Fresh off of a 30-27 win over the Panthers, it seems there are more questions than answers surrounding last year’s NFC Champs. About 95% of these are in regards to Todd Gurley, his knee, and his playing time this past Sunday.
As the title states, it’s clear that the Rams, in some capacity, are preserving Todd Gurley. This might leave fantasy owners angry and Rams fans puzzled, but Sean McVay has quickly learned that he has to be in it for the long haul. He’s taking Bill Belichick’s ideas and combining them with a modern play style to try and create a dynasty of his own.
“Stealing” the Patriot Way…
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. After being outcoached and exposed by Belichick and the Patriots last year in the Super Bowl, McVay has begun to do what all great coaches and players alike do. He took everything that went wrong in that game and is using it to improve his team going forward.
I know you’re saying “It’s only one game, dude,” but it’s a lot more than you realize.
McVay has kept quiet about Gurley all offseason. Everything surrounding his knee has been completely off the radar, so no one except those especially close to the RB know what’s going on. Reports have come out that the Rams are just winging it, but I have a hard time believing that an NFL franchise is just going with the flow with the second-highest paid RB in the game. It’s kind of like a less up front version of this:
The Rams don’t have to tell anyone a damn thing if they don’t want to. They lost the Super Bowl last year because they were out-prepared by the Patriots. The less information McVay lets out, the less teams have to use against them. It’s very simple.
…And Applying it to Todd Gurley
So where does preserving Todd Gurley come into play? Well, it’s very simple. Playoff football is predicated on different things than the regular season. As temperatures get colder the value of special teams, defense, and in Todd’s case, running the football become more valuable. By managing his workload now, he’ll be ready to go full force come playoff time, unlike last season.
And, again, I know you’re saying “Well, they need Todd to even make the playoffs.” And, you’re not wrong, but there’s more too it.
Gurley is still going to be a part of this team, just not in the same capacity that he was the last few seasons. In the past 10 seasons, the Patriots have had only two rushers with 250 attempts. Gurley has hit that mark in each of his last three seasons. McVay wants to take mileage off of him and preserve him for the long haul.
He started this process on Sunday by pulling him out of the redzone, where he got more touches (64) than any other RB last season. The Rams instead looked to Malcolm Brown who sufficed with two TDs from inside the five. The same result that probably would’ve occurred had Todd played, but without the risk of your best offensive player taking a few more hits.
Will Todd be Todd Come Playoff Time?
To answer shortly (in my opinion, of course), yes. McVay knows that making the playoffs without the Todd Gurley we’re used to is possible, but winning a Super Bowl might not be.
Last season for New England, Sony Michel averaged roughly 16 carries a game, before seeing that number spike to just under 24 in the postseason. If McVay follows that model (and signs indicate that he might) we’ll see Todd back as the running back in LA once again.
There wouldn’t be a point in preserving Todd Gurley in the playoffs when the urgency for the Rams to win while this group is still intact is so high. He’s the centerpiece when this offense is working at full potential, but McVay has the ingenuity to field a competent offense during the regular season without him always on the field.
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