The Rise and Fall of Todd Gurley. A film breakdown of what really happened.

[thirteen28]

The maker of this video isn't totally wrong, but I think he discounts the problems with Gurley's knee and the effect on him. I'm sure one of the film sleuth's around here could find plenty of plays where there was room for Gurley to run and he just didn't have the explosiveness to hit the hole the way he used to.

Looking at the guy's channel, I think he's a 49er homer as well, and his videos include one as to why Shanahan *didn't* choke in the Super Bowl (which we all know he did). So he's worth taking with a grain of salt.

 

[Reddog99]

I assume you didn’t watch the film?

I watched the video yeah and im not disagreeing with him about the stale scheme or OL. Ive seen the games and watched TG play enough to know it was a mixture of both. The OL wasn't great and Todd lacked explosiveness and seemed to want to avoid contact and started running out of bounds rather than pushing for another yard or two like in previous years. Also when we played Atlanta last year their OL didn't look so good so I don't see TG doing much better there.

 

[Corbin]

I watched the video yeah and im not disagreeing with him about the stale scheme or OL. Ive seen the games and watched TG play enough to know it was a mixture of both. The OL wasn't great and Todd lacked explosiveness and seemed to want to avoid contact and started running out of bounds rather than pushing for another yard or two like in previous years. Also when we played Atlanta last year their OL didn't look so good so I don't see TG doing much better there.

My bad I misread your post then.

 

[Reddog99]

My bad I misread your post then.

All good man I should've been clearer. That and I kinda through a rant in there lol. Had to listen to my buddies over the weekend who are Chiefs, Patriots and Steelers fans who don't follow the Rams closely and just go with what the media says bash on my team. I guess I'm still a little irked about it.

 

[LARams_1963]

Good breakdown. That being said yeah, I don't agree with his assessment of TG not losing a step. I'm pretty sure most of us, those who watch him constantly, could see it. I know I sure could. He was NOT the same guy even when he reached the second level. The speed was just a tad slower, hence the fewer long runs.

 

[Merlin]

If he's got an arthritic knee it's something that TG can counter a bit by being fully bought-in to what the Rams were doing. It's not ideal but these guys do play through pain and they also take drugs to counter pain and allow for performance.

But I suspect he wasn't happy with having a carry count, and he probably didn't like the poor blocking up front either. If he really is a mopey type guy behind the scenes (which we don't know for a fact it's just been suggested by fans and media) then I could see everything coming together to produce a divorce.

Some have suggested he wasn't a good teammate going back, but the success allowed for everyone to ignore it. Who knows. But either way some of the lack of production was on him. No doubt about it. He didn't have the same burst game to game, it was there at times then not there. He had a clear tendency to avoid turning runs up field and favored the sideline, you can see it. So IMO it's likely there was some mix of attitude and conflict along with his medical situation.

Why do I think there was attitude and conflict? Because they canned his RB coach and cut bait with him at great cost to their cap and roster flexibility. If he was fully bought-in with the staff and not a problem behind the scenes I tend to think he'd still be a Ram. But either way even though I was a steadfast fan of his I'm willing to consider he was part of the problem just like the blocking was up front.

 

[Corbin]

All good man I should've been clearer. That and I kinda through a rant in there lol. Had to listen to my buddies over the weekend who are Chiefs, Patriots and Steelers fans who don't follow the Rams closely and just go with what the media says bash on my team. I guess I'm still a little irked about it.

Even casual Rams fans do that shit to and parrot media outlets.

It’s just nice, I been saying our scheme was breached for over a year now and finally had a good visual tool to show what most people can understand in regards to concepts, schemes, and responsibilities etc.

However, this guy is off on Gurley and his knee but that’s not the main point I suppose. (Ignores the attitude part) I was a huge proponent on nothing was wrong with Gurley (mostly being hopeful and Ignoring the evidence and his stalwart attitude). So I’m not without my own wrong assumptions.

