Tag: Todd Gurley

Todd Gurley on Falcons offense: ‘There’s still work to be done’

The Atlanta Falcons brought in former Georgia running back Todd Gurley over the offseason in an effort to create a more balanced offense in 2020.

The Atlanta Falcons brought in former Georgia running back Todd Gurley during the offseason in an effort to create a more balanced offense in 2020.

Gurley’s addition brings more star power to a unit that already features former MVP quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receivers Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. On paper, the Falcons could have a potentially high-powered offense if Gurley returns to his All-Pro form.

But while potential is nice, it means nothing if the players don’t put the work in. That was Gurley’s message when interviewed on SiriusXM NFL Radio earlier this week. Listen to his appearance below as Atlanta’s running back takes nothing for granted in terms of the upcoming season.

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Georgia football play of the day

Watch the Georgia football play of the day.

It’s Friday, July 24 and today’s play of the day comes from the book of clean old fashioned hate – Georgia versus Georgia Tech in 2013.

One of the most exciting games of the classic series, the 2013 matchup featured 75 points and a walk-off touchdown in the second overtime. Georgia star running back Todd Gurley had a monster game, scoring three touchdowns, two of those in overtime.

After Tech’s turnover on downs, it was Georgia’s turn in the second overtime – any points would win the game for the Bulldogs.

First-and-10 from Georgia Tech’s 25-yard-line, Gurley takes an inside hand-off and beats the defense to the end zone for the score and the Georgia win.

Watch it here:

 

 

Stat shows Rams’ O-line wasn’t as bad as it seemed in the running game

The Rams offensive line may not have been the issue in the running game last season.

Could it be possible that the Rams’ offensive line wasn’t actually the problem in the running game? According to one metric, it seems that way.

Next Gen Stats developed a new statistic that measures an offensive line’s effectiveness at creating yards for its running backs. It’s called expected rushing yards per carry, putting into perspective how successful a line was at creating opportunities in the running game compared to other units across the NFL.

The Rams surprisingly ranked ninth in the NFL despite finishing 26th in rushing yards and 18th in attempts last season. The offensive line had an expected yards per carry (xYPC) of 4.31 compared to the actual team average of only 3.7 yards per carry.

Here’s a snippet of Next Gen Stats’ evaluation of the Rams from last season:

The Rams should really be commended for landing on this list, especially after losing Joe Noteboom early in the season and needing a replacement so badly, they swung a deal (which could end up being a steal) with the Browns for Austin Corbett in the middle of the season. This might also be the most damning piece of evidence related to Todd Gurley’s future, as we covered above with Atlanta. The league average in xYPC was 4.18 last season, so the Rams’ mark of 4.31 is nothing to scoff at. Yet, the Rams weren’t able to break 4 yards per carry with Gurley (and friends) in the backfield.

The Rams cut Gurley for multiple reasons, not exclusively because of his knee issues or bloated contract. It was a combination of the two, in addition to his regression from 2018 to 2019. He simply didn’t do enough to create yards on his own, and this metric from Next Gen Stats reinforces that idea.

The Rams have to hope Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson, as well as a dash of Malcolm Brown, will improve the running game. It remains to be seen how that committee will play out when the season begins, but the Rams plan to run the ball more often – and hopefully, more effectively in 2020.

Georgia great, Falcons RB Todd Gurley stars in new Gatorade commercial

Former UGA RB Todd Gurley, now with the Atlanta Falcons, was recently featured in Gatorade’s new  “Ready To Play Anything” campaign.

Former Georgia running back Todd Gurley, now with the Atlanta Falcons, was recently featured in Gatorade’s new  “Ready To Play Anything” campaign.

In a 30 second ad, Gurley was featured alongside Zion Williamson, Elena Delle Donne, Sydney McLaughlin and Bryce Harper, showing the athletes playing a variety of sports.

Gurley discussed his participation in the commercial:

“There’s nothing better than sports, and athletes can’t wait to get back to get back to doing what they love with their teams. Gatorade is inspiring the next generations of athletes by showing how the pros are down to play any sport, at any time, just because we love to play,” said Gurley.

Todd Gurley among NFL players to voice safety concerns over return

Falcons running back Todd Gurley and several other NFL stars tweeted on Sunday afternoon about their safety concerns over the league’s return in 2020, despite a strong desire to play.

Falcons running back Todd Gurley and several other NFL stars tweeted on Sunday afternoon about their safety concerns over the league’s return in 2020, despite a strong desire to play.

J.J. Watt, Myles Garrett, Zach Ertz, Stefon Diggs, Byron Jones, and Eric Kendricks were among the others to share the “#WeWantToPlay” hashtag on Twitter.

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NFL players express concern about safety protocols on eve of training camp

As some players have mentioned in their posts, we still don’t know if any preseason games will be played this year. 

The 2020 NFL season stands upon the edge of a knife.

Tomorrow, rookies are supposed to begin reporting to team facilities for training camp. The rest of the players will join them July 28. Problem is, there are still many issues that haven’t been worked out between the league and the NFLPA regarding how this season is supposed to proceed.

Today, dozens of high-profile players have shared posts on social media expressing their concerns about safety protocols on the eve of camp. Here’s what they are saying.

