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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...e-st-louis-rams-much-more-than-just-a-star-rb
When the St. Louis Rams selected Todd Gurley with the 10th overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, there were reasons to be concerned.
First, Gurley is injured; he tore his ACL during last year's college season while playing for Georgia. Second, Gurley is a running back, a position that is supposedly devalued and a position that the Rams already have one very talented, young player at.
Furthermore, by selecting Gurley, the Rams ignored major needs on their offensive line.
Brandon Scherff and Ereck Flowers had already been selected, but there were multiple top prospects who could have been brought aboard. Andrus Peat, a tackle from Stanford, Cameron Erving, a guard/center from Florida State, D.J. Humphries, a tackle from Florida, and Laken Tomlinson, a guard from Duke, would all have been presumptive starters in Week 1 for the Rams.
St. Louis did commit to addressing its offensive line issues after the first round. The Rams selected Rob Havenstein in the second round to be a right tackle, and they brought in Jamon Brown, Andrew Donnal and Cody Wichmann to presumably compete inside.
Although it's easy to focus on the reasons to be concerned with selecting Gurley in the first round, his value to the team as a whole should wash those away.
Gurley is a superstar prospect. He was arguably the best prospect in this class without a close second. If he hadn't been injured, he would likely have been selected in the top five overall. Although positional value creates an ingrained and inherited negative, Gurley is able to transcend that by promising to be an Adrian Peterson or Marshawn Lynch caliber of back.
Lynch and Peterson have been more than just superstar backs for their respective offenses. Both players set the tone and draw so much attention from their opponents that they are the identity of their respective units.
At just 20 years of age while coming off of a serious injury, Gurley won't be the Rams' offensive identity this year. Instead, he and Tre Mason can combine to carry the offense while splitting carries.
Mason is an abrasive runner who showed last season that he can wear down defenses and punish defenders both in space and in tight. Gurley can do everything that Mason can, but he offers more explosiveness in space and creativity at the line of scrimmage.
Creativity at the line of scrimmage is often what separates great backs from good backs. While the position is primarily thought of as a physical one, creativity and vision are essentials.
There are three key aspects of vision: recognition, intelligence and manipulation. Gurley excels at all of them.
Recognition is the ability to read what the defense is doing against the blocking up front. When you slow the game down and watch from above, this is simple to do. When you're taking a handoff and working on the move, your mind has to instantly diagnose the situation.
The below play is a great example of Gurley's ability to be a reactive runner.
Credit: Draftbreakdown.com
After he takes the handoff from his quarterback, Gurley must use his footwork to create space to attack. It's not immediately obvious, but both the left inside linebacker and right inside linebacker come unblocked at the line of scrimmage.
Gurley can't immediately split them up the middle, so he must shuffle his feet and shift his weight in such a way that he can angle back inside after holding the right linebacker outside.
This is the kind of play that he made on a consistent basis last year. It's the kind of play that makes your offensive line look much better than it actually is because you are accounting for unblocked players and giving your blockers greater leverage.
Being a consistent reactive runner after the snap is important, but it's also important to be a proactive runner before the snap.
While we typically only look at the quarterback when considering reading defenses before the snap, running backs can also survey the defensive front. Often it's simply about counting numbers to each side of the center and attacking the area with fewer bodies to stop you.
Predetermining where you are carrying the football obviously isn't a good idea, but understanding the alignment of the defense at the snap can be crucial for creating a running lane to attack.
Reading the defense, be it before or after the snap, is all about understanding where to go and when to be there. It doesn't consider how you get there, though. That is where manipulation comes in.
Manipulating the defense is often subtle but always important. It's often about where you place your feet while moving and what you do with your upper body. Instead of running directly to a spot like many backs do, threatening to change direction by planting and pushing off your feet can create hesitation in defenders.
This play highlights Gurley's ability to do just that.
Credit: Draftbreakdown.com
On this counter run, Georgia's right tackle is unable to get the better of the defensive end across from him. The defensive end uses his length to fend the blocker off while he sets the edge and works his feet so they both begin to close inside.
Gurley is cutting back toward this side of the field, so this matchup becomes very important.
If Gurley simply runs past the inside shoulder of his right tackle, the defender would have been able to at least get his hands to the back. If Gurley had simply been tempted by the sideline and ran outside—an affliction that affects many running backs—the defensive end would have been in the perfect position to tackle him at the line of scrimmage.
Instead of taking option A or option B, Gurley created option C. He makes a concentrated effort to plant his right foot behind his right tackle and drop his body so the defensive end can't see him clearly. This creates a split second of hesitation and threatens the outside enough to give Gurley a free running lane inside.