 

[ReddingRam]

I think many of us were scratching our heads over this one. Why didn't McVay switch things up? Why so stubborn to change?

It's called "MikeMartzism". Sometimes you just believe too much into yourself that you can't fathom that needs to be done another way. You get stubborn and in the mindset that you will "show everyone else!". i think SM has had time to reflect and changing up his staff was the first sign. the 2nd sign was the way they loaded up across the board on skill positions. Not just one position, but all of them. It looks to me like he is going to try and change up his personnel groupings, which he should have started doing in 2018. You have to be multi-dimensional. It's the only way you stay ahead in this game. It's what the Great Cheater BB does. He game plans specifically towards his opponents weaknesses and does his best to take away their strengths.
If SM learns to run just about every personnel (11, 12, 13, 21 ,empty) He can make life difficult for opponents to game plan and key. Change up personnel groupings, change formations and for God's sake .... DON'T ABANDON THE RUN!

 

[badnews]

It's called "MikeMartzism". Sometimes you just believe too much into yourself that you can't fathom that needs to be done another way. You get stubborn and in the mindset that you will "show everyone else!". i think SM has had time to reflect and changing up his staff was the first sign. the 2nd sign was the way they loaded up across the board on skill positions. Not just one position, but all of them. It looks to me like he is going to try and change up his personnel groupings, which he should have started doing in 2018. You have to be multi-dimensional. It's the only way you stay ahead in this game. It's what the Great Cheater BB does. He game plans specifically towards his opponents weaknesses and does his best to take away their strengths.
If SM learns to run just about every personnel (11, 12, 13, 21 ,empty) He can make life difficult for opponents to game plan and key. Change up personnel groupings, change formations and for God's sake .... DON'T ABANDON THE RUN!

I think McVay isn't Martz-like in his ego, I think he just knew he lacked the personnel and the wrinkles in place to win that way.
He is learning and getting those things installed to diversify and give his guys the tools to counter, but he couldn't do it in real time or even very quickly during the season, his staff and players last season were not up to snuff and I think McVay knew it.

All of this about Gurley and the O-line.
Maybe the biggest reason for our offensive decline was the scalping of our offensive staff the past 2 off seasons.
Combining the O-line, Gurley, the staff losses and a SB hangover that permeated every part of our team in '19, McVay struggled to move away from the most consistent and dependable players on his O, his 3 wideouts. The worse things were going, the harder it was for him to go away from his best guys, those 3 WRs, when trusting his TEs was the obvious option to everyone else, the more important the game, the more McVay trusts what he knows he can depend on. I bet he has learned a lot from these lessons, something Martz never could do.

McVay should be a much better HC for all of this.

 

[Wisconsinram]

I don't pretend to know NFL offensive schemes and there is certainly a method behind every move, but I have honestly wondered about taking an opposite approach to the 6-1. Look, you either bring in TE's to help offset in an attempt to match heavy with heavy OR bring in another WR (or two, going empty) and spread them out. How in the hell would have the Pats defended our top 4 WR's with a six man front and a Milb who would have to account for Gurley? For those that know more about scheming than I do, wouldn't that have left one-on-one match-ups (or many soft spots in a zone) all over the field?

I've recently believed that speed and elite route running is what set us apart. Moving to two and three TE's seemed to be allowing the D to instill their will on us. I guess I would like to have seen us counter by requiring them to cover us, in hindsight and all!

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Very solid breakdown in this video. I would still say that Todd's injury played a role in this beyond just teams scheming us different. When teams went to a 5-2 or 6-1 against us, it was up to McVay to make adjustments. We had the weapons to make adjustments, and when he did start using the 2 TE set, we played better. BUT.... if a team is lining up 6 man fronts on you, you need to have a running back that can effectively get yards outside of taking handoffs from a QB under center. You can run the ball out of a shootgun formation, you can throw the ball out of shootgun formation to your running back. If Gurley was not in a position to effectively do either of those things anymore, then that could have impacted McVay's ability to make adjustments. I also think that his over utilization of the 11 formation was a tougher habit to break for him because I mean when it looked like our season was back on track with us using 2 TEs, we go back to using 11 formation exclusively against the Cowboys and our season basically ends.

