGEN]

Dude are you writing articles just to write them? I will say they are a light year ahead of a Jim Thomas or Bernie article everyone always had an infatuation to posting.

We all know why those other backs didn't do as well the following season because some one was drafted and broke out as per Fisher preference to find a feature back.

The only reason Gurley is struggling now was our o-lines pee pee poor performances the first 5 games and Keenum being our QB hence the stacked boxes.

WOW! Huge praise! Appreciate the love. I will say I agree it's been stacking the box but think more than that. Think maybe the fact Gurley isn't used to this. When did anyone stack the box last year as much as they do this year? Idk I am just hoping he breaks out this week.

 

[JKBOGEN]

I don't know. Those other guys wouldn't struggle in the first 4 games when they were the feature back just because we found someone else. They struggled for some reason and we had someone else who didn't struggle.

My personal opinion is that they brought in Groh and so focused on the passing game to leverage his skill set. That led to less time for the run game. I assume they thought it would be ok because they were a strong running team. Turns out everyone needs practice to be good.

I'm just shooting from the hip there though.

Richardson was always a complimentary piece, never a feature back.

I don't really remember what happened to Zac Stacy. He was short and limited athletically. It's possible he just couldn't sustain that level of play. I don't really know.

Mason. I honestly think he got nervous being ahead of Gurley. Tried too hard or got despondent and wasn't trying. Either or, same result.

Gurley is a victim of our desire to unfuck the passing game. Poor guy.

All jmho of course.

I think they are all great points although I love Groh. Bringing him in was key. Mason's point is absolutely spot on. I said that from the very beginning. He like was trying to look as good as possible in situations where he runs through the hole for five yards but instead he would try to bounce it to the outside and try to hit that big home run to make coaches awe in amazement and delay Gurley. Honestly, Mason should've just embraced that he could have been one of the craziest duo of RBs in the league with Gurley.

 

[JKBOGEN]

Patience.....Seems to be pressing to MAKE something happen....I thought he would breakout against the Lions, then Keenum went all Kurt Warner....So, I see him breaking out this week....although this run D should be a little better...

Always enjoy your pieces....keep posting...

Thank you! Yeah one can hope! I think we are going to need all hands on deck. OBJ might gash us hard and start making this a shoot out like last week

 

[JKBOGEN]

I did not see any articles by NFL writers on Gurelys season so far breaking down film. I would like to read that conclusively establishes if it is Gurley or the OL at fault.

Did I miss any articles? All I read is generalizations that OL is not doing good job.

Unfortunately I can't go in depth with film breakdown's because of rights and conditions and whatnot. I posted some pictures on my last piece and will continue to do that until the NFL comes at me to take them down. Unfortunately they are outlawing gifs though

 

[JKBOGEN]

The difference is Gurley is a game changing talent. His slump reminds me a lot of Bettis' in that many fans decided he was the problem but it was the line of course, and everyone found that out the hard way as soon as he took a handoff behind Pittsburgh's offensive line.

Gurley is a game-changing talent but they need to stop feeding him. It's going to shorten his career.

 

[JKBOGEN]

First thing that came to mind for me is that all running backs seem to suffer a second year slump on many teams. And maybe that's just perception, but I would think that the trend is more related to the coordinators than anything else. It's easier to focus on one guy's patterns and plan around that at least.

If it's any consolation, I think that the focus put on Gurley by our team and those playing us has everyone adjusting sooner than later meaning that I think you'll see a balance that sees his game continue to improve as teams are forced to pick their poison. And as it does, so goes his confidence in his play, the rest of his mates and the calls of his coordinator.

As his confidence gains so does that of the offense, it's a cumulative effect, but that doesn't meant I'll predict a record breaking season from him. Just much better than what we saw from the start. To me, it just means that I hope to see our team's offense handle the tougher defenses with quite a bit more poise than we've seen in a long time. Hey, it's better than being handled by the defense time and again.

Good point I think it could be as schematically but also could be mentally draining. We won't know until he has his breakout game

 

[JKBOGEN]

The prevailing opinion among sports writers that I follow is that the OL is letting Gurley down with poor blocking which bears out when watching the games live in my view.

I think the OL has to an extent but Gurley hasn't helped at times. He isn't a loss cause. I did say during the game that Gurley needed that touchdown as a confidence booster, much more than Keenum when he ran it in..