When you have a running back such as Mason who repeatedly attacks the middle of the field, the defense is more likely to become overly aggressive and play sloppy football. Having a change-of-pace back to take advantage of this is important.
Most change-of-pace backs are normally just smaller, more elusive backs who don't threaten the defense in tight. Because Gurley does everything, the mental fatigue only grows.
There will be a lot of pressure on Gurley and Mason to carry the Rams offense because of the team's uncertainty at the quarterback position.
Nick Foles was acquired as part of the Sam Bradford trade, but he has missed time to injuries during both of the past two seasons, while his statistical production has severely overstated his actual ability. Not settling with just Foles, the Rams also selected Sean Mannion in the third round of this year's draft.
Mannion is a player with significant flaws of his own, but the Rams have a team that could cater to a rookie starter.
Because of the elevated expectations for the running game, the Rams now have three key factors that can be used to alleviate the pressure on a quarterback: the running game itself, a defense that appears to be one of the very best in the NFL and bigger wide receivers who boast the athleticism to get downfield.
The defense will obviously allow the offense to be less aggressive because there is less pressure to put up oints. The running game will prevent the defense from being as creative while keeping the quarterback in manageable down-and-distance situations. The receivers can turn inaccurate throws into completions on a regular basis.
Mannion shouldn't be expected to start, but Foles also shouldn't be guaranteed the spot.
Credit: Draftbreakdown.com
In a run-heavy offense with the type of receivers the Rams have, the deep ball should be more important. Mannion does appear to have some ability to push the ball down the field after play action. While Foles has impressive deep numbers, his deep accuracy isn't actually as impressive as it appears to be.
Within Chip Kelly's scheme with the Philadelphia Eagles, Foles didn't have to be accurate to be productive while throwing the ball downfield.
Regardless of who starts under center, the Rams should be able to run the ball. Gurley is simply too talented to be restrained by even a subpar NFL offensive line. With Rodger Saffold and Greg Robinson on the field ahead of him, the Rams should at least create a below-average offensive line.
There are definite risks and concerns with Gurley in St. Louis, but there are risks and concerns with every addition made during the draft. Gurley's are simply more magnified by factors that get talked about more than they should.
Any short-term issue that Gurley must overcome pales in comparison to the long-term identity the Rams have given their offense.
When the St. Louis Rams selected Todd Gurley with the 10th overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, there were reasons to be concerned.
First, Gurley is injured; he tore his ACL during last year's college season while playing for Georgia. Second, Gurley is a running back, a position that is supposedly devalued and a position that the Rams already have one very talented, young player at.
Furthermore, by selecting Gurley, the Rams ignored major needs on their offensive line.
Brandon Scherff and Ereck Flowers had already been selected, but there were multiple top prospects who could have been brought aboard. Andrus Peat, a tackle from Stanford, Cameron Erving, a guard/center from Florida State, D.J. Humphries, a tackle from Florida, and Laken Tomlinson, a guard from Duke, would all have been presumptive starters in Week 1 for the Rams.
St. Louis did commit to addressing its offensive line issues after the first round. The Rams selected Rob Havenstein in the second round to be a right tackle, and they brought in Jamon Brown, Andrew Donnal and Cody Wichmann to presumably compete inside.
Although it's easy to focus on the reasons to be concerned with selecting Gurley in the first round, his value to the team as a whole should wash those away.
Gurley is a superstar prospect. He was arguably the best prospect in this class without a close second. If he hadn't been injured, he would likely have been selected in the top five overall. Although positional value creates an ingrained and inherited negative, Gurley is able to transcend that by promising to be an Adrian Peterson or Marshawn Lynch caliber of back.
Lynch and Peterson have been more than just superstar backs for their respective offenses. Both players set the tone and draw so much attention from their opponents that they are the identity of their respective units.
At just 20 years of age while coming off of a serious injury, Gurley won't be the Rams' offensive identity this year. Instead, he and Tre Mason can combine to carry the offense while splitting carries.
Mason is an abrasive runner who showed last season that he can wear down defenses and punish defenders both in space and in tight. Gurley can do everything that Mason can, but he offers more explosiveness in space and creativity at the line of scrimmage.
Creativity at the line of scrimmage is often what separates great backs from good backs. While the position is primarily thought of as a physical one, creativity and vision are essentials.
There are three key aspects of vision: recognition, intelligence and manipulation. Gurley excels at all of them.
Recognition is the ability to read what the defense is doing against the blocking up front. When you slow the game down and watch from above, this is simple to do. When you're taking a handoff and working on the move, your mind has to instantly diagnose the situation.