I also think that McVay's usage(over-usage) of the 11 formation over the years has something to do with Cooper Kupp as well. Kupp being such an effectively slot guy, I feel like McVay wanting to keep him in that situation had him sticking with the 11 formation more than he should. This actually leads to another issue involving Kupp with him being less of an impact lining up wide, than he is in the slot....and we need to utilize 2 TEs for us to effectively run the ball against 5 - 6 man fronts, doesn't that impact Kupp's value to us? I'm not saying get rid of him, but if he's most effective as a slot receiver, but we can't make the appropriate adjustments to schemes using the 11 formation as much, then Kupp shouldn't be paid as a #1 receiver. Not saying he shouldn't be paid, and also I believe his effectiveness as as a wideout can and is improving, but the bottom line is we need to be able to run the ball..and our coach needs to put us in the best position to be able to run the ball regardless if the formation that does that may keep certain guys on the sidelines for some plays. Plus when we use 2 TEs, we have one in Everett that can line up wide and stretch the field himself so we can still use Kupp in the slot and keep 2 TEs on the field. To me that should be our base offense now.

So yes, McVay has to scheme better, use effective personal packages by making adjustments. I believe this is a priority for him now and the recent assistant coaching changes show that. But I'll also say that Todd Gurley's health also played a role in hindering the adjustments we could make. Todd didn't have the explosiveness to run plays out of formations that could combat those 6 man fronts, and we threw the ball to him much less last year as well.

And part of being able to run is dependent on the line. Same for Pass Pro. If this Oline doesn't improve we can expect more struggles. I'm the Super Bowl the main problem was the weak links. Blythe and an aging Sullivan. The other three held up well enough for the offense to operate. So, until proven otherwise the line is still the weakest link in all of this.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I still think that Gurley was also hurt by a restricted train regime and poor attitude in reaction to McVay's handling of him as much as directly by arthritis or injury to his knee. To me he looked like he was not in top shape, not just that he couldn't cut or run because of his knee. Lack of concentration catching the ball is not a result of an arthritic knee. Also think the relationship with McVay was beyond repair by the end of the year.

Maybe he's done, but... it will be interesting to see how he looks with the Falcons and whether he can return to anything like his prior form with a possibly different approach and attitude.

Gurley's injury turned him into a better version of Malcolm Brown. He ran hard down hill hoping to break tackles with hard contact. The burst wasn't the same. He couldn't turn the corner, he couldn't accelerate past the second level and he lost his subtle jukes. Everything that made him elite, was gone. Everything that made his play look so effortless was gone. He is still an NFL talent but he's had to adjust to being an average NFL back. I'm sure it wasn't easy for him after being better than everyone else on the field his whole life. Maybe he was in denial and looking to blame someone, like the coach. Maybe he was bitter and just miserable from the loss of his elite talents that set him apart from the rest. Either way he lost his leadership with it. Great leaders take adversity in stride. He didn't seem to.

 

[Selassie I]

His football abilities may not ever be the same...

BUT

His selfie taking abilities have become expert level at this point. And if he can't take a selfie... he simply has someone else take the picture of himself for him.

Oh... you doubt that his selfie taking abilities are at expert level you say? Ha... just go and check his Instagram account for proof. He only posts pictures of himself. You'll find all the proof you need right away.

 

[bwdenverram]

I think we can all probably agree on one thing-If Gurley kills it in Atlanta then it's not an injury issue, it's something beyond (and salary has to play some part).

But he's gone now, all we can do is move on with what we have. I for one wish Gurley the best, he was freaking awesome while he was here.