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson

49ers CB Richard Sherman

Texans DL J.J. Watt

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

Saints QB Drew Brees

Falcons DT Grady Jarrett

Eagles CB Darius Slay

Bills WR Stefon Diggs

Vikings LB Eric Kendricks

Cowboys DB Byron Jones

Browns WR Jarvis Landry

Eagles TE Zach Ertz

Falcons RB Todd Gurley

Panthers CB Donte Jackson

As some players have mentioned in their posts, we still don’t know if any preseason games will be played this year.

The fact that the NFL had months to prepare for this and still doesn’t have a clear plan for testing and safety protocols represents a serious failure by the owners, who have more than enough resources to meet the players’ very reasonable demands.

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2020 CFB season countdown: 51 days until Georgia football

Join us as we count down the days until Georgia football kicks off in Atlanta !

There are 51 days until Georgia football is scheduled to kick off versus Virginia in Atlanta on Sept. 7.

Georgia versus Tennessee in 2012 was one of the most prolific offensive match ups in UGA vs UT history. The game featured over 1,000 yards of total offense and 95 total points. Georgia rushed for 274 yards and five touchdowns, with running backs Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall dominating the ground game in their freshman seasons. Marshall totaled 164 yards and two touchdowns on only 10 carries and Gurley tallied 130 yards and three touchdowns, highlighted by a wild 51 yard rush in the second quarter.

Watch the highlights here:

WATCH: Todd Gurley stars in new Gatorade commercial

Todd Gurley stars in Gatorade’s “Ready to Play. Anything” campaign, showing his eagerness to play just about anything, along with Zion Williamson, Elena Delle Donne, Sydney McLaughlin and Bryce Harper.

With the country locked down in various degrees due to the COVID-19 outbreak, athletes are getting a bit restless.

That’s the idea behind Gatorade’s new “Ready to play anything” campaign.  Gurley stars alongside Zion Williamson, Elena Delle Donne, Sydney McLaughlin and Bryce Harper in a thirty-second advertisement, which you can see below:

The Atlanta Falcons’ new running back discussed his participation in the commercial and how eager he is to get back to sports.

“There’s nothing better than sports, and athletes can’t wait to get back to get back to doing what they love with their teams. Gatorade is inspiring the next generations of athletes by showing how the pros are down to play any sport, at any time, just because we love to play,” said Gurley.

It’s safe to say Falcons fans agree with this sentiment, as even the new Madden NFL 21 ratings have created excitement.

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Todd Gurley leads NFL in red-zone carries since 2018

Falcons running back Todd Gurley’s explosiveness may be in question after his surprising release from the Rams, but the former Georgia standout has been a touchdown machine during his NFL career.

Falcons running back Todd Gurley‘s explosiveness may be in question after his surprising release from the Rams, but the former Georgia standout has been a touchdown machine during his professional career.

Over five seasons in the NFL, Gurley has rushed for 58 touchdowns and added another 12 receiving scores. He’s perhaps most effective in short-yardage situations, particularly in the red zone. Give him a small crease and it is pretty much guaranteed to be six points.

As pointed out by Pro Football Focus below, no other running back has had as many red-zone touches as Gurley over the past two seasons.

Gurley has 18 more red-zone more touches than the next RB on this list, Christian McCaffrey, who has 102. Behind McCaffrey is Ezekiel Elliott (100 red-zone carries) and Derek Henry (88).

Atlanta needs Gurley to bring that red-zone threat back to Georgia as the team has been far too one-dimensional in recent years. That pass-heavy offense could actually benefit Gurley early on, as opposing defenses will be focused on slowing Julio Jones.

The Falcons’ offensive line will also need to play better collectively. While Jake Matthews and Alex Mack have been solid, the rest of the group is far less experienced. The team’s two first-round picks in 2019, Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary, will have to play well in order for Atlanta to improve upon a rushing attack that averaged 85.1 yards per contest last season.

If Matt Ryan can get the offense to the red zone, though, Gurley has great chance of punching it in for six.

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Todd Gurley lands at No. 19 in NFL.com’s RB rankings

The Atlanta Falcons swapped out running back Devonta Freeman for Todd Gurley during the offseason, and while the move would appear to be an upgrade, not everyone is buying in.

The Atlanta Falcons swapped out running back Devonta Freeman for Todd Gurley during the offseason, and while the move would appear to be an upgrade, not everyone is buying in.

Gurley topped 1,000 all-purpose yards and ran for 12 touchdowns in 2019, however, he wasn’t quite as effective as he’s been in previous seasons. His average yards per carry dipped from 4.9 Y.P.C. in 2018 to 3.8 Y.P.C. in 2019, leading to his eventual release from the Los Angeles Rams back in March.

That regression is reflected in Maurice Jones-Drew’s 2020 starting running back rankings for NFL.com. The former Georgia standout was listed all the way down at No. 19:

For the first time in his career, Gurley won’t be the featured player in the offense. The Falcons’ offense goes through Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and Co., so expect Gurley to face fewer loaded boxes than he did with the Rams. The first-year Falcons back should have a big year in 2020, but he sits at No. 19 here because there are simply too many mouths to feed.

The Falcons are expecting a bounce-back season for Gurley in 2020 after signing him to a one-year deal worth roughly $5.5 million. And while that seems like a bargain for the former tenth-overall pick, Atlanta had very little cap space to play with, so it’s still a risk for GM Thomas Dimitroff.

Whether or not the gamble on Gurley pays off could be a key factor in the team’s success or failure this season.

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