Sean McVay made headlines last week after he called himself an idiot for not using Todd Gurley more often when the Rams offense was struggling. He told reporters the increase in touches for Gurley was the result of him “not being an idiot.”
He later clarified that he doesn’t actually think he’s an idiot, and when Gurley was asked about the quote, the running back responded, “he said it, I didn’t.”
Fans and media members had been questioning Gurley’s usage for most of the season until McVay finally let him loose. Gurley has touched the ball at least 20 times in three of the last four games, which has unsurprisingly led to three wins in four weeks for the Rams.
The Rams offense has seemingly clicked in the last two games, scoring 62 points with 53 total first downs against the Cardinals and Seahawks – the team’s most since its Week 4 loss to the Buccaneers. It’s no coincidence that Gurley has carried the ball 42 times for 174 yards and two touchdowns in that span.
“When he gets involved, good things are happening for us,” McVay said plainly after Sunday’s win. “That means we’re probably running the football efficiently, as well, and that means we can kind of dictate some things on our own terms as opposed to feeling like you’re always kind of on defense mode if you’re in the second-and-longs and the third-down-and-longs and I thought it was another good week where we were going to be efficient on third downs. I think we were about 50 percent again tonight and I think that’s a big thing.”
It is a big thing. The Rams have only converted 38.2% of their third downs this season, which is in the middle of the pack across the league. That’s with them going 7-for-13 on Sunday and 8-for-15 last week in Arizona.
A big reason for their success on third is Gurley’s effectiveness running the ball. When he’s picking up 4-6 yards on first or second down, it allows the Rams to stay ahead of the sticks, which puts them in good situations.
Rather than facing third-and-8, they’re more frequently facing third-and-3 or 4. That helps Jared Goff immensely and makes play-action passes far more effective.
“It opens everything,” Goff said of what Gurley’s production does for the offense. “It starts with him and when he’s rolling and we’re rolling in the run-game, it opens up everything. We’re able to do what we want to do. Tonight was a perfect example of that.”
Just look at this play, which was Goff’s touchdown pass to Robert Woods. It’s a play-action fake to Gurley, which causes the cornerback (No. 26, Shaquill Griffin) to bite for a split-second and allows Woods to run open in the end zone.
🚨 @RobertWoods FIRST TOUCHDOWN OF THE SEASON 🚨#ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/Ks3igRaXgz
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 9, 2019
It seems so obvious that Gurley would be a big part of the offense for the Rams. When they were struggling, it was a no-brainer to most people that he should be getting the ball more. Yet, the Rams stubbornly limited his workload and seemingly tried to keep him fresh for the playoffs – or at the very least a late-season run.
Hindsight is always 20-20 and there’s no guarantee the offense would’ve been noticeably better with Gurley getting the ball. But what’s obvious now is that the previous plan of Goff throwing it 40 times a game did not work.
With a more balanced attack, teams have to respect the Rams’ weapons and it’s opening things up for everyone else.
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