 

[Merlin]

That loaded DL "heavy" approach will be the way teams play the Rams this year. So much of the question surrounding whether we'll be able to resume a top ground game comes back to how well our OL handle that. I think Akers is going to be fine as a fit to do what is required, but unfortunately it's not all about him.

What he'll give us is a quicker decision to get the tough yards when they're not there, which is an area where Gurley struggled. And when cutbacks are there up the middle he'll take them, which is another area Gurley had a hard time. And lastly he will hopefully hold up game to game in health and being able to eat the carries which is an area our entire RB room struggled.

I think we can all probably agree on one thing-If Gurley kills it in Atlanta then it's not an injury issue, it's something beyond (and salary has to play some part).

Gurley will have a renaissance season in Atlanta. I am certain of that. So prepare yourselves for the media BS that will follow. But I don't think he can sustain it. He's going to be playing at home in front of his friends and family and I expect he will take whatever pain killers are required to have a big season and he'll leave everything on the field. Long term, however, he will return to being a back whose knee can't be trusted.

Mark my words: one big season in Atlanta. Then he'll be out of the league after the 2021 season.

 

[LA_Rams_#29]

If he's got an arthritic knee it's something that TG can counter a bit by being fully bought-in to what the Rams were doing. It's not ideal but these guys do play through pain and they also take drugs to counter pain and allow for performance.

But I suspect he wasn't happy with having a carry count, and he probably didn't like the poor blocking up front either. If he really is a mopey type guy behind the scenes (which we don't know for a fact it's just been suggested by fans and media) then I could see everything coming together to produce a divorce.

Some have suggested he wasn't a good teammate going back, but the success allowed for everyone to ignore it. Who knows. But either way some of the lack of production was on him. No doubt about it. He didn't have the same burst game to game, it was there at times then not there. He had a clear tendency to avoid turning runs up field and favored the sideline, you can see it. So IMO it's likely there was some mix of attitude and conflict along with his medical situation.

Why do I think there was attitude and conflict? Because they canned his RB coach and cut bait with him at great cost to their cap and roster flexibility. If he was fully bought-in with the staff and not a problem behind the scenes I tend to think he'd still be a Ram. But either way even though I was a steadfast fan of his I'm willing to consider he was part of the problem just like the blocking was up front.

I believe you have a point about Gurley not liking the reduced role. I go back to the first game against the Panthers. I thought we really used the tandem of Brown and Gurley well. One of our better games on the ground. Thought maybe we'd go back to the 2 headed running attack that worked when we had CJ. But after that game we really never balanced our attack like that again.

 

[SuperMan28]

Adjustments are the name of the game. But the league is changing. Dual threat RB's that can run routes out of the backfield are trending. That's why the Rams got Akers, of whom I like. He's still a good player.

 

[“Turbo set!”]

A lot of discussion. Not sure why. He got hurt. Not much else to say.

 

[Loyal]

Todd who?

 

[PARAM]

Great points about 11 personnel being run forever so why can't it beat a 6-1, which has had to have been utilized before. Even if it hasn't been, there's got to be a way to counter and make them pay. McVay didn't get this far having an achilles heel that would prevent him from figuring it out.

It was a combo.......inexperienced O line, a lesser Gurley and lack of adjustment. The experience gained in 2019 will help the O line, Akers will help the run game and adjustments will be made. Higbee's production, as well as Everett and maybe Hopkins will help. The video of the Patriots when Josh Reynolds was faking the block but got knocked on his ass is pure Belichick. If that can be avoided, there's yardage to be had there.

But what could counter the 6-1 effectively? If all the lineman are playing 2 gap, there's no pass rush. If your facing 6 guys on the line, there's only 5 to cover 4 receivers, if the RB blocks, 5 for 5 if he runs a route. Quick outs with all those guys inside the numbers and when they adjust to that, out and ups? If you expect pressure, rollouts will suffice. Many thought that was an adjustment because of the inexperienced O line but maybe it was two fold?

I'm confident McVay will figure it out.