The below play is a great example of Gurley's ability to be a reactive runner.
Credit: Draftbreakdown.com
After he takes the handoff from his quarterback, Gurley must use his footwork to create space to attack. It's not immediately obvious, but both the left inside linebacker and right inside linebacker come unblocked at the line of scrimmage.
Gurley can't immediately split them up the middle, so he must shuffle his feet and shift his weight in such a way that he can angle back inside after holding the right linebacker outside.
This is the kind of play that he made on a consistent basis last year. It's the kind of play that makes your offensive line look much better than it actually is because you are accounting for unblocked players and giving your blockers greater leverage.
Being a consistent reactive runner after the snap is important, but it's also important to be a proactive runner before the snap.
While we typically only look at the quarterback when considering reading defenses before the snap, running backs can also survey the defensive front. Often it's simply about counting numbers to each side of the center and attacking the area with fewer bodies to stop you.
Predetermining where you are carrying the football obviously isn't a good idea, but understanding the alignment of the defense at the snap can be crucial for creating a running lane to attack.
Reading the defense, be it before or after the snap, is all about understanding where to go and when to be there. It doesn't consider how you get there, though. That is where manipulation comes in.
Manipulating the defense is often subtle but always important. It's often about where you place your feet while moving and what you do with your upper body. Instead of running directly to a spot like many backs do, threatening to change direction by planting and pushing off your feet can create hesitation in defenders.
This play highlights Gurley's ability to do just that.
Credit: Draftbreakdown.com
On this counter run, Georgia's right tackle is unable to get the better of the defensive end across from him. The defensive end uses his length to fend the blocker off while he sets the edge and works his feet so they both begin to close inside.
Gurley is cutting back toward this side of the field, so this matchup becomes very important.
If Gurley simply runs past the inside shoulder of his right tackle, the defender would have been able to at least get his hands to the back. If Gurley had simply been tempted by the sideline and ran outside—an affliction that affects many running backs—the defensive end would have been in the perfect position to tackle him at the line of scrimmage.
Instead of taking option A or option B, Gurley created option C. He makes a concentrated effort to plant his right foot behind his right tackle and drop his body so the defensive end can't see him clearly. This creates a split second of hesitation and threatens the outside enough to give Gurley a free running lane inside.
When you have a running back such as Mason who repeatedly attacks the middle of the field, the defense is more likely to become overly aggressive and play sloppy football. Having a change-of-pace back to take advantage of this is important.
Most change-of-pace backs are normally just smaller, more elusive backs who don't threaten the defense in tight. Because Gurley does everything, the mental fatigue only grows.
There will be a lot of pressure on Gurley and Mason to carry the Rams offense because of the team's uncertainty at the quarterback position.
Nick Foles was acquired as part of the Sam Bradford trade, but he has missed time to injuries during both of the past two seasons, while his statistical production has severely overstated his actual ability. Not settling with just Foles, the Rams also selected Sean Mannion in the third round of this year's draft.
Mannion is a player with significant flaws of his own, but the Rams have a team that could cater to a rookie starter.
Because of the elevated expectations for the running game, the Rams now have three key factors that can be used to alleviate the pressure on a quarterback: the running game itself, a defense that appears to be one of the very best in the NFL and bigger wide receivers who boast the athleticism to get downfield.
The defense will obviously allow the offense to be less aggressive because there is less pressure to put up oints. The running game will prevent the defense from being as creative while keeping the quarterback in manageable down-and-distance situations. The receivers can turn inaccurate throws into completions on a regular basis.
Mannion shouldn't be expected to start, but Foles also shouldn't be guaranteed the spot.
Credit: Draftbreakdown.com
In a run-heavy offense with the type of receivers the Rams have, the deep ball should be more important. Mannion does appear to have some ability to push the ball down the field after play action. While Foles has impressive deep numbers, his deep accuracy isn't actually as impressive as it appears to be.
Within Chip Kelly's scheme with the Philadelphia Eagles, Foles didn't have to be accurate to be productive while throwing the ball downfield.
Regardless of who starts under center, the Rams should be able to run the ball. Gurley is simply too talented to be restrained by even a subpar NFL offensive line. With Rodger Saffold and Greg Robinson on the field ahead of him, the Rams should at least create a below-average offensive line.
There are definite risks and concerns with Gurley in St. Louis, but there are risks and concerns with every addition made during the draft. Gurley's are simply more magnified by factors that get talked about more than they should.
Any short-term issue that Gurley must overcome pales in comparison to the long-term identity the Rams have given their offense.
